How long green card stay out of america

You may still be able to remain a lawful permanent resident even in instances where you have signed a form I record of abandonment of law permanent residency or surrendered your green card. A skilled attorney could assess your circumstances during a private consultation, so reach out to schedule an appointment. A green card is a document to help you prove your legal permanent residency and also serves as a travel document that allows you to enter in and out of the United States.

If your green card is expired, it may be difficult to travel or work. Most green cards are valid for 10 years and you should file for renewal 6 months before it expires.

If you lose your Green Card or it is stolen or destroyed while you are traveling abroad, you may need to file a Form IA, Application for Travel Document Carrier Documentation to authorize international travel via airline, train or water. Your lengthy employment abroad and weak ties to the U.

You can apply for a 2-year reentry permit, and then before it expires return to be physically present in the U. Look forward to speaking with you. I received my green card through my mother, who was a LPR at the time, but has since become naturalized. I am just about to finish up my Ph. I have every intention of returning to the US after my contract is up most likely 2 years and will come back to the US every 6 months.

Both my brothers and my mother are citizens, and I intend to keep my bank accounts and credit cards in the US open. Congrats on finishing your Ph. If the contract identifies your position as a postdoc, that would be great too because such positions are inherently temporary. For example, it could be key that any jobs you apply to take upon completion of your postdoc be in the U. If, on the contrary, you apply for subsequent jobs in Germany, then it no longer seems as if you went abroad solely for a temporary job.

Depending on how strong the facts are regarding your temporary purpose abroad and your ties to the U. Thank you for this incredibly helpful blog. I have read all the comments up till now and I have a quick question. A CBP officer stopped my LPR husband who had been out of the US for 10 months and said that she made a note in the database that would likely make it impossible for him to re-enter the US if he were to leave again.

I did not accompany him because our child is an infant. He did not have any solid proof taxes, bank account, paying rent with him because USCIS said that re-entry within a year would be no problem. But the CBP officer questioned him and was suspicious. Note that usually medical records are indecipherable, so a letter written by a doctor in clear English precisely describing the medical condition would be helpful.

Also gather strong evidence that your husband is the primary caregiver. Finally, you ask about whether you and your child should accompany your husband. If you mean fly abroad just to fly back to the U. He came in November , returned to US for about 2 weeks due to family issues, and came back to Korea to stay with me until October He definitely has stronger ties in the US.

Another factor that proves that he has not abandoned his US residence is that he was never employed while visiting Korea. Is there more he should prepare to avoid losing his LPR? He never intented to abandon it and I want to make sure his return is as smooth as possible. To sum up the facts, you are a U. What evidence do you have?

The answer is key because if your boyfriend is really just there to accompany you, then the officer will want to know about your plans. Does he have any solid plans upon return to the U.

For example, is he staying with friends in Korea but owns a house in the U. The comparative strength of his ties in the two countries is important. Be ready to prove that the purpose of the stay abroad is temporary and that ties to the U. I really appreciate your valuable legal information. Very useful! Here is my situation: 1. I came to US in with a F1 visa for education. I got green card in Dec. I went back to China to visit my parents in for 1 month 4.

I went back to China to visit my parents in for 4 month to visit my family 5. I may want to go back to China to work or start a company. I have heard that getting a re-entry permit can help me stay outside the U. Any suggestions? As I told Dan above, you can stay outside the U. The definition is the same as for N purposes.

And yes, I recommend you apply for a reentry permit before you leave the U. My mom recieved her green card more than a year ago. She has stayed outside the U.

So, based on the information you provided, her green card is not valid any more to enter the U. What can she do? Is her green card valid for entering Canada? If your mother has been outside the U. If the answer is yes, she may need to start the LPR application process all over again.

If the answer is no, then she needs a different way to reenter the U. She may be eligible for an SB1 returning resident visa or CBP may be willing to waive the documentary requirement. Shameless advertisement: we commonly help clients worldwide with these matters. I was admitted to the U. I got my green card in the mail on August 2. I am studying in Pakistan. I will return to the U. Do you suggest I should apply reentry permit because of my planned 9-month absence?

Or can I remain a green card holder if I come back in June ? To summarize your situation, you were just granted LPR status and want to return to Pakistan for the last semester of your MBA program, bringing your daughter. Your husband will stay in the U. Over 6 Months. For you, the first point to make is that the case law is clear that going solely for a concrete educational purpose with a clear counts as temporary.

See, for example, Matter of Kane, 15 I. Trudell, 46 F. Your purpose in going abroad seems pretty clear—it sounds like you started this MBA program before getting your green card and want to return home to finish it. The U. The other thing you need to prove to get back into the U. Do you both own a house together, or is he just staying in a hotel? A good type of evidence for some students is a copies of all documentation of their efforts to find a job upon graduation, showing that all the jobs they applied for are in the U.

Finally, let me answer your question about whether you need to pay the expense of applying for a reentry permit RP. An RP has two purposes. This may not apply to you, since you estimate being abroad for 9 months. Second, an RP is a piece of evidence of intent that your stay abroad be merely temporary.

To decide whether you need an RP, you need to consider the totality of the evidence you have related to your purpose for going abroad and ties to the U. If the evidence is already strong, you can skip the RP. If the evidence is weak, you may be wise to apply for the RP.

I am a US citizen and my husband is from mainland China. He has had his green card for about eight years now, and should be eligible for US naturalization.

I have recently been offered a job in Korea for a professional, non-English-teaching position with a decent salary and the potential for advancement. From a work perspective, I am ultimately unsure whether it would be more prudent for him to travel to Korea as a Chinese national or as an American citizen. Is there any chance his US naturalization application would be denied if it was learned that I was not in the US with him while his naturalization application was pending?

I would appreciate any insights you might have on this matter. See my advice for Marlin above. If not, your husband will be abandoning his LPR status. Document the U. But his stay abroad could impact his eligibility. I would like some advice aswell please as I have been to 4 different USA immigration attornies and had 3 different sets of advice.

In we were moved on official orders back to the UK. In we divorced. I later married another USAF girl, and we now have 2 children. Embassy in London. We remained in the UK as there were some complications with the pregnancy. Whilst we were collating money to make this happen my mum got breast cancer and as my father was also extremely ill we were asked to look after my mother as she progressed through her treatment. During this time my dad passed away leaving us to care fully for my mum.

We then had our second baby again complications with the pregnancy and had to save some more….. I got diagnosed with Lymphoma in and was released from my committment with the RAF and my mum had finished treatment and is now cancer free and we were able to secure her accommodation in an assisted living community.

At this point in time we had the money and freedom from committments to return to the USA. Attorney 1 said to do nothing as I was already here and had a green card. Attorney 3 said go to the field office and have them check my status. Let me preface my answer by saying that the facts of your situation are complex so the brief summary provided is not enough to provide a solid legal opinion.

You should definitely rely on the advice of a lawyer who first reviews all the facts. So just a few thoughts:. Look at your passport and any Form I, Departure Record. See 9 FAM Second, you are putting yourself at risk that USCIS will arrest you for misrepresenting your intent at the time of entry in that you intended to reside in the U. Consulate abroad for an immigrant visa. One risk associated with the immigrant visa is that you could get caught abroad for an extended period if there are certain problems with the case.

Deciding between these strategies is depends on the specific facts of your case. I recently became a permanent resident and have been living in the States for the last 3 months. I work as a freelance photographer, and I travel internationally and within the U. Sounds glamorous—international freelance photographer jetting off to Brazil and the Caribbean.

Assuming you became a permanent resident on the basis of a petition by your U. You say that your husband is working abroad. If a person is admitted as an LPR when ineligible, there is a risk the government will later try to take away the LPR status. Take a look at the rules on domicile in that article to see if your husband really met the domicile requirement. If not, talk to a lawyer about what to do.

This week I graduated thank god , and in two months I want to go with my new wife to the U. I know my wife needs a visa, but but what about me? Can go with my green card? If you want to see if you can keep your LPR status, talk to a lawyer.

Yes, our firm provides this service. In that event, the lawyer will help you choose between applying for an SB-1 returning resident visa and asking CBP at the port of entry to waive the documentary requirement for your return.

The reason is that your application could be construed as evidence of intent to give up LPR status. I just got my green card and got a very good job offer in my country.

I have been living here in us legally for 15 years and waiting for the green card in the past 7 years. Me and my wife are both indonesians, have been working as a finance manager and registered nurse at a large healthcare system in florida. We have 2 boys ages 8 and 9 that are us citizens. My question is if we were to accept the jobs back home but wanted to keep the green card and even apply for us citizenship…is this doable?

I want to keep the green card as a back up plan in case things do not work out with the new job back home, thank you very much in advance for your input.

See my above advice to Marlin on this point. I have been residing in the US continually for the last one year. The company making the offer has a US sales office but will probably not qualify as an American company. The job offer is not based on a contract, instead its an open-ended offer, however I only plan to be in the job for a maximum of 2 years and most probably it will be 1. I assume its possible even though the job offer is not a timed contract. Your approach to avoiding LPR status during a 1.

I received my year green card in Can I use my green card to return to the U. My parents and siblings live there. This sounds like the classic case of abandoning your residence in the U. You must have been swept off your feet. So you may need to begin the U. Give an immigration lawyer the full story to get solid legal advice about your options.

My daughter has been living in the US since She attended the high school and graduated from Georgia State University in December She has been working since August This would mean she would be for seven months away from US.

She has a bank account here, owns a car, files income tax returns, her name is also on the title deed of our town home, I continue to live in the US, and my daughter intends to return to US, work or do her Masters here. Should she anticipate any problems when she re-enters US in May ?

Is this French Government Program intended to provide temporary positions to foreign nationals? If so, your daughter may accordingly have a temporary contract, temporary living quarters, a temporary visa, and even maybe a roundtrip air ticket.

She can keep up those ties during her absence by documenting that her search for her next step in life—a U. My friend has a green card but is studying in Europe. She visits the USA every summer, except this one due to summer classes. What will happen to her green card? See my advice to Naureen above regarding what a student abroad should do to avoid abandoning LPR status. You ask if taking online classes in the U. That could count as a U. Hi Mr. Chodorow, My Brasillian wife is planing a short trip back to the states and will apply for a tourist visa we have lived in Brasil for 8 years prior to that she was in the U.

Her green card was issued in and we know that she needs to surrender it with her application. Will she have any problems getting the visa or at the port of entry? Thank you: Mark. Thanks for your question. Make sure to keep for your permanent records a copy of the form stamped by that office. Your wife may not be surrendering her green card for tax reasons but she should be aware of the tax consequences. Green card holders are taxed in the same manner as US citizens —- that is, they are subject to U.

Also, green card holders must file FBARs, and harsh penalties can be imposed if not done properly or in a timely fashion. Even if a person is not complying with the terms of maintaining the green card for purposes of the U. This is true even if the card expires. Once the I has been filed, your wife can apply for a nonimmigrant visa. All of this is to say that surrendering a green card has important consequences—talk to an immigration lawyer and a tax professional before taking the plunge.

I have been living in the US with a 2-year I for 15 months, and have just accepted a job in my native country the UK on a 2-year contract. The timeline for me taking up my job makes it doubtful that I would be able to obtain a re-entry permit prior to leaving the country, but I will be back in the US in January, and again in April for a longer period when I need to apply for the 10 year I We have just purchased a condo here in the US, and I intend to file US tax returns, and will be keeping my US credit card, bank account and home loan.

We have considered abandoning my Green Card it is the cheaper option , but are worried it may impact on our home loan and so are not keen to do so. Also sounds like you have strong ties to the U. So the key is, what evidence do you have—beyond the contract—that this move to UK is only for two years?

An example would be if the job application or acceptance letter said that you intend to work at the job for only two years because you intend to move back to the U. Another example is that when you get around to applying for your next job, apply only in the U. When you enter the U.

Dear Gary, Do I need to write something for the U. Berna: The application has a space where you can describe the purpose of your temporary trip abroad. A reentry permit is valid for up to 2 years, but can be renewed by returning to the U. See my above response to Naureen for some general tips for LPRs going overseas to study. My wife and I went to her home country of Indonesia to visit her family and for me to get training in teaching English to non-Native speakers. I became extremely ill towards the end of my training and required an extra year in order to get the strength to return to the US I was gone a total of 2 years, with the intention of staying for one.

I unfortunately still require medical care and my wife and daughter are still in Indonesia. I cannot afford to bring them over until I heal and get a new job so I can support them. Can we legitimately file for an SB-1 under these circumstances I am estimating she will be gone around 3 years once I am healed and working?

I am very worried that it might be years before I see them again. My daughter was born in the USA, by the way. Adam: If I understand correctly, you are a U. As you know, the key but not exclusive requirements to apply for the SB-1 returning resident visa at at a U. I understand money is tight, but you may want to invest in consulting with a lawyer, or if you are low-income, you may be able to qualify for pro bono legal assistance. I am a green card holder. I wanna finish my college in the Philippines next year, and my course will take up to 4 years to finish.

My mother is in the Philippines. I have a bank account here too. Will I be readmitted to the U. Do I need a re entry permit? Should I go back to US every summer vacation from my school? Or can I go back just before the reentry permit expires? And how do I apply for the reentry permit? I then decided to move to Serbia to work for a time, but only temporarily as I kept our joint bank account open, filed our joint tax return, and kept a legal residence. I have been working since May, but we decided to head back to the US soon.

I plan to go first in early October, and then my wife and girls will join me soon after. The only problem is that she left the US around October 22 last year, so we are getting close to the 1 year mark. We had no idea there was a 1 year restriction for entering with her green card, and we did not apply for a reentry permit based on this same ignorance. I am looking for a bit of advice to see if I should get them over to the US before a year goes by, or can she get in by applying for a returning resident visa at the US Embassy in Belgrade.

Any ports of entry that are a bit more relaxed? Thanks again for any help. So you may save your wife a significant headache by having her return to the U. Since I got my green card in , I have been going back and forth and the last time I stayed close to a year overseas.

Within this period I have been able to finish my MBA overseas. I was able to enter the US with a waiver at the airport. Had to pay for the waiver. My dilemma: I have been offered a job overseas with a non-US company. I plan on filing my taxes, keeping an active bank account as well as credit card and if possible purchase a condo. Will this help? In addition I will also be visiting every 5 or so months whiles abroad. Please advice me on the best possible way to go about this.

If you want to take a job abroad for a non-U. My parents are LPR for over 7 years. They returned to China September Their green cards are valid not expired.

While they are in China, my brother was diagnosed with cancer, and subsequently passed away in July They did not have re-entry permit. As mentioned above, one option the CBP officer has if she believes an individual has abandoned LPR status is to allow the individual to relinquish LPR status voluntarily give up the green card and be admitted as a nonimmigrant, such as a B1 visitor for business or B2 visitor for pleasure.

The other options available to the officer are also mentioned above, and she will decide based on the totality of the facts. During that period, I was back in the U. While abroad, I kept U. When I returned after the completion of my assignment, I was told by the CBP officer that he could have taken my green card on the spot for being out of the country for too long although he wrote underneath my passport stamp that I was out for 6 months.

I was completely unaware ignorant that I had done anything wrong. I would like to now attend celebration of life services for my grandmother in Canada in a week, so I am wondering if you think I will have any problems at the border. I plan to drive to the services near Toronto from my permanent residence in Michigan.

I will only stay for the weekend. What do you think? Tyler, from your summary, it sounds like a weekend in Canada is a very low risk activity. So if you want just a quick take—as opposed to a legal opinion that you can rely on—my impression is that your trip is fine.

Thanks for your help! I was married to a US citizen, and got divorced over a year ago. I had a green card but left the US 4 years ago. I have 2 US-born kids with my ex-husband. We currently live in Colombia.

Is there a way for me to go back? As a permanent resident or conditional permanent resident you can travel outside the United States for up to 6 months without losing your green card.

Staying outside the United States for more than 6 months but less than one year will subject you to additional questioning when you return to the United States but you are not required to have a Reentry Permit and shouldn't have any problems getting back in.

If you intend to stay outside the United States for a year or more you will need a Reentry Permit. You can't apply for a Reentry Permit while outside the U.

The Reentry Permit is good for up to 2 years and may not be extended. Mission to the OAS U. Mission to the UN-Geneva U. Mission to the UN-Rome U. Mission to the United Nations U. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna.

Emergency Alert Information for American Citizens. Messages For U. The CDC requires all air passengers entering the U. Visit Travel. The U.