Working overseas while conditional resident

[himher 634]

OK, here's our situation. My spouse / beneficiary just got her conditional GC, expires 08/2010. We have an offer for me to work overseas. If she accompanies me, do we have to start all over? She and I would be in Saudi and would take trips back to the states or to her home country (vacations) but we would actually be living in Saudi for up to 3 years.

What is the process of maintaining or keeping the ability to return back to the States as a married couple after this job is over? Or should we just plan to stay overseas and re-file DCF when we are ready to return? Any comments or experience from Expats?

[himher 634]

Is it possible to lift conditions from overseas?

[Krikit 1,164]

Link

Keep Your Immigration Status

Permanent residents who leave the United States for

extended periods, or who cannot show their intent to

live permanently in the U.S., may lose their permanent

resident status. Many immigrants believe they can live

abroad as long as they return to the U.S. at least once a

year. This is incorrect. If you think you will be out of

the U.S. for more than 12 months, you should apply for a

re-entry permit before leaving the country.You should

file Form I-131, Application for a Travel Document.You

can get this form at http://www.uscis.gov or by calling

the USCIS Forms Line at 1-800-870-3676.You must pay

a fee to file Form I-131.

A re-entry permit is valid for up to two years.You may

show the re-entry permit, instead of a visa or your

Permanent Resident Card, at a port of entry. Having a

re-entry permit does not guarantee that you will be

admitted to the United States when you return, but it

can make it easier to show that you are returning from

a temporary visit abroad. Visit http://www.state.gov or

your nearest Department of State Consular Office overseas

for more information.

[pushbrk 12,883]

Is it possible to lift conditions from overseas?

Technically, yes but not if you've been living abroad for three years. The most likely scenario is that you start over again DCF from Saudi. The upside is the next green card will be good for 10 years.

Find all the information you need by googling "maintaining permanent resident status".

[himher 634]

Yeah, I did research it carefully, and the worst case is that we would have to DCF file from Saudi

OR:

The USCIS immigration officer DID tell us that IF we obtained a travel document, then she returned to the States to lift conditions before the travel document expired (which means we would return, she would stay, and I would go back) then once her biometrics were complete after lifting conditions was filed she could apply for a new travel document and re-join me - as long as BOTH of us returned to the States for the interview if an interview was required. We can file for lifting conditions while overseas but the biometrics etc have to be done here in the States and I think we could pull that off also.