Bad news

[liam4lisa 0]

Hello All,

I have had some unfortunate news from back home a family member is very sick and I need to go back to the UK. I was wondering if there was a timeframe of how long you can stay out of the U.S for? I have my 10 yr green card which I have just received. My U.K passport is Valid untill 2016 so I am okay there.

[moonhunt 1]

Hello All,

I have had some unfortunate news from back home a family member is very sick and I need to go back to the UK. I was wondering if there was a timeframe of how long you can stay out of the U.S for? I have my 10 yr green card which I have just received. My U.K passport is Valid untill 2016 so I am okay there.

You have to file I-131 Reentry permit.

Normal time-frame, which USCIS is considered within-the-limit, is 6 month, and if you stay longer than 6 months, you have to file I-131 for re-entry permit, and show it when you come back.

Re-entry permit allows you to stay up to 2 years outside of U.S.

[sus 70]

Wow, long link, sorry!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

It says that you require a re-entry permit for trips greater than one year.

Sorry to hear your bad news

[liam4lisa 0]

Thanks for the quick response! Where do I file the I-131 Reentry permit? so are you saying that if you stay longer than 6 months then you have to file the I-131 Reentry permit? But if you are back before the 6 Months you dont need to file? Also I spoke with a lady from Immigration today and she never mentioned anything about this? She said that you can stay out of the country for just under 1 year as long as passport and GC are valid that would not be a problem?

[kmineo 0]

Wow, long link, sorry!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

It says that you require a re-entry permit for trips greater than one year.

Sorry to hear your bad news

Sorry to hear the news. I think if you stay over 6 months your 3 year clock for citizenship has to start over. I know there are some exceptions to that but I don't think (not positive though) your situation would fall under that. I think it is based on work with a US company or the military. Yes I am pretty sure you can stay out for under a year without a permit. They can revoke your GC if they think that you are giving up your residency status in the states and that can be from any trip length (but I hear it is rare) but I think that is where some people get the no trips over 6 months from too. I don't think you would have to worry about it, if you are back over there for family medical reasons.

Edited September 23, 2008 by kmineo

[sharky 2]

Wow, long link, sorry!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

It says that you require a re-entry permit for trips greater than one year.

Sorry to hear your bad news

Sorry to hear the news. I think if you stay over 6 months your 3 year clock for citizenship has to start over. I know there are some exceptions to that but I don't think (not positive though) your situation would fall under that. I think it is based on work with a US company or the military. Yes I am pretty sure you can stay out for under a year without a permit. They can revoke your GC if they think that you are giving up your residency status in the states and that can be from any trip length (but I hear it is rare) but I think that is where some people get the no trips over 6 months from too. I don't think you would have to worry about it, if you are back over there for family medical reasons.

Liam,

long time since I spoke to you mate! Guess we both have our 10 yr GC's now! Sorry to hear about the family member. Everything I have read about this subject states that you can stay outside the states for up to a YEAR, not six months. I'm not sure about the previous post of your 3 yr clock starting over if you stay over 6 months? surely this isn't right? My interpretation was that the time you spent away was not INCLUDED in the total time you needed until you could apply for citizenship, not that the clock starts again!

Anyhow good to hear from you and hope you're doing well, we got there finally eh?

Paul

Edited September 23, 2008 by sharky

[sharky 2]

Wow, long link, sorry!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

It says that you require a re-entry permit for trips greater than one year.

Sorry to hear your bad news

Sorry to hear the news. I think if you stay over 6 months your 3 year clock for citizenship has to start over. I know there are some exceptions to that but I don't think (not positive though) your situation would fall under that. I think it is based on work with a US company or the military. Yes I am pretty sure you can stay out for under a year without a permit. They can revoke your GC if they think that you are giving up your residency status in the states and that can be from any trip length (but I hear it is rare) but I think that is where some people get the no trips over 6 months from too. I don't think you would have to worry about it, if you are back over there for family medical reasons.

Liam,

long time since I spoke to you mate! Guess we both have our 10 yr GC's now! Sorry to hear about the family member. Everything I have read about this subject states that you can stay outside the states for up to a YEAR, not six months. I'm not sure about the previous post of your 3 yr clock starting over if you stay over 6 months? surely this isn't right? My interpretation was that the time you spent away was not INCLUDED in the total time you needed until you could apply for citizenship, not that the clock starts again!

Anyhow good to hear from you and hope you're doing well, we got there finally eh?

Paul

see FAQ section in this forum:

A...As a spouse of a US Citizen, you can apply for citizenship 3 (three) years after approval of your Adjustment of Status. Back at the AOS interview, your passport was stamped with the I-551 stamp and a date. The 3 year countdown begins with that date. This 3 year period does not include long absences from the United States.

[moonhunt 1]

Hello All,

I have had some unfortunate news from back home a family member is very sick and I need to go back to the UK. I was wondering if there was a timeframe of how long you can stay out of the U.S for? I have my 10 yr green card which I have just received. My U.K passport is Valid untill 2016 so I am okay there.

You can check this.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/B5_english_v.1.pdf

Technically it says you don't need re-entry permit for trip up to 1 year.

But all judgement is done by US Port of Entry Immigration inspector's discretion.

If they think you don't have any intention to live in U.S., they can revoke your Green Card at any time, and you have to go through appeal process before immigration court.

Usually 6 month is a kind of border line for that kind of judgement.

When you look at N400, USCIS asks for more details for trip longer than 6 months.

So if you plan for trip longer than 6 months, you better prepare for I-131 re-entry permit and proof of your residency and intention to live in U.S.

If you have trouble with POE immigration inspecter - CBP employees ? -, it's your responsibility to show the proof that you are living in U.S. and have intention to keep the residency, plus any proof for longer trip required because of unavoidable reason.

But for bad part, it may take a while to process I-131 since it is required to take fingerprint at ASC.

It may take a couple of months.

You can go for trip, and keep it within 6 months, then keep frequent trips between your home country and U.S., but sometimes POE immigration inspector use their brain to figure out that it is a kind of continuous trips, then give hard time for why spent more time in abroad than in U.S.

It is up to you.

Even with re-entry permit in handy, PoE employee can give you hard time in "extreme" case.

It is sole discretion of PoE employee.

That's why a lot of people apply for U.S. citizenship.