Moving back home!!

[liam4lisa 0]

I plan on moving back to the UK for a while. I was wondering if anyone had any idea as to how long you are to stay out of the country with a 10 year green card.. My GC is good for at least another 9 years or so.

[Dakine 26]

I plan on moving back to the UK for a while. I was wondering if anyone had any idea as to how long you are to stay out of the country with a 10 year green card.. My GC is good for at least another 9 years or so.

If you stay more than 6 months I believe it cuts into your time requirement for US citizenship.

Edited March 25, 2009 by Haole

[lucyrich 20]

Technically, as soon as you make your residence outside the US, you have abandoned your green card and may not re-enter without going through the visa process again. Technically, that could happen in one day. Practically, it will take much longer.

From the USCIS "Now that you are a permanent resident" page:

Maintaining Permanent Residence You may lose your permanent residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a Permanent Resident.

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.

* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.

* Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.

Look into getting a re-entry permit. I believe you must get it before you depart. It's not a guarantee, but it creates a presumption that you didn't intend to abandon your status.

Don't forget to file your taxes while you're away.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If you wish to move away and take up residence in another country you put your permanent resident status in the US at risk. You are supposed to be living in the US with temporary absences only outside of the US. While you are supposed to be able to be out of the country for up to a year without requiring special permission, any time outside of the country can put you at risk if USCIS believes you have given up residence in the US. If you do wish to return 'home' for an extended period of time, why not apply for your citizenship - Britain recognizes dual citizenship. It should take another few months only depending on your local office and then you are able to leave the US and return whenever you wish without putting your right to return to the US at risk.

[Ladylethal 12]

The idea is that if you're traveling outside of the US for more than 6 months you need to apply for a re-entry permit although they say up to a year you'd be safe. BUT, if you take up residency outside of the US even for a shorter period of time you could be in risk of losing your status, as your GC is exactly what it's called, a permanent resident card, if you're no longer a resident ... the point here is intent.

I'm not certain on how fast or how often they investigate into these but if you start coming to the US only a few weeks a year immigration will notice you're living abroad and visiting the US, not the opposite, and you then could lose your GC indeed.

As Kathryn has said, I'd wait till you're eligible for naturalization, and move to the UK after, so you could always return to live here whenever.