Question regarding Permit

[rajthebam 0]

I have a question -

one of my friend's mom and dad came over to US on IR5 category and have received the green cards in mail. But the mother has to go back to country she came from to take care of some property issues which may take a while. Could she apply for reentry permit - what does this allow a person to do? how long can she stay out for?

If this is not the right place to post this question, please move it. thanks.

[payxibka 10,045]

needed if a stay out is going to be more than one year...

needs to be applied for BEFORE departure

Edited December 9, 2009 by payxibka

[rajthebam 0]

well there are 2 scenarios i need help with:

if she decide to stay out for 1 yr and come back within 1 yr, there is no reentry permit required, correct? is this 1 yr from the date of her departure fm US or date of point of entry in US?

if she decide to stay out for more than 1 yr, she needs reentry permit filed before departure date, correct? If so, when does this 2 yr window start and end? start the 2 yrs on the date of departure or date of filing the permit request? is this 2 yr on top of 1 yr thats allowed under normal PR card?

[rajthebam 0]

any one?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I do understand that it might take several months for your mother to take care of real estate, perhaps sell it or rent it out, but can it really take a whole year or longer?

The fact that you are trying to find out how long your mom, in terms of years, can go back to India without losing her LPR status rings a an alarm bell in my head. To me it seem like your mom doesn't really want to live permanently in the USA right now. She wants to go back to India and live there, only come over eventually or once in a while to preserve her newly gained status as a LPR. Guess what: Immigration Officers have the same bell, but it rings even louder.

Hence, let me answer your question: any absence longer than 6 months can be seen as abondening one's residence. Most likely your mom will be fine for up to a year, but the longer she stays out of the US, the more likely it is that she will encounter problems. There's really no good reason why somebody *just* got their green card, and then wants to leave the country again right away, for a year or longer.

Edited December 11, 2009 by Just Bob

[Zen Den 18]

needed if a stay out is going to be more than one year...

needs to be applied for BEFORE departure

incorrect! with a greencard she can leave and come back with no need for a reentry paper. but she has to be back before her GC expires and renew/remove conditions.

if she's out for more than one year and far from GC expiration, it's ok. the only thing that will happen is every year she's away will be counted against her residency requirement for naturalization later on.

[payxibka 10,045]

incorrect! with a greencard she can leave and come back with no need for a reentry paper. but she has to be back before her GC expires and renew/remove conditions.

if she's out for more than one year and far from GC expiration, it's ok. the only thing that will happen is every year she's away will be counted against her residency requirement for naturalization later on.

Wrong!!!! Have you read the instructions to the I-131 under Purpose of this Form regarding re-entry permit? and then further on in the instructions as well.

Edited December 11, 2009 by payxibka

[Otto 83]

incorrect! with a greencard she can leave and come back with no need for a reentry paper. but she has to be back before her GC expires and renew/remove conditions.

if she's out for more than one year and far from GC expiration, it's ok. the only thing that will happen is every year she's away will be counted against her residency requirement for naturalization later on.

Wrong...wrong...wrong.. (as stated above in post #7)...

Edited December 11, 2009 by Otto und Karin

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

needed if a stay out is going to be more than one year...

needs to be applied for BEFORE departure

incorrect! with a greencard she can leave and come back with no need for a reentry paper. but she has to be back before her GC expires and renew/remove conditions.

if she's out for more than one year and far from GC expiration, it's ok. the only thing that will happen is every year she's away will be counted against her residency requirement for naturalization later on.

If you knew how wrong you are, you'd scream in pain like there's no tomorrow. I wouldn't mind that, as it's self-inflicted, but please don't do harm to other people by pushing them down a path of losing their green card.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

needed if a stay out is going to be more than one year...

needs to be applied for BEFORE departure

incorrect! with a greencard she can leave and come back with no need for a reentry paper. but she has to be back before her GC expires and renew/remove conditions.

if she's out for more than one year and far from GC expiration, it's ok. the only thing that will happen is every year she's away will be counted against her residency requirement for naturalization later on.

This is dangerous advice!!! If the OP followed your advice she would in all probability lose her permanent residence status in the US and be denied re-entry, then would have to start the immigration process all over again from the beginning if she wanted to return. The purpose of a green card is to be a "Permanent Resident" in the US. It is for living in the US and short visits away. A Re-entry permit exists for those temporary occasions when a longer time away (1 to 1 years) is required for business, educational or personal reasons - but not for residing out of the US. The individual needs to maintain a permanent resident in the US and be able to prove it. Border authorities can decide that absences even as short as 6 months invalidate the green card. The only way you can leave the US for any length of time and be allowed re-entry is as a US citizen.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Kathryn41

[rajthebam 0]

she has no intention of abandoning her PR status and also she's not trying to con the system by living abroad and not in USA - the property issues in court take more than 6 - 12 months....can she just come back every year and make an entry without worrying about applying for reentry permits?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

she has no intention of abandoning her PR status and also she's not trying to con the system by living abroad and not in USA - the property issues in court take more than 6 - 12 months....can she just come back every year and make an entry without worrying about applying for reentry permits?

Only if she spends more time inside the USA than outside. Your best option may be to hire a good lawyer back home, and do most of the legal paperwork via email. fax, then your mom should only need to go to India once or twice for a couple of weeks to appear in court in person, if at all.