Maintaining Permanent Resident Status

[anchau 0]

My parents have just got their Green Card and imigrated to the US. However, they still have their business in Vietnam to take care of. How many months my parents need to be present in the US in order to maintain their Permanent Resident status? Is it okay for them to go back Vietnam for 2 months then come back to the US for 2 months then go back to Vietnam for a couple months....I have heard that they need to remain in the US for at least 6 months within a calendar year...but is that the consecutive 6 months or they can add up here and there to get 6 months within 1 year? Any one know about this, would you please advise.

Thank you very much

[HeatDeath 430]

My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that the only hard and fast rules are that you cannot leave for more than 1 year without a reentry permit, and cannot leave for more than 2 years at all, and that any time spent outside over 6 months delays and/or resets the clock on how long you have to stay in the US to be eligible to apply for citizenship.

However, permanent residents ARE expected to reside in the US most of the time. The precise interpretation of this is, practically speaking, up to the CBP officers they will be dealing with. What is likely to happen is, if your parents make a long term pattern of 2 months out, 2 months in, at some point a CBP officer will decide, on their own discretion, that your parents may be in the process of abandoning their PR status by not actually living full time in the US. At that point they will get a stern talking-to by CBP, and will probably [hopefully!] be readmitted. Notes will be put in their CBP files, that will be visible at any PoE they swipe their GCs at. When and if that happens, they should plan on staying in the US for quite a while before venturing out again. CBP does have the ability to revoke GC if they feel people are residing primarily outside the US and just using the PR status as a multiple entry visa.

Maintaining dual residences, flying back and forth like this is much more practical once you're a citizen. Citizens can live anywhere the local government will let them, for as long as they want. For a PR, it's a little risky.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

That was a wonderful response, HeatDeath, spot on.

+1

[Boiler 45,497]

Not really

Only an IJ can revoke PR status

[HeatDeath 430]

Not really

Only an IJ can revoke PR status

CBP can and will detain you and haul you in front of an IJ to expedite that process. The effect is the same.

[anchau 0]

All, thank you very much for your advice!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

People,

it's time for some of you to understand that if somebody asks a short question, we on the board try to answer it in an appropriate fashion, short but to the point.

Thus, it is just insensitive to correct somebody on this board because he or she didn't write a 300 page essay covering every little niche of the legislative covering the question. What if somebody asks us about citizenship and you expect us to cover case law in regard to the deportation of Nazi war criminals? Every time?

STOP this BS!