Job offer in home country while on conditional status

[phub11 0]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here has been in a similar situation, or can give advice on the following...

I am married to a US resident, and I have had a green card for ~1.5 years (hope to file in 3 months to lift conditional status); however it looks like I'm about to have a job offer in my home country (England). It's a big promotion, and my wife is really excited about the thought of living in England. She probably won't be able to go with me until the beginning of next year because of her job and the need to file and process British immigration paperwork. I don't want to lose my US residency status, but don't want to turn the job down.

From what I've seen, I need to file an I-131 to be able to take this job and maintain residency status. Is this possible, especially as I'm so close to being able to file to lift conditional status? How long does it take to process an I-131? Are there any other options?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here has been in a similar situation, or can give advice on the following...

I am married to a US resident, and I have had a green card for ~1.5 years (hope to file in 3 months to lift conditional status); however it looks like I'm about to have a job offer in my home country (England). It's a big promotion, and my wife is really excited about the thought of living in England. She probably won't be able to go with me until the beginning of next year because of her job and the need to file and process British immigration paperwork. I don't want to lose my US residency status, but don't want to turn the job down.

From what I've seen, I need to file an I-131 to be able to take this job and maintain residency status. Is this possible, especially as I'm so close to being able to file to lift conditional status? How long does it take to process an I-131? Are there any other options?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Do you plan to move to the UK to live there permanently?

[Okalian 41]

How long does it take to process an I-131? Are there any other options?

It says it takes 90 days, but when i filed for I-131 last year (to use as a passport, not as a reentry permit!) it took about 6 weeks to process. That's your only option, unless you intend to visit the US once every 6 months- period. But i advise you that CPB officers may consider this as an abandonment of PR status.

The big question here is; Are you gonna apply for US citizenship? if yes, then certainly file for I-131. If you're thinking about permanently moving to the UK ( or atleast for a LONG time), then you should seriously think why do you wanna keep your greencard! especially that your UK passport allows you to visit the US for up to 90 days..

You're on the right track (hopefully) as far as filing I-131

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

I can see two other options:

- depending on your employer (if it is associated with the US government), you may be fine; similar to people going abroad on military orders.

- Re-entry permit lasts two years max I believe. If you plan on staying in the UK longer, and assuming your wife is a US citizen, it may be easier to abandon the greencard and then re-file for a spousal visa via DCF (directly via the embassy) when you are ready to move to the USA again; this will lead to an immediate ten year greencard (saving you the ROC paperwork and fees now), and only takes a few weeks.

[payxibka 10,045]

I can see two other options:

- depending on your employer (if it is associated with the US government), you may be fine; similar to people going abroad on military orders.

- Re-entry permit lasts two years max I believe. If you plan on staying in the UK longer, and assuming your wife is a US citizen, it may be easier to abandon the greencard and then re-file for a spousal visa via DCF (directly via the embassy) when you are ready to move to the USA again; this will lead to an immediate ten year greencard (saving you the ROC paperwork and fees now), and only takes a few weeks.

There is also something called a returning resident visa... not sure where it fits in the pecking order of options for people to use

[curtdfw 0]

Would you be working for a US company? Check this thread for 319(b) options -- there are posts on the site indicating that it's also applicable if you're 'advancing US trade and commerce' or something close to that.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/158715-319b-wherewhat-to-file/

[Stann 3]

Something similar happened to me due to my husbands job and I was also on a 2 year conditional green card from K1 (I would have been out of the country when it was time to remove conditions). When we moved back to the UK I contacted the US embassy in London and they advised me to turn in my 2 year green card and surrender my permanent resident status. That was in 2007. We just returned again to the US (permanently this time!) and I had to go through the visa process all over again (IR1 visa as we have been married more than 4 years). The fact that I turned in my green card and surrendered my status in 2007 had no negative impact on my recent visa as I had done everything correctly but it is a pain having to go through the visa process all over again as its just as much hassle/expense as a K1 and took 5 months.

Edited June 29, 2010 by staceyafreeman

[Boiler 45,519]

If it is short term then it might be worth looking into retaining your PR status.

[phub11 0]

Thanks for all the replies. I had been living in the USA for about 10 years prior to marriage (visas for grad. school and scientific research at universities), so I doubt we'll be in the UK for good. W.r.t. the job offer, it's from a British company (which has a sales office in America).

What if I file an I-131 now and either the job offer doesn't materialize, or I decide not to take the job? Will this require me to leave the USA (and give up the reasonable job I have at the moment)?

Can I file to have conditions on my 2 year green card lifted while we are in the UK, or will we have to file once we move back to the USA?

Again, thanks for all the replies!