conditonal GC holder(out of the country 3X)

[padyak 0]

Good Day,

I would like to ask if how many months that a conditional GC holder is allowed to stay out of the country?

[HeatDeath 430]

A GC holder can stay outside the US for up to 1 year, if you have maintained a US residence, and can prove it with documentation. If you cannot prove you have maintained a US residence, you should not stay out longer than 6 months. Up to 6 months, you will be readmitted with basically no questions asked (at least about your US residence). After 6 months, you may get asked to prove that you maintained a US residence. If you can show them recent rent and/or mortgage payment docs, that would be helpful. After 1 year, they won't readmit you unless you applied for and received a reentry permit before you left. After 2 years, they won't readmit you at all without a returning resident visa.

[SPSguy 18]

After 1 year, they won't readmit you unless you applied for and received a reentry permit before you left.

Well, not exactly.

Many people apply for re entry permit, leave the U.S. and even pick up their re entry at the embassy or local consulate. Thus, it is not necessary to receive the permit before you leave the United States.

HOWEVER, you do need to wait to get your biometrics done before leaving the United States, or they will not process your re entry permit. I'm no expert but my wife just received her re entry permit two days ago.

Edited October 12, 2010 by SPSguy

[padyak 0]

Thank you for all the replies.my wife is working overseas thru militrary orders.i've been out of the country for 3times this year,and i will be returning back to US next march for my removal of conditions.My question is this,is it safe for me to return back to US?my last two trips abroad is 4months during my first trip outside the country,the second one is 2 months and this third trip outside the country is almost 6 months.I am worried that the immigration officer will deny my entry because i had 3travels this year.

[HeatDeath 430]

Well, not exactly.

Many people apply for re entry permit, leave the U.S. and even pick up their re entry at the embassy or local consulate. Thus, it is not necessary to receive the permit before you leave the United States.

HOWEVER, you do need to wait to get your biometrics done before leaving the United States, or they will not process your re entry permit. I'm no expert but my wife just received her re entry permit two days ago.

Good catch, thanks.

The other issue, which is alluded to by padyak, is that CBP will consider any sequence of trips outside the US, bracketed by very short return visits, as being equivalent to single longer trips.

CBP, when they look at your travel record, will be looking for a pattern that indicates that you have been living in the US and visiting other countries - i.e. stays in the US between trips substantially longer than the intervals spent outside the US. They will treat a 5 month trip out, followed by a week in the Us, followed by a 6 month trip out, the same (or worse, because of the attempted obfuscation) as a 11 month trip out. They will be able to tell whether you are living in the US and visiting other countries, or living in other countries and visiting the US. And believe me, it matters to them.

padyak, because you are living with your wife, on military orders, the things I just mentioned don't really apply to you. Because your wife is outside the country on government orders, and you are living with her, your PR status is protected. There is no limit to how often you can reenter the US, and your PR status should not be in any danger at all. Just make sure, each time you reenter the US, that you have a copy of your wife's orders or related documents with you, to prove that you have a legitimate reason to be outside the US. Your wife's base should have an immigration officer you two can talk to to make sure you've got the right documentation to protect your PR status. Talk to them, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Edited October 12, 2010 by HeatDeath

[NikosF 6]

I'm curious - how does CBP know how long you've been out the country?

The nature of my job is that I travel a reasonable amount internationally - 20 trips a year is not unusual. Do they log you when you leave from airline tickets? I've been on a L1 visa for a while now, and in the middle of an AOS.

Edited October 12, 2010 by NikosF

[SPSguy 18]

I'm curious - how does CBP know how long you've been out the country?

The nature of my job is that I travel a reasonable amount internationally - 20 trips a year is not unusual. Do they log you when you leave from airline tickets? I've been on a L1 visa for a while now, and in the middle of an AOS.

They don't really have a way of knowing, except by the date stamp at POE. The CPB could count the difference between the last time you entered the U.S and your most recent date of entry. Of course, that would not be too accurate if your last entry was five years ago and next entry being next week.

There is a way for DHS to know ( if they really want ) now because ALL AIRLINES now require passengers flying international to fill out names, addresses and date of birth to be sent to TSA. Thus, this data could be used to track trip intervals. I recently booked a round trip international flight, and on the airline website it asked for the information or they will not allow boarding. I HAVE NOT HEARD OF ANYONE REFUSED BOARDING YET.

[raffy 7]

I'm curious - how does CBP know how long you've been out the country?

The nature of my job is that I travel a reasonable amount internationally - 20 trips a year is not unusual. Do they log you when you leave from airline tickets? I've been on a L1 visa for a while now, and in the middle of an AOS.

Just to give you a heads up: if you ever want to become a US Citizen, you will have to provide information about EACH time you left the Country - from when to when and also where- so keep a very detailed log about it!

[SimranS 9]

They don't really have a way of knowing, except by the date stamp at POE. The CPB could count the difference between the last time you entered the U.S and your most recent date of entry. Of course, that would not be too accurate if your last entry was five years ago and next entry being next week.

There is a way for DHS to know ( if they really want ) now because ALL AIRLINES now require passengers flying international to fill out names, addresses and date of birth to be sent to TSA. Thus, this data could be used to track trip intervals. I recently booked a round trip international flight, and on the airline website it asked for the information or they will not allow boarding. I HAVE NOT HEARD OF ANYONE REFUSED BOARDING YET.

Hi SPSGuy,

Congrats on getting your reentry permit.

The CBP has no way of knowing by your last entry how long you were out. Even if your last entry was only 6 months ago, they have no way of knowing whether you left the US again five months ago or five days ago.

The data you have to fill in for airlines goes to TSA, for security purposes (trying to prevent terrorism, etc.). There's no evidence that the CBP ever accesses this info purely for immigration enforcement.

Remember how they usually ask you "how long were you out of the country?" when you enter at POE? That's because they have no real way of knowing besides "what you tell them". They wouldn't need to ask almost everyone this if the info was already flashing on their screen from passenger manifests.

They could theoretically get this info from TSA, but that could have privacy implications if TSA gave the info to another government body without permission for non-security purposes. Besides, what about all the people who enter and exit the USA at the Can/Mex borders in private vehicles? This wouldn't work to track their GC status would it.

[SPSguy 18]

Hi SPSGuy,

Congrats on getting your reentry permit.

The CBP has no way of knowing by your last entry how long you were out. Even if your last entry was only 6 months ago, they have no way of knowing whether you left the US again five months ago or five days ago.

The data you have to fill in for airlines goes to TSA, for security purposes (trying to prevent terrorism, etc.). There's no evidence that the CBP ever accesses this info purely for immigration enforcement.

Remember how they usually ask you "how long were you out of the country?" when you enter at POE? That's because they have no real way of knowing besides "what you tell them". They wouldn't need to ask almost everyone this if the info was already flashing on their screen from passenger manifests.

They could theoretically get this info from TSA, but that could have privacy implications if TSA gave the info to another government body without permission for non-security purposes. Besides, what about all the people who enter and exit the USA at the Can/Mex borders in private vehicles? This wouldn't work to track their GC status would it.

It's hard to say but I would argue there's a lot of gray area in the term "terrorism" and other discretionary activities that CBP can have over one's entry. Why do you think there's longer AP process in some countries and not others prior to getting a visa issued?

Probably due to these so called "terrorism" and "fradulent" possibilities.

I would have to respectfully disagree by standing on the position that CBP could tap into TSA information anytime they want. They will do it if they need it, and it's up to you to fight them in court over privacy at at later time.

Just my 2 cents.