Reentry permit

[MochiKamo 93]

I plan to study abroad for 2 years. Our plan is that after she gets her greencard we will apply for a Reentry permit. This is valid for up to 2 years, correct?

I assume that after some point the conditions of the greencard will be removed and we can travel without a Reentry permit. Or will the Reentry permit be always required?

The reason I ask is that I want her to keep her Japanese passport so we can stay in Japan in the future. So she will not be applying for US citizenship.

Also, if we want a quick vacation out of the country, and file for Advance Parole, will that effect the 2 year limit on the Reentry permit?

Thanks!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The Green Card is the document allowing a foreigner to reside permanently in the United States. Green Card holders are explicitly required to permanently live in the US. Vacations outside the US are not a problem, attending a conference is not a problem, taking care of an ill relative for a while is not a problem, but not living in the United States is a problem. What you are planing will not work, especially not in the age of computers and biometric passports. If you plan on residing outside the US, you'd have to wait until becoming a US citizen. To even get there, you would have to fulfill the strict residency requirements for the coming 3 years. Since you do not plan on becoming a US citizen at all, you'll have to rethink your strategy.

[MochiKamo 93]

The Green Card is the document allowing a foreigner to reside permanently in the United States. Green Card holders are explicitly required to permanently live in the US. Vacations outside the US are not a problem, attending a conference is not a problem, taking care of an ill relative for a while is not a problem, but not living in the United States is a problem. What you are planing will not work, especially not in the age of computers and biometric passports. If you plan on residing outside the US, you'd have to wait until becoming a US citizen. To even get there, you would have to fulfill the strict residency requirements for the coming 3 years. Since you do not plan on becoming a US citizen at all, you'll have to rethink your strategy.

Isn't the point of the reentry permit to be able to leave the country for up to 2 years?

A re-entry permit establishes a presumption that you did not abandon status, and it allows you to apply for admission to the U.S. after traveling abroad for up to 2 years, without having to obtain a returning resident visa. Re-entry permits are normally valid for 2 years from the date of issuance.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/B5.pdf

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Isn't the point of the reentry permit to be able to leave the country for up to 2 years?

Yagisama,

Yes it is. However, there are a few things to keep in mind. A reentry permit for a conditional GC holder will expire when the conditional GC does. So your reentry permit will be good for less than two years (because it takes some time to apply). Also, you will need to apply to remove conditions in two years. It is possible to do this from abroad as well, but the couple must fly to the US, at their own expense, to comply with all biometric and interview requirements. Lastly, your reentry permit may not be approved at all because you have not established any residency in the US at all. Your removal of conditions may be denied for lack of residency as well, I don't know. It looks like you came here on a K-1, got married, and are planning to move back straight away before even living here. You could have done that on a tourist visa if your plan was to go abroad straight away and not stay. Those are the facts as I see them.

People on this board are conservative when it comes to travel for LPRs. The law clearly states that a LPR can leave for up to a year without needing a reentry permit, yet people here advise to leave for 6 months or less at a time. The reason is you must maintain your US residency in order to keep your GC. How this is determined is on an individual basis, and no one can really know how or when abandonment may happen. Any travel outside of the US may be used to judge whether a LPR has abandoned status, even less than 6 months. It seems to me that it would be silly to revoke the GC of a spouse of a USC who has complied with the law because they can just petition and get a new new one, and to force the couple to reapply is a waste of everyone's resources. However, I can't say it never happened (although the cases I have seen here of revoked GC have been achieved through different means).

Lastly, to answer your first questions:

An LPR can travel on a conditional GC or a noncondtional GC, without needing Advance Parole at all. Advance Parole is a temporary measure given to people while AOS is pending (and other reasons too, but no need to list all of the circumstances). All LPRs (conditional and nonconditional) need a reentry permit if they plan to be out of the country for any time over a year, up to two years. Taking vacations has no influence on whether or not she keeps her Japanese passport. If you move to Japan permanently, she will lose her GC. If you show up at POE in the US after not having been here for 5 years and present a GC, I imagine they will consider that abandoned, even if she is the spouse of a USC.

Good luck.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Yagisama,

If you show up at POE in the US after not having been here for 5 years and present a GC, I imagine they will consider that abandoned, even if she is the spouse of a USC.

Good luck.

If you show up at POE in the US after not having been here for 5 2 years and present a GC, I imagine they will consider that abandoned, even if she is the spouse of a USC.

I "imagine" that if somebody files for AOS and, the moment the Green Card is issued, requests a Reentry Permit and doesn't show up again until it's time to remove conditions, they will consider the residency abandoned or not even established, even if the time span between GC and ROC is "only" 21 months.

But even if she got back in, removes conditions, then gets a 10-year card, the next lengthy trip will trigger a bunch of red lights. Will it work even 3 or 4 times before she gets caught abusing her Green Card as a tourist visa? Very, very unlikely.

[MochiKamo 93]

I should also point out that we will be staying in the US for a little over a year before heading out for 2 years.