Questions about traveling and removal of conditions!

[ollywarren1 1]

Hey everyone!

I have a few questions, and any help given would be amazing!!

I recently received my green card(permanent resident) in March 2011. It is of 2 year validity. My wife(US citizen) and I plan to stay in the US until about July 2011, so approximately a year. We are then planning to relocate to the United Kingdom for a time period of 1-2 years.

Can anyone tell me, how I can do this? I have read about re entry permits, but not sure if thats the right thing,

I have also read about myself applying to remove my conditions. Should I wait to remove my conditions and then relocate to the United Kingdom?How long does this process take?And what does removal of conditions mean for me?

If anyone has any help regarding this matter, that would be brilliant, and I would be more than happy to help anyone if they had any questions!

Hope all is well!

Olly.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hey everyone!

I have a few questions, and any help given would be amazing!!

I recently received my green card(permanent resident) in March 2011. It is of 2 year validity. My wife(US citizen) and I plan to stay in the US until about July 2011, so approximately a year. We are then planning to relocate to the United Kingdom for a time period of 1-2 years.

Can anyone tell me, how I can do this? I have read about re entry permits, but not sure if thats the right thing,

I have also read about myself applying to remove my conditions. Should I wait to remove my conditions and then relocate to the United Kingdom?How long does this process take?And what does removal of conditions mean for me?

If anyone has any help regarding this matter, that would be brilliant, and I would be more than happy to help anyone if they had any questions!

Hope all is well!

Olly.

There are things you can do to maintain a US residency but being out of the country for 1-2 years is not one of them. In order to keep your green card valid you must maintian the US as your residency and have no intention of residing anywhere else. You must file income tax returns in the US, keep them informed of your address, register for the draft if you fall in that age group, and do things like have a US driver's lisence, etc.

On the other hand, as a spouse of a US citizen, you could always do a DCF when you are ready to move back. If you are a citizen of the UK you can visit as often as you like under the VWP.

[ollywarren1 1]

Hey thanks for your response. I meant to add that I am keeping my residence in the US, we are just in the uk for traveling purposes and are extremely intent on coming back.

Would it be better to stay here until I remove my conditions and then leave for the uk for a year, or leave for a year and then come back in time to remove my conditions?

Our ideal plan was to spend the year in the uk, during which time my green card will expire. This is not possible?

Thankyou so much for your help so far.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Short answer: if you play Russian Roulette with 5 bullets in a 6-chamber revolver chances are that you won't survive it.

Here's a plan that would work: stay in the US, remove conditions in 2 years, then become a US citizen in 3 years and thereafter you can indulge in the bad British weather until you die of of pneumonia without any ill effects, provided you submit an annual tax return until you do.

[ollywarren1 1]

Ok, yeh I know im able to do that, but it doesnt really effect my question. Thank you though. My ultimate aim was to find out, If there was any way to delay removing the conditions by like a year. We would ideally like to be in the UK from June 2012 until June 2013. However I am due to remove conditions in December of 2012, and I realize this takes a few months. Any info would be great, thanks for responses so far!

Very appreciated!

[HeatDeath 430]

There is no way to delay removal of conditions. Your permanent residence will expire at the same time as your GC, at the end of 2 years, and the only way to extend it's validity is to file for RoC. If you do not file RoC within the 90 days prior to the expiry of your GC, your PR status evaporates.

What you are asking is for a way to extend your conditional PR status and GC without filing for RoC. There is no way to do this.

[rika60607 215]

If you are maintaining your US home and are willing to travel for ROC biometrics/interviews to the US, you could stay in UK for up to two years (with a re-entry permit).

BUT you better read the rules for maintaining US residency and follow them. You have to have more ties to US than UK, there is more to it than just a re-entry permit.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

While it's possible to have a lengthy absence from the US if you've been a LPR for some years, this does not really work with a conditional Green Card. See it like this: you just started a new job, are under performance review, and ask for a long vacation and a hefty payday advance. What are the odds that they'll give you a longtime contract?

For the same reason, a conditional resident resides in the US. He's collecting the needed evidence of a shared life together, in the US. He files his ROC petition on time, from the US, attends biometrics, in the US, and if he has an interview, it's in the US. The whole thing we are going to live in England for a year up to two years or so is not going to work for more than one reason until you at least have removed conditions.

[ollywarren1 1]

This is all great information, thank you very much. Just quickly though, I am due to remove conditions in december 2012. If I spent the year preceding that in the UK, would they hold that against me, even if I was spending the year traveling and still maintaining my ties to the US for example, bank accounts etc? I read somewhere that you can spend up to 1 year outside the US before removing the conditions and they would not revoke my residency or take any action. Is this correct?

Thank you so much!

Olly.

[rika60607 215]

Bob,

comparison of immigration benefits to a new job in the US is not a fare one. In the US, most jobs are "at will", meaning employer can drop you tomorrow for no reason at all. Immigration officials can't just take a GC away because they have a bad day or ambiguously decided that you spent too much time outside of the US. Rules may be vague, but there are rules!

Olly,

for purposes of ROC, USCIS can not hold your absence from US against you, as long as your wife is living with you. They need to know that you are a still a viable couple. You can submit evidence of bona fide relationship that originates abroad.

However, this gets tricky as if your evidence shows that your life is centered in and around UK, then they may also conclude that you don't need a GC, because you abandoned your residency and (may be) that could deny your ROC for that.

There is no strict "time rule" for absences from the US. Absences of any length could be considered, and without Re-entry permit absence of 1 year or more results in automatic abandonment of residence. You have to make sure that at crucial times you have more ties to US than UK.

Keeping US bank accounts is not enough in itself. Ideally you want to keep your house/apartment in the US (although you may rent it out). Keep your car in the US. File US taxes every year. Not work in UK or work with a very clear end date short term contract. Are you a UK citizen or permanent resident? <-- that would work against you. If you have no legal avenues to stay in the UK long term, that works for you.

Long term, it may be cheaper/easier for you to give up the conditional GC and do DCF from London, if you legally reside there. If you want to remove conditions, you will have to travel to US at least once, for biometrics. If you want to apply for US citizenship in 3 years, you can not be gone for longer than 180 days on any single trip (there are exceptions to this rule).

Every case is unique and I can easily imagine someone leaving US for a year before ROC and still be able to remove conditions and retain their residency.

Examples? A couple moving to third country (none of them is a citizen of said country) for a year for education. A couple traveling together, spending 2-3 months in each country, for a year - as they do not stay anywhere long enough to become residents.

[ollywarren1 1]

Great help thankyou so much. I'm a citizen of the uk, but if we do eventually go we are going to take every step possible to show we are coming back. We are decidin whether to go this December for 11 months, and come back in time for roc. Or wait until December 2012 to remove conditions, complete all that, and then go to the uk for 11 months. All depends on our savings really. Thank you so much.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hey thanks for your response. I meant to add that I am keeping my residence in the US, we are just in the uk for traveling purposes and are extremely intent on coming back.

Would it be better to stay here until I remove my conditions and then leave for the uk for a year, or leave for a year and then come back in time to remove my conditions?

Our ideal plan was to spend the year in the uk, during which time my green card will expire. This is not possible?

Thankyou so much for your help so far.

It isn't any better one way or the other. Even after removing conditions you still have to meet the requirements of remaining a resident. You will not be free to live and travel where you want, when you want, until you are a citizen.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Great help thankyou so much. I'm a citizen of the uk, but if we do eventually go we are going to take every step possible to show we are coming back. We are decidin whether to go this December for 11 months, and come back in time for roc. Or wait until December 2012 to remove conditions, complete all that, and then go to the uk for 11 months. All depends on our savings really. Thank you so much.

I think you completely misundersatnd. It is not at all a matter of indicating "you intend to come back". It is a matter of if you intend to be a permanent resident. Will you have a US drivers lisence to show an address? Will you have a home in the USA? Bank account? File income tax? You have to be able to show that you are making the USA your home. Be advised that absences for more than 6 months CAN (but not necessarily) delay your time period to become a citizen.

I say this fully in the knowledge that our son is a student in Russia and is absent for 10 months per year. We are very careful to document his residency, spend as much time here as possible, have a job in the summer, file taxes, register for the draft, have a drivers lisence, etc.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

While it's possible to have a lengthy absence from the US if you've been a LPR for some years, this does not really work with a conditional Green Card. See it like this: you just started a new job, are under performance review, and ask for a long vacation and a hefty payday advance. What are the odds that they'll give you a longtime contract?

For the same reason, a conditional resident resides in the US. He's collecting the needed evidence of a shared life together, in the US. He files his ROC petition on time, from the US, attends biometrics, in the US, and if he has an interview, it's in the US. The whole thing we are going to live in England for a year up to two years or so is not going to work for more than one reason until you at least have removed conditions.

The requirements of a conditional and non-conditional green card regarding residency are exactly identical. There is NO difference in the requirements to maintian residency. The only requirements to remove conditions regard the validity and genuineness of the conditions that resulted in the green card to begin with...the marriage.