entering to stay in a few weeks :)

[Cedric - Evalyn 0]

Hey guys and gals, im planning on finally entering the states to stay in a few weeks ! I had to sell my business first and that took a few months so ive been travelling back and forth since i got my permanent resident card in december. now that i'll finally enter to stay i wonder what im supposed to do when i get there... do i have to go to the cityhall or courthouse to have some paperwork done so they know i finally live in the states or do i just cancel my domicile in belgium and mail that to the closest embassy so they know im there to stay?

I'm also planning on flying back to belgium every 6 months or so, so i'll probably need to get me a US international passport right?

thx for your responses!

[Ning 619]

Hey guys and gals, im planning on finally entering the states to stay in a few weeks ! I had to sell my business first and that took a few months so ive been travelling back and forth since i got my permanent resident card in december. now that i'll finally enter to stay i wonder what im supposed to do when i get there... do i have to go to the cityhall or courthouse to have some paperwork done so they know i finally live in the states or do i just cancel my domicile in belgium and mail that to the closest embassy so they know im there to stay?

I'm also planning on flying back to belgium every 6 months or so, so i'll probably need to get me a US international passport right?

thx for your responses!

Your entrance into the USA is taken care of by USCIS at the POE. Thats all there is to it. No need to cancel anything in your country unless they require you to do so.

You can not get a U S passport until you are a citizen. Make sure your passport is valid welll into the future so you may travel as you wish outside the USA. You will use your green card to re-enter the USA in the future. Just make sure you understand you must be considered a resident of the USA to retain the green card. This is easy to do unless you try to live outside the USA for extended periods of time.

Edited May 22, 2011 by Ning

[Cedric - Evalyn 0]

Thx for your quick responce Ning! i had asked the embassy, the customs at the POE, and they all said something diff when it came to me going back to Belgium for an uncertain amount of time to sell my business... at the embassy they said dont stay away longer then 3 weeks, at the POE they said i have to be in the US the majority of the year... then my wife called uscis to ask them and that woman said she didnt know, to get back asap... :s with that said ill be flying back to stay 5 and a half months after my first POE, meaning that i'll have been in the US the majority of the year so i hope i wont get in trouble for it...

[Ning 619]

Thx for your quick responce Ning! i had asked the embassy, the customs at the POE, and they all said something diff when it came to me going back to Belgium for an uncertain amount of time to sell my business... at the embassy they said dont stay away longer then 3 weeks, at the POE they said i have to be in the US the majority of the year... then my wife called uscis to ask them and that woman said she didnt know, to get back asap... :s with that said ill be flying back to stay 5 and a half months after my first POE, meaning that i'll have been in the US the majority of the year so i hope i wont get in trouble for it...

If there is any question at any time about your ability to stay outside the USA for an extended period your USC should make an INFO PASS appointment to go see USCIS in person. You can go as well. I wouldnt take a chance by asking these misinformed, unreliable people that answer the phones. Always ask for supervisor to make sure you are speaking to an informed person.

INFO PASS can be made on line at USCIS web site by finding the link.

If you are out of the USA for that long it will be up to the discression of the officer when you return as to what will happen. When you explain why you needed to be there selling your business I would think they would not have a problem with that.

[Shanh 2]

You need to cancel your residency in Belgium and warn the tax services that you are now living abroad.

You also need to register at the nearest Belgian Consulate.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thx for your quick responce Ning! i had asked the embassy, the customs at the POE, and they all said something diff when it came to me going back to Belgium for an uncertain amount of time to sell my business... at the embassy they said dont stay away longer then 3 weeks, at the POE they said i have to be in the US the majority of the year... then my wife called uscis to ask them and that woman said she didnt know, to get back asap... :s with that said ill be flying back to stay 5 and a half months after my first POE, meaning that i'll have been in the US the majority of the year so i hope i wont get in trouble for it...

Here's the USCIS guidelines for permanent residents who travel abroad. It covers some of the scenarios where staying abroad too long can cause problems.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

[Cedric - Evalyn 0]

You need to cancel your residency in Belgium and warn the tax services that you are now living abroad.

You also need to register at the nearest Belgian Consulate.

This may be a stupid question but how did you warn the tax services? im leaving belgium june 11th so should i go ahead and cancel my residency here already and send those documents to the belgian consulate in atlanta?

[Shanh 2]

You can write to the tax service or phone them as you still have time.

Did you do your taxes 2010 already in Belgium?

You're supposed to do your taxes 2011 prior to moving, I didn't know that and then they did the taxes for me as if I hadn't filed in time ..

That's why I'm suggesting you call them - I wrote them in February when I was already here, no answer, then found out I couldn't access Taxonweb anymore so I'm just trying to save you some hassles

As for the consulate you should email them to know all the documents they need as the model 8 form you will receive in Belgium is not going to be enough.

More info here : http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/services_abroad/Inschrijving/ - that page can be found in french and dutch also.