Residency requirement after removing conditions

[grinchus 11]

Hi VJers,

My husband isn't settling in too well here because he is very homesick. Maybe this will change with time, but it's been a year and a half and he is not liking life in America very much. He appreciates the opportunities here, he loves the natural beauty of the place, he loves me and my family, but in general he does not like it here and is having a very hard time adjusting.

His hope is that, after removing conditions, he will be able to live part of the time here and part of the time there, if he can arrange his working life that way. How many months out of the year does a green card holder have to actually spend in the US and still maintain their status? Is there a minimum total time, or a minimum of months in a row?

Thanks,

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

To be safe, especially if he plans on doing this for a several years, he has to spend more time inside the USA than outside in a rolling year.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

He doesn't like Northern California? The Redwoods? Oh boy . . .

Italy is without a doubt one of the most desirable places to live on this globe. When thinking about retirement, alternatively to the American Rivera where I live now, I have Monaco, the South of France, and Tuscany on my short list. Why not moving to Italy instead if your husband feels home there and can make a living?

If that's not an option, you'll have to be careful. He cannot live part time in the US and part time in Italy before he isn't a US citizen. He can be absent for a few months per year, but every time he returns he has to fear that a CBP officer will give him a hard time, questioning what he did in Italy, how he can afford a vacation that takes several months, and so on.

If he's in the US for a year and a half already, you are approaching the ROC stage very soon. Thereafter he can leave for two or three months and then he should come back and go through the naturalization process. Thereafter he's free to live where he wants, when he wants, without having to deal with immigration issues again ever.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

No matters where he lives he will have to file US taxes every year.

[grinchus 11]

He doesn't like Northern California? The Redwoods? Oh boy . . .

Italy is without a doubt one of the most desirable places to live on this globe. When thinking about retirement, alternatively to the American Rivera where I live now, I have Monaco, the South of France, and Tuscany on my short list. Why not moving to Italy instead if your husband feels home there and can make a living?

If that's not an option, you'll have to be careful. He cannot live part time in the US and part time in Italy before he isn't a US citizen. He can be absent for a few months per year, but every time he returns he has to fear that a CBP officer will give him a hard time, questioning what he did in Italy, how he can afford a vacation that takes several months, and so on.

If he's in the US for a year and a half already, you are approaching the ROC stage very soon. Thereafter he can leave for two or three months and then he should come back and go through the naturalization process. Thereafter he's free to live where he wants, when he wants, without having to deal with immigration issues again ever.

Thank you, this is great advice. Moving to Italy, for me at least, isn't really an option. Currently I'm the "bread-winner" of the two of us, and I would have to give up my career to move there, where the economic situation is pretty precarious. Italy's economic situation isn't that great, and they have high unemployment. My husband didn't leave a particularly good job to come here, thus he was more flexible than I was to make the move. If we moved back, we would face the reality of both of us being underemployed. Here I have a great job, something I would not be able to duplicate there.

Our original plan was to work really hard here, buy a house there, go there as often as we could for vacations, until the point where we could eventually retire there. Retirement is not close, though, and is way too far off for him.

We talk about trying to have a long-distance marriage, but of course that's not ideal -- for obvious reasons! But waiting for him to get citizenship seems like it might be a good plan. Then he really could go back and forth as much as he wants without raising eyebrows.

He loves the nature here, but he doesn't like the people. It's really hard to get to know people, and I don't have the kind of really tight-knit group of friends who have known each other all of our lives, like he does in Italy. Where he's from people are warm, friendly, exuberant, expressive and welcoming. Here people are basically all into their own thing and don't really care about you. That's the impression he's gotten, at least. It's true that Americans are very different from Italians in that regard, especially Southern Italians. I feel awful that things are so hard for him, but we are kind of in a pickle that way. For now we're "stuck" here - at least I am

[deidre 13]

hey grinchus, sorry to hear that hubby isnt enjoying the US - it is hard on some.

IMO it will be best if hubby can wait on another year and get his US Citizenship. If he can last 2 years to the ROC, im sure he can hold out another year. Once he is a USC he will be able to go back and forth from Italy as much as he likes without any immigration implications.

i hope everything gets better soon! maybe hubby can find a group or club with other Italians?? I found a small network of Aussies here in Chapel Hill NC - havent yet met up, but at least i know there are some other Aussies around just in case i get home sick...

[grinchus 11]

hey grinchus, sorry to hear that hubby isnt enjoying the US - it is hard on some.

IMO it will be best if hubby can wait on another year and get his US Citizenship. If he can last 2 years to the ROC, im sure he can hold out another year. Once he is a USC he will be able to go back and forth from Italy as much as he likes without any immigration implications.

i hope everything gets better soon! maybe hubby can find a group or club with other Italians?? I found a small network of Aussies here in Chapel Hill NC - havent yet met up, but at least i know there are some other Aussies around just in case i get home sick...

Thanks, I appreciate you sharing your experience and advice with me. That does seem like a good path, ROC then UC Citizenship. He has found a few Italians - but they all seem to be moving back to Italy, which doesn't help much He's slowly finding some friends and building relationships, so hopefully things will start getting better. He's working really hard on his English too. I think when he feels more comfortable and fluent he'll do better. However there is still a vast gap between the Italian lifestyle and ours. It's hard to adjust, I totally understand him.

[TraCami 0]

If you have not already done so you might want to check out meetup.com. Or, if you are feeling a bit ambitious you could even start your own group/club for local Italians in your area.

Good luck to the both of you! Keep your chin up things will get better. ;-)

[simel1110 4]

I second the meetup group. My husband needed an expat group to help with his homesick feelings. There's a different humor here and he finds it a little less polite and more aggressive than where he was in the UK.

I'm s USC..but I joined an Italian Speaking group on meetup since I speak Italian. He might find one of those meetups to fill the void a little.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

Thanks, I appreciate you sharing your experience and advice with me. That does seem like a good path, ROC then UC Citizenship. He has found a few Italians - but they all seem to be moving back to Italy, which doesn't help much He's slowly finding some friends and building relationships, so hopefully things will start getting better. He's working really hard on his English too. I think when he feels more comfortable and fluent he'll do better. However there is still a vast gap between the Italian lifestyle and ours. It's hard to adjust, I totally understand him.

do you have a "little italy" near where you are? we have little everything's in Los Angeles. and as a Brit I like to visit the local British bars/pubs and shops near by.....I'm not that out going in meeting new people myself I'm too shy but have noticed there are lots of Brits who go on a regular basis to those pubs and hang out watching the football games etc...maybe he can find some Italian expats to socialise with in the local expat hang out?

[jlogajan 0]

I know you asked this question a week ago so you probably already have the answers. I looked into this a bit myself, and here I am going from memory so don't take this as legal advice.

Residency dates from the time you get approved for your conditional green card, not the later removal of conditions date. You should spend greater than 50% of the time in the USA over the course of the residency timeframe. You shouldn't stay out of country for more than a year at a time, and if I recall recommendations, no more than 6 months at a time.

There is a one time exemption you can apply for (for justifiable cause) that allows you to stay out of the country for up to two years without losing your residency. Apply for this and obtain it before you leave the country.