stay in United States, and leaving and coming back

[kirk and Jenny 0]

My wife will have a year and a half of nursing school left in the Philippines after she comes to the United States. The plan is for her to come here, get a green card, then finish up school over there. My questions are:

How long does she need to stay in the United States before going back to complete school.

Also, If she is over there, I heard that she must return to the USA within a year and a day. Is that true. Could this requirement be fulfilled by her or us visiting the USA on her breaks.

[kevinsu 0]

My wife will have a year and a half of nursing school left in the Philippines after she comes to the United States. The plan is for her to come here, get a green card, then finish up school over there. My questions are:

How long does she need to stay in the United States before going back to complete school.

Also, If she is over there, I heard that she must return to the USA within a year and a day. Is that true. Could this requirement be fulfilled by her or us visiting the USA on her breaks.

I assume you guys are already married. So is that year and a half taking in consideration the time it'll take to get the K visa? Just food for thought.

In any event, your wife will need to stay until she gets her green card before she goes back to study. I don't know how the gov't feels about extended leaves on AP. You should be able to fulfill the return requirement on visits to the US on breaks, but this will affect her residency requirement for naturalization, if that matters to you.

[john_and_marlene 162]

My wife will have a year and a half of nursing school left in the Philippines after she comes to the United States. The plan is for her to come here, get a green card, then finish up school over there. My questions are:

How long does she need to stay in the United States before going back to complete school.

Also, If she is over there, I heard that she must return to the USA within a year and a day. Is that true. Could this requirement be fulfilled by her or us visiting the USA on her breaks.

There are factors other than time that can cause her LPR status to be abandoned. Living in another country is one of them. Absences of even less than 6 months can cause abandonment of status depending on the circumstances.

[meauxna 15]

Also, If she is over there, I heard that she must return to the USA within a year and a day. Is that true.

No, it's not.

Do review the CIS webpage Now That You Are A Permanent Resident.

[john_and_marlene 162]

http://www.visalaw.com/99oct/20oct99.html

A commonly held but mistaken assumption is that a visit every year to the US will preserve LPR status. While an LPR needs only the green card to reenter the US after an absence of less than one year, this is not enough to indicate the intent to remain a resident of the US. The LPR must take additional action to preserve their status.

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Read the linked article to learn more about abandonment of status.

[kirk and Jenny 0]

Thanks for the information

[kevinsu 0]

http://www.visalaw.com/99oct/20oct99.html

A commonly held but mistaken assumption is that a visit every year to the US will preserve LPR status. While an LPR needs only the green card to reenter the US after an absence of less than one year, this is not enough to indicate the intent to remain a resident of the US. The LPR must take additional action to preserve their status.

------------

Read the linked article to learn more about abandonment of status.

Thanks for the link

[zyggy 9]

In this case, it may be wise for you to look into whether or not a local nursing school will accept your wife and if so how much of her previous coursework they will allow her to transfer.

From what I understand the nursing education in the Phillipines and the US are similar...

[john_and_marlene 162]

From what I understand the nursing education in the Phillipines and the US are similar...

Same textbooks and exams. The Philippines gov't is licensed to give the U.S. nursing exams. Well...for now anyway. Recertification may be a problem in the future with the current scandal of leaked exams--even more reason to transfer to a U.S. school. You might be pleasantly surprised at how well the credits transfer.

[Yodrak 7]

zyggy,

Similar in cost, I wonder?

Yodrak

In this case, it may be wise for you to look into whether or not a local nursing school will accept your wife and if so how much of her previous coursework they will allow her to transfer.

From what I understand the nursing education in the Phillipines and the US are similar...

[john_and_marlene 162]

What's the value of lost status/family separation/two households?

zyggy,

Similar in cost, I wonder?

Yodrak

In this case, it may be wise for you to look into whether or not a local nursing school will accept your wife and if so how much of her previous coursework they will allow her to transfer.

From what I understand the nursing education in the Phillipines and the US are similar...

[kirk and Jenny 0]

Not similar in cost. It cost me $3,000 a year there. But, maintaining a house hold over there, sending her daughter to private school etc. cost me about $12,000 a year, so I would not be to far behind and she would graduate about 1 year earlier and that year of being a nurse would more than make up the difference.

[zyggy 9]

Sounds like a case of penny wise and pound foolish to me...

There's a lot more at stake than just dollars and cents... I suggest that ytou weight it out before you make a final decision... The value of having your wife and kids with you are priceless to me...

Edited September 12, 2006 by zyggy

[kirk and Jenny 0]

Sounds like a case of penny wise and pound foolish to me...

There's a lot more at stake than just dollars and cents... I suggest that ytou weight it out before you make a final decision... The value of having your wife and kids with you are priceless to me...

The thought of her going back to the Philippines was based on an assumption that credits would not transfer, in which case, I had hoped to have moved back there with her and take care of her step daughter until she graduated. Clearly, if the credits transfer. This is a no brainer.

[kirk and Jenny 0]

Since it won't let me edit, that should be my step-daughter