After Green Card is received...how long must he remain in the US?

[Samantha78 117]

I'm getting towards the end of this visa process. If they approve my husband, how long must he remain in the US after his POE date?

He owns a business in his country and may have to travel back and forth quarterly.

FYI: we're filing a CR1 and have been married less than 2 years.

[Little_My 464]

He has to reside in the US. He can travel internationally with his GC, even very frequently, but if questioned about his extensive travel he must be able to show how he has maintained residence in America. General rule of thumb is that he should not be abroad for a year or more consecutively (and if he plans to, he must get a re-entry permit first to not lose his GC), and he should not be spending more time abroad than he is spending in the US. As a permanent resident, he must reside here.

Traveling back and forth shouldn't be an issue, if his quarterly trips are for a week or two at a time. If he starts spending over half of the year abroad, most likely he will eventually be questioned about that at POE.

[Samantha78 117]

He has to reside in the US. He can travel internationally with his GC, even very frequently, but if questioned about his extensive travel he must be able to show how he has maintained residence in America. General rule of thumb is that he should not be abroad for a year or more consecutively (and if he plans to, he must get a re-entry permit first to not lose his GC), and he should not be spending more time abroad than he is spending in the US. As a permanent resident, he must reside here.

Traveling back and forth shouldn't be an issue, if his quarterly trips are for a week or two at a time. If he starts spending over half of the year abroad, most likely he will eventually be questioned about that at POE.

Great! Thank you for the very fast and detailed response. It will be only short term trips, no more than 2 weeks at a time.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Topic moved from AOS forum to CR-1 forum as a more appropriate location for this discussion .

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

That will be fine. A lot of people have to travel frequently for business, which usually is not much fun.

An absence from the U.S. for a few short weeks will not raise any eyebrows., not even if it happens frequently.

[Samantha78 117]

That will be fine. A lot of people have to travel frequently for business, which usually is not much fun.

An absence from the U.S. for a few short weeks will not raise any eyebrows., not even if it happens frequently.

Great - thanks. We were worried. AS people have told him that he must stay here in the US for 1 year before he can travel back to the US.

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Great - thanks. We were worried. AS people have told him that he must stay here in the US for 1 year before he can travel back to the US.

He is free to travel outside of the country once he receives his permanent resident card. Be aware, however, that if he plans to be outside of the US for more than 12 months he will first need to apply for a re-entry permit before leaving.