travel on conditional green card

[LucaBonnie 0]

Hi everyone. I have a question and wonder if anyone can be of help. I recently received my CGC and 1 week later left for Italy for 2 weeks on business. (which is where i am now). I plan to go back to the states for Thanksgiving but would then need to return to Europe for 2 weeks in December. Going forward i need to travel for business outside of the US for approximately 5 to 7 days per month for more or less 7 months a year. The reason being that (a) I have a son in Italy whom i'd like to see monthly, (he comes to the US in the summer so no need for me to go there), and (b) honesly, i am a business owner in Italy which sells goods to other European countries, so i need to visit my clients. Basically, to make a long story short, i would need to travel 1 week a month for the months of Feb through to May, and from September through to December.

Other than the 2 trips this year, where i need to be gone for 2 weeks in November and 2 weeks in December because i've been away from the business for 4 months, the rest of my trips outside the country should be for no longer than 7 or 8 days tops.

I thought that once i got my green card then this would pose no problem, but reading up on the topic I now wonder if Im going to have any problems down the line. Any thoughts or comments would really be appreciated.

[Dave&Roza 748]

As a LPR you have certain responsibilites that you must follow in order to keep your LPR status. Filing US income taxes, if between the ages of 18-26 and male must register for Selective Services, and maintaining your residence within the US. This is basically looked upon as spending more than 50% of a year in the US and less than 50% in another country(ies). As long as you spend at least 6 months in the US there is not a problem. Another thing you may want to look at is how all this traveling will affect your Naturalization if you choose to go that route in the future. Knowing all this will help you decide what is the best course to follow to meet your long term goals.

Good Luck,

Dave

[ollywarren1 1]

I am on a 2 year gc, not sure if it is different from a condtional visa, however I have researched plenty of information on this, as my wife and I plan to be traveling out of the us for upto 11 months. Rule of thumb is, that you can be out of the us for upto 12 months without a re entry permit, however a re entry permit is advised for travel over 6 months. During this time, whenever you re enter the country every month, just to be safe, I would get a re entry permit(usually 2 year validity) and also have evidence of your ties to the us, for example, housing, car, bank documents. Without being 100 percent certain(because you never can be with this stuff) I would say, if you take the above precautions, then the Poe officers won't even bat an eyelid. A re entry permit in your case isn't even necessary, but at 445 dollars, I think it's worth it's weight in gold. That alone, will completely cover you. But like I said. These are rules for my 2 year permanent residence green card., but I heard the rules are very similar.

And like mentioned above, filing taxes is a big must do also.

[LucaBonnie 0]

As a LPR you have certain responsibilites that you must follow in order to keep your LPR status. Filing US income taxes, if between the ages of 18-26 and male must register for Selective Services, and maintaining your residence within the US. This is basically looked upon as spending more than 50% of a year in the US and less than 50% in another country(ies). As long as you spend at least 6 months in the US there is not a problem. Another thing you may want to look at is how all this traveling will affect your Naturalization if you choose to go that route in the future. Knowing all this will help you decide what is the best course to follow to meet your long term goals.

Good Luck,

Dave

Thank you Dave. what do you mean by how this will affect my Naturalization? Sorry for what might seem as a silly question. I will want to become a Naturalized US citizen of course as soon as possible and i do want to make the USA my home. I also have strong business and family ties in Italy which "forces" me to be here for short periods of time but reguarly. In fact one of the reasons why i needed to travel here this month and in December is to "close down" our appartment. from now on it will be hotels everytime i come here. Thanks for your help.

[LucaBonnie 0]

I am on a 2 year gc, not sure if it is different from a condtional visa, however I have researched plenty of information on this, as my wife and I plan to be traveling out of the us for upto 11 months. Rule of thumb is, that you can be out of the us for upto 12 months without a re entry permit, however a re entry permit is advised for travel over 6 months. During this time, whenever you re enter the country every month, just to be safe, I would get a re entry permit(usually 2 year validity) and also have evidence of your ties to the us, for example, housing, car, bank documents. Without being 100 percent certain(because you never can be with this stuff) I would say, if you take the above precautions, then the Poe officers won't even bat an eyelid. A re entry permit in your case isn't even necessary, but at 445 dollars, I think it's worth it's weight in gold. That alone, will completely cover you. But like I said. These are rules for my 2 year permanent residence green card., but I heard the rules are very similar.

And like mentioned above, filing taxes is a big must do also.

i too am on a 2 year green card. I think it may be wise for me to get a re-entry permit just in case. I will be filling taxes jointly with my spouse. Thanks for tsking the time to answer me.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Luca,

you will have absolutely no problems down the line with many short trips. Who have problems are people who stay out of the U.S. for many months, close to a year, come back for a short time, then leave again for a long time. That does not apply to you.

[LucaBonnie 0]

Luca,

you will have absolutely no problems down the line with many short trips. Who have problems are people who stay out of the U.S. for many months, close to a year, come back for a short time, then leave again for a long time. That does not apply to you.

Thank you for your reassuring response. have a wonderful day!