Living abroad after removing conditions?

[grinchus 11]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I may be in the strange situation of moving back to his home country of Italy after the removal of conditions next fall. There is also the remote possibility that we will have a long distance marriage for a while, with him living in Italy and me living here. This would be because of a convergence of family/work/financial needs.

So...what happens then? I'm assuming that you can't be a permanent resident of the U.S. without residing in the U.S. What becomes of his status should this come to pass?

Thanks,

[mr and mrs 187]

can you update your member timeline? still shows you as K-1, though i assume you have AOSed.

[grinchus 11]

can you update your member timeline? still shows you as K-1, though i assume you have AOSed.

Yes, green card received in October 2010. I'll update the time line at some point but have to put my hands on all the docs first.

[mr and mrs 187]

depending on when in the fall of 2012 you are looking at the move to italy (for the LPR), you may not have the new green card by the time of departure. looks like you will file with CSC, which is good since at the moment they are processing faster than VSC.

if the green card expires in october 2012, you can renew 90 days before the date, lets say july 2012. i am a july filer and our CSC group is 44% approved at the moment, and its december.

if the LPR has the luxury of being able to travel back from italy for biometrics and a possible interview, this may not pose a significant problem.

[grinchus 11]

depending on when in the fall of 2012 you are looking at the move to italy (for the LPR), you may not have the new green card by the time of departure. looks like you will file with CSC, which is good since at the moment they are processing faster than VSC.

if the green card expires in october 2012, you can renew 90 days before the date, lets say july 2012. i am a july filer and our CSC group is 44% approved at the moment, and its december.

if the LPR has the luxury of being able to travel back from italy for biometrics and a possible interview, this may not pose a significant problem.

Thanks. Assuming that we manage to organize our lives and departures to secure the permanent green card before we (or he) moves to Italy, can someone actually live abroad and be a permanent resident of the U.S.? Also because, in order for him to make full use of the Italian national health care system while he is there, he will need to re-establish residency in Italy. Will that automatically result in a revoking of his U.S. GC?

I'm just trying to understand the flexibility one has as a permanent U.S. resident, but who is paradoxically living abroad indefinitely.

[mr and mrs 187]

i will let someone else much wiser than myself respond to this. i think it's going to be somewhat tricky. lets see what the big boys and girls have to say!

[meigo 0]

Hi

Assuming he has the greencard he can be able to leave any time he wants. USCIS allows you to leave but you have to enter the united states at least one day a year. There is a form you have to sign but usually they are not very strict on it. I used the same criteria to live in Kenya and only came back to the US to keep my green card active for 3years. Just check with your local USCIS office they will give you more info. But there shouldn't be a problem.

[Boiler 45,506]

Hi

Assuming he has the greencard he can be able to leave any time he wants. USCIS allows you to leave but you have to enter the united states at least one day a year. There is a form you have to sign but usually they are not very strict on it. I used the same criteria to live in Kenya and only came back to the US to keep my green card active for 3years. Just check with your local USCIS office they will give you more info. But there shouldn't be a problem.

Wrong.

Which does not mean some people have not been lucky.

Is the Italy move temporary or permanent, if temporary how long does he expect to be gone.

[beejay 123]

If possible I think it would be best to wait until he has his 10 yr greencard before he tries to relocate. I'm not an expert but if he plans on being out of the country for longer than a year I think he should apply for a re-entry permit which can be good for up to two years. I don't know if this guarantees reentry but it certainly helps your chances. The one negative (if he had plans for naturalization) is that being out of the country will affect his ablility to apply for citizenship after 3 years of his initial residency.

[meigo 0]

Wrong.

Which does not mean some people have not been lucky.

Is the Italy move temporary or permanent, if temporary how long does he expect to be gone.

I am actually speaking from experience and from so many other people.

Technically, you can leave for up to a year without asking for permission in advance, but anything six months or more is very likely to be questioned and closely examined upon return, and an officer can determine on the spot that permanent residence has been abandoned with less than a year's absence. You just have to prove that you maintained US residence for me i used my parents and family was still here. Other things might be;

1. Joint property in the US.

2. Joint bank accounts in the US with activity on them.

3. Letter from university or workplace explaining that trip abroad was of a temporary nature.

4. File taxes always always always and always always always file as resident of the US.

5. Joint credit cards from US.

Another thing to consider is when the green card holder wants to apply for US citizenship. If they want to do it as soon as possible, they cannot leave the country for six months or more at a time. An absence of six months or more resets the "clock" on the three years.

[rika60607 215]

You assume correctly. But if his move to Italy is temporary (I would say up to 4 years) - he may be able to keep the GC that long.

This would require - being in the US to file for removal of conditions and being in the US for biometrics. Filing for Re-entry permit once 10 year GC is approved. Filing US taxes every year and maintaining joint residence in the US (could be rented out though). Keeping bank/credit card accounts in the US, etc.

Re-entry permit is for 2 years and can be renewed, at least once... although it could be renewed more than once, every subsequent application has lesser chance to be approved.

So you are looking to spend a lot of money on USCIS fees and travel to keep the GC alive. Since he can travel on VWP to the US anyway - it may be easier to give up the GC and petition again if and when he's ready to move back to the US.

So...what happens then? I'm assuming that you can't be a permanent resident of the U.S. without residing in the U.S. What becomes of his status should this come to pass?

Thanks,

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

How urgent is the move? If you could delay another year, he could get citizenship, then he can come and go as he pleases.

If that is not an option, he can stay out just under a year once without major issues; a re-entry permit applied for before he leaves would give him two years abroad. He may be able to pull the (visiting the US for a couple of weeks a year" thing off twice, but the more he does it, the riskier it becomes.

[Boiler 45,506]

I am actually speaking from experience and from so many other people.

Technically, you can leave for up to a year without asking for permission in advance, but anything six months or more is very likely to be questioned and closely examined upon return, and an officer can determine on the spot that permanent residence has been abandoned with less than a year's absence. You just have to prove that you maintained US residence for me i used my parents and family was still here. Other things might be;

1. Joint property in the US.

2. Joint bank accounts in the US with activity on them.

3. Letter from university or workplace explaining that trip abroad was of a temporary nature.

4. File taxes always always always and always always always file as resident of the US.

5. Joint credit cards from US.

Another thing to consider is when the green card holder wants to apply for US citizenship. If they want to do it as soon as possible, they cannot leave the country for six months or more at a time. An absence of six months or more resets the "clock" on the three years.

There is a lawyer on another board who occasionally comments on Abandonment issues.

One of his comments was that very few Immigration Lawyers are familiar with the intricacies. His advice was to ask if they had ever tried a case.

There is a reasonable guide issued by USCIS, from memory they also send it with your Green Card. Better to read that than the above.

I can comply with your list for the UK, except 3 which is not gone to apply anyway.

And I have not resided there for 4 years.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Boiler

[grinchus 11]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to thank you all for your very thoughtful responses. This is really helpful. We don't know how long-term his return to Italy would be. That depends on family situation/employment/etc. However, it is useful to know that up to a year is no problem, maybe up to four if we are organizing our lives in such a way that he maintains a significant footprint here, and such. Citizenship is also a way to go, but my husband never did intend to get citizenship - he was content w/ permanent resident status. But we'll think about all options.

On the other hand, if his return starts to seem more permanent after time goes by, then maybe "abandonment" is the way, and we can fly back and forth as "tourists" until the time that we can be together again. I could end up there, or if he is going to come back, we'll just do consular filing as spouses, and hopefully speed up the process.

Again, many, many thanks to all for answering my question.

[inloveVEN 46]

Hi

if this happens after you receive the LPR status, this is ok, in terms of keep the residency

but if you try to find your US citizenship, you will deal with a lot of troubles.