time limit

[Boiler 45,993]

Abandonment issues can be very complicated.

It is reasonable to comment on short trips that clearly are not or departures that clearly are.

There is a grey area in the middle, something you need to discuss with your immigration lawyer.

However if it really does not matter to you whether you keep your PR status or not, then no biggie. Go and see what happens when you try and come back.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Amiz,

I feel like you didn't really understand the whole thingi with residency.

Once you have your Green Card, you have become a "lawful permanent resident" of the United States. You are a foreigner who has received permission from the United States government to permanently reside and to work in the United States. But . . . you are also required to permanently reside in the United States.

The U.S. is no prison, and of course you are allowed to travel internationally. You can take vacations, attend international conferences, even take care of an elderly or ill family member in your home country. None of this is a problem. What matters is that these absences from the U.S. make sense to a CBP officer and that you still can show, once asked, that you live in the United States.

What does that mean? It means that you should look at your personal situation through the eyes of a border patrol officer who may have a suspicion that you are not really residing permanently in the U.S. If you are gone less than 6 months, but otherwise stay in the U.S., this is usually not a problem. If you are gone for 5 months, then come back for 3, then leave for 5 again, it's a pattern that would show up when your Green Card is scanned in the U.S.

Also keep in mind that most of us poor folks need to work for a living. I make a decent living, but I simply could not afford to leave the U.S. and my job for several months. If you are extremely wealthy so that you can leave for almost a year without having to earn money, then be prepared to show this to the CBP officer upon return. If your Learn Jet is parked on the terminal and your pilot and personal assistant accompany you while you are being processed, I don't think they will give you a hard time. But when asked what you did for 10-or-so months in Pakistan and how you can afford this, you'll need to have an answer, and proof for this, that makes sense not only to you but to the CBP officer.

Once you have been gone for 6 months, you residency clock stops. It starts again when you return. However, if you do not return after 1 year, the clock resets itself to zero, meaning once you return you start over with day 1 of your residency, like you have never lived a single day in the United States as a resident.

All this notwithstanding, any absence from the U.S. can be questioned by CBP. Again, up to 6 months (unless there's a pattern of in and outs) CBP will usually assume that you maintained your residency, but from the 6-month mark on, the assumption reverses and they will assume that you have abandoned your residency and will ask you to prove that this is not the case. You will do that by showing your mortgage or lease, that you have a registered car parked in your driveway, insurances and bills you payed while being abroad, and so on. Basically you will show that you have what everybody who lives in the United States has. You were just temporarily on vacation or taking care of a family member, but your life and your bills in the U.S. kept going on. It will also help that you show that your boss expects you back at work, or that you have so much money that you don't need to work a single day in your life anymore.