gc can go abroad for a year

[tinkerbell2 0]

hello everyone,i want to know how long a green card holder can live abroad,some people saying it was six months but now 1 year so can someone please tell me its true to going abroad for less than a year like 8 months.thanks in advanc

[Dave&Roza 748]

hello everyone,i want to know how long a green card holder can live abroad,some people saying it was six months but now 1 year so can someone please tell me its true to going abroad for less than a year like 8 months.thanks in advanc

As a LPR you must maintain your status which is examined on a case-by-case basis. Trips of up to 6 months do not have any problems as long as they are not repeated. For example, you leave for 5 months, come back to the US for 1 month and leave again for 5 months. That is not maintaining your residency in the US and your LPR status may be revoked. Stays from 6 months to 1 year do not require any documentation to be filed, but the USCIS website does mention that stays outside the US of less than 1 year can be used to revoke your LPR status. Stays of over 1 year require the filing of documentation--re-entry permit--before you leave the US. Stays over 2 years require even more documention. Typically if you remain in the US for more than 6 months in a 1 year period, you do not risk loosing your LPR status. Being outside the US for more than 6 months in a 1 year period puts your LPR status into question unless you take steps to preserve it.

Why would you go to all the trouble of getting LPR status and then have no intensions of living in the US? Given the time frame you mention, it would appear that you want to be a LPR of the US, but attend school outside the US. It might be doable, but you may have to choose which is more important to you. Check the USCIS website on the requirements for a LPR.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited February 8, 2012 by Dave&Roza