Reissuing an old green card

[Andre Terra 0]

Hi everyone!

First of all, this is my first post here, so apologies for any mistakes in my conduct.

I'm reaching out to this community because someone I know is seeking to apply for a green card reissue and it's hard to find information regarding this his specifics online.

My friend is a 50-year-old Italian man who was a permanent resident in the US before (from 1989 to 1999, give or take). He was married to an American woman and has an American kid who's 11 years old. He's been living in Brazil for 12+ years, but the Italian company he works for has now asked him to go back to the US. In order to plan the move and everything he wanted to know a rough estimate of how long it would take to reissue the green card. Does anybody have any info on this? I've heard everything from 3 to 30 months, so at this point I just wanted to get an average of everyone's estimate, pretty much.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Cheers!

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

He has abandoned his residence long time ago, there is no way he can obtain one again himself right now. His company can process his H1B work visa for him, the he can adjust his status later on when the company sponsors his residence. Or he can wait until his son turns 21, then he can file IR5 application for his father.

[Caryh 5,206]

He's pretty good to have an eleven year old American kid here by his American former Wife here, when he's been in Brazil for 12+ years! He must have gotten out of Dodge as soon as she was pregnant.

His only way to get back and work is wait until his kid turns 18, is he sure the kid wants to see him now? Or get his employer to sponsor him in. Residency was abandoned long ago.

[Andre Terra 0]

He has abandoned his residence long time ago, there is no way he can obtain one again himself right now. His company can process his H1B work visa for him, the he can adjust his status later on when the company sponsors his residence. Or he can wait until his son turns 21, then he can file IR5 application for his father.

First of all, I can't thank you enough for replying at such short notice. This situation has put a lot of stress into the lives of everyone in his family, and I just want to help out as best as I can.

I'm not 100% sure I understood what you meant, so I just want to make sure I got this right. From your info, my understanding is that he can apply for a H1B visa right away (possibly paying a premium $1200+ to expedite the process), which would mean a turnaround time from 15 days (premium) to 2-6 months (regular application). Once he got that response, then he could go to the US and start working and apply for the green card which would take just as long as if it were the first time he was applying, correct? I think a company-sponsored application would probably be quicker than waiting for his kid to turn 21 (10 years!), but you never know..

In any case, the crucial thing is knowing when he can expect to leave Brazil, considering he doesn't want to sign a rent contract here for another 12 months and then only need to wait 15 days to move. Do these expedited applications really speed up the process? I'm 99.9% sure his H1B would be approved (from my layman understanding) considering his occupation, previous visits to the US, working for a multinational, etc.

Thanks again for your help!

[Anh map 2,098]

First of all, I can't thank you enough for replying at such short notice. This situation has put a lot of stress into the lives of everyone in his family, and I just want to help out as best as I can.

I'm not 100% sure I understood what you meant, so I just want to make sure I got this right. From your info, my understanding is that he can apply for a H1B visa right away (possibly paying a premium $1200+ to expedite the process), which would mean a turnaround time from 15 days (premium) to 2-6 months (regular application). Once he got that response, then he could go to the US and start working and apply for the green card which would take just as long as if it were the first time he was applying, correct? I think a company-sponsored application would probably be quicker than waiting for his kid to turn 21 (10 years!), but you never know..

In any case, the crucial thing is knowing when he can expect to leave Brazil, considering he doesn't want to sign a rent contract here for another 12 months and then only need to wait 15 days to move. Do these expedited applications really speed up the process? I'm 99.9% sure his H1B would be approved (from my layman understanding) considering his occupation, previous visits to the US, working for a multinational, etc.

Thanks again for your help!

The employer submits the visa application, not the individual.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Correct and the employer must be US base for a H1B. If he is working for his company that is based in his country and they wish to send employees to work at their US dept, then that is another type of visa.

It's an L or an O visa.

Edited May 10, 2012 by LIFE'SJOURNEY

[Andre Terra 0]

He's pretty good to have an eleven year old American kid here by his American former Wife here, when he's been in Brazil for 12+ years! He must have gotten out of Dodge as soon as she was pregnant.

His only way to get back and work is wait until his kid turns 18, is he sure the kid wants to see him now? Or get his employer to sponsor him in. Residency was abandoned long ago.

Hey, thanks for judging without knowing anything about it! I just don't know the exact dates, I'm giving you estimates. His kid must have been 1 or 2 when he left, but I don't know him all that well. In any case, his daughter visits Brazil very often and he goes to the US regularly too, so they keep in touch. They are a loving family and everything is fine. I even know his daughter and we all got to hang out this last Christmas and in February too.

Not everyone case of foreign parents means is like Sean Goldman's. There's absolutely no reason for you to assume that he "got out of Dodge", rather than being legitimate reasons that caused the marriage to end.

His employer *is* sponsoring him, we're just looking to expedite the process.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Hey, thanks for judging without knowing anything about it! I just don't know the exact dates, I'm giving you estimates. His kid must have been 1 or 2 when he left, but I don't know him all that well. In any case, his daughter visits Brazil very often and he goes to the US regularly too, so they keep in touch. They are a loving family and everything is fine. I even know his daughter and we all got to hang out this last Christmas and in February too.

Not everyone case of foreign parents means is like Sean Goldman's. There's absolutely no reason for you to assume that he "got out of Dodge", rather than being legitimate reasons that caused the marriage to end.

His employer *is* sponsoring him, we're just looking to expedite the process.

IS his employer an US base company?

[Andre Terra 0]

Correct and the employer must be US base for a H1B. If he is working for his company that is based in his country and they wish to send employees to work at their US dept, then that is another type of visa.

It's an L or an O visa.

I found this on the Italian embassy website:

L: classification applies to an intra-company transferee who within the three preceding years has been employed abroad continuously for one year and who will be employed by a branch' date=' parent affiliate or subsidiary of that same employer in the United States in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity. NOTE: L1 BLANKET REQUIREMENTS. Beginning March 8, 2005, there is a $500 fraud prevention and detection surcharge fee for principal applicants applying for L1 visas under blanket provisions abroad. This fee does not apply to the spouse/children of the applicant, and must be paid at the Consulate when you apply.

[/quote']

I believe that's his case, because he's been working abroad for 12+ years (in Brazil) in an executive position. From another link, it seems this could take from 1-3 weeks with a blanket petition or 2-4 months on a regular L1A application.

Organizations which have been doing business in the United States for a minimum of one year and:

Are engaged in commercial trade or services (i.e. charities' date=' etc., do not qualify for a ' blanket);

Have at least 3 offices in the US and overseas; and

Have either:

Sponsored at least 10 successful individual L1 petitions in the last 12 months;

US annual sales exceeding $25,000,000; or

A US work force of at least 1000 employees.

can include an unlimited number of qualifying foreign parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or branch offices in a 'blanket' petition. If approved, a blanket petition considerably speeds up subsequent L1 visa applications (from 4-6 weeks to about 10 days), which are processed at the US consulate in the employee's own country rather than by the USCIS in the United States. The transferring employee of a foreign organization covered by the blanket petition merely has to prove his/her own eligibility as an Executive/Manager or a Specialized Knowledge Worker, rather than both this and the relationship between the US and foreign employers. However, note that a 'specialized knowledge worker coming to the US under a blanket L1 approval must be a professional.

(...)

Q. How long does it take to get an L1?

A. Usually 2-4 months for a normal L1, 1-3 weeks for an L1 covered by a blanket approval.

[/quote']

IS his employer an US base company?

His employer is an Italian company with operations pretty much everywhere in the world, including offices in Miami and New York.

[Caryh 5,206]

Hey, thanks for judging without knowing anything about it! I just don't know the exact dates, I'm giving you estimates. His kid must have been 1 or 2 when he left, but I don't know him all that well. In any case, his daughter visits Brazil very often and he goes to the US regularly too, so they keep in touch. They are a loving family and everything is fine. I even know his daughter and we all got to hang out this last Christmas and in February too.

Not everyone case of foreign parents means is like Sean Goldman's. There's absolutely no reason for you to assume that he "got out of Dodge", rather than being legitimate reasons that caused the marriage to end.

His employer *is* sponsoring him, we're just looking to expedite the process.

His kid must be a bit older than 11 then, if he was 1 or 2 when he left 12 years ago. Sorry about sounding judgmental, it was meant to be a touch of dry humor, given the age and how long he's been gone would have meant he had never seen his kid.

[Anh map 2,098]

Hey, thanks for judging without knowing anything about it! I just don't know the exact dates, I'm giving you estimates. His kid must have been 1 or 2 when he left, but I don't know him all that well. In any case, his daughter visits Brazil very often and he goes to the US regularly too, so they keep in touch. They are a loving family and everything is fine. I even know his daughter and we all got to hang out this last Christmas and in February too.

Not everyone case of foreign parents means is like Sean Goldman's. There's absolutely no reason for you to assume that he "got out of Dodge", rather than being legitimate reasons that caused the marriage to end.

His employer *is* sponsoring him, we're just looking to expedite the process.

The corporate legal team will be better at finding the answer.

[Boiler 45,314]

It is all in the hands of his Employer and their Lawyers, visa category, timeline etc.

[Harsh_77 716]

I found this on the Italian embassy website:

I believe that's his case, because he's been working abroad for 12+ years (in Brazil) in an executive position. From another link, it seems this could take from 1-3 weeks with a blanket petition or 2-4 months on a regular L1A application.

His employer is an Italian company with operations pretty much everywhere in the world, including offices in Miami and New York.

If he is working for multinational company, I am sure they have legal team. Let them handle the situation and let them file either H1 L1A or L1B whatever it is.

I would suggest its their job and speciality they can take care of it rather than you and him trying.

[kzielu 1,147]

His employer is an Italian company with operations pretty much everywhere in the world, including offices in Miami and New York.

Than L visa may not work here as it has to be US company with offices "everywhere in the world". Also, H-1B - unless company qualifies for quota exemption - earlier time he can get it is October 1st. And key thing here for both is - company applies for it. He sits and waits.

[Boiler 45,314]

The only requirement for a L is one operation outside the USA.

The way he describes it I would expect the L to be used. But not his call.