Complicated situation - Gurus please help !!

[LA80 3]

Another thing the OP should keep in mind: in addition to the above said, on the N-400 form, he will be asked to list his employment history for the past 5 years. He will also have to provide the addresses. And the OP works full time in the UK, maintains the US address somehow, and on top of that, did not file a tax return? It does not look good at all.

Edited August 27, 2012 by LA80

[Que Saudade 284]

Another thing the OP should keep in mind: in addition to the above said, on the N-400 form, he will be asked to list his employment history for the past 5 years. He will also have to provide the addresses. And the OP works full time in the UK, maintains the US address somehow, and on top of that, did not file a tax return? It does not look good at all.

Another fine observation....

[Dave&Roza 748]

What is this lifetime ban that gets mentioned so often?

For violating US immigration laws there are several levels of bans--inability to be granted a tourist or immigration visa for the purposes of entering the USA-- that they can issue. For minor offenses like short over-stays of a visa you can get a 3 year ban of being granted a visa to enter the US. More severe offenses can result in a 10 year ban. The ultimate in immigration offenses which includes lying or misrepresnetation, which the OP would be charged with because he is saying that he has maintained his LPR status when in fact he has not, is a life-time ban of ever getting a visa to visit or immigrate to the US without a waiver. In some cases a waiver is not possible.

Dave

Edited August 27, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[Boiler 45,525]

He would not get a ban for this.

[Dave&Roza 748]

He would not get a ban for this.

Are you sure? If he never files for citizenship, he will keep his GC and live happily ever after. IMO, if he files for citizenship based on only residing in the US for 18 months he will have to list all trips in the past three years and his employement history which is in the UK. He returned to the US to maintain his GC, but he did not resided in the US or maintain his LPR status. By filing the N-400 you are stating that you are a LPR and meet all requirements for being granted USC. If you are claiming this, but clearing did not maintain your LPR status, how is that not misrepresentation? If it is misrepresentation he will be stripped of his GC, deported, and incurr a life-time ban. That is my take on what will happen if he follows thru with is current plan. What is yours?

Dave

[Boiler 45,525]

Misrepresentation would be if he materially lied on his application.

Only an IJ can take away his status. It is more likely to come up at PoE entries, applying for Citizenship could also trigger enquiries Hence the need for legal advise.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Misrepresentation would be if he materially lied on his application.

Only an IJ can take away his status. It is more likely to come up at PoE entries, applying for Citizenship could also trigger enquiries Hence the need for legal advise.

I agree that he needs to get competent legal advice for his situation. Thanks for pointing all this out.

Dave

Edited August 27, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[TimeTravel 78]

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=3f443a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=3f443a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Abandoning Permanent Resident Status

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

Move to another country intending to live there permanently

Remain outside of the United States for more than 1 year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned, any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year

Remain outside of the United States for more than 2 years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year

Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the United States for any period

Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns

[Que Saudade 284]

He would not get a ban for this.

I have to agree with Boiler on this issue.

I do not agree with, "If he never files for citizenship, he will keep his GC and live happily ever after."

There exists the possibility that LPR status could be revoked due to lack of maintaining residency requirements through length of time in US and failure to file taxes. (which the latter may be rectified, but the length issue remains)

All based on if and how USCIS wants to proceed.

Edited August 27, 2012 by Que Saudade

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I have got a complicated situation. I was living in the UK - got married to a US citizen - Got the "10 Years" Green card through my wife in October 2010. I had plans to continue working in the UK for a while so I passed my driving license / SSN / started bank accounts and credit cards in New York and then came back to the UK after few weeks of receving the Green card.

So Since Novemeber 2010 we are living and working full time in the UK but I am keeping my residence in NY and I visit America every 5 months and 3 weeks to keep my green card up and running. How long do you stay in the US for?

Now we both are planing to go back to the US and get my citizenship done so we can travel and live any where we like freely. I beleive I can apply for Naturalization after 3 years of my GC and I also need to be physically present for 18 months so If I start living in America from April 2013 - I will be eligible

to apply in October 2014?

Am i correct there? In theory yes. The eligibility is "During the past three years, I have not been out of the country for 18 months or more." so in theory returning to the US and then filing after living here for 18 months straight would work.. but I think in practice it won't. The problem is a lot of things you've done imply you've already abandoned your residency. You're still a GC holder yes, but living outside the US for the last 2 years and just visiting the US is a misuse of the GC and they can revoke your card. Filing your tax return late doesn't negate the fact that you didn't when you were supposed to... which is grounds for assuming abandonment of your GC. I can liken it to a boat full of holes. You're trying to plug the holes when the boat is already half-full so you still run the risk of sinking.

Me and my wife do not have loads of documents to prove our relationship/living together except some bank/credit card statements on the same address in NY plus our new born baby (Born in NY - May 2012). This is a problem. All of your evidence of being together is currently from overseas. So you need to get evidence when you return to the US. And you'll only have 18 months of stuff because, as you admit, you've been living overseas, not in the US.

Me and my wife filed the joint tax return in 2010 -

In 2011 my accountant told me not to file because we both did not earned any thing ( As we both are living and working in the UK) So you DID earn something

The accountant also said that I dont have to declare my foreign income unless it is more than 80 thousand US Dollars, So we did not file in 2011. As you already know, incorrect. You don't have to pay tax on foreign income under the foreign income threshold but you DO still need to file taxes

Can you guys please help me decide the most important step of my life - Do you think the above mentioned will work for Naturalization? Any comments/suggestions/watch outs will be appreciated............. Many thanks for reading

Some responses in red.

In my personal opinion you should wait for the 5 year mark and file then. It gives you more time to file taxes and become a regular member of society and then hope for the best.

By all means meet with an attorney but like the accountant, make sure you seeks a couple of opinions so you don't end up with the wrong advice.

[Eric-Pris 1,606]

Your accountant must be a graduate of the H&R Block School of Taxation. Hopefully, your lawyer will be a little better at his job.

[olanko 0]

I guess my case is a little similar to that of the OP; I became a PR back in 2006 but was studying in UK at the time so I stayed in US for 2 months until I got my green card, DL, SSN and bank accounts all sorted out. Got back to UK, got married and then relocating to US became even harder. My travels were as follows:

OUT IN DAYS OUT

11/20/06 11/02/07 347.00

11/16/07 12/20/07 34.00

12/28/07 12/22/08 360.00

12/25/08 06/21/09 178.00

07/01/09 01/04/10 187.00

Anyway, long story short, I was able to get away with it until Jan 2010 at POE when I was almost refused entry. I guess the time I traveled complicated the matter since it was only few weeks after the under wear bomber incident and co-incidentally I was traveling the exact same route.

I had to give up my job and decided to stay in the US - been living in US now for ~3 years. Although I still need to file taxes for those years I was away but I m not planning to file N400 (sometime in 2013) until that's all sorted out.

So it's good idea to sort out all tax issues before dealing with USCIS.