F2A Visa， Green Card Holder is NOT in the US

[hellomartin 0]

Dear All,

My case is F2A visa application, my husband is a Green Card Holder and we got married in March this year, however, he never stays and works in US since 2007 he got the GC, in order to maintain his GC, he does fly there once a year, the latest time that he had been to US was this July. And now he wants to help me apply for a F2A visa, but what we worried is that USCIS may challenge his days of staying in the US (actually just A WEEK per year). But his Green Card is still valid, and he did declare his income tax every year since 2008. Would anybody know if that is possible of my petition could be accepted? or USCIS may think the sponsor is not actually living in the US so they just rejected my case? Anybody gets same situation with me? Any answers or discussion will be highly appreciated! Thank you guys!

Edited October 4, 2012 by hellomartin

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

It's possible it'l be accepted, but chances are not- by petitioning you, he is basically drawing attention to his own travel and the fact that he has been using the greencard as a visitors visa.

[cardilene 26]

Dear All,

My case is F2A visa application, my husband is a Green Card Holder and we got married in March this year, however, he never stays and works in US since 2007 he got the GC, in order to maintain his GC, he does fly there once a year, the latest time that he had been to US was this July. And now he wants to help me apply for a F2A visa, but what we worried is that USCIS may challenge his days of staying in the US (actually just A WEEK per year). But his Green Card is still valid, and he did declare his income tax every year since 2008. Would anybody know if that is possible of my petition could be accepted? or USCIS may think the sponsor is not actually living in the US so they just rejected my case? Anybody gets same situation with me? Any answers or discussion will be highly appreciated! Thank you guys!

You won't have any problems with the petition process, because the petitioner would end up proving that he can support you no matter what, it is regardless on how long he spent his 5 years in and out of his country.

BUT, he will definitely have problems proving his intention in staying in the US if the time comes he decides to file for his citizenship, he will be questioned on why he spent so much time outside the US, this happened to us, good thing we were able to prove our intention to stay and live here permanently after submitting all the necessary documents requested, proving that we had stayed here for a loooong period of time....

Good luck

[hellomartin 0]

You won't have any problems with the petition process, because the petitioner would end up proving that he can support you no matter what, it is regardless on how long he spent his 5 years in and out of his country.

BUT, he will definitely have problems proving his intention in staying in the US if the time comes he decides to file for his citizenship, he will be questioned on why he spent so much time outside the US, this happened to us, good thing we were able to prove our intention to stay and live here permanently after submitting all the necessary documents requested, proving that we had stayed here for a loooong period of time....

Good luck

Thank you. So you mean as long as he can prove he has the intention to move back to the US, so the petition may still be accepted, no matter how less time he spent for the past 7 years in the US (2007-2014), actually we plan to move back to there in 2014, when my green card may be issued. So what I plan is to let my husband get a working offer and move back to the US BEFORE my petition is went through ( I just submit I-130 this month, so my case will be went through in 2 years later) , by that time, my sponsor will be in the US, probably it will be ok for my petition. However, if he cannot get a working offer, he may still live and work in his own country, so when my petition will be went through in 2014, then national visa centre may reject me?

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

They won't just reject you, they may withdraw his greencard. He must reside in the USA to keep his greencard, not just visit. He's been very lucky they let him in everytime so far.

[cardilene 26]

They would not withdraw his green card because he has the option to stay outside the US for not over a year,

and for that, he is not violating anything, but it will be questioned once he decides to file and become a US citizen,

they will doubt his intention to live and to become a citizen for being out of the country that many times.

But for as long as he is in the limits of the right of being a permanent resident, he has no problem at all,...

[cardilene 26]

Thank you. So you mean as long as he can prove he has the intention to move back to the US, so the petition may still be accepted, no matter how less time he spent for the past 7 years in the US (2007-2014), actually we plan to move back to there in 2014, when my green card may be issued. So what I plan is to let my husband get a working offer and move back to the US BEFORE my petition is went through ( I just submit I-130 this month, so my case will be went through in 2 years later) , by that time, my sponsor will be in the US, probably it will be ok for my petition. However, if he cannot get a working offer, he may still live and work in his own country, so when my petition will be went through in 2014, then national visa centre may reject me?

Just to clear it up, he CANNOT file a petition for you if he is not PHYSICALLY in the US.

He has to show them that he is capable to provide for his family,

if that's the case, they somehow, your chances for getting the petition approved is quite low.

[bigdog 376]

If he has a US employer who sent him to China, I would get a letter from them, this might help. I'm not a expert in this area, seems like their will be issue for him.

[ceadsearc 516]

They would not withdraw his green card because he has the option to stay outside the US for not over a year,

and for that, he is not violating anything, but it will be questioned once he decides to file and become a US citizen,

they will doubt his intention to live and to become a citizen for being out of the country that many times.

But for as long as he is in the limits of the right of being a permanent resident, he has no problem at all,...

That isn't true. He can be outside the country for under a year without a re-entry permit and over a year with a re-entry permit (but not more than 2), but he must be permanently residing in the US. If he is visiting the US one week a year and living abroad the rest of the time, USCIS has the right to revoke his green card. A permanent resident must be living in the US, not visiting.

OP, he can try to file but if he isn't planning to move back for another 2 years you're likely going to have a problem. Because while they might say ok and issue you a GC 2 years from now, more likely they are going to scrutinize his GC and see he has not been using it properly for many years and revoke it. The fact that this hasn't happened yet after 5 years of using a GC as a visitor's visa means he just got very, very lucky at CBP.

If he wants to remain an LPR and/or petition you he should move back to the US NOW and stay there.