Can my wife spend time out of the country?

[Rob&Pame 2]

My wife received her conditional green card in October 2011. We just spent 5 weeks with her family in Costa Rica and would like to go back for up to 3 months over the summer. Will this have any affect on the renewal of her green card in October? Are there any restrictions on how much time she can spend out of the US?

[Martyshk 137]

My wife received her conditional green card in October 2011. We just spent 5 weeks with her family in Costa Rica and would like to go back for up to 3 months over the summer. Will this have any affect on the renewal of her green card in October? Are there any restrictions on how much time she can spend out of the US?

http://www.uscis.gov...000082ca60aRCRD

Basically anything under 6 months is OK.

Later on, when the citizenship application comes around you'd have to put all of the time spent away from US and there are residency requirement for the 3 years (GC/Naturalization through marriage) - you'll need at least 18 months presence in US over that period.

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Publications/PDFs/G-1151.pdf

Edited January 17, 2013 by Martyshk

[Rob&Pame 2]

Thanks, Captain!