Long term travel

[gonga 0]

My wife holds a valid green card. Not expired, no issues.

Last year we decided to travel for a long period. No work, no moving, just travel.

Quit our jobs, gave up our apartment (would be very costly to keep!), stored our stuff in a locker, etc.

We will be out of the country for approximately 9 months.

We did not get a re-entry permit because we thought under 1 yr was acceptable, but a friend said we should return before 6 months! So now, we have some concern...

First question: Should we expect any trouble upon returning?

It seems we are within the legal bounds: travel not for moving or working, just for pleasure. still keeping our stuff in the US, file taxes, etc.

But we did quit jobs, and give up the apartment. From our point of view, very practical. I hope immigration concurs!

So, 9 months of travel is a lot, but we would like to continue! We are returning to the US to visit friends, family, and attend a wedding. And to comply with the 1 yr rule.

Second question: Assuming we are OK to return after 9 months, would it be safe to continue traveling abroad after we have completed our social visits (~1 month back in US)?

We have every intention to resume working and normal life back in the US - just taking a timely opportunity to travel after working hard for many years and before having children.

I realize these are not clear cut questions. But I hope another member may have some similar experience to share. Thank you in advance for any insight, advice, or warning provided!

[hmh33 117]

You shouldn't have trouble, but you may get questions. Have you spent all or most of this time outside the US in a single country? If you have been visiting many countries, once you explain this to CBP it should be obvious to them that you and your wife have not taken up residence abroad, and therefore that she has not abandoned her residence in the US.

If you want peace of mind and possibly an easier time at the border after you return from your second trip, your wife could apply for a reentry permit. It certainly wouldn't hurt. But IMO, it is not a necessity.

Explanation of the 6 month threshold:

Trips abroad of less than 6 months cause a presumption that the alien did not intend to abandon US residence.

Trips of greater than 12 months cause a presumption that the alien DID intend to abandon US residence.

Trips between 6 and 12 months leave it up to the discretion of the CBP officer to determine whether there was an intention to abandon residence. Since - from your description so far - your wife clearly did not intend to abandon residence, assuming she can convey this appropriately to CBP, she should be fine.

With a reentry permit, the presumption that the alien did not intend to abandon residence extends to 2 years rather than 6 months.

As a separate issue, if your wife would like to become a US citizen, look into the effects of extended trips abroad on the naturalization timeline.

[hmh33 117]

Oh - it wouldn't hurt to bring with you to the border crossing evidence of you and your wife's ties to the US - tax returns, storage locker invoices etc. Also, whatever evidence you can come up with that the travel abroad was for the purpose of seeing the world rather than shacking up in some tax haven.

[gonga 0]

hmh33 thank you for your reply. You have put me back at ease.

My original gut instinct was that if we were simply sight seeing long term, which we are, there would be no serious issue if we returned within 1 yr. What I did not consider was that we would need to prepare some documentation for re-entry. Very good advice which we will follow. Thank you for that.

Do you (or anyone else) have information or experience regarding the continuation of our travels?

To recap the proposed scenario: legitimate travel for 9 months, return for 1 month for friend/family visits, continue travel.

Question in other words: should we resume a "standard" way of life (get apartment, get jobs, etc) after 1 long travel session? Or should our 1 month US visit allow us to continue traveling abroad without risking green card status?

[Ippsy Pippsy 31]

Wouldn't it just make sense to get the reentry permit so you don't have to worry?

[hmh33 117]

IMO the continued travel shouldn't be any different to the first trip abroad (except perhaps if it affects the naturalization clock, which I haven't looked into in detail).

Nomenclature: Your 1 month US "visit" should be thought of (and referred to) as "returning home" rather than a "visit"

[gonga 0]

Following up. Perhaps the information will be of help or use to someone else.

June 2012

My wife had PR status for ~2 years (via our marriage)

We had recently applied for her green card

Received notice of action (1 yr extension for work/travel) - yay! feeling OK to start our travel adventure

We both quit our jobs, moved out of our apartment and road tripped around N. America (we had been planning and saving for years!)

Crossed the Canadian border four times (drove to Alaska and back). The 1 yr extension paperwork was asked for and respected.

December 2012

Flew to Malaysia (where my wife was born) to visit with her family and travel abroad

Traveling with expired PR card + 1 yr extension paperwork.

Still waiting on the green card...we felt this was not ideal. We had hoped that the green card would be issued by the time we started to travel abroad.

Feb 2013

Green card issued! Very happy about that. Eased our concerns about traveling on the 1 yr extension paperwork.

We had my parents mail the GC to Malaysia.

July 2013

Done visiting / traveling.

We fly home to the U.S.

As expected, entry was absolutely no problem.

Rented a new apartment, back to work, etc...

Before we started our travel adventure I spent a lot of time looking online for information about couples in our situation and found very little. I knew that technically we should encounter no problems, but was looking to have my concerns eased.

Your milage may vary, but thankfully for us, it was smooth sailing. I hope this info may help someone or give confidence in traveling with 1 yr extension.

Feel free to message me if you are in a similar situation and would like more information.