Leaving for two years with ten-year green card

[jalevy03 0]

Hi everyone,

My wife has a ten-year green card. We've been living in the U.S. since 2008. I'm a graduate student and I need to travel to the Federated States of Micronesia for some fieldwork. The research itself will take about a year, but we were hoping my wife could get a two-year appointment with a Japanese version of the Peace Corps that operates in Micronesia (it's called JICA).

I know we need a re-entry permit if she's gone for more than a year and up to two years -- but it's possible the program will last 25 months with training. Does the re-entry permit start counting down from the date of issuance, meaning that we might miss the deadline by a few months? Should we try to negotiate a shorter term from the Japanese government? Is it at all possible that a visit to Guam or Hawai'i somewhere in there could help? Or maybe we should stick to a year abroad without her working? Thoughts?

Thanks for your help!

[Love's JAA 100]

Hi everyone,

My wife has a ten-year green card. We've been living in the U.S. since 2008. I'm a graduate student and I need to travel to the Federated States of Micronesia for some fieldwork. The research itself will take about a year, but we were hoping my wife could get a two-year appointment with a Japanese version of the Peace Corps that operates in Micronesia (it's called JICA).

I know we need a re-entry permit if she's gone for more than a year and up to two years -- but it's possible the program will last 25 months with training. Does the re-entry permit start counting down from the date of issuance, meaning that we might miss the deadline by a few months? Should we try to negotiate a shorter term from the Japanese government? Is it at all possible that a visit to Guam or Hawai'i somewhere in there could help? Or maybe we should stick to a year abroad without her working? Thoughts?

Thanks for your help!

I am a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., can I leave the U.S. multiple times and return?

If you are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), you may leave the U.S. multiple times and reenter, as long as you do not intend to stay outside the U.S. for 1 year or more.

If you intend to stay outside the U.S. for 1 year or more, you must apply for a re-entry permit with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) prior to leaving the U.S. Re-entry permits are generally valid for 2 years from the date of issuance. Therefore, if you are outside of the U.S. longer than the date the permit was issued, you may be denied entry into the U.S.

To apply for a re-entry permit, you must file an Application for a Travel Document (I-131) with the USCIS. If you applied for permanent resident status, but are not yet officially a lawful permanent resident "green card holder" and you need to leave the U.S. on emergency, you must apply for and receive advance parole to leave the U.S. by filing a I-131 with USCIS. Information on how to file the I-131 is available on the USCIS Website.

If you are required to file documents prior to leaving the U.S., it is imperative that you do so, otherwise, you may be found inadmissible and denied reentry into the U.S.

If you are a green card holder and you do not stay outside the U.S. for 1 year or more, you should have either your green card (INS Form I-551, or your returning resident visa to re-enter the United States. You are not required to present your unexpired passport, however it is not a bad idea to carry it with you.

source: https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/820/~/can-a-u.s.-lawful-permanent-resident-leave-multiple-times-and-return

[jalevy03 0]

And I suppose it's not possible to renew the re-entry permit? My wife would have to be in the United States to apply for it, and I'm sure it takes a few months to be approved, right?

[jhm3 15]

And I suppose it's not possible to renew the re-entry permit? My wife would have to be in the United States to apply for it, and I'm sure it takes a few months to be approved, right?

A re-entry permit can be renewed, but as you say, your wife would have to be physically in the United States when she makes the application for the second permit and would have to stick around long enough to have her biometrics taken as part of the application process. She wouldn't have to remain until the permit is actually issued, though; arrangements can be made to pick it up from US consular posts abroad.

[jalevy03 0]

Hmm... any rough estimates as to the time between submitting the application and the biometrics? Maybe it'd be possible to spend some time at my parents' house, submit the second I-131 immediately, and then take off right after the biometrics? I'm imagining that'd be at least a month -- which means that cutting the trip a bit short would probably be easiest.

Or: for the first I-131, we'd submit the application, get the biometrics, and then be able to leave right after, right? How long before leaving the country should we send in the application, just to be safe? And if we were to pick up the I-131 at the US embassy in Micronesia after being abroad for a month or two, would that actually buy us a little extra time? Say, two months of waiting plus 24 months from the date of issuance?

A re-entry permit can be renewed, but as you say, your wife would have to be physically in the United States when she makes the application for the second permit and would have to stick around long enough to have her biometrics taken as part of the application process. She wouldn't have to remain until the permit is actually issued, though; arrangements can be made to pick it up from US consular posts abroad.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Let your wife travel with you but stay there for "only" 8 months or so, then return to the United States, apply for naturalization, and join you again once she has become a US citizen. Once she's outside the US for 1 year, all of her previous residency would be lost and she had to start over again with 364 days on the clock once she returns.

[jhm3 15]

Hmm... any rough estimates as to the time between submitting the application and the biometrics? Maybe it'd be possible to spend some time at my parents' house, submit the second I-131 immediately, and then take off right after the biometrics? I'm imagining that'd be at least a month -- which means that cutting the trip a bit short would probably be easiest.

Or: for the first I-131, we'd submit the application, get the biometrics, and then be able to leave right after, right? How long before leaving the country should we send in the application, just to be safe? And if we were to pick up the I-131 at the US embassy in Micronesia after being abroad for a month or two, would that actually buy us a little extra time? Say, two months of waiting plus 24 months from the date of issuance?

I'm thinking naturalization isn't an option, since Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship (right?). As for how long the biometrics part of the process takes, others might have fresher information than I do, but my recollection is that it usually takes something like 3-4 weeks to get an appointment letter, and then most (but apparently not all) offices will let you walk in anytime after you have received the letter to have the biometrics collected (even if the biometrics appointment is a few weeks further into the future). According to the re-entry permit form instructions, you can request expedited processing, which might speed up this part of the process slightly (see p. 6 of http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-131instr.pdf), but you probably wouldn't be able to count on it being much faster.

If it were me, I would apply for the re-entry permit a couple of months before intended departure, to make sure that the biometrics stuff gets done with time to spare. It does take several months for a re-entry permit to be processed, so by the time it's actually issued, the 24 months of its validity might be enough to cover the duration of your time abroad. If it doesn't, and you can't easily come back to the US territory for a few weeks to get a renewal processed, you might want to make inquiries at the US embassy in Micronesia (*before* the re-entry permit expires, I would say) about the feasibility of obtaining a "returning resident" visa for your wife. That would be a bit risky, as her LPR status would be lost if she stays abroad beyond the validity of the re-entry permit and then *isn't* able to obtain the returning resident visa, but if you have plenty of documentation that your stay in Micronesia is temporary and that you have maintained your intent of returning to permanent residence in the US, that ought to be an option.

Good luck!

[RicknKeiko 0]

Wow,... I believe, but as no persons info on here is written in stone, that Guam is a us territory and uses dollars for currency and Im reasonanly sure no passport is needed for travel to this island from a US port. If a brief stay on Guam qualifies for a re-entry into the US, then I presume u would be fine. However please refer to the first statement in the post.

[jalevy03 0]

Great answers, everyone -- thanks.

Unfortunately, Japan doesn't allow dual citizenship. If it did, that would solve all of our problems. My wife wouldn't be able to work for this volunteer organization in the first place if she wasn't a Japanese citizen anymore.

But otherwise, I think we can figure this out. Thanks again for all of your help with this.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

My bad.

I simply assumed that the wife of a United States citizen who lives in the United States would want to become a United States citizen herself. Apparently, that's not the case with your wife. Instead, her loyalty lies with Japan, not with the people of the country she resides in.

[RicknKeiko 0]

Narrow minded statements of a past president, not pertinent to the world in which we live today....