I-751ROC and lving overseas

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

We are going back to the Philippines in Oct for 3 months. when we get back we will file for ROC.

Will this affect us. Once we get ROC we plan to live part time in each country, so I have to be able to bring my wife back and forth.

About how long does it take in general

[Christi85 86]

We are going back to the Philippines in Oct for 3 months. when we get back we will file for ROC.

Will this affect us. Once we get ROC we plan to live part time in each country, so I have to be able to bring my wife back and forth.

About how long does it take in general

Being away for 3 months should not affect your ROC.

Living in each country part time once ROC is granted may or may not be a problem depending on how you define "part time".

Your wife will still be a permanent resident after ROC, so she will still have the obligation to be physically present in the US for certain periods of time, and at the very least not be away for over a year continuously. However, the longer she stays away and the more often she leaves the country, the more likely it will be that she gets questioned at POE about her really being a permanent resident of the US.

Also, if she ever decides to file for citizenship, she will be required to be physically present in the US for an absolute minimum of 6 months every year in order to qualify, so you may want to take that into account.

If you plan to live in two countries part time, your best bet would be to wait until she is eligible to file for citizenship (3 years after she first became PR) and once citizenship is granted, there is no restriction as to where you two can live and for how long.

Based on current processing times, ROC takes anywhere from 6 to 9 months start to finish, and citizenship application is anywhere between 3 and 6 months start to finish for the vast majority of cases.