Previous permanent resident, will this be a problem?

[Amy and Brian 1]

First I'd like to say that this place is amazing. I have found pretty much all the information I could possibly need for the K-1 Process just on this one site... I am incredibly thankful to the friend who sent me in this direction

Now on to the explanations.

I (Amy) am a Canadian citizen who's just recently become engaged to a USC (Brian). We're in the process of getting everything ready to file for the K-1 Visa and it looks as though everything ought to go smoothly providing one issue doesn't cause any problems.

I am a previous permanent resident of the US. My father married a USC and when I was 16 I moved to Texas with him and went through three years of lovely immigration paperwork and received my green card in 2001. I graduated from high school the same year and after a failed attempt at a local college, I decided that the US really wasn't the place for me and I chose to move back to Canada in 2002. At the time I had no intentions of ever living in the US again and, being a somewhat naive 19 year old, I saw no reason to take any steps whatsoever to retain my permanent resident status upon leaving. No paperwork was filed, no letters sent, and I didn't return to the states to visit until a few years later. My green card itself has not expired (03/05/12 expiry date), but I know it's invalidated due to my prolonged absence from the country. Can't exactly be a resident when you don't reside

So here I am, three years later. I'm 23 years old and I find myself engaged and heading into the wonderful world of immigration all over again. What I was wondering was if any of you would happen to have any idea whether my past status will cause any problems while applying for the K-1 Visa. I've already got an A# and a social security number, both of which I'm including on the application where specified, so I've no doubt they'll come across all this information. Personally, I don't see why this would be an actual problem, but we want to find out if there's anything we might need to do differently before we actually file. It's been suggested that we sit down with an attorney or get in touch with someone from USCIS, but I thought I'd check in here beforehand.

Ultimately, I'm wondering if this will be a hindrance or in some way actually helpful. Wouldn't it be wonderful if later down the line during the AOS process I could skip out on the biometrics fees since they already have my fingerprints? Of course, we all know USCIS wouldn't work that way, but a girl can dream can't she?

[flipside 0]

This might be one of those situations to consult an attorney.

I'm not an attorney, but I think it would probably be easier to keep your old green card then start the whole process over again.

[ChristinaM 0]

You may find they'll allow you to keep your old GC, but I would agree with Flipside - consult an experienced attorney.

Good luck!

[jkb919 0]

Yes I really think you should consult an Attorney...with your greecard still valid (not expired) there is a chance you could skip a lot of the steps and maybe not have to go the K-1 route...But I am really not sure how all that would work.

[aussiewench 9]

From USCIS

Maintaining Permanent Residence

Maintaining Permanent Residence You may lose your permanent residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a Permanent Resident.

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.

* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.

*Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.

[Amy and Brian 1]

From USCIS

Maintaining Permanent Residence

Maintaining Permanent Residence You may lose your permanent residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a Permanent Resident.

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.

* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.

*Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.

Thanks, aussiewench. I knew about that information from previous research into this matter. This is what I meant by the fact that, while my actual card has not expired, I am aware that my permanent resident status will no longer be valid. Thus the reason I haven't just up and moved back to the US to be with the finance I'm just not sure whether having abandonded permanent resident status in the past will have any sort of effect on the K1 process.

In the end, we'll likely end up consulting an attorney. As I said before, I just wanted to check in here first on the off chance someone might know something

Thanks again for the info though

[aussiewench 9]

Thanks, aussiewench. I knew about that information from previous research into this matter. This is what I meant by the fact that, while my actual card has not expired, I am aware that my permanent resident status will no longer be valid. Thus the reason I haven't just up and moved back to the US to be with the finance I'm just not sure whether having abandonded permanent resident status in the past will have any sort of effect on the K1 process.

In the end, we'll likely end up consulting an attorney. As I said before, I just wanted to check in here first on the off chance someone might know something

Thanks again for the info though

I realise by your post that you would of already known that. I posted more for others so it was clear as to the requirements on how to maintain permanent residence status

I would doubt that it would affect your K-1 petition, but it could pay to have a meeting with an immigration attorney just to clarify and for peace of mind.

All the best to you.

[Amy and Brian 1]

I realise by your post that you would of already known that. I posted more for others so it was clear as to the requirements on how to maintain permanent residence status

I would doubt that it would affect your K-1 petition, but it could pay to have a meeting with an immigration attorney just to clarify and for peace of mind.

All the best to you.

You know, I realized that was likely the case shortly after I posted. I imagine most people are unaware of the requirements, I had no real clue myself until it was too late.

Thanks again!

[Nikita2Charles 32]

I would speak to an Immigration Lawyer like everybody has suggested, But I doubt it that you would need to go through the K1 since you already had a green card, as a canadian a few visits back and forth to the us could have avoid this problem but it's all in the past now. Wishing you best of luck hopefully you won't have to go through the K1 process