Can a green card holder travel and still obtain citizenship?

[Amanda Lynn 3]

Hey ya'll,

I have looked and looked all over for a definitive answer. My husband is a green card holder and has been here since this January. He of course wants to aim for citizenship. Can he travel now and still get citizenship in 3-5 years? I have seen 2 things: 1) He cant spend more time over seas than here to get citizenship. and 2) he cant travel period until he is a citizen. Which is it?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

So he got a greencard dated Jan 2013. He will be eligible for citizenship Jan 2016 of he remains married to you. Exact date will be the date on his greencard plus 3 years. He may apply 90 days before that date, but if they processed really fast, he still can't take the oath until after that eligibility date. If he doesn't remain married to you, he would be eligible in Jan 2018.

Travel--- he can travel anywhere, anytime and return using his greencard. If he were to go off for a year, he could lose his greencard unless he applied for a reentry permit. Just google reentry permit to get the details. There's a lot of ifs, ands, buts to it but basically don't take off for a solid 6 months or more without checking the requirements for return.

So then there's citizenship. If he was out of the country for an extended period of time it is deducted from his three years to be a citizen. So for example if he spent all of 2014 in the UK, that year might not count toward his three years residency and might push his citizenship out to 2017 because of his extended absence. Many details and exceptions so if you want to know more than the general concept, read it here at USCIS http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=399faf4c0adb4210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=399faf4c0adb4210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Short tourist trips have no effect, which is what I think you want to know.

[jkelly07 120]

if your husband has a green card he can travel now and apply for citizenship in three years he will need to keep track of has days

[nightingale 59 0]

Hey ya'll,

I have looked and looked all over for a definitive answer. My husband is a green card holder and has been here since this January. He of course wants to aim for citizenship. Can he travel now and still get citizenship in 3-5 years? I have seen 2 things: 1) He cant spend more time over seas than here to get citizenship. and 2) he cant travel period until he is a citizen. Which is it?

You can definitely travel outside the US I had my interview last week and I had been back to England twice in the last 5 years, and that was not an issue for the IO, but many people travel for work and so are out of the US much more, the issue is the total amount of time that you are absent from the US and whether the visit was for more than 6 months. I do not know the exact time limits but I am sure someone that does will soon post the details.

[warlord 73]

He can travel just fine on a Green Card. He just can't reside outside of the US on a GC. Any time he is outside of the US longer than 6 months, he will have to demonstrate proof upon returning that he has not resided outside of the US during that time (working for a foreign employer, having a home and no ties to the US etc) and show that he did not abandon his GC.

Anything over a year though will most likely cause his GC to be revoked unless he has previously applied for a Re-Entry Permit.

Multiple trips can be tricky too if say he's gone for 5 months, comes back for 2 weeks and is gone for another 5 months. The INS can determine he is residing outside the US and revoke his card with that as well.

These are extreme cases, but it shows how the law works in regards to the Green Card and travel. Simple travelling for business or pleasure that aren't extraordinary lengths of time are totally fine. In fact he was probably able to travel before he had his GC as well, so the rules haven't changed.

The only time you aren't allowed to travel with any status, is if you had applied for AOS through marriage and you hadn't received your AP (Advance Parole) yet. Then you need to remain put until you have that in your hand, but that's about the only time I can think of where you can't travel...

[Shub 78]

Having a green card is not house arrest, of course you can travel abroad! There are simply certain restrictions to which you must pay attention, as has been detailed above. You'll also want to avoid destinations which US citizens are de facto forbidden from traveling to, such as Cuba.

[happyzac 0]

What is Anvance Parole and how is it different from Reentry Permit?

He can travel just fine on a Green Card. He just can't reside outside of the US on a GC. Any time he is outside of the US longer than 6 months, he will have to demonstrate proof upon returning that he has not resided outside of the US during that time (working for a foreign employer, having a home and no ties to the US etc) and show that he did not abandon his GC.

Anything over a year though will most likely cause his GC to be revoked unless he has previously applied for a Re-Entry Permit.

Multiple trips can be tricky too if say he's gone for 5 months, comes back for 2 weeks and is gone for another 5 months. The INS can determine he is residing outside the US and revoke his card with that as well.

These are extreme cases, but it shows how the law works in regards to the Green Card and travel. Simple travelling for business or pleasure that aren't extraordinary lengths of time are totally fine. In fact he was probably able to travel before he had his GC as well, so the rules haven't changed.

The only time you aren't allowed to travel with any status, is if you had applied for AOS through marriage and you hadn't received your AP (Advance Parole) yet. Then you need to remain put until you have that in your hand, but that's about the only time I can think of where you can't travel...

[Shub 78]

What is Anvance Parole and how is it different from Reentry Permit?

As far as immigrants to the US are concerned, both achieve the same result: they let you back into the country when you would otherwise not have been admissible.

Advance parole allows immigrants who do not yet have a green card to re-enter the country after traveling abroad.

For example, if you entered the US on a K-1 visa and then departed the US before you got your green card, you would require an advance parole document in order to re-enter the US. If you didn't have an advance parole document, then you would have to re-apply for the K-1 visa from scratch.

A re-entry permit is used for example for people who do have a green card but are planning a trip of more than one year outside of the US, which is normally grounds for inadmissibility.

[happyzac 0]

Thank you.

[Amanda Lynn 3]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate all of your input