Re-Entry Permit

[billystevenson 0]

Hi all,

I am the recipient of a Diversity Visa, and now a Permanent Resident. I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge about the process of applying for a Re-Entry Permit? I'm currently in New York for three weeks and want to file the Re-Entry Permit (Form I-131). From what I understand, the process involves mailing in the Re-Entry Permit (Form I-131), receiving a Receipt in the mail, and then taking into the Receipt to a local USCIS Application Support Center and requesting to have my Biometrics done on the spot, without making an appointment, on the basis that I only have a short window in the United States. However, I've just called USCIS and been told that not all USCIS Application Support Centers will do Biometrics without an appointment, or at least without a more dramatic reason than I have for skipping an appointment. Then again, an attorney friend has told me that they will. Does anyone have any advice/experience?

Thanks,

Billy

[melanieuk 19]

If you are a permanent resident, you do not need a re-entry permit. What documents do you have that show your PR status?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Call your local center and explain why you can't wait until the scheduled time and see what they say, Our local one only does walk in people where there is no one else so they recommended that we show up at the end of the day so we wouldn't be sitting all day.

[Britsimon 18]

Hi all,

I am the recipient of a Diversity Visa, and now a Permanent Resident. I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge about the process of applying for a Re-Entry Permit? I'm currently in New York for three weeks and want to file the Re-Entry Permit (Form I-131). From what I understand, the process involves mailing in the Re-Entry Permit (Form I-131), receiving a Receipt in the mail, and then taking into the Receipt to a local USCIS Application Support Center and requesting to have my Biometrics done on the spot, without making an appointment, on the basis that I only have a short window in the United States. However, I've just called USCIS and been told that not all USCIS Application Support Centers will do Biometrics without an appointment, or at least without a more dramatic reason than I have for skipping an appointment. Then again, an attorney friend has told me that they will. Does anyone have any advice/experience?

Thanks,

Billy

From what you are saying, it seems like you haven't filed the I-131 yet - and in that case you won't have much luck with the Bio appointment. Once you have filed, you would get an appointment and some ASCs will allow you to do a "walk in" earlier than the bio appointment - especially if you have flight details to prove you are leaving. However you might not have time for all that before you leave.

If you only recently entered and activated your LPR status, you probably haven't received your GC yet, but the visa they stamped in your passport acts as your proof of status for the first 12 months after activation. You can leave for UP TO twelve months at a time without a re-entry permit. The re-entry permit can extend that for up to 24 months BUT you need to provide a good explanation of why you need to be out of the country that long, and the re-entry permit is not automatically granted - it can be denied.

Lastly, as an LPR you are expected to maintain residence in the USA and may be asked to prove that. They are more flexible during the first absence after activation (because they understand the need to tie up loose ends etc), but after that you have to be careful not to establish residency anywhere else, because that could lead to you losing your LPR status.

If you are a permanent resident, you do not need a re-entry permit. What documents do you have that show your PR status?

Yes he might need that for a longer absence.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

If you are a permanent resident, you do not need a re-entry permit. What documents do you have that show your PR status?

You do if you intend to stay outside the US longer than 12 months. You may wish to acquaint yourself with the "rights and responsibilities" of green card holders.

[melanieuk 19]

You do if you intend to stay outside the US longer than 12 months. You may wish to acquaint yourself with the "rights and responsibilities" of green card holders.

The OP mentions nothing about staying abroad for an extended period of time. Maybe you should read the initial post one more time.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

The OP mentions nothing about staying abroad for an extended period of time. Maybe you should read the initial post one more time.

Maybe it's quite clear to me that the OP wants a re-entry permit because he intends to stay abroad for a significant period of time. Maybe I have read previous postings by and had PM conversations with this particular poster before.

[melanieuk 19]

Maybe it's quite clear to me that the OP wants a re-entry permit because he intends to stay abroad for a significant period of time. Maybe I have read previous postings by and had PM conversations with this particular poster before.

Clearly you weren't of much help if he had the need to come here and ask.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Clearly you weren't of much help if he had the need to come here and ask.

Indeed I wasn't, as I have never had to apply for a re-entry permit, so I do not know the ins and outs of the process. I knew enough to tell him when/if he would need to apply for one. I generally don't like trying to advise people on how to do things I havent done personally. As you have read the first post so closely you will note he was asking for advice on the actual application process.

Any more unhelpful comments you care to add, or do you actually have something of value for the OP?

[melanieuk 19]

Indeed I wasn't, as I have never had to apply for a re-entry permit, so I do not know the ins and outs of the process. I knew enough to tell him when/if he would need to apply for one. I generally don't like trying to advise people on how to do things I havent done personally. As you have read the first post so closely you will note he was asking for advice on the actual application process.

Any more unhelpful comments you care to add, or do you actually have something of value for the OP?

No, I think I'm done acknowledging you.

OP, you should mention the purpose of your extended stay abroad and for how long. These are crucial for the AP you seek. And don't forget that you are requesting an exception and that you must have compelling reasons for it. When you become a permanent resident, the US is your country of permanent residency.

[Hank1 1]

Here are some quotes from the various rules:

If you are abroad for 6 months or more per year, you risk “abandoning” your green card. This is especially true after multiple prolonged absences or after a prior warning by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the airport.The officer may ask questions such as:

• Where have you been outside the U.S.?
• For how long?
• What were you doing there?
• Why are you coming to the U.S. now?
• What ties did you keep to the U.S. during your absence?

If it appears you have abandoned your LPR status and you’re not willing to voluntarily give it up, the CBP officer may refer you to Immigration Court for a judge to determine whether you have lost your LPR status.

The most conservative strategy to avoid abandonment (and to qualify for naturalization, if you wish) is to keep the U.S. as your main home, reducing your absences accordingly–in other words, sleeping more nights in the U.S. than elsewhere. But this may not be practical for everybody.

Here’s the most concise definition of temporary, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:

we hold that a permanent resident returns from a “temporary visit abroad” only when (a) the permanent resident’s visit is for “a period relatively short, fixed by some early event,” or (b) the permanent resident’s visit will terminate upon the occurrence of an event having a reasonable possibility of occurring within a relatively short period of time. If as in (b), the length of the visit is contingent upon the occurrence of an event and is not fixed in time and if the event does not occur within a relatively short period of time, the visit will be considered a “temporary visit abroad” only if the alien has a continuous, uninterrupted intention to return to the United States during the entirety of his visit.

There is a 6-month rule of a sort: It says that an LPR returning from abroad doesn’t even count as applying to CBP for “admission” (i.e., CBP won’t question his or her qualifications to enter) if he or she meets the following requirements, among others:

• he or she has been abroad for under 180 days; and
• he or she has not abandoned LPR status by making a trip abroad that isn’t “temporary.”

My point here is that being abroad for under 6 months (actually 180 days) is one of the requirements but is not enough–the trips abroad must still fall within the judicial definition of “temporary.” The clearest example is the “touchdown” situation: somebody who lives abroad but who briefly “touches down” in the U.S. once every 5 months for vacation. This person has abandoned LPR status so should not be readmitted as an LPR, despite keeping every trip abroad under 6 months.

Since the judicial definition of “temporary” is nebulous, here are some guidelines for avoiding abandonment of LPR status:

• Being abroad for over 180 days is one (but not the only) way to invite the CBP officer’s scrutiny as to whether you’ve abandoned LPR status.
• The safest way to avoid abandonment is to ensure that each year you are in the U.S. more than any single other country. For example, if you are in the U.S. 6 months a year, in France 4 months a year, and in Singapore 2 months a year, it is clear that your main home is in the U.S. (Your time in the U.S. doesn’t have to be continuous). This is the basic rule. It comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act’s definition of “residence,” which means one’s “place of general abode” or, in other words, one’s “principal, actual dwelling place in fact.”
• If you can’t do that, then you should document with clear evidence that your stays abroad are for a clear, temporary purpose and that you have retained ties to the U.S. that–in comparison to your ties abroad–evidence your intent to return to live here once your temporary stay abroad is over.
• If an LPR has been outside the U.S. more than one year straight, his or her green card (Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card) is not valid to reenter the U.S. In this situation, three options include: (a) present a valid reentry permit (discussed below); (b) apply at a U.S. Consulate abroad for an SB-1 Returning Resident Visa by convincing the consular officer that the stay abroad was temporary and its extension past one year was beyond your control; and © apply to a CBP officer at the port of entry for a “waiver” of the green card requirement by proving that the stay abroad was temporary and that there was “good cause” for not returning within one year.

A few key points:

• The I-131 must be submitted and received by USCIS while you are still in the U.S.
• You must remain in the U.S. until your Biometric appointment in connection with the I-131, or you must return to the U.S. for that appointment.
• In some but not all cases it can be helpful to submit with the I-131 evidence that your stay abroad will be temporary and that you will maintain ties to the U.S. during that stay abroad.
• To reenter the U.S. with the reentry permit, be prepared to show evidence that the purpose of your stay abroad was consistent with the temporary purpose stated in the I-131, and be prepared to back that up with evidence of the comparative strength of your U.S. ties compared to your ties abroad.

Hope this helps.

Edited December 31, 2014 by Hank1