Being out of the country close to Cond. Green Card's expiration

[alana33 0]

Hi everyone,

Bear with me....I am very confused!

Okay. My husband (British, came to the US on an 1-130 green card) and I are going to England for 4 months this fall.

--First of all, I understand he is allowed to leave the US for up to 6 months at a time,and not mess up his US residency, is this correct?

We will be returning to the US in late December of this year ('07). My husband is on a conditional green card which expires Feb. 16th, 2008.

---I think? Is it 2 years from the time he entered the country on his marriage visa (I-555 or something....sorry, it's been a year since i've thought about this stuff)? He entered on Feb. 16th of 2006.

If this is indeed the case, when we get back into the USA, his green card will only have about 45 days left on it. Is this okay???

I understand we have to file for removal of conditions within 90 days of the expiration...is it okay to wait until he only has 45 days left, and also importantly, will they let him back into the country?

I really appreciate any help with this.

Thanks everyone,

Alana

Edited February 7, 2007 by alana33

[YuAndDan 153]

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.
  

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

You can travel out of the country and return without a reentry permit if less than 1 year.

Note: if you intend on naturalizing, you should limit your trips out of the country to no more than 6 months at a time.

As long as your green card is valid you should be able to reenter the USA. You can even submit the I-751 paperwork while out of the country, you need to be back in the case of an interview.

[raymaga 25]

As long as your husband returns to the U.S. BEFORE his Conditional Green Card expires (the expiry date is on the GC), he will have no problems.

Once your husband applies for Removal of Conditions, he will receive an NOA that will extend the validity of his GC for one year for work and travel, while processing is going on. So, you could send in your Removal application while you are out of the country. He would need to be present in the U.S. for biometrics, however.