Filing I-751 but haven't moved to US yet

[mtltonyc 0]

Hi - I am in a unique situation and couldn't find a thread that addressed it. I am a US citizen by birth living in Canada with my Canadian wife. Wife received green card in February 2016. Almost immediately after, we got pregnant and decided to postpone moving to the US. We are still in Canada. Our intention is to move to the US but due to family circumstances, now is not the time. We can use US addresses on the I-751 but obviously I want to be complete in my disclosure that we currently live in Canada, although our intention is to eventually move the US. I've read that a I-751 denial will/could result in a deportation order and ultimately to a 10-year ban from entering the US, even on a visitor visa. We travel to the US very regularly so a 10-year ban would be devastating.

 

Any advice? Before we abandon her green card I want to explore every alternative. We can't file the I-751 until mid-November so fortunately I have time.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Are you absolutely sure she has maintained her residency?  Receiving Canadian health benefits may have jeopardized her US green card.  Can one be a resident of the US while receiving resident benefits of another country? 

 

Good luck

[mtltonyc 0]

Thanks for your reply. I think your question gets at the heart of the matter, whether she's maintained residency. I think the likely outcome is that we will have to abandon her green card. I just want to exhaust all options before I do that.

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

The current processing times for i-751's is 12 months and increasing. If you submit the i-751, you immediately get a 1 year extension on the green card, and those extensions can be further extended if processing takes even longer. So once you have an active i-751 application you don't need to worry about deportations or bans because your wife will continue to have legal status within the US.

 

From what you describe, i.e. going back and forth between Canada and the US, it would seem that the main issue you would face when filling out the application is residency. Did you maintain a US residence? If not, then you might need to surrender the green card. However, if you did maintain a US residence then it might be worth filing the application and just see what happens.  Good luck.

[Mollie09 1,543]

1 hour ago, mtltonyc said:

Hi - I am in a unique situation and couldn't find a thread that addressed it. I am a US citizen by birth living in Canada with my Canadian wife. Wife received green card in February 2016. Almost immediately after, we got pregnant and decided to postpone moving to the US. We are still in Canada. Our intention is to move to the US but due to family circumstances, now is not the time. We can use US addresses on the I-751 but obviously I want to be complete in my disclosure that we currently live in Canada, although our intention is to eventually move the US. I've read that a I-751 denial will/could result in a deportation order and ultimately to a 10-year ban from entering the US, even on a visitor visa. We travel to the US very regularly so a 10-year ban would be devastating.

 

Any advice? Before we abandon her green card I want to explore every alternative. We can't file the I-751 until mid-November so fortunately I have time.

Sounds like she abandoned US residence by living in Canada and claiming benefits as a Canadian resident.

Start over with I-130 to get another green card.