Traveling outside of country with Green Card

[lobo e loba 0]

Hello,

 

My husband has been outside of the country for over 6 months in his home country of Brazil. I understand that generally speaking, if you are a green card holder and remain outside of the United States beyond 6 months without prior permission, you are considered to have abandoned your Permanent Resident status. My question is what are his options should he want to return to the United States within the year or beyond?  

 

We are still married and figuring out our relationship (part of the reason why he decided to stay in Brazil).

 

Any advice / personal experience / knowledge of this particular type of situation is appreciated. 

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

The real issue is when you are outside of the country for over 1 year. The presumption is that residence was abandoned unless you can demonstrate otherwise. Any travel over 6 months outside of the US may raise concerns of having abandoned residence, but is far from a sure thing (you would probably be okay, although I normally suggest seeking a re-entry permit prior to travel just in case).

 

What has he done to maintain US residence?

[lobo e loba 0]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

The real issue is when you are outside of the country for over 1 year. The presumption is that residence was abandoned unless you can demonstrate otherwise. Any travel over 6 months outside of the US may raise concerns of having abandoned residence, but is far from a sure thing (you would probably be okay, although I normally suggest seeking a re-entry permit prior to travel just in case).

 

What has he done to maintain US residence?

1

Thanks for your reply. He has not done much to maintain US residence, other than having a connection to me. He does maintain a good relationship with his previous employers in the US, although he is not currently working for any of them. We have jointly filed taxes every year since 2011 (his arrival in the U.S.), and will do so again for 2017. In Brazil, he is currently occupied with building a small house on our mutually owned land, but that is in Brazil, not here.

 

What else other than filing taxes with me could he do/show to maintain US residence?  

 

Also, are re-entry permits difficult to acquire? What do you need to do to qualify for one?

 

Thanks

[geowrian 22,337]

6 minutes ago, lobo e loba said:

Thanks for your reply. He has not done much to maintain US residence, other than having a connection to me. He does maintain a good relationship with his previous employers in the US, although he is not currently working for any of them. We have jointly filed taxes every year since 2011 (his arrival in the U.S.), and will do so again for 2017. In Brazil, he is currently occupied with building a small house on our mutually owned land, but that is in Brazil, not here.

 

What else other than filing taxes with me could he do/show to maintain US residence?  

 

Also, are re-entry permits difficult to acquire? What do you need to do to qualify for one?

Thanks for the info.

 

So he's filed US taxes. The relationship with employers won't really matter unless he's actually employed by them. Did he vote? Does he own property or remain on a lease? Really, the best bet is if he re-enters before one year...normally they won't deny entry if it's the first time you've been abroad for so long. No guarantees (there never is for a non-citizen), but it would unusual for them to do more than just question him about it and maybe give him a warning to get a re-entry permit next time. After one year has passed, I would be much more concerned about being denied entry due to abandonment of residence.

 

Re-entry permits aren't particularly hard to get (I-131 + fee), but one must do so before exiting the US (and do the biometrics for it within the US).