How Long Can a Conditional Resident with pending I-751 Stay Outside the United States?

[theskeets 10]

I have a CR-1.

I submitted the I-751 for removal of conditional residence.

I received the I-797 which extends the validity for 6 months.

How long can i travel outside the US with the I-751 pending?

Also, if I stay out of the US for 11 months, can I come back for 1 week and go out of the US again?

 

[aaron2020 11,651]

No.  As a green card holder, you must live in the US.  You can not live abroad and make brief visits to the US.  A green card is not a US tourist visa.  Visiting the US once a year is not properly maintaining your legal permanent residency status.  

[JFH 12,190]

Why do you need a green card if you are going to be living overseas but making a one-week trip to the USA? Assuming you are VWP-eligible, you can just visit like anyone else. If you no longer live here, your residency has been abandoned. 

[theskeets 10]

Yes, as a green card holder I cannot live abroad and visit the US seldomly.

However, as a green card holder, I can travel abroad for up to 1 year and then come back, correct? Even if I worked a bit abroad to pay for the trip.

I've maintained US bank account, 401k, and lease in the US because I never intended to move abroad. And i'll file taxes as a resident.

 

As long as I move back to the US permanently before the 1 year mark, and I can show my intent to keep my residence in the US (bank account, 401k,...) I should be good right?

 

Thanks

[aaron2020 11,651]

2 minutes ago, theskeets said:

Yes, as a green card holder I cannot live abroad and visit the US seldomly.

However, as a green card holder, I can travel abroad for up to 1 year and then come back, correct? Even if I worked a bit abroad to pay for the trip.

I've maintained US bank account, 401k, and lease in the US because I never intended to move abroad. And i'll file taxes as a resident.

 

As long as I move back to the US permanently before the 1 year mark, and I can show my intent to keep my residence in the US (bank account, 401k,...) I should be good right?

 

Thanks

Not how it works.  Will you be maintaining a home in the US?  Financial accounts do not equate to a home.  Anyone can have mail forwarded to a US address.  

[theskeets 10]

My name will stay on the lease, yes.

And my US bank accounts will stay open and active. 

I've read this on multiple sources, are they all wrong?

"You must show your objective intention to return to the U.S. For this reason it is important to keep and store documents to support your intent to have your residence in the U.S. Examples of such items are mortgages, club memberships, church membership records, utility and insurance bills, a vehicle, vehicle registration, filing taxes as a resident, maintaining a U.S. driver’s license, bank accounts, etc."

[Georgia16 2,858]

Why did you only get a 6 months extension? That does not sound right.

 

You can leave for a year as it says in the extension letter if you have applied for a reentry permit before leaving the country.

 

 

[theskeets 10]

But USCIS says:

What if I must leave the United States before I can file a
Form I-131 for a reentry permit?
You do not need a reentry permit if you will be outside the United
States for less than 1 year. If you have been outside the United
States for less than 1 year, you may use your Permanent Resident
Card (Form I-551) as your travel document. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

6 minutes ago, theskeets said:

But USCIS says:

What if I must leave the United States before I can file a
Form I-131 for a reentry permit?
You do not need a reentry permit if you will be outside the United
States for less than 1 year. If you have been outside the United
States for less than 1 year, you may use your Permanent Resident
Card (Form I-551) as your travel document. 

With a Re-Entry Permit, only your time outside the US is not counted against you.  You must do everything else to maintain your legal permanent residency.  

[geowrian 22,337]

18 hours ago, theskeets said:

I have a CR-1.

You have a conditional green card. CR-1 is a visa.

18 hours ago, theskeets said:

I received the I-797 which extends the validity for 6 months.

18 months currently (12 months previously).

18 hours ago, theskeets said:

How long can i travel outside the US with the I-751 pending?

Also, if I stay out of the US for 11 months, can I come back for 1 week and go out of the US again?

As long as you want. The issue is being admitted back into the US.

CBP will determine if residency was abandoned. If so, they would parole you and refer you to an immigration judge to make a decision.

A quick stop in the US avoids a mandatory presumption of having abandoned residence, but doesn't not avoid the issue entirely.

Taking actions to establish residency abroad would be detrimental to your claim of maintaining permanent residency within the US. Working is one such action that can be considered.

By your own claim, you would be "moving back" to the US. A resident doesn't need to move back.

 

Keep in mind that even if it doesn't turn out to be an issue with abandonment of LPR status, it almost certainly would be considered a break in continuous residence for naturalization purposes, if you choose to pursue that option later.