Returning Resident Visa (SB-1) Questions

[svirac 0]

13 hours ago, mushroomspore said:

Well, the harsh truth is that your wife unfortunately did the opposite thing that American permanent residency is intended for. It rubs people the wrong way here as many of us have to go through immense obstacles and hurdles to be granted the privilege of being able to live in the US permanently. And this is not something where one can just do the bare minimum (like coming back every 5 months for one week into the country you are technically supposed to be living in permanently). Your wife could technically have stayed and worked in the US while you went to Canada. It just seems like you guys haven't taken the US immigration process very seriously.

I have no problem with hearing the truth, but I don't really take it as harsh, even if people want to deal it out as such.

We certainly had no malicious intent in any of our actions.  There certainly was a huge amount of naivete, lack of due diligence, and ignorance on our parts, all of which I'll gladly own as mistakes that in hindsight could have been avoided.

We are also certainly kicking ourselves for not getting her US citizenship as soon as she became eligible as we wouldn't be in this situation at all.  To give you an example of how naive I was, I thought permanent residency was simply that, permanent - meaning it lasted forever, not that you had to stay forever or lose it.  That may come as a shock to many of you who are certainly more informed than me, but it's the truth.  I also probably just thought I had it all figured out as my mom has been living in the US as a permanent resident since 1954.  She never pursued citizenship for whatever reasons, but she also never had any issues with travel or anything really, so that may have contributed to my ignorance as well.

 

Quite frankly, when the relocation for my job happened, I was more concerned about getting through the work visa and immigration concerns to get me into Canada - I didn't even think about any ramifications of going up there to my wife's PR card or status.  I just assumed that it expired in 2020, so we had loads of time, even if the temp assignment became protracted.

 

In any case, I apologize if any of that offends anyone.  It's ignorance in its purest form, and that's totally on me.  Right now I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get back to the US that is within the rule of law and the path of least resistance.  Many of you have been helpful to that end, and for that I am truly thankful.  If the end result is that we have to go through I-130 again, so be it, at least I'm well versed in that process.  Many thanks again to the helpful few.

Edited May 24, 2019 by svirac

[svirac 0]

2 hours ago, Cathi said:

So she was using her green card as a visitor visa. A big no no.

Canadians don't need a visa to visit the US regardless, so again, this could have been another point of naivete on my part.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

1 minute ago, svirac said:

Canadians don't need a visa to visit the US regardless, so again, this could have been another point of naivete on my part.

Begs the question why she got a green card in the first place

[svirac 0]

Just now, WeGuyGal said:

Begs the question why she got a green card in the first place

Because we got married and we wanted to live together in my home in the US.  Why does anyone get a spousal green card?  Thought it was for similar reasons usually?  And why so confrontational?

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

Simple question really

[svirac 0]

Just now, WeGuyGal said:

Simple question really

And a simple answer.  We got married, she immigrated, and we lived in the US for 3 years.  After 3 years, my job required me to relocate to Canada.  That's the short story.

[AstroCanada 206]

We should remember to be kind on this forum to people asking for help.  Those of us here are more informed than many about the immigration system, which really is terribly complicated.  

 

For the OP, I think to summarize the advice, is that it would certainly appear to many people that you effectively abandoned permanent residence.   You're in a bit of a tricky spot, because while you've been allowed to return consistently to the US thus far any further scrutiny by CBP could lead to the green card being revoked.  The absences of greater than 6 month are really meant to refer to where your official residence is--just visiting the US doesn't reset the clock.  

 

I might suggest you speak to a competent immigration lawyer for advice.  This site is great for advice on DIY situations, but this one might be somewhat more complicated than that.

[Boiler 45,486]

For the Canadians amongst us what is the consequence re Canadian Healthcare for her is she claimed it when not eligible?

[mmsk 9]

On 5/23/2019 at 8:09 PM, svirac said:

Hi all!

 

I have a question about the Returning Resident Visa and how to best proceed.

 

I'm a US Citizen, and my wife is a US Permanent Resident with a Green Card valid through 2020.

 

In 2012, we moved to Ontario, Canada for a temporary work assignment for my job.  We always intended to return to the US after the assignment was complete.  The assignment became much more long-term than anticipated, requiring us to stay in Canada longer than anticipated.  During which time, my wife became pregnant again, and I ended up losing the job that would have brought me back to the US.

 

Due to the pregnancy as well as being unable to find suitable employment in a short time frame back in the US, I ended up taking another job in Ontario.

 

Long story short, I have finally located an employment opportunity back in the US and we are planning to relocate back to the US as planned, albeit much longer than we anticipated originally.

 

My wife, kids, and I have never been outside the US for any longer than 5 months maximum - so we've never had an actual duration of stay outside the US longer than 6 months, although we did relocate our permanent address to Canada.  We did maintain some financial investments in the US, as well as credit cards (even our Amazon Prime US membership is still active to this day).  We also traveled to the US frequently (hence the fact we were never gone more than a couple months at a time) to visit friends and family.

 

Based on the above, I have a few questions:

1. Since we were never technically outside the US for any period longer than 6 months, does my wife even need to apply for a Returning Resident Visa (SB-1)?
2. If a Returning Resident Visa is required, based on the information above, is my wife eligible for the SB-1 Visa?
3. If my wife is not eligible for a returning resident visa, do we have to redo the process with I-130?  If so, do we have to first submit an I-407?

 

Thank you very much for your help and advice!

 

Since your wife has not been out of US for more than 12 months consecutively, she will have a good chance to be admitted to the US without applying for SB-1 visa ( I’m assuming).

Canada is not far. Give it a try and good luck.

 

Regards, 

 

 

[NikLR 13,227]

On 5/24/2019 at 2:36 PM, Boiler said:

For the Canadians amongst us what is the consequence re Canadian Healthcare for her is she claimed it when not eligible?

Paying it back out of pocket if you used it.  Before I left in 2013 an Aus woman used BC healthcare to give birth on vacation.  She did not purchase any travel insurance.  Child was a little premature and was in the NICU for a while. Couple owed like 1 million dollars for it.  

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-baby-costs-aussie-couple-1m-1.1197529

 Birth tourism is an issue in some Canadian provinces as well.  

 

EDIT: Healthcare in Canada is not free.  It's a single payer system where the cost is taken out of your taxes.  It doesn't cover prescriptions or vision or dental care.  It doesn't always cover mental health and unless the physical therapy was rx'd by a dr it doesn't cover that either.  However the amount you pay in taxes is less than you'd ever pay for private insurance in the USA.  You can also buy private extra insurance for coverage of rx or dental or vision.  

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by NikLR

[carmel34 3,626]

20 hours ago, svirac said:

And a simple answer.  We got married, she immigrated, and we lived in the US for 3 years.  After 3 years, my job required me to relocate to Canada.  That's the short story.

Similar story to mine a few years back, I wanted to leave Canada to go to grad school at a US university for three years and the only way to take my Canadian spouse and kids with me (I'm dual USC/CAN), was to file I-130s for all of them which was much faster in those days.  After I finished school in the US we moved back to Canada for work, and three years later I got a much better job in the US, so I had to file I-130s again for them and go through the whole process a second time.  We didn't even try to cross into the US with their 10-year green cards because we had abandoned residency so their green cards were no longer valid.  So the only way for your Canadian spouse to go back legally is to file a new I-130 and wait.  You may have to live in the US without them for a while because it takes about a year.  It's easier the second time around since you've done it before.  Visits will be easier for you than me, my spouse lives in Brazil and we're almost at the end of our year-long I-130 process.  Good luck!

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

12 hours ago, mmsk said:

 

Since your wife has not been out of US for more than 12 months consecutively, she will have a good chance to be admitted to the US without applying for SB-1 visa ( I’m assuming).

Canada is not far. Give it a try and good luck.

 

Regards, 

 

 

So you think that stepping back inside the US for a week or less every few months over several years meets the requirement of maintaining US residency?

[mmsk 9]

On 5/25/2019 at 4:45 PM, missileman said:

So you think that stepping back inside the US for a week or less every few months over several years meets the requirement of maintaining US residency?

I did not say that it meets the requirement of maintaining residency. What i said that why His wife does not try to come and see what will happen. Logically she has not been out for more than 12 months consecutively. If she came for 1 week or so at some time,  none of us can guarantee if she lost her residency or not. Plus they have some ties in the US and these ties may satisfy the officer at the airport to admit her.

 

As I know,

1) to apply for SB-1 visa, you have to be out of the states for

- 1 year or more without re entry permit. 

-  2 years or more if you get a re entry permit. 

Under which category should she apply for SB-1 visa 🤔🤔🤔?!!!!

2) the immigration judge is the only person who can revoke the residency. 

 

There is is no guarantee that she will be admitted or denied entry. It depends on her if she wants to try to  come and see what will happen.

[Boiler 45,486]

PoE can not refuse to let her in.