Form I-131 Re-entry Permit for a 2.5 year job?

[TorontoGF 1]

Hello, here's the situation --

My husband is a US born citizen and I immigrated through marriage and have been a LPR for 4 years.  He has been offered a temporary job in Europe for 2.5 years and we are trying to figure out what to do given that re-entry permits are only good for 2 years.

 

Some further details --

We have lived in the US for the last 4 years and we own a car (that we may or may not sell) and a condo that we currently rent out because we relocated to a different state for work (that we do not currently plan on selling).

The job starts in 8 months so I don't think we have enough time for me to naturalize even though I currently meet the requirements.

We are expecting our first child in a few weeks, who will be a dual US-Canadian citizen.

Our plan is to move back to the US permanently after the temporary contract is up.  There is no chance it will be renewed and it has a firm end date.

 

Some questions --

Is it still worth applying for the re-entry permit, given the cost and that it is not long enough?

Is it a problem that the temporary employment is for the USC (hubby) not the PR (me)?  I will likely be a stay at home mom, not employed.

Will returning to the US periodically to visit family and friends help the situation at all?

Should I maybe leave a bit later and/or return a bit earlier than my husband so that I am only away for 2 years? Not ideal with a newborn

Should I start the naturalization process and return for the appointments, or is it not possible to leave while that is processing?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks all!

[HRQX 4,145]

45 minutes ago, TorontoGF said:

Should I start the naturalization process and return for the appointments, or is it not possible to leave while that is processing?

Travel abroad isn't prohibited, but you should still reside "continuously within the United States from the date of the application up to the time of admission to citizenship" per INA 316(a): https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1427&num=0&edition=prelim

45 minutes ago, TorontoGF said:

Will returning to the US periodically to visit family and friends help the situation at all?

No. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/maintaining-permanent-residence

45 minutes ago, TorontoGF said:

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The safest route is to file I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status, and then start the IR-1 process about 16-19 months before you intend to return: https://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1/

Edited October 20, 2019 by HRQX

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

I would go for the re-entry permit and plan to return to the US in 2 years. That way you just have 6 months apart, which might be difficult but you can tough it out. I would consider abandoning the GC only as a last resort.

[designguy 1,179]

1 hour ago, TorontoGF said:

The job starts in 8 months so I don't think we have enough time for me to naturalize even though I currently meet the requirements.

Can you naturalize and then join him shortly after?

[NikLR 13,232]

I agree with @USS_Voyager.  Why go through all that work again?! Get the reentry permit and just make sure to move back ahead of time or leave a little after him too.  Also make sure not to abandon residency by having a home to move back to and keeping back accounts active.  Honestly having a newborn alone seems to be easier than having a toddler, but maybe that was just me.  LOL

[TorontoGF 1]

Thanks so much for your responses.

I am leaning towards naturalizing and joining him in Europe after it is completed, however, I have a few follow-up questions:

 

We moved WITHIN the USCIS district about 6 weeks ago ...sort of...

- we were actually between leases just before this and I gave USPS my in-laws’ address for mail forwarding and that is in a different state (yikes?) but I didn’t really live there, I actually went and visited my parents in Canada during that time. Is this going to jeopardize me? What should I put as my address on the N-400 for the time when we were between leases?

- do I need to wait another 6 weeks before I apply in order to meet the 90 day local residency requirement?

- I stupidly haven’t changed my address with USCIS yet. Is this going to jeopardize me?  I am going to change my address today. Do you think I need to wait 90 days from today or another 45 days (90 days from my actual move-in date)?