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sjavj

Forgot to surrender GC, unable to obtain ETSA and travelling in 5 days

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Brazil
Timeline
Posted
19 hours ago, sjavj said:

Hey guys, 

 

Hoping to get some insight from fellow visajourneyers. My wife obtained her permanent greencard in 2014 but career/life circumstances have led both of us to her home country in the UK for the past three years, where we are stable have incomes and a home. The idea had always been to just re-start the greencard process in a 5-10 years if/when we moved back to the United States.

 

Fast forward and we are planning to visit my family in the USA for a short 2-week stay and we now see the gravity of the situation in which we've totally neglected the normal steps that would allow my wife be able to re-enter the US. My wife was denied ETSA and we realized we should have sorted a bunch of things out months in advance.  As it stands we 1. did not surrender her green card in advance as we thought it would simply expire on its own and as such we 2. are not able to obtain ETSA or a regular travel visa. 3. We never got re-entry permits because we felt it was not applicable in our situation. 

 

We are set to fly out in 5 days... are we (removed) outta luck? Or is there some glimmer of hope that my wife would be allowed entry in the USA based on the fact that we can demonstrate that we do not intend for my wife to stay in the the USA. We have a return ticket and a job, car payments, house payments etc. back in the UK.  Would it be wise to prepare to submit an i-407 or would this preclude her ability to be let in the USA.

 

If you try to travel you may not be allowed on the plane. If you are allowed on the flight, Customs Border Patrol in the USA may not allow you into the country. At best you may be able to speak with an Immigration judge and good luck with that. Don't expect it to be smpooth sailing in any case.

 

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted
2 hours ago, Lil bear said:

No denial etc. GC was still current but we had been out of the US for a while. He was working for a US company and we were retaining enough ties to the US to demonstrate domicile when  he returned 3-4  times a year .. but we had decided after a while that we were going to remain overseas so I relinquished mine at the Consulate, he did his the next time he had to return for work, at POE. Work was already based outside US and paid in local currency.  Our situation was very similar to the OP in many ways. 

As you said your spouse maintained ties to the US while abroad, and returned to the US frequently.

 

OP's wife has not returned in 3+ years...and no mention of her keeping strong ties to the US during that time.

Applied for Naturalization based on 5-year Residency - 96 Days To Complete Citizenship!

July 14, 2017 (Day 00) -  Submitted N400 Application, filed online

July 21, 2017 (Day 07) -  NOA Receipt received in the mail

July 22, 2017 (Day 08) - Biometrics appointment scheduled online, letter mailed out

July 25, 2017 (Day 11) - Biometrics PDF posted online

July 28, 2017 (Day 14) - Biometrics letter received in the mail, appointment for 08/08/17

Aug 08, 2017 (Day 24) - Biometrics (fingerprinting) completed

Aug 14, 2017 (Day 30) - Online EGOV status shows "Interview Scheduled, will mail appointment letter"

Aug 16, 2017 (Day 32) - Online MYUSCIS status shows "Interview Scheduled, read the letter we mailed you..."

Aug 17, 2017 (Day 33) - Interview Appointment Letter PDF posted online---GOT AN INTERVIEW DATE!!!

Aug 21, 2017 (Day 37) - Interview Appointment Letter received in the mail, appointment for 09/27/17

Sep. 27, 2017 (Day 74) - Naturalization Interview--- read my experience here

Sep. 27, 2017 (Day 74) - Online MYUSCIS status shows "Oath Ceremony Notice mailed"

Sep. 28, 2017 (Day 75) - Oath Ceremony Letter PDF posted online--Ceremony for 10/19/17

Oct. 02, 2017 (Day 79) -  Oath Ceremony Letter received in the mail

Oct. 19, 2017 (Day 96) -  Oath Ceremony-- read my experience here

 

 

 

Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Lil bear said:

No denial etc. GC was still current but we had been out of the US for a while. He was working for a US company and we were retaining enough ties to the US to demonstrate domicile when  he returned 3-4  times a year .. but we had decided after a while that we were going to remain overseas so I relinquished mine at the Consulate, he did his the next time he had to return for work, at POE. Work was already based outside US and paid in local currency.  Our situation was very similar to the OP in many ways. 

Thank you so much for sharing. Super helpful. There are many similarities and some important differences, as a few people have noted.

 

My wife has not traveled to the USA in a few years and we haven't maintained ties to the USA. We've both done quite the opposite in establishing strong longer term ties to the UK (Fulltime jobs, house, car payments, my permanent residency status in wife's country of origin etc.).

 

Wouldn't this actually diminish the view of the CBP agent that we are arriving to the USA with immigrant intent?

 

Anyways, we ultimately don't feel as though we're traveling knowingly with some intention to game the system. On the contrary, this seems to be an extreme edge case where the outcome is difficult to predict. Having taken all of the thoughtful pro/con responses on the thread we're going to give it a try and hope for the best. At POE we will be forthcoming of all the details of our situation, having documentation detailing our ties abroad, and be ready to relinquish the green card. 

 

Will be sure to update everyone with the outcome. Happy holidays. 

Edited by sjavj
Posted (edited)
On 12/15/2019 at 8:35 PM, sjavj said:

it's CBP Officer has the ability to grant VWP which gives us some hope.

I'd recommend to fly to Mexico (or get a Canadian eTA to fly into Canada) and then enter the US by land* (submit I-407 and CBP Form I-94W Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record). Boiler also recommends it:

*The ferries between Vancouver and Victoria, BC and Washington state are treated as a land border port: https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1132?language=en_US

Edited by HRQX
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Taiwan
Timeline
Posted
3 minutes ago, sjavj said:

Just wanted to update and say that we flew in, were able to obtain a temporary travel visa while giving up green card.

 

It took some time but we were eventually seen through. The folks dealing with out situation seemed understanding of our situation. 

Thanks for the update......so they just put a stamp in the passport with a limited time?

"The US immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and a significant amount of money.  It is quite a journey!"

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In summary, it took 13 months for approval of the CR-1.  It took 44 months for approval of the I-751.  It took 4 months for approval of the N-400.   It took 172 days from N-400 application to Oath Ceremony.   It took 6 weeks for Passport, then 7 additional weeks for return of wife's Naturalization Certificate.. 
 

Posted (edited)
17 minutes ago, sjavj said:

Just wanted to update and say that we flew in, were able to obtain a temporary travel visa while giving up green card.

 

It took some time but we were eventually seen through. The folks dealing with out situation seemed understanding of our situation. 

Glad it worked out, and thanks for the update.

Do you know what status they entered with? You can also check the I-94 online (with their permission) at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/

Edited by geowrian

Timelines:

ROC:

Spoiler

7/27/20: Sent forms to Dallas lockbox, 7/30/20: Received by USCIS, 8/10 NOA1 electronic notification received, 8/1/ NOA1 hard copy received

AOS:

Spoiler

AOS (I-485 + I-131 + I-765):

9/25/17: sent forms to Chicago, 9/27/17: received by USCIS, 10/4/17: NOA1 electronic notification received, 10/10/17: NOA1 hard copy received. Social Security card being issued in married name (3rd attempt!)

10/14/17: Biometrics appointment notice received, 10/25/17: Biometrics

1/2/18: EAD + AP approved (no website update), 1/5/18: EAD + AP mailed, 1/8/18: EAD + AP approval notice hardcopies received, 1/10/18: EAD + AP received

9/5/18: Interview scheduled notice, 10/17/18: Interview

10/24/18: Green card produced notice, 10/25/18: Formal approval, 10/31/18: Green card received

K-1:

Spoiler

I-129F

12/1/16: sent, 12/14/16: NOA1 hard copy received, 3/10/17: RFE (IMB verification), 3/22/17: RFE response received

3/24/17: Approved! , 3/30/17: NOA2 hard copy received

 

NVC

4/6/2017: Received, 4/12/2017: Sent to Riyadh embassy, 4/16/2017: Case received at Riyadh embassy, 4/21/2017: Request case transfer to Manila, approved 4/24/2017

 

K-1

5/1/2017: Case received by Manila (1 week embassy transfer??? Lucky~)

7/13/2017: Interview: APPROVED!!!

7/19/2017: Visa in hand

8/15/2017: POE

 

 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

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