Will my LPR parents be allowed entry into US after staying outside for 1 year ?

[mmu81 0]

Hello Friends, 

 

My parents are both LPR with valid unexpired green cards. Last year they left for India in June after living for 2 years and 3 months in US. The reason was that they had to take care of some family matters. My mother fell sick on the trip and is now on dialysis 3 times a week. They are both living alone. The plan was to call them back in March but due to the COVID-19 situation everything was/is locked down. All international flights are shut down till June 30th. We dont know if they will even resume in July. They did not take a re entry permit before leaving as the plan was not to stay so long. The circumstances deteriorated rapidly. 

 

Assuming the flights reopen in July or August and that it is possible to fly safely ( both are over 65 and mother has other co morbidity and is immuno compromised ), will they be allowed re entry into the US ? I am very well aware that after 1 year outside the US the LPR status is at risk. They have solid family ties here. What can happen at the POE  assuming that they are cleared to fly from India ? I need to understand the various scenarios and what are the chances they will be allowed inside since its such a long journey since my mother needs immediate dialysis treatment once they land here.

 

They dont want try for an SB-1 as well.

 

Please let me know. Thank you in advance.

Edited June 8, 2020 by mmu81

[geowrian 22,337]

"Will my LPR parents be allowed entry into US after staying outside for 1 year ?"

Maybe. Entry is not guaranteed and staying over 1 year abroad has a presumption that residence was abandoned.

How exactly they will treat the COVID situation is an unknown at this point. Maybe they will be more lenient?

 

The main things are showing that they had and kept ties to the US.

Presumably they are up to date with their US tax returns.

Having documentation of needing to remain for medical care is a positive.

 

Personally, I think if they fly back within a few months of over 1 year, they will likely be fine in the stated circumstances. But it is a judgement call by the CBP officer, not me.

What can happen at POE is:

1) They are admitted.

2) They are paroled. They will (eventually) have an opportunity to present their case to an immigration judge that they did not abandon permanent residency.

 

If asked/told to sign an I-407, don't do it if they plan to keep their permanent residency.

 

I agree with not going the SB-1 visa route here...going through CBP is likely a better process.

No "as well" here...SB-1 vs CBP is an either/or option.

Edited June 8, 2020 by geowrian

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Can't tell anything at this moment, but they can be sympathized because of the covid. CPB will have some guidelines about those who can't make it back during COVID.

 

Worst scenario, they will revoke their greencards and send them to an immigration judge, they will have a chance to reason for their delayed return.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Have there been no repatriation flights since March? I did a quick google search. There have been MANY. Additionally, tickets just went on sale for flights June10-July 1. Although some people may think the US will be lenient on those  who stayed past their time, I question for those countries that had an option (and that is the majority) how lenient can or should they be?

 

Family ties to the US don't really matter. They need to show ties such as paying taxes, residency, insurance, etc; things that continue to be paid/have proof for residency. I'm sure they have family ties to India as well. 

[mmu81 0]

8 minutes ago, geowrian said:

"Will my LPR parents be allowed entry into US after staying outside for 1 year ?"

Maybe. Entry is not guaranteed and staying over 1 year abroad has a presumption that residence was abandoned.

How exactly they will treat the COVID situation is an unknown at this point. Maybe they will be more lenient?

 

The main things are showing that they had and kept ties to the US.

Presumably they are up to date with their US tax returns.

Having documentation of needing to remain for medical care is a positive.

 

Personally, I think if they fly back within a few months of over 1 year, they will likely be fine in the stated circumstances. But it is a judgement call by the CBP officer, not me.

What can happen at POE is:

1) They are admitted.

2) They are paroled. They will (eventually) have an opportunity to present their case to an immigration judge that they did not abandon permanent residency.

 

If asked/told to sign an I-407, don't do it if they plan to keep their permanent residency.

 

I agree with not going the SB-1 visa route here...going through CBP is likely a better process.

No "as well" here...SB-1 vs CBP is an either/or option.

Thank you for your response. Assuming they get paroled and need to appear before IJ, can they stay with me or are they kept in some detention center ?

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

1 minute ago, mmu81 said:

Thank you for your response. Assuming they get paroled and need to appear before IJ, can they stay with me or are they kept in some detention center ?

They will be allowed to stay with you until a court date is set.

[mmu81 0]

14 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

Have there been no repatriation flights since March? I did a quick google search. There have been MANY. Additionally, tickets just went on sale for flights June10-July 1. Although some people may think the US will be lenient on those  who stayed past their time, I question for those countries that had an option (and that is the majority) how lenient can or should they be?

 

Family ties to the US don't really matter. They need to show ties such as paying taxes, residency, insurance, etc; things that continue to be paid/have proof for residency. I'm sure they have family ties to India as well. 

They have stronger family ties here. All their children live here in US and they are in considerable hardship living alone there. Plus like i said they lived here for 2 years and 3 months before leaving for India. Yes there were repatriation flights but not from their city. All domestic flights were shut down to reach the 2 major airports from where they were/are operated. 

 

Anyways they cannot fly with these special flights as the risk for getting infected was very high in March through May ( it still is ) and since the demand is soo high, the seat sell in a couple of hours. Getting infected with this disease especially for my mother who just came out of a cardiac arrest in April is sure shot death. No other way around.

Edited June 8, 2020 by mmu81

[ThomasNC1988 762]

The only real answer to this question is maybe they will maybe they won't. My best advice is for them to try to enter as normal and be ready to answer a lot of questions if need be. There was a case on here a year or so ago where an LPR had been out of the country more than 18 months and entered with no more questioning than if he had been out a week. Of course there are cases where people haven't been let in as well.

[mmu81 0]

2 minutes ago, ThomasNC1988 said:

The only real answer to this question is maybe they will maybe they won't. My best advice is for them to try to enter as normal and be ready to answer a lot of questions if need be. There was a case on here a year or so ago where an LPR had been out of the country more than 18 months and entered with no more questioning than if he had been out a week. Of course there are cases where people haven't been let in as well.

Thank you. The point is IF they can get a ticket plus IF they can clear Indian immigration. These are the 2 hurdles before they can even land at US POE.