BE A RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES

[Catia&Sal 20]

I have a question, if anyone has experience:
I got the Green Card (for 10 years) now I have a provisional visa in my passport, and I have to move to the US by next February, I'm  planning to go in December.

To keep the Green Card, is it true that I physically have to be in the United States for at least 183 days each year, and I risk losing it if I stay fewer days?

How does it work, do they check how many days you are present?

 

Thank you in advance

[aaron2020 11,651]

A green card holder is required to make the US their primary home.

 

Brief visits to the US annually while living abroad runs the risk of abandoning your green card.

 

There is no specific number of days that you have to be in the US.  

Google "maintaining legal permanent residency" and get the answer from the US Government.  

 

What is it that you want to accomplish?

 

Green card holders are required to report their worldwide income on their US tax return.  If you live and work abroad, you will have to report your income to the IRS.  This could potentially be used against you in determining whether you have abandoned your green card.  

 

 

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

47 minutes ago, Catia&Sal said:

I have a question, if anyone has experience:
I got the Green Card (for 10 years) now I have a provisional visa in my passport, and I have to move to the US by next February, I'm  planning to go in December.

To keep the Green Card, is it true that I physically have to be in the United States for at least 183 days each year, and I risk losing it if I stay fewer days?

How does it work, do they check how many days you are present?

 

Thank you in advance

if you dont make USA as primary residency, you risk losing the green card. yes they will check the number of days present. they know everything about you. the more your skirts the rules, the more the chances of losing the green card 

[payxibka 10,045]

1 minute ago, James120383 said:

if you dont make USA as primary residency, you risk losing the green card. yes they will check the number of days present. they know everything about you. the more your skirts the rules, the more the chances of losing the green card 

Same result be they log the number of days gone

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

When you decided to immigrate to the USA you decided to make the USA your HOME, not a vacation destination. If you continually stay outside of the USA the immigration officer will pick up on it- they have a record of your travel in and out of the country- and you may eventually get sent to an immigration judge where you can lose your status. If you are not ready to immigrate to the USA yet unfortunately you should have held off on applying for a visa.  A greencard is for residency, not a glorified tourist visa, keep that in mind 🙂

[Catia&Sal 20]

28 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

When you decided to immigrate to the USA you decided to make the USA your HOME, not a vacation destination. If you continually stay outside of the USA the immigration officer will pick up on it- they have a record of your travel in and out of the country- and you may eventually get sent to an immigration judge where you can lose your status. If you are not ready to immigrate to the USA yet unfortunately you should have held off on applying for a visa.  A greencard is for residency, not a glorified tourist visa, keep that in mind 🙂

Thank you for the answer, I know it's nt a joke... sure!

my husband is a US citizen but we have lived in Italy for many years, he moved to the US in 2016. I always lived and worked in Italy, and I will retire in June 2022, so I will be free to move permanently; next year I'm  planning  to apply for a part time from my office, in order to spend some months in US; so far since 2017 I've done this, and I've been back and forth, but now travelling is more difficult  due to Covid;

Obviously 2021 will be my last year of work, and I have to make a decision about how long to stay there, asking  for 6 months part time  and send the request to my office. 

I wanted to be sure of what I was doing, what consequences if next year I couldn't stay six months in the United States. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

15 minutes ago, Catia&Sal said:

Thank you for the answer, I know it's nt a joke... sure!

my husband is a US citizen but we have lived in Italy for many years, he moved to the US in 2016. I always lived and worked in Italy, and I will retire in June 2022, so I will be free to move permanently; next year I'm  planning  to apply for a part time from my office, in order to spend some months in US; so far since 2017 I've done this, and I've been back and forth, but now travelling is more difficult  due to Covid;

Obviously 2021 will be my last year of work, and I have to make a decision about how long to stay there, asking  for 6 months part time  and send the request to my office. 

I wanted to be sure of what I was doing, what consequences if next year I couldn't stay six months in the United States. 

It's not only time in the US making it your primary home.  Time spent outside the US is considered in determining whether you've abandoned your green card.  Spending more than a year outside the US is problematic. 

 

Also, if you claim residency in Italy, it's problematic for you.  Claiming a foreign resident while having a green card is one way to lose your green card.  Please google "legal resident maintaining status."

Have you looked into getting a Reentry Permit which would allow you to be outside the US for up to 2 years without abandoning your green card?

Edited October 5, 2020 by aaron2020

[aaron2020 11,651]

Here is my advice.

 

Travel to the US in Feb 2021 to activate your green card status.

File the I-131 for a Reentry Permit.  Get your biometrics done in the US.  You can leave the US before your Reentry Permit is granted.  This will allow you to stay outside the US for up to 2 years without abandoning your green card status.

File your 2021 US tax return before April 15, 2022, and declare your Italian income.  You should probably get a qualified accountant for this and not a tax preparation service.

In June 2022, you can come back to the US to be with your husband full time without any problem with US immigration.

Best of luck.  

 

[pushbrk 12,883]

1 hour ago, Luckycuds said:

When you decided to immigrate to the USA you decided to make the USA your HOME, not a vacation destination. If you continually stay outside of the USA the immigration officer will pick up on it- they have a record of your travel in and out of the country- and you may eventually get sent to an immigration judge where you can lose your status. If you are not ready to immigrate to the USA yet unfortunately you should have held off on applying for a visa.  A greencard is for residency, not a glorified tourist visa, keep that in mind 🙂

Whoa.  A green card holder who is denied entry on judgment of a CBP officer, does not see an immigration judge before leaving.  They are treated like anybody else who is denied entry, and sent out on the next available flight without entering the US at all. That's what "denied entry" means.

 

Playing fast and loose with residency status bites lots of folks in the butt daily.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

56 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Whoa.  A green card holder who is denied entry on judgment of a CBP officer, does not see an immigration judge before leaving.  They are treated like anybody else who is denied entry, and sent out on the next available flight without entering the US at all. That's what "denied entry" means.

 

Playing fast and loose with residency status bites lots of folks in the butt daily.

I did not know that- I was under the impression you would be referred to one- so they are denied entry and sent to their native country? Is there an appeal or is your greencard taken away before you leave the country?

[pushbrk 12,883]

4 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

I did not know that- I was under the impression you would be referred to one- so they are denied entry and sent to their native country? Is there an appeal or is your greencard taken away before you leave the country?

The green card is confiscated.  They are sent back to the country they departed from.  If that's their native country, ok.  If not, how they get from where they came to "home" is their problem.  What options are available after, besides starting a new immigration process, I don't know.  You have to be "IN" the USA to see an immigration judge.  Persons denied entry to the USA are not IN the USA.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

The green card is confiscated.  They are sent back to the country they departed from.  If that's their native country, ok.  If not, how they get from where they came to "home" is their problem.  What options are available after, besides starting a new immigration process, I don't know.  You have to be "IN" the USA to see an immigration judge.  Persons denied entry to the USA are not IN the USA.

Thank you for clarifying 

[pushbrk 12,883]

The OP needs to research whether they have already abandoned their residency and whether they wish to risk being denied entry and having to start over again when ready to actually immigrate to the USA.  It's not a simple determination in many cases.  It would be nice if it was as simple as spending more time in the USA than outside but it's not.  Advice to Google "Maintaining Permanent Resident Status USA" is spot on.  Then read the official USCIS page about it.  Lots of variables and judgment calls but if a person leaves for more than a year without a re-entry permit, they should definitely expect to be denied entry and have their green card confiscated.

[carmel34 3,633]

27 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

The OP needs to research whether they have already abandoned their residency

"I got the Green Card (for 10 years) now I have a provisional visa in my passport, and I have to move to the US by next February, I'm  planning to go in December."

 

OP stated in her original question that she recently received the IR-1 visa in her Italian passport (visa interview was in August according to her timeline) and has until Feb. 2021 to immigrate to the US.  So she has not yet activated the IR-1 so she is not an LPR yet, hence no residency to abandon, yet...  She's asking about the future and how many days she needs to live in the US after she becomes an LPR.

[aaron2020 11,651]

OP's original post was confusing since she mistakenly believed that she got a 10 years green card when in fact she had only received an IR-1 visa.  Took a while to sort out before giving her appropriate advice.