Leaving US and re entering on IR1 visa

[o1michmich 2]

My husband, a Russian citizen, got his IR1 visa this past July and we came to the US on August 1st. He got his ssn in the mail and is even getting his driving learners permit next week. He has not gotten his greencard yet though. However, he is still a university student and we were hoping his classes would be online this semester but it seems they will be in person, meaning we must go back to Russia in the first week of September. The next chance to come back to America may only be next year in May/June, once he graduates. Would he be able to re-enter the US with his IR1 visa after being away that long? Does anyone know if there would br any repercussions? 

Edited August 21, 2021 by o1michmich
Wanted to add more info to make situation more clear

[Crazy Cat 41,893]

Maybe.  His endorsed visa acts as a green card until the plastic one arrives (for a year).  However, staying outside the US that long (with or without the plastic card) might put him in danger of having his residency questioned.  The safer route would be for him to apply for a re-entry permit....but that won't happen in 2 weeks.

[JimBette 14]

9 hours ago, o1michmich said:

My husband, a Russian citizen, got his IR1 visa this past July and we came to the US on August 1st. He got his ssn in the mail and is even getting his driving learners permit next week. He has not gotten his greencard yet though. However, he is still a university student and we were hoping his classes would be online this semester but it seems they will be in person, meaning we must go back to Russia in the first week of September. The next chance to come back to America may only be next year in May/June, once he graduates. Would he be able to re-enter the US with his IR1 visa after being away that long? Does anyone know if there would br any repercussions? 

How long did he take before he got his SSN ?

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Working & Traveling During US Immigration forum.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

12 hours ago, o1michmich said:

My husband, a Russian citizen, got his IR1 visa this past July and we came to the US on August 1st. He got his ssn in the mail and is even getting his driving learners permit next week. He has not gotten his greencard yet though. However, he is still a university student and we were hoping his classes would be online this semester but it seems they will be in person, meaning we must go back to Russia in the first week of September. The next chance to come back to America may only be next year in May/June, once he graduates. Would he be able to re-enter the US with his IR1 visa after being away that long? Does anyone know if there would br any repercussions? 

He wouldn’t be entering “with his IR visa”. He would be entering with the temporary green card that his IR visa has become. I’m making this distinction because I personally know of cases where airline personnel are unfamiliar with the temporary i551, and people refer to it as a “visa” then all the airline can see is the visa has expired and denies boarding. The endorsement  on the visa is valid up to one year from his original date of entry, so he will be ok using that until 31 July. I am assuming his immigrant fee has been paid, and would suggest getting his plastic green card couriered when it arrives to pre-empt any problems with airlines though.

 

11 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Maybe.  His endorsed visa acts as a green card until the plastic one arrives (for a year).  However, staying outside the US that long (with or without the plastic card) might put him in danger of having his residency questioned.  The safer route would be for him to apply for a re-entry permit....but that won't happen in 2 weeks.

One absence of 9-10 months will be ok. I am assuming he’s finishing up and not going back for another year after that. If he is going to be studying for another year after that then a re-entry permit is recommended.

 

[o1michmich 2]

14 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

He wouldn’t be entering “with his IR visa”. He would be entering with the temporary green card that his IR visa has become. I’m making this distinction because I personally know of cases where airline personnel are unfamiliar with the temporary i551, and people refer to it as a “visa” then all the airline can see is the visa has expired and denies boarding. The endorsement  on the visa is valid up to one year from his original date of entry, so he will be ok using that until 31 July. I am assuming his immigrant fee has been paid, and would suggest getting his plastic green card couriered when it arrives to pre-empt any problems with airlines though.

 

One absence of 9-10 months will be ok. I am assuming he’s finishing up and not going back for another year after that. If he is going to be studying for another year after that then a re-entry permit is recommended.

 

Correct. Once he finishes his school, he will stay in the US for good. I am also worried that if he leaves in September, and then his greencard arrives, we are afraid to mail it in case it gets lost. Mail service in Russia is disorganized and we have had letters get lost in the past.. would they allow him to re-enter with the visa sticker in his passport even after the greencard arrives to our US home address? Or do you think there's some way I could have my family get the greencard to him physically when they pick him up at the airport  next year? Might be a stretch but just curious

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, o1michmich said:

Correct. Once he finishes his school, he will stay in the US for good. I am also worried that if he leaves in September, and then his greencard arrives, we are afraid to mail it in case it gets lost. Mail service in Russia is disorganized and we have had letters get lost in the past.. would they allow him to re-enter with the visa sticker in his passport even after the greencard arrives to our US home address? Or do you think there's some way I could have my family get the greencard to him physically when they pick him up at the airport  next year? Might be a stretch but just curious

As already indicated,  the endorsed stamp that is now a temporary green card (it is no longer a visa) is valid up to one year from the date of his original entry into the US.

 

There was a reason I said courier, not mail.

No, your family will be on the wrong side of border control, he will first need to be able to enter the US to get anything from them, and anyway whatever he has must be accepted by the airline for boarding in the first instance.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by SusieQQQ