Leaving US after receiving Family Visa.

[Biabarida 7]

Hello, my wife and I are living in Spain with our two kids. We are planning on moving to the US. We have completed the I130 and are well on our way to getting the visa. I have a job lined up, and my wife can easily work as a teacher. She is concerned that maybe after 6 months or a year she will miss home and want to move back to Spain. We would like to attempt to raise our kids in both countries if possible. Will she lose her visa if we leave for several years? Will we have to start everything all over again if we want to move back to the US again in later years? 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Biabarida

[Unlockable 7,314]

8 minutes ago, Biabarida said:

Hello, my wife and I are living in Spain with our two kids. We are planning on moving to the US. We have completed the I130 and are well on our way to getting the visa. I have a job lined up, and my wife can easily work as a teacher. She is concerned that maybe after 6 months or a year she will miss home and want to move back to Spain. We would like to attempt to raise our kids in both countries if possible. Will she lose her visa if we leave for several years? Will we have to start everything all over again if we want to move back to the US again in later years? 

 

Yes. She will lose her green card. She has to be a resident of the US in order to maintain it. And, yes, you would have to start all over later.

 

In order to do what you want to do (being able to move back and forth between countries) your wife would have to obtain citizenship. Which means she would have to be a resident here for 3 - 5 years and become a US citizen. After she is a citizen, she can leave the US for however long she desires without losing anything.

[Dashinka 24,492]

Yes, going back for several years will definitely impact her ability to keep a GC, as @Unlockable mentioned.  If you can swing it, I would keep on your current path and plan for her to naturalize in 3+ years after arrival on her visa.  Once she naturalizes, then anything is possible.  This would give her a target to shoot for, and of course with a GC, she is free to travel back and forth (within the limits to naturalize).

 

Good Luck!

Edited August 27, 2021 by Dashinka

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

If you can swing it to be in the US 7 months and Spain 5 months a year then it can work. I can’t see how that is practical with kids in school, etc though. But basically you need to spend more time inside the US than out of it to keep your green card. I know a couple of people who spend the entire long summer vacation back home every year (one of them happens to be from Spain). Longer than that is often not practical unless everyone is retired or can work remotely, kids in school obviously has an impact.

 

As an aside, it is usually very difficult to make immigration work if you keep one foot back in the old country.

Edited August 27, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[mushroomspore 3,044]

1 hour ago, Biabarida said:

Hello, my wife and I are living in Spain with our two kids. We are planning on moving to the US. We have completed the I130 and are well on our way to getting the visa. I have a job lined up, and my wife can easily work as a teacher. She is concerned that maybe after 6 months or a year she will miss home and want to move back to Spain. We would like to attempt to raise our kids in both countries if possible. Will she lose her visa if we leave for several years? Will we have to start everything all over again if we want to move back to the US again in later years? 

The green card is for permanent residents, so moving back to Spain on a permanent basis will mean she loses her immigration benefits. In just three years, she'll be eligible for citizenship. That process takes about 6-12 months on average to reach approval. After that, she can get a US passport and will be able to move anywhere she wants without risking the loss of her American legal status. If she can stick it out until then, that would be the best bet. In the meantime, she can travel back to Spain with the kids for at a few months at a time as needed/wanted.

[El Escocés 217]

23 hours ago, Unlockable said:

After she is a citizen, she can leave the US for however long she desires without losing anything.

Exactly the reason why I naturalized.