LPR stopped at POE for staying 1 year and 2 months outside of US

[KKOS 17]

Hello everyone,

Just looking for some advice here. My dad and sister are permanent residents that due to a family member being ill, they had to stay outside of the US for a year and 2 months. They came to Chicago last Friday on Dec 2nd and the officer at the point of entry filed a I193 form for them and stamped their password. On the passport stamp he put "I 193 approved". They were advised that they need to stay in the US otherwise they will loose their residence.

My dad has to fly back to Europe on Dec 9th. What does this form and stamp mean? Can he come back to the US? IS the GC still valid?

 

Any responses would help

[OldUser 6,563]

Sorry to hear about the family member. It doesn't look good for your father and sister. Can at least one of them stay in the US for longer this time? Otherwise, next time they come, they'll have more trouble at the border. There is a great chance they'll be asked to give up their green card voluntarily, and if not, sent to court hearing deciding their status.

 

If they lose LPR, they'll have to start from scratch to get it back.

 

Staying for over a year outside of the US, coming back for a week and going back outside for a while again is very bad from immigration perspective.

 

They should have applied for re-entry permit, allowing them to stay outside of the US for up to 2 years.

Edited December 5, 2022 by OldUser

[KKOS 17]

Can they apply for that now? Not sure what the next steps are here?

[OldUser 6,563]

2 minutes ago, KKOS said:

Can they apply for that now? Not sure what the next steps are here?

Not if they expect to leave on December 9th. Approval of re-entry permit (I-131) takes months, maybe a year. They're not even going to get receipt and fingerprinting done for it by December 9th.

 

It's a tough choice between immigration and family.

Edited December 5, 2022 by OldUser

[Loren Y 2,755]

I agree with @OldUser above. Consider the CBP officer being nice and allowing them to enter with a warning in this case. Guarantee there are notes in their records now, and if either one of them leaves again within say about 6 months, the niceness will disappear on their return, and the things old user mentioned above will probably come into play. They or one of them can apply for a reentry permit, and make sure not to leave until Biometrics is done. But there is risk involved with that also as they will have to stay out of country until permit is approved ( 12 months), and if not, could face hurdles returning for sure.

[milimelo 4,475]

Wait, they expect to keep their green cards after spending a WEEK in the US after lengthy absence? Good luck with that. 

Better stay put for at least 6-8 months and in the meantime file I-131 if they want to travel again. 

[AOSFairfax 111]

If it’s a priority for either of them to retain their green card, I would absolutely not travel on Dec. 9th or for a few more months at least. And next time they do travel, it can’t be for an indefinite period of time, especially without a re entry permit. I concur with the others that the CBP officer was likely having a good day and let them in with a warning this time but they can absolutely not expect or hope for that next time. 
A green card is for living in the US on a permanent basis and you are not granted the same flexibility of splitting time between the US and another country as if you were a US citizen. On that note, if they do ever want to naturalize so as to have the option later on of spending longer periods of time abroad, there are continuous residency requirements they would have to meet. The sooner they meet those, the sooner they can naturalize and have flexibility with their travel and living arrangements. 

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to Working & Traveling During US Immigration -- topic is about travel with GC after getting I-193 ***

 

[iwannaplay54 985]

8 hours ago, KKOS said:

Hello everyone,

Just looking for some advice here. My dad and sister are permanent residents that due to a family member being ill, they had to stay outside of the US for a year and 2 months. They came to Chicago last Friday on Dec 2nd and the officer at the point of entry filed a I193 form for them and stamped their password. On the passport stamp he put "I 193 approved". They were advised that they need to stay in the US otherwise they will loose their residence.

My dad has to fly back to Europe on Dec 9th. What does this form and stamp mean? Can he come back to the US? IS the GC still valid?

 

Any responses would help

The GC is valid but he’s playing with fire