Living abroad while filing I-751

[Tim und Ina 0]

My wife (German) and I recently married and applied for an adjustment of status. BIG thanks to the help and information we got from Visa Journey, we received the approval after only 2 months! (Filed Feb 2nd, 2007, was approved April 6th, 2007).

My question is this. We are considering moving to Europe where I will get my Master's degree. If we do, we would move over there around September of next year (17 months after our approval), and live there for two years or more. Can we do that, or will that jeopardize our chance of having the I-751 approved? We would of course fly back for the interview, if necessary, but the actual application would have o be done from abroad.

Here is the info I've been able to find so far:

http://www.uscis.gov/ say this (in the "Removing Conditions On Permanent Residence Based On Marriage" section):

"The Form I-751 (Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence) can be filed regardless of whether you are physically present in the United States at the time that you file. However you must return to the United States with your spouse and your children in order to comply with the interview requirement."

I have been unable to find anything that confirmed or denied a physical presence requirement for the 2 years leading up to the I-751. (If there is in fact none, then we would consider moving over there as early as the beginning of next year.)

To sum up: Will living in Europe at the time of filing the I-751 have a bad effect on our chances? And, is there any requirement on how much time is spend by my wife in America during the two years leading up to the filing of the I-751?

Thanks (very much) in advance.

[MargotDarko 0]

My wife (German) and I recently married and applied for an adjustment of status. BIG thanks to the help and information we got from Visa Journey, we received the approval after only 2 months! (Filed Feb 2nd, 2007, was approved April 6th, 2007).

My question is this. We are considering moving to Europe where I will get my Master's degree. If we do, we would move over there around September of next year (17 months after our approval), and live there for two years or more. Can we do that, or will that jeopardize our chance of having the I-751 approved? We would of course fly back for the interview, if necessary, but the actual application would have o be done from abroad.

Here is the info I've been able to find so far:

http://www.uscis.gov/ say this (in the "Removing Conditions On Permanent Residence Based On Marriage" section):

"The Form I-751 (Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence) can be filed regardless of whether you are physically present in the United States at the time that you file. However you must return to the United States with your spouse and your children in order to comply with the interview requirement."

I have been unable to find anything that confirmed or denied a physical presence requirement for the 2 years leading up to the I-751. (If there is in fact none, then we would consider moving over there as early as the beginning of next year.)

To sum up: Will living in Europe at the time of filing the I-751 have a bad effect on our chances? And, is there any requirement on how much time is spend by my wife in America during the two years leading up to the filing of the I-751?

Thanks (very much) in advance.

You would have to do a lot to not lose your PR status. One of the conditions of the green card is that the US is your residence. You can leave the US for up to a year without a re-entry permit, but even if it's been less time than that it can still be decided that you've abandoned your status. As it's for a specific reason (master's degree), you should look into the process of receiving a re-entry permit.

So, the problem isn't so much where you're living when you file the I-751, it's that you will be risking your green card by being out of the states for a long time.