How many times can you re-apply for i-131 ?

1

1on1

Registered Users (C)
Hello everyone and thankyou to the forum organizers for such this very helpful site.

Ok well my story is i am an EU citizen married to an American..for reasons of family matters I have now re-newed my I-131 twice (meaning I have been away from the States a total of 4 years but have returned twice to renew the I-131 in 4 years). So I read somewhere that the limit for renewing the I-131 is 3 times (so a total of 6 years). Is this accurate ? I am not concerned about how this will impact me for citizenship application in the future since I do not intend to become a citizen..i just want to be able to re-new it one last time so I can extend my stay overseas for 2 more years.

sincerely
1on1
PS my current I-131 is about to expire in 3 months so I will be returning back to the States to hopefully renew it one last time...yes I still have links to the States..my husband is back there now and I have supporting documents like US drivers license, U.S. credit cards showing bills I have been paying in the States etc.
 
third reentry permit is one year.....after that you need to settle or give back your green card....
 
while waiting for a response from this forum..i posted same question on another forum (immihelp.com) and this was the response I got..

" I can't find any reference to limit of times Reentry Permits can be issued, but if you have been out of the U.S. for more than 4 of the last 5 years, your next Reentry Permit will be limited to one year."

So I am obviously a bit confused...is there any legal document you can point me to that says after the third "one year re-newal" one will have to settle or surrender the green card ?

many thanks
1on1
 
It says so in the I-131 instructions. But, you could get lucky and get a 2 year permit. You could ALSO be unlucky and be refused one. It's hard to say what the person processing your application will do. Some people have been issued 3-4 permits, too, I think, but this is unusual.

There's no rule that you will be given a choice to stay or leave after your third REP. It's all dependent on the immigration officer at the port of entry. He/she may choose to look at your history and give you an ultimatum (and put a note in your file), or even refer you to an immigration judge (unlikely) if you, for example, travel for long periods of time WITHOUT an REP after your 5 year stint abroad.

Give it a shot. In the end, you can always re-immigrate if you have to give up your GC since you're married to a USC. It'll just cost you a ton.
 
thanks Cafeconleche-

I see..so after the third "one year" permit, its all a gamble then eh ?

What do you mean by " long periods of time WITHOUT an REP" ?

also " Cost you a ton" do you have a vague estimate of what the re-immigration cost would be ?

1on1
 
Well, the third one would likely be a 1 year permit, but it can also be denied or be issued for 2 years, so the grey area has already begun for you. By long periods of time without an REP (re-entry permit), I mean 5 months 25 days out, 5 days in, then another 5 months out, and 10 days in, etc. Since the trips abroad would individually be for less than 6 months, you wouldn't technically need an REP, but CIS doesn't like this and could cause you trouble. Finally, re-immigration costs a ton because it's over $1K since you have to file the I130, and thte 1485, plus whatever else (I haven't done this before), so it's a lot of money (less than 2K I think, though).
 
Guys

Here's quick question for all

When you all say 3 rd time .. does it mean 3rd time after GC ?

Because we get EAD and Travel document (I130) before getting GC as well.
 
ug301 said:
Guys

Here's quick question for all

When you all say 3 rd time .. does it mean 3rd time after GC ?

Because we get EAD and Travel document (I130) before getting GC as well.
Click to expand...
There are different things you apply for using I-131. There's Advance Parole, Re-entry Permit, and Refugee Travel Document. All different things.

Before GC you got EAD and Advance Parole.

This thread is talking about Re-entry Permit. The duration of the Re-entry Permit is mentioned in the I-131 instructions (page 2):
b. Validity of Reentry Permit
(1) Generally, a Reentry Permit issued to a permanent resident is valid for 2 years from the date of issuance. See
8 CFR section 223.3(a)(1). However, if you have been outside the United States for more than 4 of the last 5
years since becoming a permanent resident the permit will be limited to 1 year, [...]
Click to expand...
 
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