Planning to be out of the US for 3 or so years.....

[namedude]

Hey gurus - can you try to think if this plan is sound. Couple of months ago I became a US citizen and my wife a GC holder. Unfortunately for business reasons it makes sense for us to go abroad for about 3 years. The question relates to preservation of my wife's GC.

This is what we plan to do:
- Store stuff in storage here in the US. It will be in her name and she will pay for from her US credit card.
- Get 1 REP and then 2 REP. This will cover the 3 years. We will get 2 REP after returning briefly after the 1 REP.
- My wife will get paid by US business from the US (actually my business). So she will have a US source of income at all times.
- We will ship our car overseas - but we will bring it back. We will state that to foreign authorities.
- We will sign an agreeement with my friend that we can live with him. We will pay him some small money for this. And we will make sure that all my wife's credit card bills go to that address.
- My wife will be paying for some utilities in the US like phone while she is away from the US.
- Finally we will pay taxes. However since we will be out for more than 330/365 days - we will be eligible to exclude 80K. But this is still regular 1040 resident tax form.
- She will obviously keep her bank accts, credit cards in the US

However while abroad - we will build a house. Eventually this will be our second house. So after we return to the US we will keep it, rent it out or simply use it for the summer or sthg.

I am going there to establish a business and will likely draw income from abroad. But the businesses are always run in such a way where you ramp them up and then have a manager run the company. I have done it couple of times already. So a person can have businesses everywhere in the world. In fact VISA and Mastercard has businesses in tax paradise.

Also - my wife has been living in the US for quite some time already (couple of years) - but she has had the GC for 2 months only.

Obviously my wife will break her continuous residence - so she will apply for Natz later on after she is eligible when she returns.

So this is what we plan to do. Does anybody think there are some other precautions to take?

 

[pianoplayer]

Hey gurus - can you try to think if this plan is sound. Couple of months ago I became a US citizen and my wife a GC holder. Unfortunately for business reasons it makes sense for us to go abroad for about 3 years. The question relates to preservation of my wife's GC.

This is what we plan to do:
- Store stuff in storage here in the US. It will be in her name and she will pay for from her US credit card.
- Get 1 REP and then 2 REP. This will cover the 3 years. We will get 2 REP after returning briefly after the 1 REP.
- My wife will get paid by US business from the US (actually my business). So she will have a US source of income at all times.
- We will ship our car overseas - but we will bring it back. We will state that to foreign authorities.
- We will sign an agreeement with my friend that we can live with him. We will pay him some small money for this. And we will make sure that all my wife's credit card bills go to that address.
- My wife will be paying for some utilities in the US like phone while she is away from the US.
- Finally we will pay taxes. However since we will be out for more than 330/365 days - we will be eligible to exclude 80K. But this is still regular 1040 resident tax form.
- She will obviously keep her bank accts, credit cards in the US

However while abroad - we will build a house. Eventually this will be our second house. So after we return to the US we will keep it, rent it out or simply use it for the summer or sthg.

I am going there to establish a business and will likely draw income from abroad. But the businesses are always run in such a way where you ramp them up and then have a manager run the company. I have done it couple of times already. So a person can have businesses everywhere in the world. In fact VISA and Mastercard has businesses in tax paradise.

Also - my wife has been living in the US for quite some time already (couple of years) - but she has had the GC for 2 months only.

Obviously my wife will break her continuous residence - so she will apply for Natz later on after she is eligible when she returns.

So this is what we plan to do. Does anybody think there are some other precautions to take?

Hi:

I think yours is the typical case where I do not see particular problems. Your wife is clearly not intending to abandon status. Even though you will be abroad 3 years, she has a definite intent to return after a defined period. So many people seem to associate abandonment with the duration of time, and while that is a factor, it is not determinative. You can abandon status after a 3 month absence but not abandon status with a 3 year absence, depending on the facts.

Now, the only thing you have to be careful with (aside from making sure she maintains the proper REP and that she comes back to the US for a little while to file for and receive another REP) is compiling evidence of your intent. Your ideas above are good and MAY be sufficient ---- make sure you are able to:
1. Document that the absence will be ONLY for 3 years and be able to point to a specific time that you will return to the US

2. Pay taxes

3. Maintain storage in the US

4. Maintain all bank accounts and credit cards

5. Visit relatives/friends a few times

etc. ----- establishing the general picture. Even though I think you have a good case, it would not hurt if you are willing to spend a bit of time and some money, to consult with an immigration attorney who SPECIALIZES in abandonment issues to help you take further actions to build your evidence and manifest the requisite intent. Note, the above person will PROBABLY not be the local immigration attorney on the corner - consult the AILA website.

Best of luck.