2 consecutive reentry permits - application timing

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Filipok

Registered Users (C)
I am a Green Card holder currently living abroad. I received my first re-entry permit a year ago and am planning to apply for a second one, because I’m going to have to stay abroad over 2 years. I am planning to go to the US for a short time, apply for a new permit, leave the US and have the RP sent abroad.

According to USCIS, I cannot apply for a second permit if I already have one and it’s still valid. I don’t understand how I can apply for a second permit, because if I wait until the current permit expires before going to the US to apply for a second one, my Green Card is at risk. If I enter the US and apply while the current permit is valid, I won’t qualify for the second one. What is your advice regarding application timing?

Any help is much appreciated.
 
Filipok said:
I am a Green Card holder currently living abroad. I received my first re-entry permit a year ago and am planning to apply for a second one, because I’m going to have to stay abroad over 2 years. I am planning to go to the US for a short time, apply for a new permit, leave the US and have the RP sent abroad.

According to USCIS, I cannot apply for a second permit if I already have one and it’s still valid. I don’t understand how I can apply for a second permit, because if I wait until the current permit expires before going to the US to apply for a second one, my Green Card is at risk. If I enter the US and apply while the current permit is valid, I won’t qualify for the second one. What is your advice regarding application timing?

Any help is much appreciated.
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Stay in US for a few days and let the 1st one expire. After all, the idea of residency is to stay there, right.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Stay in US for a few days and let the 1st one expire. After all, the idea of residency is to stay there, right.
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I will be too busy at the time when my current RP expires, especially because i'd need to wait for fingerprinting as well in the US. Besides, that time will be more than 2 years since my last visit to the US. Is there any way i can apply before my current RP has expired?
 
Filipok said:
According to USCIS, I cannot apply for a second permit if I already have one and it’s still valid.
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Yes you can apply for the second one before the first one expires, as long as you submit the first one with the new application. It says so in the I-131 instructions.
 
Jack is right. I have done it several times in the past becouse other countries does not issue visa in the document with validity less than 3 or 6 month and TD was the only document I have had to use on the trips . As long as you send the current one back with your application you should be fine. I would make sure to explain it in a letter that what you are trying to do to avoid any confusion or delay.
 
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I would like to go to the US, apply for a new Reernty Permit and leave the counrty, then come back for biometrics. This is how i recieved my first RP. If I send my current RP with an application for a new one, how will i be able to enter the US for biometrics given that at that time i will not have a RP on me? Yes, I do have a passoprt, but I'm not sure it will be suffiicient given the extended time spent abroad.
 
You have to be in the US when you send in the application. So when you return for biometrics, it would only be 2-4 weeks that you've been outside the US, and for such a short absence there is no need for a reentry permit.
 
Jackolantern said:
You have to be in the US when you send in the application. So when you return for biometrics, it would only be 2-4 weeks that you've been outside the US, and for such a short absence there is no need for a reentry permit.
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What concerns me is that I'll be absent for 2-4 weeks after my last short visit. Total absence at that time will be over 2 years and I will not have a reentry permit. If I explain at the border that I'm trying to get a second RP, will I have any problems entering the country and keeping the green card?
 
If I were you I would go to the US just before the RP expires, maybe a week. Apply for an expedited RP, do walk-in fingerprinting as soon as you get your bio letter, and you should have your RP sooner than usual. You might not have to send in your RP if you write in the application that it is SET TO EXPIRE. They'll see that it will expire in a few days and won't require you to send it in. This is in-case you want to hold on to it for some reason. Otherwise, by all means, send it with your application. Waiting for it abroad will bring you a LOT of heartache, as I can tell you.
 
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