2 reentry permits in a row?

F

Filipok

Registered Users (C)
I have a green card and am currently working and living abroad. I received a reentry permit a few month ago which will expire in 2010. Can I get another reentry permit if I want to spend about 1-1.5 years more outside the US and keep my green card? The total time absent from the US would be about 3 to 3.5 years in this case. If i can, how can i do it? Would i have to have my fingerprints taken again? Would i just come to the US for a few days before my current RP expires, apply from the US for a new one by post, and then wait to pick up the second RP from a US embassy in my country?

What are my other options? Suppose i visit the US before my RP expires and then keep visiting it every 6 months before i eventually move? Would that be a safer option in terms of keeping the green card? I do file US tax returns and keep my US bank account, though i don't own a house or have any relatives on the US.
 
You have to apply bfore you leave the country, in other word you have to be in US to apply so you have to come back to apply.If USCIS approves your TD then you are authorize to stay out of county for the validity of it.You must come back before it expires to order to have hassle free entry.
 
mh66ii said:
You have to apply bfore you leave the country, in other word you have to be in US to apply so you have to come back to apply.If USCIS approves your TD then you are authorize to stay out of county for the validity of it.You must come back before it expires to order to have hassle free entry.
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Ok, fair enough. Suppose I come to the US for a few days just before my current reentry permit expires and submit an application by post for a new one from the US. Then i come back to my country and wait for approval, then collect the document from the embassy when it's ready.

Questions.
1. Is it possible at all to get a second reentry permit right after the first one expires? Has anyone done that before? Is there a law that prohibits or allows this explicitly?

2. (assuming that it's possible to get the second reentry permit in principle) Would I need to go for another biometrics appointment to get the second RP if i've already gone through this to get the first one?

3. What are the time lines for getting a second RP? I mean, do i need to wait for the first one to expire before even applying for another one? Or do i need to time everything so that i get the second one just after the first one expires? Is it a good idea to write a cover letter asking to issue the second RP effecting from the expiry date of the first one?
 
Filipok said:
1. Is it possible at all to get a second reentry permit right after the first one expires? Has anyone done that before? Is there a law that prohibits or allows this explicitly?
Yes allowed, the chance for approval is for one year only, minimal chance for 2 years

2. (assuming that it's possible to get the second reentry permit in principle) Would I need to go for another biometrics appointment to get the second RP if i've already gone through this to get the first one?
Yes biometrics every time

3. What are the time lines for getting a second RP? I mean, do i need to wait for the first one to expire before even applying for another one? Or do i need to time everything so that i get the second one just after the first one expires? Is it a good idea to write a cover letter asking to issue the second RP effecting from the expiry date of the first one?
You do not need for the one in hand to be expired you can apply before or after expiration. The effective date will be the approval date and has nothing to do with the one in hand expiration at all whatever coverletter you wrote. Do not forget that residence in US is the rule and the permit is the exception, not the reverse.
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Filipok,

I have the exact same situation as you are. My I-131 will expire in March 2010 and I am not yet ready to go back. I still have a program to run in the Phil.

To Mmed,

So. If my I-131 expires March 2010. I need to go back to the US before then and file another one. Right? And if I want continuity in my stay outside the US, I should file about September 2009. So, I would know before March 2010 if the I-131 has been approved?
 
marie_valdez said:
If my I-131 expires March 2010. I need to go back to the US before then and file another one. Right?
Yes
if I want continuity in my stay outside the US, I should file about September 2009. So, I would know before March 2010 if the I-131 has been approved?
No one can till when the second AP will be approved but many have problems in the second AP as long waiting which vary from case to case, one year only validity instead of 2, some denial and so on. This does not mean that there is no approval for the second AP for two years, indead there is.
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I assume Sept 2009 is a good plan and update the forum with what will happen.
 
Filipok said:
Mmed

Thank you for your reply. Are there any official documents about this situation?
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The official documents are the ones on the www.uscis.gov under form instructions in addition to all instructions regarding residency requirements of GC holders in the same web page which simply state that you can apply as much as you can for AP. The point is the cumulative experiences and stories from people which obviously will not be written any where.
 
I found this quote on the VisaPro web site (sorry, cannot post links to web sites on this forum):

Yes, a Re-entry Permit may not be issued if:

• You have already been issued such a document and it is still valid, unless the prior document has been returned to the USCIS, or you can demonstrate that it was lost
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Does it mean that i should apply for a second reentry permit only once my current permit has expired? Or should time it so that i am likely to get the second one once the first permit has expired?
 
Can somebody advise please?

Do i have to wait for my current RP to expire before applying for a new one or can I apply in advance before the current one has expired?
 
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