Can I make a personal trip to the US to collect the GC ?

[mjordan2001]

Hi,
I am working with a US based firm, but had been posted in India for the past 2 years. I just finished my Consular Processing in June. I had two questions :-

* It says on some visa document that I need to enter the US within 6 months. But some people are saying that I need to enter the US within 3 months of Consular Processing. Can someone tell me which is correct ?

* Secondly, my company does not want me to come back to the US immediately, but would like me to stay in India atleast for for a few more months before coming back to the US. But, I do not want to take the risk of waiting too long to enter the US. Can I make a personal trip ( like a vacation)for 2- 3 weeks to enter the US and get my GreenCard , or does it have to be an official trip to work there ? Is entering the country on a vacation trip legal ?

 

[brb2]

6 months is the time to enter unless you have something else written. I don't why some one would tell you it is 3 months. Anyway, you can enter the US as an immigrant, give a friend's addres to collect the green card. Apply for a re-entry permit. Ask to collect it at a US consulate in India. Use that permit to enter the next time, because after 1 year the "green card" is not valid as a re-entry permit. If you come back in less than 6 months a PR is treated as if you never left the country. More than 6 months but less than 1 year, you can use your green card to enter as immigrant but you can be denied entry for inadmissable reasons such as Aids, active TB etc etc. In your case since you will be away for 2 years, you need a re-entry permit to keep your PR status alive. Ofcourse the clock for the citizenship resets to zero when you enter after 2 years.
my 2 c worth.