Can I reside abroad while having a Green Card?

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unclocked

Registered Users (C)
I am sure this question has been asked before, but I couldn't find a useful link.

I have green card. I now plan to stay abroad for 3-4 years. Is it possible to do it without loosing green card. I had heard earlier that you can not stay fore more than 6 months outside of US to maintain that status.

TIA.
 
You can lose your green card if you stay outside the US for a single trip of more than 6 months. Multiple trips close together that total much longer than 6 months (like a year or more) could also jeopardize your green card even if each trip is less than 6 months.

But you can get a reentry permit (form I-131) that will allow you to preserve your green card while you stay abroad for 2 years, then get another one (but the 2nd one might only be for 1 year). During those years, you still have to file US taxes and maintain ties to the US (bank account, driver's license, etc.), and your time outside the US is to be thought of as an extended visit, not residing outside the US. However, the reentry permit does not preserve your eligibility for citizenship; the time spent abroad during those long trips will not count towards fulfilling the 5-year requirement, unless you meet one of the few exceptions (e.g. working abroad for the US government or military).
 
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I have a similar situation where my wife is a GC and I am working in the U.S. with OPT. Since the H-1 quota is so tight I can't get my H-1 here this year, I need to go back to my home country. My wife wants to go back with me without losing her eligibility to get naturalize. She got her GC in 2004 August and she's been physically presence in the U.S more than 3 years now. Can she come back to the states once every 5 or 6 months to maintain the continuity of residence and get naturalize once 5 years is reached?

Thanks in advance
 
hoho193 said:
Can she come back to the states once every 5 or 6 months to maintain the continuity of residence and get naturalize once 5 years is reached?
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No. That will probably be sufficient to maintain the green card, but for naturalization they are more strict and if they see a pattern of being in the US for the vast majority of each year, they are likely to deny the naturalization even if each trip is less than 6 months.

See http://boards.immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?p=1759394#post1759394

However, there are exceptions that allow one to work overseas for extended periods (1 year or more) and still have that time count towards the residence requirement for naturalization. That includes working for a US Corporation (note that there are certain restrictions on what qualifies as a "US corporation", such as shareholder ownership must be over 50% US citizens or it must be a public corporation that is exclusively traded on a US stock exchange), or the US government/military.

Another thing to consider is that maybe you don't need to leave the country due to lack of an H-1. Are you aware of the new regulation that allows you to extend your OPT by up to 17 months (for a total of 29 months)? Have you checked it out to determine whether you qualify for that extension?
 
Note that merely visiting US is not sufficent for GC maintenance.

We have many instances, for example, of GC holders who live in Canada and visit US every week. When a CBP officer ascertains that the person is actually living in Canada (and has no re-entry permit), he will almost always confiscate the GC.


To maintain GC, one needs to have sufficient ties in US, such as an available residence AND set foot in US regularly OR a reentry permit, not just land 2-3 times a year.
 
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In case of Canada one can change green card for "commuter" green card.
As I know it gives opportunity to live in Canada and use green cards without jeopardizing to loose one.

I have been working in Detroit and I know couple of Canadians who live in Canada and use US commuter green card to work here.
The mandatory condition for commuter green card is to have job in US.

The disadvantage is that time on the commuter green card is not counted towards citizenship
 
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the commuter green card is a poor cousin to the real one:
http://www.clarkhill.com/microsite/immigration/commuter_green_cards/

Since you aren't even considered a resident unless you convert, this is basically a "daily re-entry permit", not even worth mentionning.

I was talking about Cdn residents who get green card and then live on the Cdn side, not working in US (and therefore not eligible for commuter GC).

The point is that merely coming to the US to vist, even if done as often as every week, is not a safe way to maintain GC.
 
nelsona said:
The point is that merely coming to the US to vist, even if done as often as every week, is not a safe way to maintain GC.
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True, it is not safe. But although it is risky, maintaining the green card via "visiting" the US for a few weeks a year is successfully done by many people because at the port of entry they usually don't deeply scrutinize trips older than the most recent one. Then it catches up with them at naturalization when their entire travel history since GC approval is scrutinized, and they get denied for having broken continuous residence (although they still typically keep their green card).
 
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