Can my wife avoid losing GC if we move to her home country for a few years?

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nologo

Registered Users (C)
I am a US citizen. My wife came on a fiancee visa from a western European country. She is a permanent resident (as of 2005), and we have now a dual-citizen son. We plan to move to her home country for an unknown length of time. My understanding is that if she is out of the US for year, then her GC is abandoned.

Is there anything we can do to avoid this?

When renewing a GC (for her in 2015), will USCIS know of all her arrivals and departures? The I-90 renewal form does not appear to ask for tax forms or other proof of residency, although the instructions state the the USCIS may request more information or an interview. If review rests merely on stamps in a passport, that may be fine, as her passport will expire before 2015 or could get lost at some point in time.

Could we change her address to a friend's or relative's house? If so, is there a chance of this coming back to haunt us?

Is she required to file an I-407 and explicitly abandon her residency if we are abroad for that long? If not required, is there any advantage in doing so? It seems that filing the 407 would remove the chance that her GC is later renewed without a detailed review.

If we must abandon, either by the I-407 or just by the knowledge of our absence, and we later wish to move back to the US, will the abandonment be a negative mark?

I suppose she could file an I-131 for a reentry permit which would allow her to return after more than one year but less than two.

Many thanks for your thoughts.
 
Have she considered to naturalize and become a US citizen? Unless she had extensive out-of-US stays in the past years, she's eligible to apply for naturalization. Since she's married to a USC, she'd only needs enough continuous residence within the US for the past 3 years, plus meet all of the other naturalization requirements.

Without a Reentry Permit, yes, her GC would be considered abandoned after 12+ months.

Any other "workarounds" like using a friend's address are iffy at best. CBP and USCIS have access to the airline manifests which capture both exit and entry dates. An IO at POE does not necessarily run a full search, but are you willing to take that chance? Also, at I-90 time, USCIS might check into her exit/entry dates, too.

If becoming a USC is not an option, then voluntarily giving up her GC should make it easier to re-file for a GC once you're back in the US.
 
She could have applied for citizenship back in 2006 or so but we were (wrongly) concerned that she would lose her original citizenship. Now, we wish to leave the US within a couple months. Although we do not have specific plans to return, we would like to have the option. We are now very much regretting our failure to apply for citizenship!
 
It's not necessary too late, current processing takes in the order of 3-4 months, depending on your location within the US
 
Can she remain in the US for the few months it takes to become a citizen, with only short trips abroad during that wait?

If she has completed 5 years minus 90 days of being a permanent resident, she should apply with the regular 5-year rule to keep things simpler and reduce the risk of delays. With the 5-year rule they seldom ask for marriage-related documents other than the marriage certificate, whereas with the 3-year rule they require much more and there could be a delay if they ask for something she doesn't have at the interview.
 
nologo said:
When renewing a GC (for her in 2015), will USCIS know of all her arrivals and departures? The I-90 renewal form does not appear to ask for tax forms or other proof of residency, although the instructions state the the USCIS may request more information or an interview. If review rests merely on stamps in a passport, that may be fine, as her passport will expire before 2015 or could get lost at some point in time.
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They really don't care about that at renewal time. It's at the port of entry they could notice her massive set of absences in the system and send her to the secondary room for extra questioning and possibly take away the green card.
 
nologo said:
She could have applied for citizenship back in 2006 or so but we were (wrongly) concerned that she would lose her original citizenship.
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How could she apply for citizenship in 2006 if she became a permanent resident in 2005? Would she have qualified for expedited citizenship?
 
DavidSEA said:
If becoming a USC is not an option, then voluntarily giving up her GC should make it easier to re-file for a GC once you're back in the US.
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The main advantage is that surrendering it via I-407 makes it easier to visit the US in the future than if it is forcibly canceled.
 
Thanks for the notes.

Can she remain in the US for the few months it takes to become a citizen, with only short trips abroad during that wait?
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Possibly so. What are "short trips"?

How could she apply for citizenship in 2006 if she became a permanent resident in 2005? Would she have qualified for expedited citizenship?
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I now see that she was given permanent (conditional?) residency in April 2003, and conditions were lifted in April 2005. She qualified for the 3 years in 2006 and the 5 years in 2008.
 
Adding this RE: short trips. I am to begin a 9 month Fulbright program in her country on Sept 1. Our local offices are reporting a 7 month processing time on the 400 form. If we stay here until Aug 31, then to get country, and then she returns for the interview and (hopefully) oath about 4 months later, would that be a problem? If the USCIS notices the absence, then we have a legitimate and temporary reason to be abroad. They need not know that we intend to stay there after the program.

There is also a chance I could get a delay on the program start date.
 
If you care about USC, do not depend on CIS not noticing the absences.
At the minimum, you should send out the application ASAP and try to not give an appearance of moving until the interview.
 
nologo said:
Adding this RE: short trips. I am to begin a 9 month Fulbright program in her country on Sept 1. Our local offices are reporting a 7 month processing time on the 400 form. If we stay here until Aug 31, then to get country, and then she returns for the interview and (hopefully) oath about 4 months later, would that be a problem?
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Yes that could be a problem, because when people spend the vast majority of the time abroad during the N-400 process overseas, returning to the US just in time for interview and oath, it is the classic sign of somebody who has relocated abroad for good. That is taking short visits to the US, not taking short trips abroad. Combine that with her spouse being overseas and having given up her US home/apartment, and that's well on the road to denial.

There is also a chance I could get a delay on the program start date.
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Even better. But that shouldn't be necessary if she stays back in the US to complete the process, with nothing more than a few weeks here and there spent abroad. The average in reality is likely to be less than 7 months; they just publish 7 months so the few people who are still pending at 6 months can be more easily dismissed if they complain.
 
All: Thanks for your assistance. After discussing the options with my wife, we decided to just go and relinquish her residency. It is unfortunate: Had we done our research earlier, she would be a citizen now. But our lives are too stressful to split up for months, wait in USCIS, etc. We may be in the Netherlands the rest of our lives... who knows. When and if we return to the US, my wife will re-immigrate.
 
Yes...it is all so hard for people from 2 different countries even if married for years. I am in a sort of similar situation and trying to decide...Could you also do the reentry and give it (GC)up should you decide it is not working? that is what I may do..

However, I secretly wonder if they hold it against us in some way if you reapply at a later date...for the GC....Does anyone know if it ever raises a problem if you are trying to follow rules (like you and me) and decide it may not work...and THEN give it up and want to reapply in the next few years???

Would love to hear..
Thanks@
 
nologo said:
All: Thanks for your assistance. After discussing the options with my wife, we decided to just go and relinquish her residency. It is unfortunate: Had we done our research earlier, she would be a citizen now. But our lives are too stressful to split up for months, wait in USCIS, etc.
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It is possible to complete the process in 3 months, especially if they have same-day oath in your location. Why not apply right now and see if it's done by September? If it's done by then, great! If it's not, she can withdraw the application and leave the US.
 
Jackolantern said:
It is possible to complete the process in 3 months, especially if they have same-day oath in your location. Why not apply right now and see if it's done by September? If it's done by then, great! If it's not, she can withdraw the application and leave the US.
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I would agree. If you do decide to file, send it out it Monday. At worst, it is some time and money wasted. At best, you do not worry about it again ... having naturalized.
 
vandeluca said:
However, I secretly wonder if they hold it against us in some way if you reapply at a later date...for the GC....Does anyone know if it ever raises a problem if you are trying to follow rules (like you and me) and decide it may not work...and THEN give it up and want to reapply in the next few years???
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If you follow rules, do it consistently and carefully.
It should not create an issue later if you give up GC voluntarily.
If coming back as a spouse, there is no reason for them to doubt it ... unless the spouse changes ;-)
If coming back under employment, then maybe ...

The do it consistently and carefully part ==> if you give up GC and then want to visit US - will you apply for a tourist visa or an immigration visa (GC)?
 
Well in our case the spouse things will not change, so it would be as a spouse ...so I should not have any problem should the case arise. I am stiill not sure thought what to do b/c for example, supposed he gives it up in August...And THEN suddenly our child's illness comes back in March....So 7 months later here we go applying again??? It may be better for us to do the Reentry since we are not sure yet...or at least give us a bridge....or a period to get out of being unsure.

I was just thinking (and even mentioned it to my lawyer)...She agreed that it (spouse reapplication) SHOULD not matter to an intelligent person/IO...However, you know as we all do you can get someone (although I have not had any bad luck but many have), that one could ASSUME that b/c wife (me) and child (ours) is Us citizen, then he MUST want to immigrate as opposed to us taking trips. MUST because he lived here before....You cannot know waht they really think and basically your life is in their hands even if they are wrong...Let's face it some people don't even know you can have dual citizenship.

Not trying to bash or anything. Our process was very seamless and easy. I feel lucky for that. But, now our day to day life is not so cut and dry due to multiple scenarios/illness, I pray it does not create headaches for us at some point.

sanjoseaug20 said:
If you follow rules, do it consistently and carefully.
It should not create an issue later if you give up GC voluntarily.
If coming back as a spouse, there is no reason for them to doubt it ... unless the spouse changes ;-)
If coming back under employment, then maybe ...

The do it consistently and carefully part ==> if you give up GC and then want to visit US - will you apply for a tourist visa or an immigration visa (GC)?
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Re-entry permit is great since you do not know your long term plans. It is definitely good for scenarios when you are unsure and want to play it safe. And then if you come back, the non USC spouse can get citizenship after 2 years of return (as you get credit for 1 year of continuous residence), if not sooner. Sooner will be if you came back in a less than a year.
 
It is possible to complete the process in 3 months, especially if they have same-day oath in your location. Why not apply right now and see if it's done by September? If it's done by then, great! If it's not, she can withdraw the application and leave the US.
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That is interesting. Is withdrawing a pending application viewed as a "negative mark" on one's long-term record with the USCIS?
 
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