Extension for Immigrant Visa

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patstarks

New Member
Greetings,
I applied for a Green Card for my wife while living overseas in Saudi Arabia. We completed our interview in USA Embassy of Riyadh in June 2021. The Consular Officers requested more paper work and documents. We received our visa in my wife's passport after providing extra paperwork. The Visa expires in November 2021 which is pretty soon for us due to schools, providing notice to jobs, etc. I contacted the US Embassy and they stated that I can only contact them after the visa has expired and request a new visa and explain the circumstances. Does anyone have experience with requesting extensions on Visa Entry Dates? This is the Green Card Visa that states:
UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR
Thanks and Regards!
 
patstarks said:
they stated that I can only contact them after the visa has expired and request a new visa and explain the circumstances.
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This is standard practice. There is no extension for an immigrant visa - only applying for a reissue. Did they explain that you would also have to pay the visa interview fee again (even if there is no new interview) and that she’d need a new medical (because the visa expiry depends on the medical expiry)? You may find it’s less hassle to just fly to the US to “activate” the immigrant visa, then she will become a LPR and you can return properly when it suits you as long as it is less than a year after that trip.
 
Ok thanks for this information! But now it gives me a few other questions! When will my wife get the Green Card? Would not she get it after entering the United States using this immigrant visa? Do I have the option of not getting the Green Card right away as it comes with the 6 month rule where I my wife can not remain outside of the United States for 6 months.
 
patstarks said:
Ok thanks for this information! But now it gives me a few other questions! When will my wife get the Green Card? Would not she get it after entering the United States using this immigrant visa? Do I have the option of not getting the Green Card right away as it comes with the 6 month rule where I my wife can not remain outside of the United States for 6 months.
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She becomes a lawful permanent resident when she enters on an immigrant visa. This is the same as a green card holder, regardless whether or not she has a physical green card yet. You already copied the extract about temporary I551 from the bottom of the visa - i551 is the formal name for a green card, so that extract you copied means she has a temporary green card once she enters.

There is no such thing as a 6 month rule for a green card, it is one year. Every official reference to this by uscis and dept of state has one year despite what some lawyer websites try scare you with. That is why I told you one year in my earlier post. You may find this (official) link useful to help understand the absence issues
https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/af.../international-travel-as-a-permanent-resident


Or, of course, you can just go through the process of letting the visa expire and getting another one issued.
 
Yes I think that you are right where you can stay outside the United States for a year and NOT 6 months! This is strange because many people that I know have been travelling to the United States every six months in order to maintain their Green Card and have been doing so for years!
 
There are different issues here: validity of documents for re-entry, and abandonment of residence. A green card is a valid document for re-entry after an absence of less than 1 year. A Re-entry Permit is a valid document for re-entry during its period of validity (and they are issued for 2 years). An SB1 returning resident visa is also a valid document for re-entry if you can get that. And even if you don't have a valid document for re-entry (e.g. absent for more than 1 year without a Re-entry Permit or SB-1 visa), the immigration officer and/or immigration judge can waive your failure to meet the document requirements. However, all of this is dependent on your not having abandoned residence. If the immigration officer and/or immigration judge determines that you have abandoned residence, you can be denied entry after an absence of less than 1 year, or even an absence of less than 6 months in extreme cases. Abandonment of residence is a subjective determination based on looking at all the factors, not based on length of absence alone. There are no absolute rules saying "if you are absent from the US for shorter than X, you will definitely be allowed in" or "if you are absent from the US for longer than Y, you will definitely not be allowed in".

If you are a new permanent resident, and are just leaving the US as a permanent resident for the first time, you are probably given more leeway as to how long you can be away without causing abandonment of residence. Nevertheless, you should still make sure to maintain a home in the US, file US taxes if you have any worldwide income, and do other things that indicate you are maintaining residence in the US. You can also apply for a Re-entry Permit while in the US (it must be applied for while you are in the US, and any biometrics have to be done in the US, but you can receive it abroad), as extra evidence that you intend to maintain residence in the US, to be extra safe.

A completely separate issue is continuous residence for naturalization purposes. An absence of between 6 months and 1 year is presumed to interrupt continuous residence, although it can be overcome with strong evidence. An absence of more than 1 year definitely interrupts continuous residence. If continuous residence is interrupted, it means you have to start counting continuous residence from scratch and wait a few more years before you qualify for naturalization. It does not have anything to do with whether your residence is abandoned. (And obviously if you are applying for naturalization, it presupposes that you were admitted back as a permanent resident in the first place.)
 
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