Hello, I'd be extremely grateful for any advice and opinions.
I am a US citizen and my husband (Argentinian) and I have been married since 2002. We have a small son.
I was transferred to work abroad in 2008 for my employer (an international organization of which the US government is a member) and my family, of course, accompanied me. We filed for a reentry permit for my husband before we left and were under the impression that everything was under control (my employer assured me it was a very straightforward procedure that many staff members had been through). However, long after we left the US a very out-of-date letter was forwarded to us from our old address. The US authorities wanted some additional information from my husband and had set up an appointment for him, but the date was far past. We wrote to them, but if I recall correctly, we never received an answer. And we left it at that (impenetrable bureaucracy and tumultuous family situation).
I left my job in mid-2009 to go freelance and decided to move to my husband's country owing to the lower cost of living. Again, of course, my family is here with me. But we now want to return to the US, and are wondering what kind of obstacles my husband will face.
To be honest, we are simply hoping that the authorities will not know how long he has been out of the country (he has visited the US for brief periods a couple of times since we left, but the last time was late 2010). Is that at all realistic? We did not get the impression the last couple of times that they knew more than we told them (which was that we had just been on vacation). But is it very risky? (Apologies, I know it is not what one is supposed to do, but I'm interested in the practical realities.) And if we were caught being somewhat liberal with the truth, what could happen? Would he be allowed to use a European Union passport that he also has (I am a dual citizen, so he was also entitled to my second citizenship) to enter instead for the maximum legal period (at least softening the blow for our son and giving him time to adapt)? Or would he be hustled off onto the next plane back, in front of our son?! Also, if he tried to enter at the airport and had the GC taken away, would that prevent him from getting another GC in the future, even with a US citizen wife and child?
If this is a very risky approach, I'd appreciate any further advice on alternatives. I am really hoping that the only thing is not just to go through the full GC application process all over again.
Thank you so much!
I am a US citizen and my husband (Argentinian) and I have been married since 2002. We have a small son.
I was transferred to work abroad in 2008 for my employer (an international organization of which the US government is a member) and my family, of course, accompanied me. We filed for a reentry permit for my husband before we left and were under the impression that everything was under control (my employer assured me it was a very straightforward procedure that many staff members had been through). However, long after we left the US a very out-of-date letter was forwarded to us from our old address. The US authorities wanted some additional information from my husband and had set up an appointment for him, but the date was far past. We wrote to them, but if I recall correctly, we never received an answer. And we left it at that (impenetrable bureaucracy and tumultuous family situation).
I left my job in mid-2009 to go freelance and decided to move to my husband's country owing to the lower cost of living. Again, of course, my family is here with me. But we now want to return to the US, and are wondering what kind of obstacles my husband will face.
To be honest, we are simply hoping that the authorities will not know how long he has been out of the country (he has visited the US for brief periods a couple of times since we left, but the last time was late 2010). Is that at all realistic? We did not get the impression the last couple of times that they knew more than we told them (which was that we had just been on vacation). But is it very risky? (Apologies, I know it is not what one is supposed to do, but I'm interested in the practical realities.) And if we were caught being somewhat liberal with the truth, what could happen? Would he be allowed to use a European Union passport that he also has (I am a dual citizen, so he was also entitled to my second citizenship) to enter instead for the maximum legal period (at least softening the blow for our son and giving him time to adapt)? Or would he be hustled off onto the next plane back, in front of our son?! Also, if he tried to enter at the airport and had the GC taken away, would that prevent him from getting another GC in the future, even with a US citizen wife and child?
If this is a very risky approach, I'd appreciate any further advice on alternatives. I am really hoping that the only thing is not just to go through the full GC application process all over again.
Thank you so much!
