Giving up a Green Card?

D

dri

Registered Users (C)
Hi there, I am a US spouse and my husband lived with me in the US on a Green Card for 6 years before we left recently to live in his country. We are wondering what to do now with respect to the Green Card. In practice, rather than in law! ;)

If my husband officially gives up his Green Card, will it be easy for him as a former resident and spouse of a US citizen to get a tourist visa to the US? Or will it be back to square one - proving income and assets, and roots in his home country? Also, how would the continuing marriage and former Green Card affect his chances of getting another GC in the future, should we decide to move back?

If he doesn't give up the Green Card, what, in practice, needs to happen for him to retain it (ie. frequency of visits, duration, etc.) So far, they haven't said anything, but I wonder if it is just a matter of time...

Thanks for any advice!
 
If he officially surrenders his PR status at a US consulate using form I-407 and then applies for a B-2 visa, his chances of getting one should be pretty good.

dri said:
If my husband officially gives up his Green Card, will it be easy for him as a former resident and spouse of a US citizen to get a tourist visa to the US? !
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dri said:
Also, how would the continuing marriage and former Green Card affect his chances of getting another GC in the future, should we decide to move back?
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Having been married to a US citizen for years, he'll easily get another green card if you file for him. "Easily" is relative to most other people's attempts at a green card -- for him it still would cost over a thousand dollars and take 3-6 months, as opposed to other people who wait for years or can't get it at all.
 
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Many thanks for your answers, I really appreciate it!

I would just like to clarify a couple of things:

1) Is getting a GC an almost inalieable right for the long-standing spouse of a US citizen (barring obvious and extreme cases like maybe police records etc)? When we applied for his residency last time I was in a very good job, which I have since left. If we move back to the US, it would be to start over - ie. probably neither of us would have a job at the time. Does his status as spouse (and also father) of a US citizen trump our economic situation, or could the latter be an obstacle?

2) Also, what if we chose to stick with the existing GC in the hope that they will never pick us up on it at the airport? If they did then pick us up on it at the airport, and take his GC away, would they likely deny entry to the country at that point, and also would the forced withdrawal of the GC likely affect his chances of obtaining a tourist visa afterwards?

Thank you so much for any opinions!
 
I'm interested in this same issue. I have had a GC thru marriage to US citizen for 4 years now, but we have been living in my home country the last 2 years. Got away with keeping the GC so far due to frequent trips back, but as I had a baby this year it will be over 11 months since I was last in the US when we travel there in a few months so I'm a bit more worried this time.

What are the implications if I give up the GC at the border (only if they ask for it) versus filing the form and giving it up before we go? I'm mostly worried if this would mean I'm denied entry at that point (FYI I'm from a visa waiver country) or if it might hamper re-applications for a GC if we decide to move back to the US in the future. Reapplying is a lot of paperwork and money - and as we think it likely to move back I'd like to avoid that - but the idea of coming off an 11 hour flight with two small (US citizen) children and then being told I cannot continue into the country is just so horrific!

(Really wishing I'd had the GC a bit longer before we moved over here and could have applied for citizenship before we left! Would be making life much easier now. Oh well).
 
You will be taking a chance by flying to the US with two USC children! You claim that you have made frequent visits to keep up with the residency rules and now you are away for eleven months, the chances of your denial of entry is high! Or you may get lucky!

Did you ever get a warning when making frequent short trips to the US?
 
klmasters said:
What are the implications if I give up the GC at the border (only if they ask for it) versus filing the form and giving it up before we go? I'm mostly worried if this would mean I'm denied entry at that point (FYI I'm from a visa waiver country) or if it might hamper re-applications for a GC if we decide to move back to the US in the future. Reapplying is a lot of paperwork and money - and as we think it likely to move back I'd like to avoid that - but the idea of coming off an 11 hour flight with two small (US citizen) children and then being told I cannot continue into the country is just so horrific!
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If they make an issue of your travel history they'll almost surely still let you into the US, either with a warning or an order to see an immigration judge. It is very unlikely they'll refuse you entry if you return within the 12 month limit and have never received a warning before.
 
Thanks for the responses. I looked up the dates and it'll actually be 11 1/2 months since I was last in the US so that's getting close to the 12 month limit..... Also I'm not sure what constitutes a warning, but the time before the last time I entered US (the last time I entered as a lone traveller - ie. without my family) I was questioned about my situation and told I should apply for a re-entry permit. I decided not to (it would have been tricky as it must be done in the US, and I wasn't there for long as it was a short work trip) and the next time I entered with my family they didn't say a thing, so I don't know if they recorded it as a warning or anything.....

My husband (the US citizen) thinks I should risk it..... but I'm still worried about what will happen at the border if they decide to take back my GC. Anyone have any experiences with that? If the only penalty is the removal of my GC I'm fine with that. I'd rather keep it in case we decide to move back again in the next couple of years, but I'll live with paying the fees again and doing all the paperwork again if I have too. A drop in the bucket on top of all the rest of the hassle of a big move like that anyway! But I don't want to risk them getting nasty at the border....
 
If they take away the GC instead of you voluntarily surrendering it, you'll probably find it very difficult to get a tourist or student visa (or to enter with the visa waiver program if your passport is VWP-eligible).

And you should be prepared for lengthy questioning at the port of entry, so if you have a connecting flight after going through immigration, make sure there are at least 2-3 hours until the next flight.
 
Thanks. Actually it turns out I have a work colleague who has had this experience. He surrendered his GC at the border after they asked if he was still resident and he admitted he wasn't. He said it took about 4-5 hours of waiting around for secondary inspection, but then they were quite nice and told him he would have no problem re-applying as long has he willingly surrendered the GC at that point. So that's an actual experience of the process. Of course border inspection seems to be a big lottery in the US!

Seems I know another person with a similar experience (I work in an area where people move countries a lot!), so I'm waiting to see what they say about it.
 
OK I heard from my other colleague. He's successfully kept his GC (obtained by marriage to USC) for several years living "temporarily" in another country. He says he often sails through with no problem, but if asked he will say he's temporarily living abroad and he bring evidence of ties to the US in case (but as never used it). Emailing from the US he told me he just entered after 12.5 months out with no problem (when asked how long he'd been out he said 12 months), so it seems from the advice here he got really lucky!
 
klmasters said:
OK I heard from my other colleague. He's successfully kept his GC (obtained by marriage to USC) for several years living "temporarily" in another country. He says he often sails through with no problem, but if asked he will say he's temporarily living abroad and he bring evidence of ties to the US in case (but as never used it). Emailing from the US he told me he just entered after 12.5 months out with no problem (when asked how long he'd been out he said 12 months), so it seems from the advice here he got really lucky!
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KLM,

Yes, he was lucky they let him go without busting his coconuts. If I were you, I would plan to come back to the US, but enter through a less busy airport in some states, let's say Oklahoma or New Mexico. I am assuming entering through JFK or O'Hare might create problems in the sense that they are big airports with lots of CBP officers, who might want to just eat you alive for staying abroad for that long. Alternatively, you can try sobbing uncontrollably to avoid being grilled by CBP who might want to take your GC. Lastly, you might be just lucky as he was, ask what he was wearing...possible a lucky tie or socks, they might do wonders for you...lol!
 
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