Got 2 year conditional green card now but I am out of the US ,will continue to be for 6-7 months.

S

sue80

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I got my conditional green card last week through my husband (through his employment based filing). So both of us have GC now. He has for 10 years and I have only 2 years ( as we got married this year only).

I am in Australia currently and intend to be here till April or latest May 2014 as I have some work here. I am a Chinese citizen and in Australia as I am getting naturalized in Australia. Once I get my Aussie passport in next 6 months I will move forever to the US to be with my husband.

I know it sounds weird but since I was so close to getting my Aussie citizenship we thought we should get it done before I move to US for good.

Will there be any problem when:

1. I go to the US for good in 6-7 months time at point of entry
2. I apply for removal of conditions in Oct 2015 .
3. Applying for naturalization after 5 years would they ask me why I spent time out after getting GC and get another country's citizenship ?

Ay help and advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Sue
 
You may need to take certain steps in the near future to secure your status as a permanent resident. Your answers to the following questions would affect what you need to do or not do.

Did you obtain the green card through adjustment of status (I-485) within the US, or did you interview for it at a consulate in Australia or China?

If it was through adjustment of status, were you outside the US when your green card was approved? If yes, when does your Advanced Parole expire?

Have you been in the US since your green card was approved? If not, when was it approved?
 
Obtained GC through filing I-485 in US. Got Advance parole/Ead end of Sep 2013. Came to Aus 10 Oct. AP/EAD is valid till Sep 2014. GC 2 years valid till Oct 2015. Please advise. Thanks
 
Since your husband is a permanent resident and not a US citizen, I don't understand why you received a conditional green card and not a permanent one.
 
sue80 said:
Yes, GC approval is on 20 Oct. I left US on 10 oct but had AP ( AP expires Sep 2014).
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Since you haven't been in the US since your GC was approved, make sure to return to the US before your AP expires.

Your absence from the US is likely to make them start counting your 5 years from your first entry next year, and not from your GC approval date this October.
 
C R S said:
Since your husband is a permanent resident and not a US citizen, I don't understand why you received a conditional green card and not a permanent one.
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If the spouse of a permanent resident received the green card as a derivative beneficiary to an employment-based green card process (or family-based in F3 or F4), you're right it should be a 10-year card and not a 2-year conditional card.

But spouses of permanent residents who have been married for less than 2 years will receive a 2-year card if the green card was based on an I-130 petition filed by the permanent resident spouse. However, here it's not clear whether the green card was a derivative to the husband's employment-based process, or if the husband filed I-130 earlier this year after getting his own green card. The latter is possible because an F2A I-130 filed early this year would have been current from August through October, making I-485 approval possible that quickly.
 
sue80 said:
I got my conditional green card last week through my husband (through his employment based filing). So both of us have GC now. He has for 10 years and I have only 2 years ( as we got married this year only).
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Did he get his green card several months (or years) before you did, then he filed an I-130 to petition you for a marriage-based green card for which both of you had to attend an interview? Or is your green card a derivative to his employment-based card?

What is the category code on your green card -- E39? C26? Something else?

Please clarify the above facts. Those characteristics of your green card could mean that you should have received a 10-year card and the 2-year card was an error. Derivative beneficiaries to employment-based green cards are supposed to get a 10-year card even if the marriage is less than 2 years old.
 
Ok to answer all of above :

My husband was on EB 2 and his I 485 was filed in Dec 2011, dates retrogressive and later dates became current in Aug 2013 when he received his GC on 15 Aug 2013. My first time filing of I 485 took place on 1 Aug as a derivative to his EB 2 filing. I got EAD /AP in Sep end and GC last week.

Since we have not completed 2 years for our marriage I think they must have issued 2 year card.

Please could someone answer my original questions re being out of US for around 7 months (I will be entering US after 7 months after getting GC). Also obtaining another nationality here in Aus, would that impact my removal of conditions in Oct 2015?

Thanks so much.
 
Also he did not file I 130 but was filed in employment based derivative category.. I 485. It was not family based and no we did not attend any interview.
 
Since your card definitely was employment-based derivative, you should have received a 10-year card even though you've been married for less than 2 years. You will not have to file for removal of conditions; instead you should file I-90 ASAP to report the error and request a 10-year card.

However, filing I-90 will require you to show up in the US for fingerprinting. It doesn't have to be in the mainland US; you can go to Guam or Hawaii.
 
Thats great. Thanks for your advice. Also do u know if being out of US for 7 months would cause any impact at point of entry? ( I know that naturalization period will start only after I move to the US next year). I will get my card changed ASAP. Thanks.
 
Jackolantern said:
If the spouse of a permanent resident received the green card as a derivative beneficiary to an employment-based green card process (or family-based in F3 or F4), you're right it should be a 10-year card and not a 2-year conditional card.

But spouses of permanent residents who have been married for less than 2 years will receive a 2-year card if the green card was based on an I-130 petition filed by the permanent resident spouse. However, here it's not clear whether the green card was a derivative to the husband's employment-based process, or if the husband filed I-130 earlier this year after getting his own green card. The latter is possible because an F2A I-130 filed early this year would have been current from August through October, making I-485 approval possible that quickly.
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You are absolutely right. However, in the past, the F2A route took such a long time that a conditional green card was a rarity. What wasn't rare was the USCIS incorrectly issuing conditional green cards to spouses who used the primary applicant's employment petition to file I-485's. I guess based on sue80's recent post, that is what happened to her.
 
sue80 said:
Thats great. Thanks for your advice. Also do u know if being out of US for 7 months would cause any impact at point of entry?
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Probably not. They tend to be lenient about that in the first year of your GC; they understand that many new green card holders have various personal and professional business abroad that needs to be completed before they settle down in the US. But make sure to have the Advance Parole with you in case you need to show that you had Advance Parole before you last left the US.

What is the category code on your green card? The fact that they gave you a 2-year card may mean you also have an incorrect code. See http://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/i485-eb/125892951/green-card-category-codes or the official source http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-26573/0-0-0-32054.html for descriptions of what the codes mean, and check if the code on your card is consistent with your situation.
 
Thank you so much Jackolantern and C R S for your advice. I will check with my husbands lawyer.
 
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