Green card holder - can I file for a spouse while both of us are outside the US?

Z

Zurich_girl

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone!

I am a green card holder. Can I file for my spouse if we both live outside the US?

My situation is the following: I have recently obtained my green card (DV lottery) in April 2011. My POE was NY and I spent a week in the States to activate my green card and also got engaged to NY.

As the economic situation is pretty bleak in the US at the moment, I do not plan on moving there in the next few months. I plan on going back to the States sometime in October and filing for a re-entry permit and after that - flying again for the fingerprinting.

Now, I plan on getting married in the next few months. Can I file for my spouse the i-130 petition so that he also receives a green card? I will be on a re-entry permit. Does an LPR petitioner need to reside and work in the States while waiting for their spouse to get a green card?

I read on this forum that it takes about 2-3 years for green card holders to get their spouses a green card. That seems like a long time.

Thank you so much for your responses!
 
As long as your green card is still valid and active you're considered to be domiciled in the US even if you're physically outside the US for a while, so you can file I-130. But near the end of the process you'll need to find a US job* to meet the requirements of the Affidavit of Support (I-864), because non-US jobs are not counted.

However, your plan of living with your spouse abroad (and working abroad?) for the next 3 years could cause you to lose your green card, even if you have a reentry permit. How much time do you plan to spend in the US each year?

*unless you have enough assets to offset the income requirement, or you get a joint sponsor
 
Hi! Thanks for replying. I plan on getting the re-entry permit by flying in twice to the States - once to file and once for the biometrics appointment. After I am issued the re-entry permit, I don't plan on going back to the States except for maybe vacation - one or two weeks per year. I thought the whole point of getting a re-entry permit is that you state to the immigration authorities that you will be outside the US, you get the permit and after that you are "safe" to come back to the US before this permit expires.
Can you please let me know why I could potentially lose the green card on a re-entry permit?
Thank you!
 
Zurich_girl said:
Can you please let me know why I could potentially lose the green card on a re-entry permit?
Click to expand...

The main benefit of the reentry permit is that it allows you to 2 consecutive years outside the US, instead of the 1 year max that is normally allowed with a GC. They still expect you to maintain some semblance of ties to the US while abroad with a reentry permit, and avoid increasing your ties abroad such as working.

As a practical matter, this is rarely an issue during for the first 2 year absence. The only people I'm aware of who had their green cards canceled for abandonment despite having a reentry permit had spent more than 4 of the past 5 years outside the US, and also maintained strong ties abroad such as a spouse or a house.

You shouldn't have problems during the first reentry permit. But after that you should make an effort to sharply reduce your absences outside the US. And make sure to file US tax returns for worldwide income while you're abroad. There are tax treaties and credits you can use to reduce your eliminate the US taxation, but you still need to report the worldwide income, and make sure you don't file as a nonresident.
 
Jackolantern said:
The main benefit of the reentry permit is that it allows you to 2 consecutive years outside the US, instead of the 1 year max that is normally allowed with a GC. They still expect you to maintain some semblance of ties to the US while abroad with a reentry permit, and avoid increasing your ties abroad such as working.

As a practical matter, this is rarely an issue during for the first 2 year absence. The only people I'm aware of who had their green cards canceled for abandonment despite having a reentry permit had spent more than 4 of the past 5 years outside the US, and also maintained strong ties abroad such as a spouse or a house.

You shouldn't have problems during the first reentry permit. But after that you should make an effort to sharply reduce your absences outside the US. And make sure to file US tax returns for worldwide income while you're abroad. There are tax treaties and credits you can use to reduce your eliminate the US taxation, but you still need to report the worldwide income, and make sure you don't file as a nonresident.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your answer!
 
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