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Green-Card holders who've been allowed entry to the US after a long absence-Post your experience

A re-entry permit is $660? And would those two years away count towards naturalisation/citizenship?
 
Wingpin said:
A re-entry permit is $660? And would those two years away count towards naturalisation/citizenship?
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Any absence longer than 6 months resets the naturalization clock to start at the next time you enter. (Unless you've been sent there by the US military, etc)
 
SusieQQQ said:
Yup, you have to be in the US to apply for a re entry permit.
I'm not clear about your description. Are you saying she was refused entry, or just that she was warned?
As for the "evidence" she had with her, she should at least have offered it or mentioned the factors verbally - they won't assume you travel with it - though quite honestly she is clearly not currently "residing" in the US so I think in that sense, either way, the CBP officer's assessment is fair. She was obviously on another return ticket out, which the CBP officer would have seen.

And imo she should have applied for a reentry permit initially if she knew she was going to be effectively residing elsewhere for that length of time. Trying to keep a green card by hopping back and forth, even for less than six month periods, isn't a good idea. If you read up on residency requirements you will see that things like using a relatives address when you don't actually live there doesn't really count.
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Hi SusieQ, no she wasn't refused entry, the officer let her in to Hawaii but told her to get a re entry permit at the US consulate in Sydney, thats where the confusion is as I was under the impression you can only get one from within us soil, maybe he presumed the consulate is US soil, thats my ?, she had flow back from the US in May 2016 as we had gone to live there permanently earlier in the year but things didn't work out as planned therefore she was doing a trip to Hawaii to keep her greencard valid. She has now come back to Aussie to add to her degree to gain better employment in the USA. I agree she should have spoken up but she didn't want to antagonize the officer any more than he was as she said two of the officers were having a rather loud discussion over greencards and Trump and her officer was getting rather upset.
 
Sm1smom said:
If my memory serves me correctly, you activated back in 2015, so the part about being out of the US for up to a year without "without it being an issue" would have been up by Jan 2016 - one year immediately following the GC activation on the basis of going back home to tie up loose ends.

I do agree with Susie, the CBP officer's assessment was just and fair, your daughter should have applied for a re-entry permit. And yes, this can only be done from the US, she cannot apply for it from Australia. She's probably flagged in the system now, so if she's still in the US, she should apply for a re-entry permit before leaving. If she's already left and would be out for more than 6 months, you guys should consider her making a quick trip back ASAP to apply for the re-entry permit.
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We did activate back in February 2015, were out for a year and went to live in the USA permanently in February 2016, unfortunately my mother became unwell and we decided to move back to Aussie until she passes as we initially was told she wouldn't have long. Mum is still with us therefore we have done a quick trip into Hawaii to keep our greencards, my husband and myself were just waved through ( we travelled a week after her due to work commitments ) but our daughter was stopped, questioned for 15/20 minutes and then told to apply for a re entry card at the US Consulate in Sydney. Therefore are you saying it would be best for us all to do another trip and apply for re entry permits from the USA?
 
CC1 said:
We did activate back in February 2015, were out for a year and went to live in the USA permanently in February 2016, unfortunately my mother became unwell and we decided to move back to Aussie until she passes as we initially was told she wouldn't have long. Mum is still with us therefore we have done a quick trip into Hawaii to keep our greencards, my husband and myself were just waved through ( we travelled a week after her due to work commitments ) but our daughter was stopped, questioned for 15/20 minutes and then told to apply for a re entry card at the US Consulate in Sydney. Therefore are you saying it would be best for us all to do another trip and apply for re entry permits from the USA?
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I'm sorry to learn of your mom's ill health.

You honestly wouldn't be able to keep your GC with quick in and out trips, the possibility of it being collected and being told to go face an immigration judge is more likely to happen at one point in time IMO. My suggestion would be for you guys to apply for re-entry permits which gives you some peace of mind for two years while you sort out things back in Australia.

When you apply for the re-entry permit, you will need to wait and do the biometrics before leaving - so you will need well over a week in order to do that. Just make sure you list the US embassy in Australia as the pick up address, if you do that then you can leave right after the bio. When the permits are ready, the embassy will contact you for pick.
 
CC1 said:
Hi SusieQ, no she wasn't refused entry, the officer let her in to Hawaii but told her to get a re entry permit at the US consulate in Sydney, thats where the confusion is as I was under the impression you can only get one from within us soil, maybe he presumed the consulate is US soil, thats my ?, she had flow back from the US in May 2016 as we had gone to live there permanently earlier in the year but things didn't work out as planned therefore she was doing a trip to Hawaii to keep her greencard valid. She has now come back to Aussie to add to her degree to gain better employment in the USA. I agree she should have spoken up but she didn't want to antagonize the officer any more than he was as she said two of the officers were having a rather loud discussion over greencards and Trump and her officer was getting rather upset.
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OK so there is obviously some misunderstanding between what was said, what was heard, and what is being reported by you secondhand. This is a game Americans know as "Telephone".
 
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I'm also sorry to learn of your mother's ill health.
However it's necessary to underscore what mom said. You don't "keep your green card" by popping in and out. You keep it by demonstrating either residence in the US or enough of an intent to reside there. In the latter case, Emily's suggestion about tax returns is important. Not having filed (if that is the case, I don't know) will be enough of a reason for them to decide intent is not there, should they find that out.

I personally think your daughter would improve her employment chances in the US by adding education in the US itself rather than Australia but I guess that horse has bolted already.
 
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Britsimon said:
OK so there is obviously some misunderstanding between what was said, what was heard, and what is being reported by you secondhand. This is a game Americans know as "Telephone".
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I re questioned my daughter tonight and she re irritated, neither the first or the second Border Patrol Officer seemed sure, she could not prove what date she had left the states as she used her Australian passport to re enter Hawaii not her NZ passport. Obviously the NZ passport has her exit day ( May 2016 ) attached not her Aussie one. I think this is where the confusion has arisen but I wasn't there so I cant be sure. Her NZ passport was due to expire and she has no intention of living in NZ ever again therefore thought ( or didn't think as the case may be ) she could enter the USA on her Australian Passport and her greencard. She did say both BPO's seemed very confused and started to disagree with each other, they then stepped aside and had a discussion between themselves then the male of the two came back and clearly said, you will have to apply for a re entry permit at the Australian Consulate.
 
SusieQQQ said:
I'm also sorry to learn of your mother's ill health.
However it's necessary to underscore what mom said. You don't "keep your green card" by popping in and out. You keep it by demonstrating either residence in the US or enough of an intent to reside there. In the latter case, Emily's suggestion about tax returns is important. Not having filed (if that is the case, I don't know) will be enough of a reason for them to decide intent is not there, should they find that out.

I personally think your daughter would improve her employment chances in the US by adding education in the US itself rather than Australia but I guess that horse has bolted already.
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Thank you SusieQQQ, dementia is a cruel illness. We have done all our taxes, as has my daughter and she does intend to do some summer semester University classes before the end of this year, we do intend to reside in the US, we have sold our house and all our possessions ( apart from some sentimental ones ) but at this present time I need to spend as much time as possible close to my mother. Also my husband is re sitting the NCLEX exam, he has sat it twice so far but has just missed out both times, apparently it is known to be a difficult exam to pass, so as soon as that is complete he can start to apply for work in the USA. I will arrange a trip for us all this year again to do as everyone is suggesting and we will all apply for re entry permits once back in the USA, thank you everyone for your input, it is much appreciated, this has been a long emotional rollercoaster but we are all determined to get there if the US will have us:)
 
CC1 said:
I re questioned my daughter tonight and she re irritated, neither the first or the second Border Patrol Officer seemed sure, she could not prove what date she had left the states as she used her Australian passport to re enter Hawaii not her NZ passport. Obviously the NZ passport has her exit day ( May 2016 ) attached not her Aussie one. I think this is where the confusion has arisen but I wasn't there so I cant be sure. Her NZ passport was due to expire and she has no intention of living in NZ ever again therefore thought ( or didn't think as the case may be ) she could enter the USA on her Australian Passport and her greencard. She did say both BPO's seemed very confused and started to disagree with each other, they then stepped aside and had a discussion between themselves then the male of the two came back and clearly said, you will have to apply for a re entry permit at the Australian Consulate.
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Something about this story sounds strange. Their records will indicate, based on her green card, what date she left the US. The US doesn't stamp your passport on exit so there is no "proof" of exit date in the passport anyway. Technically all you need to reenter the US is a green card. The passport you use doesn't matter. Also as Simon has indicated this is really sounding like a "broken telephone" game and it may be possible that in her stressed state she misunderstood something (such as where to apply for a reentry permit). It's also possible that what they were disagreeing about - you indicated she didn't hear it all - was how strict to be with her considering she could already have been considered to have abandoned residency, judging by what you'd posted initially; they can still determine this has happened even in less than a 6 month period. But one thing that is clear is that at least one of the CBP officials was concerned that she was not meeting residency requirements and therefore advised her to apply for a reentry permit. This is actually a positive thing by the way - rather than not caring if she managed to keep the GC or not. She will almost certainly now have a note on her file that she has been advised of residency requirements, or something similar - in effect, a notation that a CBP official was worried about her status and gave her fair notice of how to try ensure she doesn't lose her green card. This also means they will be less forgiving next time if she tries to flit in and out so absolutely, 100% apply for a reentry permit for her. And you may have to be prepared for more questions for her at next entry in light of what happened last time and the fact that she did get a warning.
 
Hi.
Could anyone advise about my situation.
I was successful in DV2015, and entereed USA in Autumn of that year for 2 weeks to activate. I then returned to Europe, where I stayed until Summer 2016. In July 2016, I entered USA again (this time staying for approx 10 weeks). I have now been out of USA since October 1st 2016. I didn't apply for a re-entry permit. I would like to re-enter using my green card next week, March 2017. Can i do this?
Could I re-enter as a tourist using an ESTA?
Thanks!
M
 
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ASTORIADITMARS said:
Hi.
Could anyone advise about my situation.
I was successful in DV2015, and entereed USA in Autumn of that year for 2 weeks to activate. I then returned to Europe, where I stayed until Summer 2016. In July 2016, I entered USA again (this time staying for approx 10 weeks). I have now been out of USA since October 1st 2016. I would like to re-enter using my greencard next week, March 2017. Can i do this?
Could I re-enter as a tourist using an ESTA?
Thanks!
M
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You do not need (and cannot use) an ESTA. YOu will re-enter as an LPR. You may be questioned - and should remember that the GC is not a super visa. You are supposed to LIVE in the USA, so you might be asked questions about your plans to settle in the USA.
 
Thank you. So, I simply book my flight and present GC and passport at the border? I was under the impression that being away from USA so much would likely cause me a refusal at the point of entry. I appreciate your reply.
 
It still might. But you won't know until you try. Have you maintained your obligations to the US (filing taxes etc)? That will help to show that you intend to make the US your home and that you aren't just visiting.
 
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