Green Card through marriage and travel

[Joshu]

Hi I have some questions about traveling after marriage to a US citizen, while waiting for the Green Card.

How is traveling for a foreigner allowed in the following periods:

- While waiting for condition permanent residency (immediately after marriage to US citizen)?
- When under Conditional Permanent Resident status (temporary Green Card for 2 years in hand)?
- When conditions on permanent residency status are removed (Green Card)?

I'm assuming that it's only possible to travel when at least the Conditional Permanent Residency status has been given.
But to be able to travel before even having that, does some travel authorization document have to be filed? What's the wait-time on that and how LIKELY is it that authorization will be given to travel before any GC? (Is it an almost guaranteed approval or is there a big chance that it will be denied)?


Next my question is, how long can you travel for - and does the time you are outside the USA still count towards obtaining the Green Card, citizenship, and state residency (becoming resident of a state)?

In the 3 different periods listed above (waiting for GC, conditional GC, and GC) what's the max traveling time outside the USA?
Is it 6 months? And is that PER year? How does it work exactly?

If a foreigner travels 6 months outside of the US while on a conditional Green Card, when he arrives back to the US, can he still file for removal of conditions (to get a normal Green Card) after the normal time period (2 years after marriage) - or does he have to wait 6 more months to be able to do so?

What's the case when it comes to citizenship and state residency? If a foreign national marries a US Citizen and gets the (Conditional) Green Card, but is gone 6 months outside US, can he still apply for citizenship exactly 3 years after the marriage took place, and will state residency still be granted 1 year after marriage? Or is a wait period of 6 months added to both? I'd really appreciate some in-depth explanation of these things since I don't feel like I understand them very well..

Also when it comes to being a resident of a state (Arizona Resident and being able to pay resident Tuition at College) what's exactly required for that?
Marrying a US citizen and living with them in an apartment for 1 year, would that qualify for resident status? What if after marriage the foreign national lives in the US citizen spouses' own house (and so the foreign national isn't on the lease or anything)? Would that still work?

Does it take 1 full year to become a resident of a state and is it 1 year immediately after marriage or 1 year after obtaining Green Card... how is it counted?

What if the foreign national just travels within the USA a lot during the first year after marriage? For example, after marriage the foreign national travels around the US and stays in different states for 6 months out of 1 year. Will the foreign national still be able to get state residency in the home state where his US Spouse resides 1 year after the marriage? Should the foreign national keep his residence address where his spouse resides, will that be enough to obtain state residency in 1 year, even though there's a lot of traveling? Please explain!

 

[BigJoe5]

WOW! You have a ton of questions. I have some for you. What is the purpose of so much travel? How could you possibly attend an in-state college if you are always traveling out of state or out of the country? Why would newlyweds not live together? Do you have any real purpose in asking these hypothetical questions or are you trying to avoid attending law school?

 

[Joshu]

WOW! You have a ton of questions. I have some for you. What is the purpose of so much travel? How could you possibly attend an in-state college if you are always traveling out of state or out of the country? Why would newlyweds not live together? Do you have any real purpose in asking these hypothetical questions or are you trying to avoid attending law school?

I know it's a lot of questions. I'm asking all these hypothetical questions because I may need to travel to my home country some time after marriage, because of some family issues... If it will be the case that I will need to travel, it will be at the most for 6 months and it will have to be very spontaneous. For this reason I want to know all the options I have and all the details of the law so I'm not surprised when the time comes..

I also asked about traveling through the US (inside the states) because I want to do some extended traveling with my spouse after our marriage.

...and really I'm just generally curious about US law and want to understand it

 

[BigJoe5]

Ok Joshu,

Once your spouse files an I-130 on your behalf and you concurrently file for adjustment of status, you will submit an I-485 for adjustment, I-765 for work authorization and an I-131 in that case for advance parole (travel authorization). The adjustment fee covers all three of your forms, the I-130 fee is separate. If you have unlawful presence in the U.S. over 180 days after your 18th birthday then you may not travel outside the U.S. until getting the LPR status even if they accidentally give you advance parole while your adjustment is pending. Traveling without advance parole while your adjustment is pending will automatically be deemed abandonment and the adjustment must be denied. You could then pursue consular processing from abroad.

If you do travel with too much unlawful presence in the U.S. in your past, you will be barred from re-entry for 3 or 10 years and may not pursue consular processing until the bar is lifted either by passage of time or being granted a waiver (another huge hurdle that you don't want to have to try to jump).

LPR retention consideration: If you will be outside the U.S. for uncertian long periods of time, get a re-entry permit after you get a greencard. Another I-131 must be filed after grant of LPR status. Any break of 6 months can be questioned (rarely is) and any break of one year will be presumed as an abandonment of LPR status UNLESS you are re-entering witha re-entry permit that you applied for before you left OR if you did not get a permit, you can apply for an SB-1 Returning Resident Visa at the Embassy or Consulate abroad.

RE: N-400 considerations:

Once you get your initial conditional status, you will be able to travel just like any other lawful permanent resident. Trips lasting over 6 montrhs trigger a rebuttable presumption of a break in continuity of resisdence for naturalization purposes. Any break of one year does break continuity for naturalization. If you have a break, the remedy is to wait either 2 years and 1 day (under INA 319(a) eligibility) or 4 years and 1 day (under 316(a) eligibility) AFTER returning to the U.S. to resume residing permanently before you can file for naturalization if otherwise eligible.

Physical presence is a prerequisite to naturalization. You stop calculating it on the filing date of the N-400. You must have been in the U.S. for a full half of your required LPR time (18 or 30 months) as of the filing date.

Continuous residence can be further broken after filing an N-400.

GMC--Good Moral Character: Must be demonstrated for the entire statutory period which id the 3 or 5 years before filing and continuing until taking the Oath. Some things will bar you for the entire statutory period before filing, others bar you for a specific period of time like 10 years since leaving the communist party if that membership was not mandatory which can be forgiven. Even a mandatory membership can bar you if you took full advantage and became a higher up in the organization. Some things may only bar you while they are in effect, like you can't take the Oath while on probation--it has to end first. Something like probation can be considered in the overall evaluation.

EXAMPLE: Alien X shoplifts and gets caught and fined and put on probation. He does not have any further problems and applies for naturalization. He is approved and becomes a citizen.

EXAMPLE: Alien Y shoplifts on the same day as alien X. Y gets caught and fined and put on probation. He continues to shoplift and gets further fines and further probation. He applies for naturalization at the same time as alien X. USCIS denied alien Y for not showing a reform of character during his statutory period. He was a repeat offender.

Filing as spouse of a USC requires that on the filing date your spouse has been a USC for 3 years, your marriage has lasted for 3 years, and that you have been an LPR for 3 years (all the conditional time counts). If you are otherwise eligible, you can file 3 months before reaching the the 3 year anniversary of the LPR status (wait a few days to be safe). This early filing ONLY applies to that single requirement and NOTHING ELSE.

Marital Union: It must be a real (bona fide) marital union and that union must remain valid all the way through taking the Oath. Time spent apart during the marriage is OK if for a valid reason like work, school, military deployment, or family emergency visits.... A marital union normally results in shared assests and debts and if you are really happy and ready for it---children.

State Residence for the N-400: This is another prerequisite to filing. This is simply a matter of living in the same general area for 3 months before filing. This is rarely an issue for most applicants. Where do you get your mail. what is in your bank records, got utiility bills???? Where do you file your income taxes from?

State Residence for other purposes: Contact the state authority (like the college or university).