hi my name is Marian.me and my girlfriend Veronika are from Slovakia.i'm US citizen now and we are going to get married in three weeks.we got 2 months old daughter born in US.after our marriage we are going to apply for green card for Veronika.them wait to get it but our plan for next year is to leave US probably in may 2011 for couple of months.could be 6-12 or more months(maybe stay there for few years) because we both have families there so we would like to raise our kid there(Slovakia).what would happened to Veronika's green card if we decide to stay there for more then 6 months.or is there any legal way to extend our stay there without her loosing the card?
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green card travel extended
- Thread starter majojanas
- Start date
Under those circumstances, why bother getting a greencard now? It would be a long-term constant hassle for her to maintain LPR status. Why not deal with it in the future when and if you and she actually want to relocate back to the U.S.? You and your child have no problem returning and you can petition for your wife later when it is practical and actually makes sense to do it.
If you want to figure out what to do, you need to provide full details in order to avoid getting wrong advice.
How did she enter? Type of visa? When? How long out of status/when did it expire?
Any other issues for her? Any arrests?
In this case you must give ful and correct information in order to receive, correct information, that is.
How did she enter? Type of visa? When? How long out of status/when did it expire?
Any other issues for her? Any arrests?
In this case you must give ful and correct information in order to receive, correct information, that is.
Yes you will have problems, best is to get the green card and then leave the USA. But if you remain out of the US for more than a year, you may lose the GC. Living outside 6 months breaks the continuous residence requirement though, which you should know as you are a naturalized citizen too.
As her USC husband you can file an I-130 for her. Since she did enter legally, she can file an I-485 concurrently with your I-130. She cannot leave the U.S. before getting the LPR status (because she fell out of status) or else she will invoke unlawful presence bar to returning to the U.S. for a long time.
CalGreenCard
Registered Users (C)
.what would happened to Veronika's green card if we decide to stay there for more then 6 months.or is there any legal way to extend our stay there without her loosing the card?
I think to get a good answer you need to be honest about your intentions in asking your questions.
Others have already correctly pointed out to you that she does not really need a green card unless/until you folks make a firm decision to really make the USA your home--which clearly hasn't happened yet. You responded, in effect, that you want the green card to avoid triggering the 10 year bar for her.
The question that you should be posing is this: If she gets her green card, and then leaves the USA as a bona fide green card holder, but subsequently loses the green card because she stays abroad too long--will the unlawful presence 10 year bar then apply? I don't know the answer to that question--and hopefully someone else can answer it--but that is the only reasonable question to pose in the circumstances you raise.
A green card is for people who want to live in the USA. Right now it doesn't sound like you folks really want to do that--it sounds more like you folks have your hearts set on moving back to Slovakia and only want to keep the green card (after she gets it) as 'Plan B' if Slovakia doesn't work out. Under such circumstances eventually she'll lose the green card even if she manages to get back in for the first couple of years.
But as long as you avoid the 10 year bar, she can always get a new green card if/when you folks are committed to the idea of actually living here. I think that should be the goal.
She must not depart the U.S. prior to obtaining LPR status. She CANNOT leave even if she gets Advance Parole by mistake. (Don't even file an I-131 with the adjustment package.) After adjusting status in the U.S., she will be a conditional resident (CR-6) with only a 2 year card. If she leaves before the I-485 is approved, she can't come back for 10 years.
She then needs to file for a re-entry permit. She must apply AND get fingerprinted before departing the U.S. This re-entry permit, issued on a limited basis to a CR, allows her to be gone for less than 2 years at which time she must return to the U.S., file jointly with you an I-751 to remove conditions. THEN she can apply and get fingerprinted for a new re-entry permit, it will be for 2 years. A 3rd re-entry permit will be limited to one year. After that, prolonged absence will lead to abandonment of LPR status.
Once becoming a greencard holder, unlawful presence does not apply anymore.
She then needs to file for a re-entry permit. She must apply AND get fingerprinted before departing the U.S. This re-entry permit, issued on a limited basis to a CR, allows her to be gone for less than 2 years at which time she must return to the U.S., file jointly with you an I-751 to remove conditions. THEN she can apply and get fingerprinted for a new re-entry permit, it will be for 2 years. A 3rd re-entry permit will be limited to one year. After that, prolonged absence will lead to abandonment of LPR status.
Once becoming a greencard holder, unlawful presence does not apply anymore.
CalGreenCard
Registered Users (C)
Once becoming a greencard holder, unlawful presence does not apply anymore.
So you are saying that once she gets the conditional 2 year card, she could leave the USA the next day, abandon permanent resident status, but still be free to come back as a tourist, etc, at any time in the future--provided she otherwise qualifies to enter the USA? The green card voids the 10 year bar even after the green card is abandoned? It seems important to clearly answer that question in this case since the OP seems to want the green card for his fiancee/wife mainly for just that purpose--to avoid the 10 year bar--rather than due to any immediate desire to live in the USA long term.
CalGreenCard
Registered Users (C)
To Big Joe5
If Veronika applies for residency and she will be approved how soon can she apply for re-entry permit as a conditional resident and what do you mean by saying that re-entry permit is issued on limited basis to CR?
If it is an honest application--meaning you have a real intent to return to the USA within a well defined time period--she can apply immediately after getting conditional residency. I believe what is meant by a "limited basis" is that it is good only until the conditional residency expires--which will probably be a bit less than 2 years given that the CR itself is only for 2 years and it will take a little time to apply for the re-entry permit.
However, again, if your intent is as you said it was in your original post--to return to Slovakia to raise your children--that doesn't sound much like a US resident to me. It sounds like someone who has decided it is time to move back home. In such a case the two of you need to be honest. It would be especially risky in your case to try to stretch the truth because she already has a rather checkered immigration history and certainly there is a higher than usual chance of increased scrutiny in the future.
So you are saying that once she gets the conditional 2 year card, she could leave the USA the next day, abandon permanent resident status, but still be free to come back as a tourist, etc, at any time in the future--provided she otherwise qualifies to enter the USA? The green card voids the 10 year bar even after the green card is abandoned? It seems important to clearly answer that question in this case since the OP seems to want the green card for his fiancee/wife mainly for just that purpose--to avoid the 10 year bar--rather than due to any immediate desire to live in the USA long term.
Once she gets immigrant status approved, she would have to re-offend in order to have a NEW period of unlawful presence work against her. For that to happen she would first have to lose status and then accumulate a new period of unlawful presence. In order to be granted the LPR status in the first place she must show that she is admissible, after that she has a clean slate in regard to the unlawful presenece bar.
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To Big Joe5
If Veronika applies for residency and she will be approved how soon can she apply for re-entry permit as a conditional resident and what do you mean by saying that re-entry permit is issued on limited basis to CR?
8 CFR § 223.3 Validity and effect on admissibility.
(a) Validity —(1) Reentry permit. Except as provided in §223.2(c)(2), a reentry permit issued to a permanent resident shall be valid for 2 years from the date of issuance. A reentry permit issued to a conditional permanent resident shall be valid for 2 years from the date of issuance, or to the date the conditional permanent resident must apply for removal of the conditions on his or her status, whichever comes first.