How many days we can stay out of US after getting GC

D

dsugandhi

Registered Users (C)
Dear All,

Good morning.

I have a question regarding staying out of US after receiving Green Card. Following is the series of events.

Status FromDate ToDate NoofDays ReasonForStayingOutOfUS
--------- -------------- ---------------- -------------- -----------------------------------------
H1B 02/24/2008 02/28/2008 5days Went to Canada for H1B stamp.
H1B 03/14/2008 04/21/2008 39days Went to India for vacation.
GC 05/07/2008 05/07/2008 Green card got approved.
GC 07/15/2008 till date 93days Still in India as her mother is seek.

Can you please guide me on following?

1. How long she can stay out of US after approval of Green Card (I believe it is 180)?
2. Before receiving Green Card, she stayed out of US for 44 days would it make any difference (I believe it should not be counted towards 180 days limit)?
3. After receiving her Green card, let’s say she enters into US after 120 days. If required can she again go out of US? If yes, how many days?
4. Is there any way she can stay out of US for more then 180 days?

Please let me know at the earliest, so that we can plan accordingly.

Thanks,
D
 
The answer to your questions depends on whether you intend to apply for citizenship or not. Please clarify.
 
The problem is not how many days you stay abroad..but with the intent. They use the number of days stayed abroad as indication of your intent. If the husband stays in the country and wife is out of the country...it is easier to prove that wife does not intend to abandon her green card.

If she does not plan to apply for citizenship in 5 years, then she can safely stay out of the country just short of one year. She would have broken continous residence required to be eligible to apply for US Citizenship, and her 5 year clock will start again once she comes back.

If she plans to apply for citizenship in 5 years, then she needs to be in the country before 180 days are up.
 
My recommendation is to discuss with an attorney. This is not a trivial matter and you need to have a strategy upfront with a full understanding of all the intricacies. Do not look for an answer in these forums because you will get majorly confused by the immigration pseuds here.

I beleive there are legal ways to address your situation but make sure you get your advice from a reputable source.
 
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