I-751 Dilemma and Possible Options ?

[handxx]

Folks, I need your valuable advices for our below case for my GC holder wife's case.

My wife got her GC through our marriage on August 2009. This July her conditional gc will expire. At the moment, we live abroad due to my job. I am a US citizenship and this is how my wife obtained her GC.

While I was reading different comments on the internet, I realized that service centers are processing I-751 applications in a pretty long time like 7 to 12 months in average. It is such a long period of time for us being a family to leave seperately.

I was expecting 3 - 4 months my wife can stay in USA and able to receive her GC and come back to the country we live right now. But, the situation seems more serious.

My wife is also attending a school in the country where we live at the moment so I am not really sure if she can quit school such a long time like 8 months lets say. Plus, I am not sure where she can stay and etc.

Can she finish biometrics and come back and I can pick up her GC when I visit USA ? What are our options ? I wish I can take of from my job and we can go together but it is not possible either. Please advice.

 

[Jackolantern]

My wife got her GC through our marriage on August 2009. This July her conditional gc will expire.

Did you mean August 2010? Because if she got it in August 2009, it would have already expired in August 2011.

At the moment, we live abroad due to my job. I am a US citizenship and this is how my wife obtained her GC.

Have you explored expedited citizenship for her under Section 319(b)?

I was expecting 3 - 4 months my wife can stay in USA and able to receive her GC and come back to the country we live right now. But, the situation seems more serious.

She can do that. Within a few weeks after filing the I-751, USCIS will send her an letter that extends the validity of her green card for 1 year. And she can file the I-751 from outside the US (of course, she'll still need to give a US address on the form).

When was the last time she left the US? If she's been outside the US for 1 year or more, she could have bigger problems.

 

[handxx]

Hi,

I am sorry it was by mad to say August 2010, the date she received her GC was August 2010.

I am not really sure how to check the section 319B, at the moment we live abroad so there is no attorney , we can get an advice face to face. Maybe when my wife comes to the USA , she can visit an attorney and learn what we can do regarding section 319b. Do you know by any chance if only falls for applicants whose family work for US government jobs abroad or private sector is okay too ?

My wife is outside of the country with the travel document. Her travel document is going to expire in July so if she enters before July I assume she should be fine.

I believe she can not file I-751 outside of the USA because she needs to be in the USA for biometrics right ? After she is done with fingerprinting , she can leave but I am thinking in case if something goes wrong with fingerprinting and lets say if they call her back for another appointment, then she can be in a big trouble. Without any new GC and with an expired card she can not enter USA again.

 

[Jackolantern]

Do you know by any chance if only falls for applicants whose family work for US government jobs abroad or private sector is okay too ?

If the USC spouse works abroad for a US corporation, the LPR spouse may be eligible for 319(b). It's not only for employees of the US government. Read this article on 319(b): http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0525-mehta.shtm

Maybe when my wife comes to the USA , she can visit an attorney and learn what we can do regarding section 319b.

Or arrange a phone consultation with an attorney before she returns to the US, just to get a clearer evaluation of whether she would be eligible for 319(b) based on the characteristics of your overseas job and your employer. Then if she's eligible for 319(b) she can apply for both the I-751 and citizenship at the same time and take care of the fingerprinting for both when she's in the US.

You can also ask your own employer if they have helped any of their employees or employees' spouses qualify for citizenship through 319(b) or N-470*. Chances are if other employees of the same company were successful with that, you will too.

I believe she can not file I-751 outside of the USA because she needs to be in the USA for biometrics right ? After she is done with fingerprinting , she can leave but I am thinking in case if something goes wrong with fingerprinting and lets say if they call her back for another appointment, then she can be in a big trouble.

It is not necessary to be in the US when the I-751 is filed; it is only necessary to be in the US for the fingerprinting and interview (if there is an interview). She can file the I-751 while outside the US, wait for the fingerprint appointment notice, then fly into the US on the fingerprint appointment date and leave the US immediately afterwards.

Without any new GC and with an expired card she can not enter USA again.

She can enter the US with the expired card if she carries the extension letter that I mentioned in post #2.


*N-470 is different in that it's for LPR's who are employed overseas, but the employer criteria are almost exactly the same as 319(b).

 

[handxx]

Jack,

The extension letter you mentioned will arrive after she completes the fingerprint process right ? I am also thinking that once she gets that letter she will be in good shape even if she wants to leave.

Another question is the new GC will be for 10 years ?

I will investigate section 319b, it can really help us since my wife is accompanying me abroad because of my job. She would like to stay in the country to receive her citizenship but till that time our relationship can have problems because of distance.

 

[Jackolantern]

The extension letter you mentioned will arrive after she completes the fingerprint process right ? I am also thinking that once she gets that letter she will be in good shape even if she wants to leave.

The extension letter may arrive before fingerprinting. She can surely reenter the US using the combination of the expired card and extension letter, however there are a few countries out there that normally exempt green card holders from needing a transit visa or tourist visa but don't accept the extension letter. So if she plans to transit through or visit one of those countries, she may have to get the necessary visa.

Another question is the new GC will be for 10 years ?

Yes, if approved it will be for 10 years.

But citizenship generally takes 3-6 months whereas the I-751 process is taking around 6-9 months. So if she is eligible for 319(b) and applies for both citizenship and I-751 at the same time, chances are the citizenship will be granted first, making the green card unnecessary.

 

[handxx]

Jack, first of all thank you for your prompt replies, I appreciate your answers and help. It is good to see helpful people still exist in the world.

I have another question, if you do not mind to answer. My wife got her GC on August 2010, then we lived in the USA till January 2011 for about 6 months. Then, we moved to overseas because of my job situation. We got a travel document for my wife and that is how she is outside of the USA more than a year.

I hope section 319B can fit our case. But, the worst case scenario if it does not help our case. Based on 6 month residency in the USA, can my wife still able to apply for citizenship ? I am sure that there should be certain time period even you are married to a US citizen in order to apply for citizenship right ? Could you please advice besides section 319B , any other options to apply for citizenship because I am not exactly sure how long I will stay overseas for my job. At the moment, it seems I am here for a while.

 

[Jackolantern]

Having been outside the US for over a year, your wife has automatically broken continuous the continuous residence requirement and as a result has delayed her citizenship eligibility through the normal route.

If she's not eligible for a special exception like 319(b) or N-470 or military service, she'll have to return to the US and stay in the US for a sufficient number of years to accumulate the necessary physical presence and continuous residence. If she moved back to the US today (April 1), her earliest eligibility (without a special exception) would be April 2, 2014, and she would have to physically stay in the US at least 18 months total from now until then.