Kepping the GC alive - Need help

S

Satyanarayanan Thirumalai

Registered Users (C)
Hi Folks,

My Mother is a green card holder, and she has benn visiting teh USA every year to renew the GC, she infact was here from june of 2000 - june of 2001. She is now in India and I heard there has been some changes in the GC renewel and people have to come every six months now. But is there anyway that she can come in june of 2002 instead of Jan 2002. Please need some advice.
 
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The only way to stay out of the country for more than 6 months and retain the GC is to apply for a reentry permit which allows you to leave the country for upto 2 years. How ever, the reentry permit needs to be applied for before the applicant leaves US. Thus, in your mother\'s case she will have a problem unless she returns in January.
 
No Title

Well my friend, you got your facts wrong. What is in the law and how the INS interprets it are two different things.

1.5 years ago to this date, a relative tried to enter the US after a trip of around 11 months to India ... he was told that he lost his residency and hence the greencard. He was asked to reapply for a visitor\'s visa at his home consulate. This started happening only in the last 2-3 years. I am not sure of this person\'s entire past history ... how long he had been away before and if he had done this multiple times to piss the INS guys off etc. But, if you plan to be away for more than 6 months, it is best to apply for a reentry permit, unless you want to gamble on your chances of being permitted to enter.
 
Thanks

No..Actually my mother always had intentions to keep her GC alive..infact from the time she got it in 1994 she has been keeping it alive and she was with me from june of 2000 - june of 2001 in the USA. I sent her in june and I thought she can come back in june of 2002..but what I ahve been hearing is scary people are telling me that she has to be back within 6 monthes(that is JAn 2002) or when she comes back in june of 2002 she will not be let to enter the country..thats scaring me..
Thanks and let me know if thats true?
satya
 
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I said very clearly in my previous mail that INS in *some* (not *all*) instances can find that you violated the rules of your residency if you stay away for more than 6 months but less than one year. The period of 6 months is not arbitrary ... at the port of entry where the person in question was denied, he was specifically told that any period of more than 6 months can be questioned by INS and that the burden is upon him to prove that he had not abandoned residence. My mom, on the other hand, has been away for many trips of about than 3-4 months and has never been questioned in the same way. I am not sure from which part of the INS rule book this comes from ... the citizenship manual does mention something like this, but I am not sure whether it applies to this case. If you have a job or something else which connects you to the US they may be more favorable to letting you in after a long trip.

Again, let us not argue any more about this ... what I am saying is based on my personal experience and need not necessarily be true ...
it is upto you to take it or leave it.
 
No Title

You say:

For absences over 180 days and up to 1 year, a person seeks admission to the US again, and all the grounds of admission apply, and the INS officer can ask for proof of residence even without suspicion.

What I was trying to say from my first post is the following: the current interpretation (since the past 2-3 years) of INS of this law has become stricter and they do ask you to justify your residence in the US on a regular basis if your stay outside the US is for more than 6 months.

You also say:

Just don\'t accuse me of not having my facts right when you are the one who only posted half of the experience.

You do seem to have a fixation on being "right"!
What I posted did have a factual basis and there is nothing "Wrong" with it ... as you yourself point out in this post. You should recognize that there will be issues which might be ambiguous and there may not be a right answer ... what comes out of discussions are multiple facets of the issue. With INS and their ever-changing interpretation of laws, it is particularly important to rely on personal experiences rather than your or my interpretations of the law.

Have a good life!
 
Thanks for the reply

I am very sorry if my posting offended you. Actually my mother has to take decision before the end of this month and I was panicking..
Actually both my parents are GC holders and they got there GC in 1993 and they have been shunting between India and US but they kept there GC alive, What happened is mother has filed immigraton for me and I am scared if her GC gets cancelled my immigration application would also be cancelled thats my main concern.

Ok going back to the main problem..I came here on a F 1 visa and am presently working in US..my dad passed away in 2001 and my mom was here with me from june 2000 - june 2001, then i sent her to India in end of june, I thought I can bring her back in june of 2002, but I heard that she has to comeback within 6 months(that is Jan 2002) or her GC will be cancelled and also my immigration petetion will also be cancelled thats why I am worried..and wanted to know weather she can come in june or she has to come back right now..

The main question here is CAN SHE STAY OUT OF USA FOR MORE THEN 6 MONTHS UNDER THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCE?

Thanks a lot for your feedback and please clarify on my point.
Thanks
Satay
 
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Has your mother stayed away from uS for a yr using a rentry permit. If not did she have any problems getting back within a yr. How long has she been staying here during each visit.

I am in the process og getting a rentry permit and would greatly appreiciate if you could provide this info

thx so much
 
There is no fixed period of stay

The one thing that you can take away from the previous posts is this - there is no set period of allowed stay outside the US. I have had long personal experience with this - I got my green card in 1990 and did the coming back and forth dance to \'preserve\' it, for all of 9 years. As an Immigration officer told me once - even an absence of one day outside the country is fatal if the INS suspects that you have abandoned your residence in the US. Also, in this particular case, against all the tenets of natural justice, the burden of proof is on you (in this case, your mother)to prove that she has NOT abandoned residence.

My advice - if you want to be absolutely sure that your mother\'s residence status is preserved, ask her to come here and stay with you till you get your GC. Otherwise, there is a chance of the \'abandonment\' charge being made by the INS at any time she enters the country, WHATEVER precautions you take.
 
Proposition- for Joef, spancha and whoever\'s mother

If in this case would be helpful to rent smth cheap on your mother\'s name?
To spancha: Did you do it(have actual residence in US)? I think your often \'visits\' back-forth could arise suspicions. Please, share experience.
Thank\'s a lot.
 
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