Lenght of stay and time away from US for Parents with GC

[snowshoe]

Hi,

My parents recently got their GC, the application and approval was all done while they were in US (in Texas). They are getting ready to leave now hence I was looking for info if they are supposed to do anything before they leave and by when should they be getting back.

Reading the docs on USCIS.gov I could NOT figure out the exact requirements for the maintenance of their GCs. This is what I was able to figure out:

- They have to return to the US within 12 calendar months (that is, if they leave in Aug 06 then they have to come back by Aug 07).

- If they have to be away for more than one year then they have to get some sort of permission from USCIS

- To qualify for US citizenship after 5 years, they should have spent at least 30 months in the US (only periods for which they have been away for less than 6 months to be counted)

Let me know if that above is correct and if there are other constraints. Also if there are other useful references please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[amishah]

Hi,

My parents recently got their GC, the application and approval was all done while they were in US (in Texas). They are getting ready to leave now hence I was looking for info if they are supposed to do anything before they leave and by when should they be getting back.

Reading the docs on USCIS.gov I could NOT figure out the exact requirements for the maintenance of their GCs. This is what I was able to figure out:

- They have to return to the US within 12 calendar months (that is, if they leave in Aug 06 then they have to come back by Aug 07).

- If they have to be away for more than one year then they have to get some sort of permission from USCIS

- To qualify for US citizenship after 5 years, they should have spent at least 30 months in the US (only periods for which they have been away for less than 6 months to be counted)

Let me know if that above is correct and if there are other constraints. Also if there are other useful references please let me know.

Thanks.

They can stay out of us for 11 months. That means if they are leaving Aug 06 then they have to come back by Jul 07. If they want to leave out side of US for more than a year then they have to file for Re-entry permit which will allow them to stay out of US for 2 years. But now a days it takes more than a year to get the Re-entry permit to be approved. So if they are out of US and you don't hear anything about the Re-entry then they have to come back in 11 months.
Now if they wants to apply for Citizenship than this all time won't count towards the 5 years. Because any stay out of US for more than 6 months in a calendar year won't count towards Citizenship requirement.