LPR seekeng a re-entry after a long absence

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cosmo.kramer101

Registered Users (C)
I'm an LPR and I've been away from the USA for about 5 years.
Now I'm seeking a re-entry.

I'm well aware of all the requirements in order to preserve the PR and that upon the re-entry I may face certain problems because the IO might take a position that I've intentionally abandoned my PR.

But here's the question.
How does the USCIS know for how long I've been out of the country?

When I departed from the US, I did not get any "departure" stamp in my passport, nor my green card was swiped or inspected by the immigration officer.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
 
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All departure information is shared by the Airlines and are logged by the State Department for US Citizens and for LPR 's by USCIS. Your card is swiped by the airline at check in counter of the airline or manually entered at the time of Purchase of airline ticket.

Pre 9-11 all of the entry/exits where clocked and kept for one year after the entry/exit, post 9-11 they are planning to keep all records atleast till the doomsday.

If you attempt to enter and are successful in boarding a flight, upon arrival if asked about the stay and you lie, you will be in serious trouble by lying to a Federal officer to gain a Immigration benefit. People from India at least has shared in this forum that they were denied boarding a flight when they attempt to come back to US after a year on a GC without a RP.
Airlines pay a fine to USCIS when they transport people who don't have papers in order and they have been denying boarding because of that.
Your only choice is to go to a US Embassy and seek a Returning resident visa with a big if they will give you one.
 
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cosmo.kramer101 said:
I'm an LPR and I've been away from the USA for about 5 years.
Now I'm seeking a re-entry.

I'm well aware of all the requirements in order to preserve the PR and that upon the re-entry I may certain face problems because the IO might take a position that I've intentionally abandoned my PR.

But here's the question.
How does the USCIS know for how long I've been out of the country?

When I departed from the US, I did not get any "departure" stamp in my passport, nor my green card was swiped or inspected by the immigration officer.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

What namecheckvictim said may be true or not. You can try to re-enter, do you have an address here? What country are you from?
 
cosmo.kramer101 said:
namecheckvictim , thanks for your reply.


You mean do I own a house? No I don't. I only have friends in the USA.
I'm a citizen of Ukraine
Click to expand...

If they didn't swipe your GC, than I would say re-enter. Yeah maybe the airline has a record, but does USCIS really have that info still, or access to it??

I guess you have to try and see what happens! I have heard that the few have been cought have got a warning. I think you will be ok...
 
just found some more information on the topic - should some one be interested

travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1333.html
 
hi,

i am a LPR, I stayed out of the country for more than one year. Inmigrant officer asked me how much time i spend out of usa. I said 1 month. he stamped my passport and that was it.

so, maybe you pass without trouble or maybe not.
 
dear trialanderror83,

sometimes it does not matter if you are a citizen of a certain country or not. A friend from DOminican Republic get entry and exit stamps for his country and he is a citizen of that country.
 
wanttoknow said:
dear trialanderror83,

sometimes it does not matter if you are a citizen of a certain country or not. A friend from DOminican Republic get entry and exit stamps for his country and he is a citizen of that country.
Click to expand...

Dear Wanttoknow,

I have been to Canada 1000 times when I was a LPR, and yet have they evey stamped my passport. Likewise, my father, a citizen of the U.K, same thing, never...
 
cosmo.kramer101 said:
I'm an LPR and I've been away from the USA for about 5 years.
Now I'm seeking a re-entry.

I'm well aware of all the requirements in order to preserve the PR and that upon the re-entry I may face certain problems because the IO might take a position that I've intentionally abandoned my PR.

But here's the question.
How does the USCIS know for how long I've been out of the country?

When I departed from the US, I did not get any "departure" stamp in my passport, nor my green card was swiped or inspected by the immigration officer.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

go back and lie .. know many cases like yours and about 99% of them got back and even obtained citizenship in no time so I don't think you will have much problms
 
If someone is an LPR and they have a job with a multinational HQed in the US. Do they still have to fullfill the residency requirements to keep the GC?
 
You're encouraging him to lie? That's really not advisable. He may not have to volunteer the information if they don't ask, but lying to an immigration official, at least in the US, is considered a grave offence.

Also, not all countries refrain from stamping passports of their citizens. The US, India and Canada are examples of countries that do. The US and Canada might not do so ALL the time, and some people might not have got a stamp until now after entering numerous times, but they DO DO IT.
 
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