Minimum period of stay in the U.S. after Green Card.

U

UVishwanath

Registered Users (C)
Hi friends,

I applied for a family based Green Card. The same is in the final stages now. I wanted to know the restrictions on going out of U.S. by a Gereen Card Holder , ( period of minimum stay in a year by a G.C.holder if any so that the G.C. is not forfeited ) and also the provisions relating to Re- Entry permit. Your response may be given keeping in mind that I am not keen on obtaining citizenship of U.S. right now. Thanking you in advance,
 
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you cannot be absent for more than a year without a reentry permit. With a reentry permit you can be absent for more than a year and less than two.

You have to reside in the US, file US taxes, and only travel outside the US temporarily. It's all written up on www.uscis.gov
 
UVishwanath said:
Hi friends,

I applied for a family based Green Card. The same is in the final stages now. I wanted to know the restrictions on going out of U.S. by a Gereen Card Holder , ( period of minimum stay in a year by a G.C.holder if any so that the G.C. is not forfeited ) and also the provisions relating to Re- Entry permit. Your response may be given keeping in mind that I am not keen on obtaining citizenship of U.S. right now. Thanking you in advance,
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Hi:

I am going to say something not very nice. Why exactly did you apply for the GC? I personally am going to stop answering questions like these, given the administrative backlogs USCIS has and the many people that have to wait years to be allocated a visa based on quotas.

If someone wants an answer to something like this, they can at least be charged a nice fee by someone in my intended profession!
 
What pianoplayer said :D I'm thinking the time allowed to spend outside the country (unless it's work related) should be shortened. There are too many people taking the green card for granted while others have been waiting for years.
 
Why is it taking it for granted if you want to be able to spend time outside the US? My wife is a citizen and would like our family to be here at the moment. Later I would like us to be able to live in my home country for a while but I would also like not to have to go through the whole green card process again if we return to the US. I don't see why that makes me any less worthy of the card than anyone else. I applied for the card because I married a citizen, not because I wanted to be able to come to live in the US, thats why its called a family based application, why did you apply?

Jim
 
jimothy said:
I applied for the card because I married a citizen, not because I wanted to be able to come to live in the US, thats why its called a family based application, why did you apply?
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Exactly the point.
You apply for a green card because you want to live in the US, actually because your relative (wife) wants you to live in the US (she files a petition, then you apply for permanent residence).
You don't get a green card just because you marry a US citizen.
It's permanent residence because you want to reside in the US.
 
sometimes the situation is much more complex than that. Sometimes there is no other way to come to the States to see your family besides immigration.

Some people can't get a visitor's visa to just come and see their children for years, so the only way for them to be together for an extended period of time is to immigrate. So, they end up going back and forth between two countries after they get the GCs.
 
LucyMO said:
sometimes the situation is much more complex than that. Sometimes there is no other way to come to the States to see your family besides immigration.

Some people can't get a visitor's visa to just come and see their children for years, so the only way for them to be together for an extended period of time is to immigrate. So, they end up going back and forth between two countries after they get the GCs.
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Hi:

You make a valid point. But this is a weakness in the immigration system, which actually ends up causing much more costs/red tape for the government.

Security is very important, but a visitor's visa should not become IMPOSSIBLE to get. The reason it is so hard to get has to do with security, but also because of a flood of AOS applications resulting from B1.

If USCIS more strictly scrutinised B1-AOS/VWO-AOS applications on the intent issues, visitor visas would not present such high a risk. If an intending immigrant on VWP/B1 had to overcome a high burden of proof to show lack of immigrant intent upon entry, it would give more credibility to B1/VWP visas.
 
Not really. I applied for a green card because I want to be with my family. The fact that that is in the US in incidental. I fully intend to spend a least a few years with my family in other countries too. I don't see that that should that make me a less worthy applicant than someone else though.
 
jimothy said:
Not really. I applied for a green card because I want to be with my family. The fact that that is in the US in incidental. I fully intend to spend a least a few years with my family in other countries too. I don't see that that should that make me a less worthy applicant than someone else though.
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Hi:

Your situation is understandable and, just as an aside, I was not really referring to your situation when responding to the OP.

Your position is distinguishable in that you applied for the GC and intend to stay in the US, at least for a while. No-one expects you to live in the same part of the world for the rest of your life. There is a big wide world out there and opportunities to pursue.

However, it can be frustrating when someone, like the OP, appears to have no interest in living in the US at all, and merely wants the GC as a backdoor option. That was the point being made.

Incidentally, if you wish to do what you propose (and not go through the GC process again), become a USC when eligible. The reason this is not allowed for GC holders like you is exactly because there would be a flood of people who would use the GC merely as a backup plan, never really intending to live in the US. In a sense, someone like the OP is having you choose between going through the process again, or waiting to become a USC before relocating.
 
Thats a fair point. I guess what I was trying to say is that we don't don't really know what the OPs intentions are. All he says is that he is interested in how long he needs to be in the US for the card to remain valid, there are a lot of reasons why he could need this information. As long as he is abiding by the immigration laws then I'm not sure we should assume he is any less valid an applicant than anyone else.
 
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