I have been PR since 1989 and husband since 1995. We have both had minor overseas trips to visit family. We married in 1997 and left the country in Sep 1999 for 11.5 months to visit husbands family. We did'nt keep a residence or car. We did have credit card bills that we kept up and a bank account with a small amount in it. We filed tax returns for every year, had drivers licences and SS#. Now that we have reestablished continous stay for nearly 7 years might immigration deny our N-400 or even revoke our green cards on abandonement issues? Please advise
Permanent Resident been out for 11 months
- Thread starter maryspade
- Start date
Atlanta_Brother
Registered Users (C)
No problem
There is no need to worry. You should be ok as long as you have completed the required number of days in US. When I first became permanent resident back in 2001, I was told that as long as I am not outside of US for more than 12 months, it won't harm me. As long as you meet the requirements to file for US citizenship, you should be fine.
Good luck
There is no need to worry. You should be ok as long as you have completed the required number of days in US. When I first became permanent resident back in 2001, I was told that as long as I am not outside of US for more than 12 months, it won't harm me. As long as you meet the requirements to file for US citizenship, you should be fine.
Good luck
There is no need to worry. You should be ok as long as you have completed the required number of days in US. When I first became permanent resident back in 2001, I was told that as long as I am not outside of US for more than 12 months, it won't harm me. As long as you meet the requirements to file for US citizenship, you should be fine.
Good luck
I concur. You've been back in the US for long enough that this is unlikely to cause the IO even to blink.
The issue isn't they've had continuous residence in the US for 7 years, it's that if found they had abandoned their GC when they were gone the 11 months back then, then technically they would have been living here on a technical illegal presence all this time (even though they had a green card).
So yes this could be an issue and would really depend on the IO and how they're viewing the residency status now. So theoretically you abandoned the green card and really needed to apply all over again for a new green card when you moved back.
So not sure what they will think. If they want to you could be in some trouble here, and if they wanted to, they might just ignore it. So kind of a 50/50 case with no problem to major problems. You might want to talk to an attourney first...
So yes this could be an issue and would really depend on the IO and how they're viewing the residency status now. So theoretically you abandoned the green card and really needed to apply all over again for a new green card when you moved back.
So not sure what they will think. If they want to you could be in some trouble here, and if they wanted to, they might just ignore it. So kind of a 50/50 case with no problem to major problems. You might want to talk to an attourney first...
Given the immigration sensitivity at this time, I would personally suggest seeing a good immigration lawyer BEFORE you file an N-400.
What's the downside of any unnecessary legal appointment.... couple of hundred bucks?
What's the potential upside ....advice that could lead you to decide to postpone your N-400 application if the lawyer thought that your long absence could represent abandoning residency with a worst case scenario of deportation. Very unlikely, I admit but surely possible?
This is a personal opinion with no legal training.
What's the downside of any unnecessary legal appointment.... couple of hundred bucks?
What's the potential upside ....advice that could lead you to decide to postpone your N-400 application if the lawyer thought that your long absence could represent abandoning residency with a worst case scenario of deportation. Very unlikely, I admit but surely possible?
This is a personal opinion with no legal training.
NEW Question
Thanks everyone!
Can you file N-400 as a couple? Or do you have to file seperately?
We would hate to have 1 good IO and 1 bad IO, one gets in the other does not....
I am Australian PR since '89, he is South African PR since '95.
We have 2 kids, both US citizens.
Hate to be at the mercy of the mood of the IO?
Thoughts??
Thanks everyone!
Can you file N-400 as a couple? Or do you have to file seperately?
We would hate to have 1 good IO and 1 bad IO, one gets in the other does not....
I am Australian PR since '89, he is South African PR since '95.
We have 2 kids, both US citizens.
Hate to be at the mercy of the mood of the IO?
Thoughts??
You need to file 2 separate applications. However, you can send them in one envelope, and maybe the same officer will pick both applications up.
You need to file 2 separate applications. However, you can send them in one envelope, and maybe the same officer will pick both applications up.
I'm not quite sure how cases are assigned to IO's, however I do know you have little to no control over it. Two interviews, two IOs...
Thanks, I thought so. The problem is, we did pack up and leave the State we we're living in (thinking we would start somewhere else when our trip was over) so it's proving difficult to show ties. We did check at the time and we were told anything under 12 months was OK???? I'm trying to collect as much as much as I can to prove ties....
Generally years ago I don't think this was an issue, but with all the changes and such in the past few years, I don't know how strict the IO's are getting with being out so long in the past. The general thing is if you were out for 6 months or longer, then all that would do is just reset your clock and you'd start your 3 yrs or 5 years when you got back with your re-entry permit.
Security has tightend now and it seems some people are now starting to have issues with their trips then they did in the past. I would think you would be fine, but I wouldn't say 100% sure you are. Some IO's will let things like traffic tickets go by, while others aren't.
The best thing to do is trying and find the rules for the green card when you did leave in 1999 and see what those rules where. It could be that the Green Card rules have changed since, but in that case it should not affect you at all.
Some people have had their GC's abandoned for being out too long, while others haven't, just depends I guess. In my opinion I think you should be fine, but you never know what they might constitute as abandoning the original GC...
Security has tightend now and it seems some people are now starting to have issues with their trips then they did in the past. I would think you would be fine, but I wouldn't say 100% sure you are. Some IO's will let things like traffic tickets go by, while others aren't.
The best thing to do is trying and find the rules for the green card when you did leave in 1999 and see what those rules where. It could be that the Green Card rules have changed since, but in that case it should not affect you at all.
Some people have had their GC's abandoned for being out too long, while others haven't, just depends I guess. In my opinion I think you should be fine, but you never know what they might constitute as abandoning the original GC...
And the rules may in fact be the same as well, expect that maybe they're starting to enforce things now that they let slide before.
The general rule with situations like this is:
0-6 months - INS might try and prove you abandoned your GC. It's up to them to prove you did.
6-12 months - You have to prove to the INS you didn't abandon your GC. It's now up to you instead to prove you didn't abandon your GC.
Over a year - INS generally will consider GC's abandoned, you will need a lot of supporting evidence including a re-entry permit etc for this one. This one will take a lot of effort and still might not satisfy them...
The general rule with situations like this is:
0-6 months - INS might try and prove you abandoned your GC. It's up to them to prove you did.
6-12 months - You have to prove to the INS you didn't abandon your GC. It's now up to you instead to prove you didn't abandon your GC.
Over a year - INS generally will consider GC's abandoned, you will need a lot of supporting evidence including a re-entry permit etc for this one. This one will take a lot of effort and still might not satisfy them...