Recently received GreenCard but away from the country without a re-entry permit

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starlightsr

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

My husband and I received our employment based GreenCard two weeks ago but we have moved away from the US 10 months ago to our home country. My husband is not employed with the company through which we applied for the GC but he can obtain an employment with the same company easily.

We did not apply for a re-entry permit before we left the US. We are now considering moving back to the US for good. What are the issues we may face when we enter the country? How can we prepare ourselves for the questions we may be asked without landing in trouble?

thanks,
starlightsr
 
I presume both of you had filed I-485 and then left the US? And your GC was sent to a US address, so you didn't get it through the consulate in your country?

Did he have a valid Advance Parole, H1B, or L1 when he left? If yes, was it still unexpired when the green card was approved?
 
Yes, the GC was sent to a US address. Yes, we both had a valid Advanced Parole and valid H1-B when we left and when the GC was approved.

His H1-B is expiring in a couple of months.

Is it possible that we could be sent back to our home country at the port of entry? Our intention is now to stay in the US on a permanent basis. Any ideas on how we could convince the immigration officer if we are asked questions?
 
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starlightsr said:
Yes, the GC was sent to a US address. Yes, we both had a valid Advanced Parole and valid H1-B when we left and when the GC was approved.
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Good. EB I-485 applicants can stay outside the US as long as they have valid AP or H1B/H4/L1/L2 (provided the employer doesn't revoke the I-140 while you're gone).

Your GCs are legitimate and you have nothing to worry about, except one thing: does he have a job offer from the sponsoring employer, or another employer in a "same or similar" job? If not, he should line that up before trying to enter the US. Entering the US for the first time with an employment-based GC while not having a relevant job lined up would lead to disaster if the officer at the POE questions him or you about his employment.

Have somebody send the GCs to you by Fedex/DHL or some other courier, and also have the employer send a job letter. Then both of you can enter without a problem at the POE, and without worrying about the consequences at citizenship time.
 
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Thank you for responding. I have one more question.

My husband's AP and H1B have expired. So when we re-enter only the GC would be valid. Will that be an issue?
Basically, what I would like to know is that does AP/H1B have any bearing on immigration laws after the GC has been approved?

He will get a job offer letter from the past employer for the same job. That is not a problem.

Thank you.
 
starlightsr said:
My husband's AP and H1B have expired. So when we re-enter only the GC would be valid. Will that be an issue?
Click to expand...

No issue at the POE or afterwards (e.g. citizenship), if the AP or H1B was valid when the GC was approved. Except that the now-expired AP/H1B obviously can't be used at the POE. Use the GCs to enter, and have the job letter in hand just in case the officer at the POE insists on some proof of employment. Chances are he won't need to show the letter -- they'll probably take his word for it if he tells them the company name and it matches what is in their system -- but it helps to have it just in case.
 
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starlightsr said:
Thank you for responding. I have one more question.

My husband's AP and H1B have expired. So when we re-enter only the GC would be valid. Will that be an issue?
Click to expand...

Your earlier post said:

His H1-B is expiring in a couple of months.
Click to expand...

So what exactly is the situation with his H1B? Has it already expired? Or still valid?

If his H1B has expired, did it happen before the approval date of his I-485?

Also, did his AP expired before the approval date of his I-485?
 
Jack,

Whats the actual meaning of the re-entry permit? Who should apply for it? As far as I understand, it should be applied for(from the US) if we have a GC and plan to stay away from the country for a year or so. So if we just received our GC two weeks ago and did not apply for the re-entry permit before we left the country, how would it affect us?

Many forums say that if we have stayed away from the country for a period of 6 months or more, it will cause issues at the POE. Does this 6 month period start after we receive the GC or is it a general recommendation to not leave the country for 6 months?

What are the usual checks the immigration officer would do at the POE?

Thanks a lot.
 
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H1-B expired Jan 2011.
AP expired June 2010.
I-485 notice date(not sure if that is the approval date you are referring to) is Sep 2007.

Any issues because of this even if we have the physical GC with us now?
 
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