Relinquishing US Green Card

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gc_spouse

Registered Users (C)
I read most of the information on this website, but could not find specific information to my case.
I am a permanent resident [green card (GC) holder] in U.S., I got my my GC through a family petition by my dad. Last year, I got marry with Australian Citizen. I filed I-130 in 2006, but i did not know that it will take 4-5 years for my spouse to get into U.S.A. Anyway, I am still 3 years away to become a US citizen.
My husband applied for a canadian PR (before our marriage), and added my name in the application last year. Early this month, We got canadian PR. We are not planning to enter canada on canadian PR; we want to use it as last resort.
We want to live in US as I have family ties here.
I am a B.S. Nursing student in California State University, and will be graduating in June, 2008.
Now my questions are:
Is it possible to relinquish my US green card, and work on a visa or get US green card through nursing job (as it will allow my husband to move to US same time)?
If i relinquish my green card, i will be out of status then how can I stay in US until I get approve to work in US?
If anyone has this kind of experience please share.

Can I get a commuter status through my US green card (live in canada and commute to US for work)? - I will also use this as one of my last options.
Please reply your post or email me @ girl5abi@yahoo.com
Thanks
Jag
 
I don't think you can surrender the green card and stay in the US. And you will have problems getting a work visa because you aren't eligible for L-1 (you aren't a manager of a multinational corporation) and H-1B visas won't be issued again until next year October ... but since you don't graduate until June, and the visa must be applied for in April, you won't be able to get one until October 2009.

Your situation is tricky and you should seek advice from a lawyer. Not necessarily to process the case end-to-end, which would be very expensive, but to plan a strategy for tackling this situation, and occasional advice along the way.

And if you seek a lawyer, don't just blindly listen to them; ask them about every if and but and twist and turn and how and why. You have several goals to juggle -- maintain your green card, get citizenship, get together with your spouse. Things will have to be done in the right order in order not to screw up your situation. By getting married first you already started off doing things in a bad order (for example, if you weren't already married, he could have come to study at a university in the US with an F-1 visa, followed by an H-1B visa upon graduation).
 
Thanks for your input.
First I am not worried about my citizenship. I am about 3 years away to be eligible for that. Second, to work as a nurse in US, i don't need or disqualify for H1B visa because H1b require a 4 year degree, but in US, a nurse do not need a 4 year degree to work as RN (registered nurse). Only 1% nurses use H1B to work as manager or higher post in nursing. A commuter will not work out as I already filed I-130 for my husband. Moreover, our priority is to live together in US.
I appreciate your comments and concerns. Please post your ideas.
Thanks
 
Is there a non-H1B visa available to nurses, that allows you to bring your spouse and also pursue a green card? Does he have a degree, so he can qualify for an H-1B? Or does he have a huge pile of money (at least $500K) so he can qualify for an investor green card?

If not, the most straightforward way I can think of is for you to maintain separate residences, with you in the US and he in Canada, while you complete your 5 years of residence for citizenship. You will be able to visit him frequently in Canada, but he won't be able to visit the US because he has obvious immigrant intent (although he may be able to get by some land-based crossings where they don't have computers to know that he has a pending I-130... but it is not advisable to try to trick USCIS).

Then when you get your citizenship, you bring him in. Any other plan is likely to involve lots of roundabout and expense and risk and probably still take at least a couple of years anyway. But still, don't pay too much attention to free advice from an anonymous message board for complicated situations like this. Find a lawyer, discuss your options, and develop a strategy.
 
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Nurses come to US as an immigrant (green card holder), and travel nurses. I don't know exactly how it works, but trying to find more about it.
FYI: An Australian citizen is eligible for E3 (like H1B), which is only for Australian citizens. He is also eligible for E1 which is treaty trader and E2 which is a treaty investor visa (E2 require 100K to start your own business, but the process is more complicated than money).
He can visit for 90 days anytime because Australia is a visa waiver country, and there is no problem in that so far.
I appreciate your comments. I want to do my homework before I start talking to lawyers. I have few options but I want to explore everything and want to choose the best one.
Thanks
 
Good luck. You do have a lot of homework to do. But doesn't the visa waiver require nonimmigrant intent? And also those E visas? Having filed I-130 is a strong indicator of having immigrant intent.
 
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