Travel with green card

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swprogrammer

Registered Users (C)
I was in India for 4 months and just returned to the US. I was asked some questions by the immigration officers about why I stayed out of the country for such a long time.
Now I am planning to stay here for a month and then go back to India for about 3 months. After that, I am planning on returning to US.
Please advise whether there is any risk to my green card by doing this?
Or do I need to stay in the US currently for a longer period before leaving the country?
 
Please clarify

To prove my residence, do I actually need to rent an apartment? Can I claim that I am living at a friend's apartment and paying him rent?
 
I don't think staying out of the country less then 12 months means you will automatically lose your GC.

I am sure officer at POE will ask questions to find out details. I travel extensively and do stay out of US for 4 to 8 week and I also get questioned it same way.

As long as you prove that your stay out of the country was related to work and temporary nature you are fine.

As long as you are on US payroll, maintain residence, bank accounts and file your taxes you should be fine, however pls check with lawyer as I am speaking from experience and your situation may differ from mine.
 
traveling outside of america

I got my GC in March, soon after, i lost my job. In september, i went back to china. since i was not back home for seven years already, so i spend some time with my parents, relatives and friends. also i went to the former university to get my transcript and graduation certificate (i am planning to apply PHD program in america). right now, i am still in china. i read some scary story of losing gc status, but flying back to america before spring festival (the most important holiday in china) is really strange in other people's eye since during the holiday, people come back to be with parents rather than leaving.

should i go back to america right now, or back next month after the holiday (but still within six monthes frame).

btw, my infomation is that: GC holder, currently unemployed, no house in america, but banking and credit account are maintained as before, have a car, pc and other everyday stuff. definitely want to keep resident status, i am planing to attend phd program soon, admission test was taken one year ago.

thanks for your advice.
 
question swprogrammer

swprogrammer

could you please post what kind of questions were you asked at the POE. Will be very helpful

Thanks
 
Hello Poweroff,

Based on the information given, I guess you have lost your PR status due to the fact that you have been back to China for the last seven years (as you had mentioned).

If you would like to get back to the US, you will need to apply for a student visa for your PHD program. You may not use your green card, otherwise, you might get arrested at the POE.

You will also need to re-apply for your green card over again. It is important, in order to preserve your green card, that you not to stay out of the US for over 12 months.
 
Re: traveling outside of america

You are ok if you'll stay in China less than 6 monthes. I have a lot of friends working in China now. They just keeping their gc active every half year. Two of them gave up their gc because they think China is a better place to live.
Originally posted by poweroff
I got my GC in March, soon after, i lost my job. In september, i went back to china. since i was not back home for seven years already, so i spend some time with my parents, relatives and friends. also i went to the former university to get my transcript and graduation certificate (i am planning to apply PHD program in america). right now, i am still in china. i read some scary story of losing gc status, but flying back to america before spring festival (the most important holiday in china) is really strange in other people's eye since during the holiday, people come back to be with parents rather than leaving.

should i go back to america right now, or back next month after the holiday (but still within six monthes frame).

btw, my infomation is that: GC holder, currently unemployed, no house in america, but banking and credit account are maintained as before, have a car, pc and other everyday stuff. definitely want to keep resident status, i am planing to attend phd program soon, admission test was taken one year ago.

thanks for your advice.
Click to expand...
:)
 
Many people got stuck in the middle by their immigration status (e.g. green card). On one hand, US is becoming less attractive in terms of career opportunities etc. after 911, on the other, they just feel it a pity to give up the green card that has taken them so long to get. The benefits of obtaining the US citizenship is obvious in such situation. But one has to bear with its lengthy five-year wait time.
 
sorry for confusion.

sorry for my confusing post. What i really mean is that: I stayed in American for 7 years without travelling to china. just flying to china in sept 2002, wondering now when i should go back to america, jan or feb ?

thanks for all your advices, pls feel free to say anything in your mind.

thanks again,
Poweroff
 
Although the law says you are OK if you stay abroad for less than 6 months, there is an internal unpublished rule within INS that if someone's absence is over 3 months, it will raise the flag to INS official, who will most likely take a closer look at the person and question the reason for such absence.

A friend of mine stayed overseas for 4 months for the 1st time since getting GC--was sent to second inspection and got warning from INS. But no problem was experienced with subsequent trips of less than 3 months. It is also very important to get your documents ready for INS inspection (in case), e.g. tax return, credit card/bank statements.

For Poweroff member--did the airline swipe your green card when you departed the US last? Otherwise,

upon arrival, INS will probably check your Chinese passport for the entry stamp from the Chinese authority to determine your last departure date. But if you still have your last US departure boarding pass, that will help. If you change your passport, you need to carry the both the new and old passports. If the INS officer can't find the Chinese entry stamp in your new passport, they will be alerted and you will be sent to second inspection (there used to be cases where people change passport to hide the last departure date so when entering the US, INS can't determine their last departure date).

One last advice, if you need to get back to China again after your trip, apply for a re-entry permit (I-131), valid for 2 years, because you can only apply for it while you are physically in the US. This document can give you some help in preserving your green card (if you still want it).
 
Hello, I am in a similar situation. I got my green card in April 02, got laid-off in June 02. I searched for a new job for 2 months and finally in Auguest 02 decided to make a trip to india. I am still in India and planning to retrun back to US on Jan 19, 03. That will make it a stay of about 4 and 1/2 months. I have everyhing like bank accounts, car, storage, phone bills. The probelm is i receive some of these in my old chicago adress ( where i received my green card) and rest in connecticut my new address. both these places i share with my friends. I have 2 questions.

1 What should i tell the POE officer as my reason of staying abroad for so long. couple of things which i can mention is ill family member, liquadation of property

2 if i mention that Connecticut is my new address will that get me into trouble based on the new "10 day Change of address rule"?

I have lived in the US for over 10 years first as a student and then on H1. This is the first time i have been out of the US for so long.

I would really appreciate any help.

Thanks
 
Since you've been in the States for 10+ years, that might help if you are questioned by INS. I've got a friend who are in the same boat as you are. When entering the US, INS asked how long he had been in the US. As he got his green card through H1B employment, he showed INS his previous H1B and F1 documents to establish that he did have been in the US for quite some time prior to his last departure. Finally, he was allowed to get in after being absent for 4+ months.
 
thanks for the info that will surely help. I will make sure that i have all my F1 and H1 papers ready.

Also does anybody have an idea as to how good or bad the POE at Newark, NJ is because that is where i will be entering. I have a choice of newark or JFK.

ALso i was primarly in India to take care of my financial matters like liquadation of property. Does anybody have any experience with that as a reason to stay abroad ?

thanks
 
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