voluntary abandonment of green card

Z

zgariani

New Member
I'm a U.S. citizen and my wife is a holder of a valid LPR. We want to move overseas for work. Can she return her green card to USCIS or embassy and apply or exchange it for a 5 year or 10 year visa.
 
she can surrender her GC at the consulate. Whether she will get a tourist visa "in exchange" is unknown, but teoretically quite possible.
 
The tourist visa comes with the predetermination of non-immigrant intent of the visa holder. Her marriage to a USC will certainly prove otherwise.

Why don't you simply apply for a reentry permit? This way she can spend up to 2 years overseas without worrying about losing her GC?
 
okalian said:
Her marriage to a USC will certainly prove otherwise.
Click to expand...
Not if she's officially surrendering the GC via the I-407 process, and the USC spouse is living outside the US. Surrendering it like that is a strong indicator of not having immigrant intent. The LPR spouse can surrender the GC and apply for a tourist visa in the same visit to the consulate.

Why don't you simply apply for a reentry permit? This way she can spend up to 2 years overseas without worrying about losing her GC?
Click to expand...
That might be a better idea, if she thinks it's possible she will return to the US within 2 years. But she has to apply for it when in the US.
 
No intention of becoming a US citizen.

What if a USC spouse does not want to immigrate to the US. How should she vist the US without predetermination and intent.

Say she wants to continue to be a citizen of her native country and just vist the US with her USC husband.
 
Citizenship is a different issue. The reentry permit would preserve her green card while she is gone for up to 2 years, but it does not build any eligibility or obligation towards citizenship. It is only an option in case she (presumably along with you) wants to move back to the US within the next 2 years.

But if she is already sure she won't want to move back to the US, she can go ahead and file I-407 and surrender the green card at the consulate and forget about the reentry permit. And also apply for a tourist visa in the same visit. After having officially and voluntarily surrendered the GC, she's not likely to have a problem with the immigrant intent issue when applying for the visa, and they'll almost surely give her a multi-year tourist visa.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top