http://www.alanleelaw.com/english/qa/QA2009-07-19.htm--[note: the responding attorney is a well-known immigration attorney in New York City.[
Reader Heard that Asylee Who Returned to China Had Green Card Taken Away at Naturalization Interview and Wants to File for Naturalization Although He Extended Passport and Traveled to China Two Times.
A loyal reader asks:
I have recently heard that an asylee who had records of returning back to China, during his naturalization interview the immigration examiner confiscated his green card. Have you heard of it? Is it true? I went back to China once in 7/2006 and in 2004, I extended my expired Chinese passport. October of this year, I would be qualified for naturalization. What should I do now? What should I answer if I was asked about that trip back to China during my naturalization interview?
Dear reader:
Where asylees from China have returned to China, and are applying for permanent residence or naturalization, the main point of inquiry should be when was the return, for what reason, and how long the individual remained in China. If the return was during the pendency of or shortly after obtaining asylum or the green card, there would be more cause for concern by U.S.C.I.S. that the asylum application was not bonafide or that there was no more fear of of return. Of course, emergency reasons and brevity of stay would work in the asylee's favor. Extending an expired Chinese passport raises the same concerns as a trip back to China as the act shows U.S.C.I.S. that the individual intends to come back under the protection of China's government. The same questions of when the passport was extended, for what reason, and the length of stay in China may have much to do with the individual's ultimate treatment by U.S.C.I.S.. I suggest that you may wish to consult with an experienced immigration lawyer prior to filing for naturalization benefits.
Reader Heard that Asylee Who Returned to China Had Green Card Taken Away at Naturalization Interview and Wants to File for Naturalization Although He Extended Passport and Traveled to China Two Times.
A loyal reader asks:
I have recently heard that an asylee who had records of returning back to China, during his naturalization interview the immigration examiner confiscated his green card. Have you heard of it? Is it true? I went back to China once in 7/2006 and in 2004, I extended my expired Chinese passport. October of this year, I would be qualified for naturalization. What should I do now? What should I answer if I was asked about that trip back to China during my naturalization interview?
Dear reader:
Where asylees from China have returned to China, and are applying for permanent residence or naturalization, the main point of inquiry should be when was the return, for what reason, and how long the individual remained in China. If the return was during the pendency of or shortly after obtaining asylum or the green card, there would be more cause for concern by U.S.C.I.S. that the asylum application was not bonafide or that there was no more fear of of return. Of course, emergency reasons and brevity of stay would work in the asylee's favor. Extending an expired Chinese passport raises the same concerns as a trip back to China as the act shows U.S.C.I.S. that the individual intends to come back under the protection of China's government. The same questions of when the passport was extended, for what reason, and the length of stay in China may have much to do with the individual's ultimate treatment by U.S.C.I.S.. I suggest that you may wish to consult with an experienced immigration lawyer prior to filing for naturalization benefits.