What to answer at POE when returning back on REP?

[sshah1001]

Hi,

I am planning to go back to US in 1-2 months on Reentry Permit. I am living in India for 10 months. I will be entering US within one year of my visit to India. I was employed here in India during this period. I have a valid GC and a Reentry permit.

I want to know what questions will be asked at POE and what should be the best answers and how easy it is to enter back on valid GC and Reentry permit?

Thanks in Adv.

 

[Apollo_13]

If possible, carry a letter from your employer (where you worked for a year in India) with an end date of your contract. This will help you to prove that your intention was not to abandon your PR status and your intention was just a temporary.

 

[sshah1001]

Thanks guys!

Does anybody have past experience of entering on REP having done a job outside US?

I am interested to know what questions they ask normally.

Thanks in Adv.

 

[soupdragon]

I never had any issues crossing the border with the REP, only before it was received. It took almost a year until I received it, and I was crossing the border to Canada every few weeks.

On one occasion, I was questioned quite strongly at Toronto airport about my situation. I was told to always carry a letter from my employer until I received my REP, which I complied with.

After I received my REP, I never had a similar situation arise again. I probably used my REP 5-10 times before returning to the US permanently. Therefore, I would not worry too much if I were you.

 

[byegeorge]

Soupdragon

Thanks for your posting. It might be useful for you to provide more details on your experience with REP, especially the questions that you were asked at the POE and your circumstances. There is much discussion in this forum about REP, but many people are still anxious about using the REP and temporatily living abraod. Considering that you have done this, many could benefit from knowing about your experience.

For example, I would like to know

1) When you presented your REP, were you sent to secondary inspection?
2) When the POE officer asked you about where you live, did you say Canada or the U.S.?
3) Did the POE officers ask you about your ties to the U.S. when you were returning? Did they ask you about when you will eventually move back to the U.S? What kind of ties did you maintain while you were living outside the U.S?
4) Did you have to show a letter from your employer in spite of having an REP?
5) How frequently were you coming back to the U.S? By what means (air or car)?

Your response to these questions would be greatly appreciated by me, and I am sure by others in this forum.

 

[soupdragon]

Firstly, you should understand that I do quite a lot of international traveling. In preparing my N-400 application, I had to list over 60 trips in the last five years.

Therefore, it is not easy to recall specifics for any one trip or those in a particular time period. Also, I only used an REP for a period of less than a year about three years ago.

With all that said, I will attempt to answer your questions to the best of my recollection. These are based on my personal experiences with specific individual circumstances, and so may not be applicable to others.

Soupdragon

For example, I would like to know

1) When you presented your REP, were you sent to secondary inspection?

I have never been sent to secondary inspection incoming to the USA, with or without my REP. I do not know if this is typical, but immigration is normally quite quick and I am asked standard questions. These usually include how long I was out of the country and my occupation.

2) When the POE officer asked you about where you live, did you say Canada or the U.S.?

Since I was a permanent resident, I stated my country of residence as the USA. However, I would let the POE officer know that I was currently living in Canada. This might result in follow up questions about where I was coming from and when I would be returning to the USA permanently. I would then answer with my temporary address and the fact that I was on a temporary assignment for up to two years. Again, I think the questioning along these lines was tougher before I received my REP.

3) Did the POE officers ask you about your ties to the U.S. when you were returning? Did they ask you about when you will eventually move back to the U.S? What kind of ties did you maintain while you were living outside the U.S?

My family, all of whom are US citizens, moved with me to Canada. Since I was renting before leaving for Canada, I had no home in the USA. All of my household goods were transported, including my vehicle. I was also required to give up my US driving license. Therefore, my only ties were my company, bank account and credit cards. My salary was being paid into my US bank account, and I filed all of my US taxes as a resident. However, none of this was ever asked about after I received my REP.

4) Did you have to show a letter from your employer in spite of having an REP?

I was never asked for a letter from my employer after receiving my REP. In fact, even before receiving my REP, I never had to actually show the letter. This was despite it being "entered into the computer" that a letter should be shown the next time that I traveled.

5) How frequently were you coming back to the U.S? By what means (air or car)?

I typically traveled across the border every 3 weeks with my REP, by both air and road. My absences from the USA after receiving my REP were between just 1 and 6 days. Prior to receiving my REP, my longest absences were between 30 and 40 days.

You may well ask why I even needed an REP with the above travel schedule. The answer is that I did not know how often I would need to return to the USA. In the end, it was very frequently, and I returned to the US permanently earlier than I originally expected.

 

[mj777]

will live in canada for 2 years

With REP, and travelling to US every 6 months or so for a week or so, will that maintain perm residency requirement for cirtizenship.
Thanks

 

[hadron]

With REP, and travelling to US every 6 months or so for a week or so, will that maintain perm residency requirement for cirtizenship.

Only if you have documentation that you didn't abandon your permanent residence in the US and that your stay abroad is temporary in nature. Doesn't matter so much how long the stay is, but the documentation of the temporary nature has to be there.

The old 'dropping by every couple of months to keep the GC' thing in and by itself is no guarantee for keeping the GC anymore.

 

[mj777]

Thanks.
My stay is temporary in nature in canada. I was meanining about citizenship requirement, whether time since GC, i.e., mar 2003, will I be eligible in 2008 or my clock starts again in 2007 when I return to US. Law says if out for > 1 year breaks continuity of presence, I was wondering being back every 6 mo or so will tecnically not break continuity.
Appreciate your comments.
MJ

 

[hadron]

Isn't there another requirement that you have to be x out of the y previous months in the US ?

 

[query11]

i still remember in 2001 when i got back to u.s on a rep i was all nervous coz i was out of u.s.a for >2.5 years...
luckily no question what so ever..just put a stamp on my pp saying out of country for more than 2+years...

but tht was prior 9/11...

last time in india it was a mess...travel was <6 months...still first problem in bangalore ai would not let me board the flight saying i dont have a transit visa....
after a heated arguenment they let me board the flight till bombay...
in bombay after another heated arguement & 200 $ they put me on a different flight...
when i went to board the flight the mf...still a trainee i guess immigration guy seperated almost 15 guys and told us our gc's were fake...
still made it through after his agni parikhsa ...

Thanks guys!

Does anybody have past experience of entering on REP having done a job outside US?

I am interested to know what questions they ask normally.

Thanks in Adv.

 

[query11]

dude go to my thread which is a sticky called faq's in citizenship forum...i have a couple of links at the end...it should solve all your doubts...
one of the link is a reference book for io's on whom ur citizenship depends

Thanks.
My stay is temporary in nature in canada. I was meanining about citizenship requirement, whether time since GC, i.e., mar 2003, will I be eligible in 2008 or my clock starts again in 2007 when I return to US. Law says if out for > 1 year breaks continuity of presence, I was wondering being back every 6 mo or so will tecnically not break continuity.
Appreciate your comments.
MJ

 

[query11]

hell no,
if u wanna come back once in 6 months tht is not enough for citizenship...
u have to stay in america for 30 months to be considered eligible...i mean physically present...coming back once in 6 months is of no help...

Only if you have documentation that you didn't abandon your permanent residence in the US and that your stay abroad is temporary in nature. Doesn't matter so much how long the stay is, but the documentation of the temporary nature has to be there.

The old 'dropping by every couple of months to keep the GC' thing in and by itself is no guarantee for keeping the GC anymore.

 

[mj777]

Thanks all again.
Ofcourse I will have stayed 30 mo(2.5 yrs) in 5 years in the US, only worry was being out of US for > 1 year at a stretch, ie, 2 years, I thought this would break the continuity of physical presence in the US and ones clock would start again, ie, 4 yrs + 1 d before eligible for citizenship. I am not worried about GC, since I have REP until sept 07, but will be back by end of june. (from canada).
Thanks

 

[query11]

Sec. 316. [8 U.S.C. 1427]



(a) No person, except as otherwise provided in this title, shall be naturalized, unless such applicant, (1) immediately preceding the date of filing his application for naturalization has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five years and during the five years immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been physically present therein for periods totaling at least half of that time, and who has resided within the State or within the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed the application for at least three months, (2) has resided continuously within the United States from the date of the application up to the time of admission to citizenship, (3) during all the periods referred to in this subsection has been and still is a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.


(b) Absence from the United States of more than six months but less than one year during the period for which continuous residence is required for admission to citizenship, immediately preceding the date of filing the application for naturalization, or during the period between the date of filing the application and the date of any hearing under section 336(a), shall break the continuity of such residence, unless the applicant shall establish to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that he did not in fact abandon his residence in the United States during such period.


Absence from the United States for a continuous period of one year or more during the period for which continuous residence is required for admission to citizenship (whether preceding or subsequent to the filing of the application for naturalization) shall break the continuity of such residence except that in the case of a person who has been physically present and residing in the United States after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence for an uninterrupted period of at least one year and who thereafter, is employed by or under contract with the Government of the United States or an American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General, or is employed by an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof more than 50 per centum of whose stock is owned by an American firm or corporation, or is employed by a public international organization of which the United States is a member by treaty or statute and by which the alien was not employed until after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, no period of absence from the United States shall break the continuity of residence if-


(1) prior to the beginning of such period of employment (whether such period begins before or after his departure from the United States), but prior to the expiration of one year of continuous absence from the United States, the person has established to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that his absence from the United States for such period is to be on behalf of such Government, or for the purpose of carrying on scientific research on behalf of such institution, or to be engaged in the development of such foreign trade and commerce or whose residence abroad is necessary to the protection of the property rights in such countries of such firm or corporation, or to be employed by a public international organization of which the United States is a member by treaty or statute and by which the alien was not employed until after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; and


(2) such person proves to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that his absence from the United States for such period has been for such purpose.


The spouse and dependent unmarried sons and daughters who are members of the household of a person who qualifies for the benefits of this subsection shall also be entitled to such benefits during the period for which they were residing abroad as dependent members of the household of the person.



(c) The granting of the benefits of subsection (b) of this section shall not relieve the applicant from the requirement of physical presence within the United States for the period specified in subsection (a) of this section, except in the case of those persons who are employed by, or under contract with, the Government of the United States. In the case of a person employed by or under contract with Central Intelligence Agency, the requirement in subsection (b) of an uninterrupted period of at least one year of physical presence in the United States may be complied with by such person at any time prior to filing an application for naturalization.


(d) No finding by the Attorney General that the applicant is not deportable shall be accepted as conclusive evidence of good moral character.


(e) In determining whether the applicant has sustained the burden of establishing good moral character and the other qualifications for citizenship specified in subsection (a) of this section, the Attorney General shall not be limited to the applicant's conduct during the five years preceding the filing of the application, but may take into consideration as a basis for such determination the applicant's conduct and acts at

 

[TheEnquirer]

Hi

when u moved your stuff from canada to US - did u have to send your photocopies of REP with the movers or just the GC and passport is suffiecient

Firstly, you should understand that I do quite a lot of international traveling. In preparing my N-400 application, I had to list over 60 trips in the last five years.

Therefore, it is not easy to recall specifics for any one trip or those in a particular time period. Also, I only used an REP for a period of less than a year about three years ago.

With all that said, I will attempt to answer your questions to the best of my recollection. These are based on my personal experiences with specific individual circumstances, and so may not be applicable to others.


I have never been sent to secondary inspection incoming to the USA, with or without my REP. I do not know if this is typical, but immigration is normally quite quick and I am asked standard questions. These usually include how long I was out of the country and my occupation.

Since I was a permanent resident, I stated my country of residence as the USA. However, I would let the POE officer know that I was currently living in Canada. This might result in follow up questions about where I was coming from and when I would be returning to the USA permanently. I would then answer with my temporary address and the fact that I was on a temporary assignment for up to two years. Again, I think the questioning along these lines was tougher before I received my REP.

My family, all of whom are US citizens, moved with me to Canada. Since I was renting before leaving for Canada, I had no home in the USA. All of my household goods were transported, including my vehicle. I was also required to give up my US driving license. Therefore, my only ties were my company, bank account and credit cards. My salary was being paid into my US bank account, and I filed all of my US taxes as a resident. However, none of this was ever asked about after I received my REP.

I was never asked for a letter from my employer after receiving my REP. In fact, even before receiving my REP, I never had to actually show the letter. This was despite it being "entered into the computer" that a letter should be shown the next time that I traveled.

I typically traveled across the border every 3 weeks with my REP, by both air and road. My absences from the USA after receiving my REP were between just 1 and 6 days. Prior to receiving my REP, my longest absences were between 30 and 40 days.

You may well ask why I even needed an REP with the above travel schedule. The answer is that I did not know how often I would need to return to the USA. In the end, it was very frequently, and I returned to the US permanently earlier than I originally expected.

 

[canon18]

I am to share with you my recent reentry experience at Chicago airport with a REP on hand. Hope it helps.

I showed the immigration officer both REP and N470, but he only looked at N 470 for a second and gaved it back to me. He appears to be relaxed at first and asked me when is the last time I was in US. I told him it's January 2005 (I have my passport replaced after that) and he asked how long I stayed at that time. I said just a few days, coz I was staying in China along with my wife who had a N470. He seemed hesitant a bit and asked "so you are moving back"? I said yes, and then he wrote down "out 1 1/2 yr" and " I327" on both passport and REP without further questions.

 

[soupdragon]

Enquirer,

Sorry for the late response, so I hope it is still useful.

I looked back at my documentation, and I did indeed submit a copy of my REP to the movers. I never spoke to them, and the arrangements were through my wife since I had already returned to the USA. However, they wanted all US immigration documentation, so the REP was relevant.