Working outside of USA for more than 2 years...surrender green card?

[TordBjornson]

Hello all,

Here is my situation, I am a Canadian that was working in the USA (on J-1 visa) for 3 years before getting married to my wife, an American citizen. I applied for (and was granted) a provisional green card. I applied for a re-entry permit before we left and was awarded one. Last year we both left the USA as I had a job offer from a company in the Netherlands. We are currently both working in the Netherlands and my wife is expecting our first baby in April 2013. Both the green card and re-entry permit expire in March, 2013. I just received a notice in the mail that I have to file form I-751 in order to remove the conditions of permanent residence. It looks like things have gotten more complicated with my job and we will be staying in the Netherlands for a few more years. I know that I can't apply for another re-entry permit if I am not living in the USA, but I would like to be able to come back to the USA to visit during Christmas or for business trips. We have family in the USA and have maintained bank accounts and filed US federal income taxes.

My questions are:

1) should I bother filing the I-751 form if I know that I won't be returning to live in the USA for a few more years (after my re-entry permit has expired)

2) if my re-entry permit has expired, can I still enter the USA for short stays (vacation, etc) using my Canadian passport?

3) If I do file I-751, can I do the biometrics in the Netherlands or do I have to fly back to the USA for the biometrics appointment?

4) is it better to just surrender my green card and then start the process again when we end up moving back to the USA? If I do that and I am offered a job from a US company, will I be able to legally work for them now that I have surrendered my green card? What kind of visa would I need to allow me to work while the new green card application is in process?

Thank you all for any help you can offer!

 

[ananga73]

1. Surrender the green card HOWEVER make sure you provide them evidence that you are still married to the US Citizen and surrendering the card willingly and because the marriage was fraudulent, is on the rocks or you're divorced and cannot satisfy the eligibility requirements for the i-751. I say this because many people who engaged in sham marriages typically hit a wall when it comes to filing the i-751 and you don't want them to think that was the case for you. I would recommend you get a visitors visa afterwards so there is no confusion at the point of entry.

2. Yes you should be able to. Make sure you carry on your all the paperwork you used for surrendering the green card.

3. You will have to fly back to the USA for biometrics

4. Better to surrender now and reapply. If in the future you get a position with a USA company, you can either file for H1-B with premium processing and then subsequently file for permanent residence based on marriage, or you can file for permanent residence/work permit straight away. You will receive a work permit approximately two months after filing so you can estimate to start work about two months from the date of filing. I wouldn't recommend the H1-B in your case if that company is unwilling to pay for premium processing because in that case it would take about the same amount of time to receive the H-1B visa as it would the work permit from the marriage based green card process.

Good luck and congratulations on the baby!

Hello all,

My questions are:

1) should I bother filing the I-751 form if I know that I won't be returning to live in the USA for a few more years (after my re-entry permit has expired)

2) if my re-entry permit has expired, can I still enter the USA for short stays (vacation, etc) using my Canadian passport?

3) If I do file I-751, can I do the biometrics in the Netherlands or do I have to fly back to the USA for the biometrics appointment?

4) is it better to just surrender my green card and then start the process again when we end up moving back to the USA? If I do that and I am offered a job from a US company, will I be able to legally work for them now that I have surrendered my green card? What kind of visa would I need to allow me to work while the new green card application is in process?

Thank you all for any help you can offer!

 

[Jackolantern]

Don't bother to file the I-751. Download and fill out form I-407, surrender the green card with it at the consulate and don't worry about them suspecting you of a sham marriage. Being outside the US when surrendering it before it expires will show that you're not really interested in a green card. Somebody who was marrying just to get a green card wouldn't have left the US so long ago or surrendered it so soon; they'd be staying in the US at least until their card expires, trying to figure out a way to extend their status.