Green card and over 6 months out of the country

[True Blue]

Our situation:

-Married USA Sept 2009 immediately after receiving K-1 approval

-Lao Po got 2 year green card in Jan 2010

-Lao Po returned to China Apr 2010 to visit family/tie up loose ends. From reading here I know it is good for her to return after 6 months to help deal with the homesickness and the adjustment to life in USA.

-Lao Po was going to return after 3 months, but now her mother is very sick and in the hospital, so she must stay longer as needed

 

I know from reading here that if she is gone longer than 6 months then it could be considered as "abandonment of intent to immigrate" or something to that effect.

 

Q1- If necessary, can she stay in China longer than 6 months if she has documentation (letter from the hospital) to show why the absence was necessary? If so, what type of documentation would be needed?

 

Q2- If she cannot be gone for longer than 6 months, can she fly back to the USA for a week to "touch base" and then go back to China? If so, could she stay up to another 6 months?

 

Q3- Have others had a similar situation? How did you handle it?

 

Maybe Mama will get better soon and this will be not be an issue but I want to know all of the options and be prepared. Mama is in her mid 70's and is seriously ill. I would bring her to USA for medical treatment but she really could not make the flight in her condition.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice and suggestions.

True Blue

Edited July 14, 2010 by True Blue (see edit history)

[Kyle]

Nothing is needed until after 1 year.

 

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1333.html

 

She may have to prove after 6 months (with the POE officer) that she did not give up her intent to immigrate to the United States. Having that documentation from the hospital may help you there. Obviously there are other things she can use to document that she in fact haven't given up your immigration intent (employment letters, school enrollment, joint assets, etc). The 6 month rule is for keeping continuous residence in the US (important for naturalization) Let's say the immigrant had two years continuous residence in the States, then took a 8 month trip home to China. This in effect, would presume to break her continuous residence in the States, which means that her two previous years may not be counted toward the naturalization requirements (she'd have to start over - three years of continuous residence before being eligible for naturalization). It seems from what I've read and discussed with others is that trips shorter than six months the burden to prove immigration intent has been given up falls with the POE officer. For trips longer than six months, it falls on the immigrant.

 

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000082ca60aRCRD

Edited July 14, 2010 by Kyle (see edit history)

[Eric&Yuhui]

Our situation:

-Married USA Sept 2009 immediately after receiving K-1 approval

-Lao Po got 2 year green card in Jan 2010

-Lao Po returned to China Apr 2010 to visit family/tie up loose ends. From reading here I know it is good for her to return after 6 months to help deal with the homesickness and the adjustment to life in USA.

-Lao Po was going to return after 3 months, but now her mother is very sick and in the hospital, so she must stay longer as needed

 

I know from reading here that if she is gone longer than 6 months then it could be considered as "abandonment of intent to immigrate" or something to that effect.

 

Q1- If necessary, can she stay in China longer than 6 months if she has documentation (letter from the hospital) to show why the absence was necessary? If so, what type of documentation would be needed?

 

Q2- If she cannot be gone for longer than 6 months, can she fly back to the USA for a week to "touch base" and then go back to China? If so, could she stay up to another 6 months?

 

Q3- Have others had a similar situation? How did you handle it?

 

Maybe Mama will get better soon and this will be not be an issue but I want to know all of the options and be prepared. Mama is in her mid 70's and is seriously ill. I would bring her to USA for medical treatment but she really could not make the flight in her condition.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice and suggestions.

True Blue

 

 

 

What you need for absence longer than 1 year is apply for a REENTRY PERMIT

http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/reentry-permit.html

Note that the reentry permit does not automatically give you entry. Determination is always made by the border inspectors.

You file before you leave the U.S if I recall.

 

 

 

 

[Zhou Zhou]

A Mexican friend who worked o'seas had to return to the US every six months to get his passport stamped and keep his Green Card...recently USCIS gave him a waiver so he would not have to return for 2 years.

[dnoblett]

The only issue with exceeding 6 months out of country has a lot to do with applying for US citizenship, any period longer than 6 months will reset the residency time requirement for application for citizenship.

 

But yes file an I-131 for a re-entry permit if you plan on being out of country longer than a year.

[warpedbored]

As in most things in dealing with USCIS officers they have pretty broad discretionary powers. They could decide she has abandoned her LPR status . It would be prudent to have documentation showing why she stayed out of the country so long if she stays longer than 6 months.

[Randy W]

As in most things in dealing with USCIS officers they have pretty broad discretionary powers. They could decide she has abandoned her LPR status . It would be prudent to have documentation showing why she stayed out of the country so long if she stays longer than 6 months.

 

Yes - exactly. AND documentation of her domicile - the typical stuff, bank statements, utility bills, IDs with the US address, etc.