green card question

[Nathan]

  I am sure somebody our there knows this...with a new green card in hand, how long can one stay out of the country in a year?

thanks,

Nathan

[Ray]

... in response to green card question, posted by Nathan on Sep 22, 2003

Hi Nathan,

My understanding is that if a permanent legal resident stays out of the country for over 1 year without a re-entry permit, they will lose their right to residency and would need to re-apply to enter the U.S again.

Also, any stay outside the country for over 6 months may affect the continuous residence requirement for Naturalization. If applying for Naturalization is a concern, I would look into this further before leaving.

Also, remember that any time you re-enter the country as a legal resident, you are still subject to immigration clearance at the POE and may be questioned about lengthy or frequent stays abroad to determine if you have technically abandoned your legal residency. Anything less than 6 months in a 1-year period should be no problem.

Ray

[lswote]

... in response to Re: green card question, posted by Ray on Sep 22, 2003

I thought this requirement was just for the conditional permanent residency period.  Are you saying that even after the residency has lost it's conditional status, the six month residency requirement is still in place?

[Jeff S]

... in response to Re: Re: green card question, posted by lswote on Sep 22, 2003

.. the only difference between the conditional permanent resident card and the permanent one is the expiration date and that it doesn't automatically renew.

Before I met her, my wife had a permanent green card taken away since she'd been out of the country more than in, over a several year period. She still could get in with a tourist visa, but we had to re-apply for the green card after we were married.

However, this was all quite a few years ago. Things may have changed.

- Jeff

[lswote]

... in response to As I understand it..., posted by Jeff S on Sep 22, 2003

Hmmm.  We were thinking on moving to Colombia in a few years with the idea we could come back to the states at a later time if we chose.  But if I have to file a K-3 for her to get back in it means we might be apart for months.