My Japanese wife was approved for peranent residency, and we came to the US last Sept.; she was processed, no prob. I had a job interview at the time, and things looked good there, but I had to go back until Japan to work until things were certain. We went back. The company I interviewed with folded, and I remained in Japan. We just came back to the US two days ago, 7+ months later.
My wife’s card was mailed to our permanent address, and she didn’t have it with her when we went through.
I thought it would be simple, but the immigration guy gave us a lot of ****. Basically, he seemed very irate and implied, but never stated, that we had broken some type of rule. He said, You applied for permanent residency but aren’t residing. I said that I’ve been looking for jobs and had an interview this coming week. He said, Let me see your tickets–see, you’ve bought a round trip. Etc. Eventually he stamped us and let us go through, but it was scary as hell. At the end he also softened his tone a bit and said, “Hey, all I can say is pick one or the other.” He also wrote “8 Mts Out” on my wife’s passport in barely legible handwriting.
The Questions.
As far as I knew, the only requirement was for her to set foot in the US at least once a year. I knew of no requirement for her to live in the US for any set period of time. In fact, there is a form you can fill out if you need to be out of the country for more than 1 year. So what was this guy’s deal? What did he think we were doing wrong? Did we actually do something against the rules?
If we do the same thing again (and we might have to), are we going to get the same deal? Or did we just get a blowhard who wanted to give us a hard time?
Will my wife’s having the card with her next time help prevent this problem?
At the very worst, could they just deport her at the airport for not being “a real resident”?
Any other advice I might need in this situation will be greatly appreciated. It’s sad when one follows all the rules and still gets this ugly treatment. You know, the INS or whatever they’re called now doesn’t even give you a simple rulebook to follow regarding permanent residency, etc.
You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:
*Move to another country intending to live there permanently.
*Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.
*Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.
*Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.
*Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.
I guess the “move to another country” part is where he went off. I wonder how much of a problem this is…
I can post some more detailed and ironclad language at work tomorrow, but basically, to retain U.S. permanent residence you have to have the intent to live permanently in the U.S. There are exceptions if you or your spouse work for U.S. company or an international organization of which the U.S. is a member, or if you or your spouse are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, but even then, the permanent resident would need to apply for a Reentry Permit showing that the trip abroad was temporary and that his/her intent was to return to the U.S. to reside permanently at the end of the oversease assignment. (More on that later if you want.) Also, whatever you do, you should file incme taxes as U.S. residents.
It’s a very common misconception that a permanent resident just has to show up in the U.S. once a year., or even once every six monthys. There’s no ironclad ule, but the more time USCIS sees that your wife has spent living outside the U.S. without an approved Reentry Permit (or even with one, if it’s been several years), the less likely they are to believe that she intends to reside permanently in the U.S.
Keep in mind that even if USCIS determines that your wife has lost her permanent residency, there’s not necessarily any reason she can’t come to the U.S. as a nonimmigrant, just like any other Japanese citizen, and apply for a green card again later (although I know it’s a huge PITA). I’ve had clients who have gained and lost permanent residency multiple times over the course of a lifetime.
Also, the U.S. Consulate in Japan can be a huge help in a sympathetic case like this - they can issue her a Special Immigrant Visa in certain situations. It’s complicated, but I’ve seen people do it before.
Holy tortillas, Batman! I’m going to have to go through this with my wife. Her permanent card is two years overdue, and my company’s going to send me (us) to Mexico for a year or so. D’oh!
You know, is it beneath the FedGov to just give us some simple rules to follow? “Hey, you’re a permanent resident–do this, don’t do that.”
I think permanent residency should be the right to live in the US forever–at any time. Back and forth, whatever. Why should it be anything else?
At any rate, if we were to go back to Japan for another 8 months or so, what is the chance we’d catch grief at the airport? Can the guy checking passports just revoke the green card right there, or would there be some kind of hearing?
Again, some rules and clarity would be helpful. But since we can’t expect that, further Doper advice would be most welcome… Thanks sincerely.
Because they’re granting you permanent residency on the grounds that you intend to reside there, not because you want to be able to use it as a holiday home. You want the right to come back and forth, get citizenship.
I think the INS/whatever they’re called now deliberately declines to set rules in these matters because people would simply find ways to skirt around them. By granting their agents discretion they can catch a lot more cases where someone is obviously using their green card simply as a hassle-free tourist visa.
That said, I know someone who’s been going back to America once a year on her green card for about ten years and has never had a problem, but I suspect she’s simply been lucky and it’s just a matter of time.