Traveling before receiving physical Greencard

[lucasrk 0]

I have seen many variations on this question, but have not found the answer to my specific problem. I am sorry if this is a re-post.

My husband received his passport with the initial visa to enter the United States and then the Greencard will be sent to my mother's house in the US. The initial visa will expire in March, so we are travelling to the US in a week for Christmas and will get it stamped then.

The problem is that we are not quite ready to move yet, so we are coming back to Mexico in January, and then are planning to move a few months later to the United States.

We have not found any concrete information telling us how this will work and what kind of problems we will encounter, if any.

How much time can he be outside of the United States with just the stamped passport and not the actual Greencard? What about once we receive the physical card?

We very much appreciate any and all advice. Thank you.

[bluesun 1]

The way I understand it is you are only allowed to enter the US once with that visa.......Then you have to wait tll you get your green card before you could leave again.

[lucasrk 0]

I have had people tell me the same thing, that they believe this or other things similar, but I have never seen anything that actually says this... which is why we are confused and want to know the 100% reality.

[Plarka 0]

I don't know if this is helpful but I just met someone here in the US who said they came for a visit and the Green Card, then went back to the UK, then he got a job in the US so they moved over, just 5 months ago. She told me you have 6 months in which to get to the US, and if you leave, you then have one year to come back. This is just what she told me a couple days ago, not sure if it's 100% correct.

[bluesun 1]

Yes but in this case he had a green card........I just think he got hes visa if so you can only use that visa once until you get your permanent resident card the green card.........

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

When you enter the US with a spousal visa, you will become a permanent resident upon entry. They will stamp your passport to show this and it will act as your temporary green card. It will state CR-1 or IR-1, depending on how long you have been married, and state, “PROCESSED FOR I-551. TEMPORARY EVIDENCE OF LAWFUL ADMISSION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE. VALID UNTIL ___________. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED.” You can exit/re-enter and work showing that stamp while waiting for your actual green card to arrive in the mail.

Don't forget that you need to pay the immigration fee before entering >http://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee

[lucasrk 0]

Kaydeecee I like your answer!!! Do you have experience with this, know someone who has done this, or have actually seen this written in formal government documents/websites? I want to believe you, but I just want to be sure.

Thank you everyone for your input so far.

[lucasrk 0]

And another follow up question --- Does anyone know how long he can be outside of the United States? Plarka said that he would have one year to re-enter. Does that mean he could be out of the country for a whole year? That doesn't seem quite right.

Thank you in advance.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

When you enter with a spousal visa, you become a permanent resident. It is true. Your visa will allow you to enter the US as a permanent resident. The stamp you get at your POE, along with your visa will act as your temporary green card until you receive the actual card. http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/types/family/immediate-relative.html#17

Immigrant Visa

An immigrant visa is issued to a foreign national who intends to live and work permanently in the United States. In most cases, a relative or employer sponsors the individual by filing an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Certain applicants such as workers with extraordinary ability, investors, and certain special immigrants can petition on their own behalf. The application is later forwarded to the appropriate U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas for continued processing and issuance of the immigrant visa to the intending immigrant, if eligible. An intending immigrant must present the immigrant visa at a U.S. port-of-entry prior to the expiration of the immigrant visa. An intending immigrant becomes a lawful permanent resident once the immigrant visa and accompanying paperwork is reviewed and endorsed by a CBP Officer. For specific information regarding immigrant visa classifications and requirements, refer to the USCIS website or the Department of State website.

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/study-exchange/req-visas

You can search here on VJ about CR-1 or spousal visa entry stamp. Here are a few posts to get you started >

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/359104-re-entry-after-immigration/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/509393-family-emergency-traveling-on-a-cr1-visa/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/374959-stamp-of-first-entry-on-cr1-visa/

This is a long thread about ELIS and waiting for your green card > http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/439537-green-card-production-after-elis/page-88

You can travel and re-enter as much as you want. Just be sure to maintain your residency > http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/maintaining-permanent-residence

Oh, and you can find POE reviews here > http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php