Options prior to getting citizenship... but maybe leaving US

[Paul 0]

Hi there

I came to the US in 2005 on a fiance visa, married my American wife and we applied for my green card which came through in August 2006. In the next few months I will be able to apply for citizenship... (if I've read everything correctly)

...but I have a question and if anyone has any thoughts please let me know... what would happen if we had to move back to the UK (where I am from) and stayed long-term- how would we be able to return to the US? Would we have to start the process all over again for me? Would I be able to work or would I have to file for a work permit? (We don't want to move back but the work situation here is worse for me than it would be in the UK- but we don't want to waste the time we've put into getting me citizenship so we can come and go as we please).

If anyone could point me to any information about this admittedly quite vague question, I would appreciate it!

[TayRivers 4]

Hi there

I came to the US in 2005 on a fiance visa, married my American wife and we applied for my green card which came through in August 2006. In the next few months I will be able to apply for citizenship... (if I've read everything correctly)

...but I have a question and if anyone has any thoughts please let me know... what would happen if we had to move back to the UK (where I am from) and stayed long-term- how would we be able to return to the US? Would we have to start the process all over again for me? Would I be able to work or would I have to file for a work permit? (We don't want to move back but the work situation here is worse for me than it would be in the UK- but we don't want to waste the time we've put into getting me citizenship so we can come and go as we please).

If anyone could point me to any information about this admittedly quite vague question, I would appreciate it!

If you left before becoming a US Citizen then you would have to start all over again if you wanted to return to live in the US. You are so close to being able to file for Citizenship you would be better to wait and go back to the UK after you are a citizen.

[Nik+Heather 121]

I sort of thought that having a 10 year green card meant that this sort of thing might be possible, but I'll willingly admit to not having any sort of real knowledge about the subject.

Not to be difficult, but can you back that up with a link to something more...official?

[wworld808 1]

it's better to wait and file your US citizenship when it's time, then you can go back to UK and look for a job but i think you need something paper in order for you to stay your US citizenship. I don't know what kind of documents you need but my former boss is a US citizen and she still living permanently in the Philippines for over 15 years now with her family and able to work there but every year she come and visit her mom in Florida.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I sort of thought that having a 10 year green card meant that this sort of thing might be possible, but I'll willingly admit to not having any sort of real knowledge about the subject.

Not to be difficult, but can you back that up with a link to something more...official?

Nope, not possible with a greencard --- you need re-entry permits and whatnot, and have to prove to USCIS you have maintained residence in the US. Why bother.

Once you become a citizen however, you can relocate wherever.

Best of luck to the OP.

[lucyrich 19]

Not to be difficult, but can you back that up with a link to something more...official?

Here is a USCIS page on the subject.

Maintaining Permanent Residence You may lose your permanent residence status if you commit an act that makes you removable from the United States under the law in section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If you commit such an act, you may be brought before the immigration courts to determine your right to remain a Permanent Resident.

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.

If you google "reentry permit" or "returning resident visa" you'll find more info. Note that the reentry permit must be obtained before you leave.

They key is that the green card is good only as long as you maintain your residence in the US. Once you stop maintaining your residence in the US, you lose the green card privileges. That can happen very quickly, or it can take a long time. There are detailed areas of fact-specific law around determining exactly what constitutes abandonment of your US residence. A term to plug into your favorite search engine is "abandonment of status".

And I'll reinforce the point that others have said; once you become a US Citizen, there are no restrictions on where you can live. You do not lose US Citizenship by living outside the US, no matter how long you stay outside the US. Once you're a citizen, you can always return to the US. So citizenship may be worthwhile just to avoid the hassles of proving you haven't abandoned your green card status.

[Nik+Heather 121]

That clears a lot of things up. Important to know, as I think somewhere in our 10 year plan an international move may be possible..

The keywords you mentioned will be useful.

Thanks!!!

[warlord 72]

Yep any long term move etc, not only will break the continous residency requirement, but also will constitute as abandoning the Green Card. Only in special circumstances might it be viable (working for a US company or US gov't overseas etc).

If you plan on doing what you are thinking you will need citizenship or just abandon the Green Card and if you want to come back to the US years later. Get your US spouse to start the importation process from scratch. It would possibly mean they would be in the US and then file to get you legally there (usually a few months or longer). Then you would have to file all the paper work etc again like you did when you first started and eventually get a Green Card again.

With the Re-entry permit, generally you need to show proof that you will be away for a specific duration and you must I believe still maintain US ties (home, payments, etc). Plus it will also depend on the nature of your business outside the US. So it's not like you can just get one anytime you want...

Edited April 10, 2009 by warlord