Can a LPR apply for i 130 while in India?

[kaugel2 0]

Hi All,

I need some urgent advise here. I am a Greencard Holder of the US since Feb 2010 and I was in the US until Oct 2010 after which I applied for I 131 (re entry permit) and came to India to get married. I got married in Feb 2011 and currently residing in India with my husband. I will go back to the US by the end of 2012. What I would like to know if I can apply for my spouse Petition (I 130) while I am in India and if yes, then how? If not, can I directly mail my application to USCIS mailbox in the US?

Please advise

[belinda63 2,981]

As far as I know yes you can but you will need a US address to receive the mail at (someone hop in here). The wait time for an LPR petitioning a spouse is about 4 years and you will need to have income to meet the poverty guidelines and a US domicile when the priority date becomes current.

[kaugel2 0]

As far as I know yes you can but you will need a US address to receive the mail at (someone hop in here). The wait time for an LPR petitioning a spouse is about 4 years and you will need to have income to meet the poverty guidelines and a US domicile when the priority date becomes current.

Thanks for the prompt reply. I spoke to the USCIS here in Chennai and they say that they don't accept applications from Greencard Holders. I do have a address in the US where I lived with my Uncle and he is also going to sponsor my Husband after the Visa date becomes current. I am just stuck at the first step whether to file it here or mail it directly to the USCIS mailbox in the US.

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

File here? You said you spoke to the co.sulate/US embassy who told you they do not accept I-130's from green card holders. This leaves you with only one option. Complete the form and submit the required documents to the appropriate lockbox servicing your uncle's address.

[Darnell 8,478]

lpr's only file to the lockbox address in Chicago, sorry.

I think you're gonna have other problems being out of USA so long, as that's 2 years and 2 months outside of USA.

One of the things about filing to Chicago, when overseas, is having proof of USA domicile.

Whatcha got ?

Edited June 21, 2011 by Darnell

[kaugel2 0]

lpr's only file to the lockbox address in Chicago, sorry.

I think you're gonna have other problems being out of USA so long.

One of the things about filing to Chicago, when overseas, is having proof of USA domicile.

Whatcha got ?

As such I don't any proof of USA domicile. I might have a few bank statements and my phone bills which were sent to me on that address while I was in the US. I also worked for almost 7 months there and also filed my Tax return.

It all sounds very confusing to me. At any cost I don't go back to the US and wait there till my spouse gets his visa which can probably take a few years and that's why I decided to be here with him till he gets his Visa. I'll try send my application to the USCIS mailbox in Chicago, I really wish it gets approved.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

As such I don't any proof of USA domicile. I might have a few bank statements and my phone bills which were sent to me on that address while I was in the US. I also worked for almost 7 months there and also filed my Tax return.

It all sounds very confusing to me. At any cost I don't go back to the US and wait there till my spouse gets his visa which can probably take a few years and that's why I decided to be here with him till he gets his Visa. I'll try send my application to the USCIS mailbox in Chicago, I really wish it gets approved.

So what is the sense of you filing, you are going to lose your green card, and your petition will be dead. To maintain your green card you must live in the US, you cannot live in India.

[Harsh_77 716]

As such I don't any proof of USA domicile. I might have a few bank statements and my phone bills which were sent to me on that address while I was in the US. I also worked for almost 7 months there and also filed my Tax return.

It all sounds very confusing to me. At any cost I don't go back to the US and wait there till my spouse gets his visa which can probably take a few years and that's why I decided to be here with him till he gets his Visa. I'll try send my application to the USCIS mailbox in Chicago, I really wish it gets approved.

you cannot do that, you cannot wait in India until your spouse gets visa - you would be out of status and your GC would be expired.

In order to maintain your GC you will have to spend most part of the year in US.

Yes as LPR you can apply for your spouse, the consulate in Chennai would not accept it, you will have to mail it to US.

[kaugel2 0]

So what is the sense of you filing, you are going to lose your green card, and your petition will be dead. To maintain your green card you must live in the US, you cannot live in India.

Ya, I understand that part of the GC which is why I applied for the re entry permit before coming to India and that allows me to stay in India for 2 years after which I will have to go back which I will for sure.

you cannot do that, you cannot wait in India until your spouse gets visa - you would be out of status and your GC would be expired.

In order to maintain your GC you will have to spend most part of the year in US.

Yes as LPR you can apply for your spouse, the consulate in Chennai would not accept it, you will have to mail it to US.

I have taken a permission to be here in India till the end of 2012, I really hope things start moving till then.

[Harsh_77 716]

At any cost I don't go back to the US and wait there till my spouse gets his visa which can probably take a few years and that's why I decided to be here with him till he gets his Visa.

My comments were related to your statement, as LPR it can take over 4 yrs before you can get your spouse in US, for USC it takes anywhere for 6-8 months.

I know you had applied for re-entry, but wht I meant was you cannot be in India for 4 years .... I know you understand that..

[kaugel2 0]

At any cost I don't go back to the US and wait there till my spouse gets his visa which can probably take a few years and that's why I decided to be here with him till he gets his Visa.

My comments were related to your statement, as LPR it can take over 4 yrs before you can get your spouse in US, for USC it takes anywhere for 6-8 months.

I know you had applied for re-entry, but wht I meant was you cannot be in India for 4 years .... I know you understand that..

Ya, I understand that. I am anyway going back in the end of 2012. Lets see what happens after that.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

A re-entry permit does not guarantee you will be able to keep your LPR status. A re-entry permit means that the time the you are outside the US cannot be used in considering whether you should be admitted to the US. However, other factors can be used to determine if you have abandoned your LPR status. These adverse factors can include any documents showing India as your domicile, the failure to file US taxes (LPRs are required to file if they earn the minimum amount required to file even if all income is from sources outside the US), etc.

[bloveb 2]

Hi All,

I need some urgent advise here. I am a Greencard Holder of the US since Feb 2010 and I was in the US until Oct 2010 after which I applied for I 131 (re entry permit) and came to India to get married. I got married in Feb 2011 and currently residing in India with my husband. I will go back to the US by the end of 2012. What I would like to know if I can apply for my spouse Petition (I 130) while I am in India and if yes, then how? If not, can I directly mail my application to USCIS mailbox in the US?

Please advise

Take a look at this.Permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status. If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status. A general guide used is whether you have been absent from the United States for more than a year. Abandonment may be found to occur in trips of less than a year where it is believed you did not intend to make the United States your permanent residence. While brief trips abroad generally are not problematic, the officer may consider criteria such as whether your intention was to visit abroad only temporarily, whether you maintained U.S. family and community ties, maintained U.S employment, filed U.S. income taxes as a resident, or otherwise established your intention to return to the United States as your permanent home. Other factors that may be considered include whether you maintained a U.S. mailing address, kept U.S. bank accounts and a valid U.S. driver’s license, own property or run a business in the United States, or any other evidence that supports the temporary nature of your absence.

[fazmo 24]

A re-entry permit does not guarantee you will be able to keep your LPR status. A re-entry permit means that the time the you are outside the US cannot be used in considering whether you should be admitted to the US. However, other factors can be used to determine if you have abandoned your LPR status. These adverse factors can include any documents showing India as your domicile, the failure to file US taxes (LPRs are required to file if they earn the minimum amount required to file even if all income is from sources outside the US), etc.

I second that. Re-Entry permit will not waive you from your obligation to preserve your permanent resident status. It will actually trigger a lot of questions upon entry as opposed to if you would enter through a passport. The POE must establish that you did not abandon your residence if you stayed more than a year outside of the US. If you did not file a US tax return, it is considered an automatic abandonment.

That being said, Direct Filing is for residents of the country one is filing from (India, in this case). Even if the embassy allowed you to file as LPR, it could have haunted you back again because such application will attest that you in fact considered yourself as resident of India and not the US. The embassy did a big favor for you by turning down your CDF attempt. You could loose your residence status let alone bring someone else.

[kaugel2 0]

Thanks all for your help on this matter. I seriously do not want to abandon my Permanent status, I did file my US tax return and have some of my family staying there like my brother and grandparents. One of the lawyers told me that now a days it only takes about 2 years for the spouses of LPR to get their visas and that was the only reason I applied for the re entry permit thinking that I shall stay here in India till things get going.

I also realise that my situation may raise questions at the time of returning to the US but I really wish everything works out fine.