Going home to have a baby, is that possible?

[Peter_Pan 661]

Is it possible to stay out of the US during the 2 years of the conditional GC period for over 6 months? I know there is a certain permit one must apply for if they want to do so, but does that apply for the 2 year, or for the 10 year GC?

Basically, a year into our marriage, I'd like to go back to my home country and try for a baby, that is stay there during the entire pregnancy/delivery time, which will be around one year if all goes well. Is that possible?

Edited December 25, 2011 by Peter_Pan

[Little_My 463]

The rule of the thumb is that for absences of 1 year or more, you need to get a re-entry permit to not lose your permanent resident status in the US. For absences of less than a year re-entry permit is not needed, but you should be prepared to show proof of maintaining ties to the US while you were abroad if you're planning to stay away for months, even if it is for less than a year.

In your case you'll most likely be gone for more than a year, so you should get the re-entry permit to avoid issues with your LPR status.

[Peter_Pan 661]

Thank you. But what will happen to the 2 year GC, won't it expire? Will the re-entry permit work as one?

If I get my GC in the summer of 2012, leave in the summer of 2013 and return in autumn of 2014, my GC would have expired by summer of 2014, no? How does one deal with that?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thank you. But what will happen to the 2 year GC, won't it expire? Will the re-entry permit work as one?

If I get my GC in the summer of 2012, leave in the summer of 2013 and return in autumn of 2014, my GC would have expired by summer of 2014, no? How does one deal with that?

You have to file for ROC just like anyone else. Bear in mind that living apart from your husband for that long doesn't exactly look great. You also need to show that you're maintaining residency in the US.

Also you should know if you're out over 6 months then your naturalisation clock is paused. 12 months and it's reset back to 0. This means waiting longer to be a USC (if that's what you're planning).

If you're on the 10 year card then the same months issue exists, same naturalization clock issue exists, maintaining residency as well. But there's no ROC to worry about. Personally I would wait until you've got USC to be safe.

p.s. When giving examples it's best to use months and not seasons. To use seasons is a US thing and not something I'm used to and I would assume many other people also not from the US. Plus for me in particular the seasons are opposite in my home country and that's what I default to when I read seasons as a timeframe.

Edited December 25, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

It is not "normal" that a happily married couple would live in different countries for more than half the time of their marriage. If I were the I.O. adjudicating your I-751, I would order a magnifying glass the size of an interstellar telescope before I scrutinize your petition.

Keep in mind, the Green Card is the document identifying you as somebody who lives permanently in the United States, in martial bliss and with your lawfully wedded husband. It's his child too, or isn't it?

So I find the whole idea (a) odd and (b) reason enough to raise a red flag the size of China.

[Penguin_ie 5,985]

Previous posts made very good points, the tre-cap:

- you need to be here for ROC- this may not fit into your timeline unless you get pregnant exactly at the 9 months mark of being in the USA.

- It would look suspicious for ROC if you had spent 14+ months abroad (unless your husband is coming with you).

Is there a reason you want to spend the whole pregnancy abroad? Maternity care in the US can be expensive, but you might look into having your pre-natal care here in the USA (consider a midwife or family doctor, limit ultrasounds to the one anatomical u/s at 20 weeks), and only move back to your country around 7 months pregnant, thus keeping the time abroad to 3-ish months. Or, as has been suggested, wait with getting pregnant an extra 2 years and once you are a US citizen, no-one cares where you spend your time.

[Robby999 1,024]

Is it possible to stay out of the US during the 2 years of the conditional GC period for over 6 months? I know there is a certain permit one must apply for if they want to do so, but does that apply for the 2 year, or for the 10 year GC?

Basically, a year into our marriage, I'd like to go back to my home country and try for a baby, that is stay there during the entire pregnancy/delivery time, which will be around one year if all goes well. Is that possible?

Please do not take my post the wrong way, I am just looking at this and trying to figure out why! The reason that pops first in my head is that you think or know you can not conceive, and plan to stay in your home country for the duration of a normal pregnancy/ recovery time so the adopted infant can be passed off as the child of you and your husband. If I am wrong I apologize, but if I am right you need to know that DNA tests can be ordered for infants born abroad!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Basically, a year into our marriage, I'd like to go back to my home country and try for a baby, that is stay there during the entire pregnancy/delivery time, which will be around one year if all goes well. Is that possible?

Actually the person above me makes a good point... you're planning on returning to your home country to try for a baby? That's weird. Doesn't your husband have to be there to help you try? or do you mean IVF? Or some other form of trying to get knocked up. You do know that babies rarely happen on your timetable right? You should get pregnant and THEN go back to your home country.

You won't find out you're pregnant till you're around 4 weeks (maybe). Are you planning on going back right away? Why? Why wouldn't you stay here for a couple of extra months with your husband? Is he going back with you? You'll need to have your husband file CRBA for the child but if he's not actually the father (IVF) you're gunna have problems with that. You should look into what happens with IVF conceived children if you're planning on going that route.

[mike42979 57]

Basically, a year into our marriage, I'd like to go back to my home country and try for a baby,

This entire sentence intrigues/confuses me??? Try for a baby?

[Peter_Pan 661]

Ok, guys, I didn't see the big suspicion that it may raise, good thing I asked, no? Yes, he will come with me, and will stay with me for the entire time we are in Romania. The main reason is the cost, and the fact that I don't want the bare minimum. Here I have free pre-natal (actually pre-conception, we are offered an entire set of tests to determine if either of us is carrying something which might negatively impact the baby) care, as well as a very cheap delivery. I will not risk my health or my baby's giving birth at home or with a midwife. I also want extra tests to be done, and I know they can be quite expensive in the US. If the baby has a problem, I want to know it.

It basically boils down to money.

And lol to the whole stealing a baby and claiming it is your own. I thought I had an active imagination!

Edited December 26, 2011 by Peter_Pan

[Peter_Pan 661]

Also you should know if you're out over 6 months then your naturalisation clock is paused. 12 months and it's reset back to 0. This means waiting longer to be a USC (if that's what you're planning).

I don't really care about that, I see it as a necessary evil. I am ok with waiting longer, I would just hate not being permitted to stay with my future husband, if we decide to stay in the US permanently.

[ceadsearc 515]

Using a midwife doesn't put your baby at increased risk. Many midwives work in hospitals as well. And homebirths are usually only permitted for very low-risk women and there are solid back-up plans in place for transfer if need be. If you don't want to do either that's fine as they certainly aren't for everyone but it's not a matter of putting your child or you at risk.

You can leave. You will need a re-entry permit for over a year and less than 2. I am not sure how long it would take you to get a passport for your child to travel here or how long it'll take you to get pregnant so factor that in. You must be here for ROC and you must prove upon return (even with a re-entry permit) that you have been maintaining primary residency in the US the whole time, so consider how you will do that when neither you nor your husband are in America the entire time. Who will be working, where, etc.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Thanks for finally adding the important information. Had you done that in the beginning, you would have saved all of us a lot of time.

What you now posted changes everything. Money is something we all understand. Best of luck to you.

[Ruffie 22]

Doesn't your husband have to work?? I don't know anybody who can take a year+ time off just like that. And you do know that your baby has to have a passport before you can fly to the States with it? I know people who waited almost 6 months for their baby's passport.

Personally, I wouldn't do it. I had to move half way around the world with an 8 week old last year and it was no joke. Also, people always assume that everything will be perfectly fine. What if it's not? What if your baby has medical needs that won't make it possible to fly 10+ hours with him or her?

Honestly, I would try to get better health insurance and do it all in the States. My maternity and post-partum care in CA was FAR from "the bare minimum".

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Ok, guys, I didn't see the big suspicion that it may raise, good thing I asked, no? Yes, he will come with me, and will stay with me for the entire time we are in Romania. The main reason is the cost, and the fact that I don't want the bare minimum. Here I have free pre-natal (actually pre-conception, we are offered an entire set of tests to determine if either of us is carrying something which might negatively impact the baby) care, as well as a very cheap delivery. I will not risk my health or my baby's giving birth at home or with a midwife. I also want extra tests to be done, and I know they can be quite expensive in the US. If the baby has a problem, I want to know it.

It basically boils down to money.

Given this updated info at least USCIS wouldn't doubt your relationship BUT you would be, in effect, MOVING back to your home country which isn't good.

Going home also makes total sense to me so I understand where you're coming from BUT I will be waiting for USC in order to make sure I'm able to stay as long as we need to and make my choices without having to worry about immigration.