Allowing my 2 year green card to expire

[sumianta 0]

I'm pretty sure most people will not agree with my decision but that doesn't really matter right now.

I should being renewing my Green card now but at the same time my husband (US Citizen) got an awesome job offer in RJ (Brazil). All happened very fast.

I went to USCIS using an "InfoPass" to get answers for all my questions.

In sum, they said that if I want my residence I stay here or If we want to be together I have to go before my 2 year green card expire.

Although, we will leave part of our lives here. It would be nice to return once in a while to visit, take some trainings (I'm a Yoga Instructor), and other things. My question is, can I apply for a Tourist Visa after having a Green card? If so, how long should I wait to apply? I'm pretty sure I will have to wait until it expires (May 12th).

Anybody heard or did anything similar?

thanks for the thoughts and info.

[Harsh_77 716]

Yes you can apply for tourist visa and in most cases you would get one very easily.

As CO knows you had ample opportunity if you wanted to live in US and you decided otherwise.

In your case jumping the visa and overstay would be minimal.

My Aunt is in similar situation she was GC holder and they decided to move back to their home country and now she has 10 yr multiple entry visa, her husband is USC.

[sumianta 0]

Yes you can apply for tourist visa and in most cases you would get one very easily.

As CO knows you had ample opportunity if you wanted to live in US and you decided otherwise.

In your case jumping the visa and overstay would be minimal.

My Aunt is in similar situation she was GC holder and they decided to move back to their home country and now she has 10 yr multiple entry visa, her husband is USC.

Do you know how long she needed to wait until applying for a tourist visa? Mine expires in May, so it would be nice to apply as soon as I can.

Thank you so much!!!

[Harsh_77 716]

Do you know how long she needed to wait until applying for a tourist visa? Mine expires in May, so it would be nice to apply as soon as I can.

Thank you so much!!!

You cannot have both at the same time GC and Tourist visa, You cannot get tourist visa within country.

Which means you have to be back in Brazil, best option is you can return to Brazil and be with your hubby and talk to consulate there and figure out what is the process to return the GC.

You do not have to wait for it to expire once you have returned the GC you can apply for tourist visa whenever you want there is no waiting period.

[newacct 688]

There's really not much difference between a conditional green card and the permanent green card, except for the need to file for Removal of Conditions on the conditional one (and need to be in the U.S. to do the biometrics and/or interview).

So what would you do if you had a normal green card and you are in your situation?

Having a green card does not mean you cannot leave for extended periods of time -- you can apply for a Reentry Permit, which is valid for up to 2 years. But of course that's only if the absence is temporary and you intend to return and stay here in the long term.

If you intend to move away and not live here in the long term, then your green card will be abandoned no matter what, some how or other. In that case, after you move, you might as well just go in to the US consulate and abandon the green card yourself.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

There's really not much difference between a conditional green card and the permanent green card, except for the need to file for Removal of Conditions on the conditional one (and need to be in the U.S. to do the biometrics and/or interview).

So what would you do if you had a normal green card and you are in your situation?

Having a green card does not mean you cannot leave for extended periods of time -- you can apply for a Reentry Permit, which is valid for up to 2 years. But of course that's only if the absence is temporary and you intend to return and stay here in the long term.

If you intend to move away and not live here in the long term, then your green card will be abandoned no matter what, some how or other. In that case, after you move, you might as well just go in to the US consulate and abandon the green card yourself.

Newact: the OP wants give up her PR status. So, in this sense, she has nothing asking about conditional vs. permanent green card. She was just wondering how soon she could apply for tourist visa, and now she knows as soon as she returns her green card whether it has already expired, or not (and that she has to apply for the visa in her country, Brazil).

[sumianta 0]

Newact: the OP wants give up her PR status. So, in this sense, she has nothing asking about conditional vs. permanent green card. She was just wondering how soon she could apply for tourist visa, and now she knows as soon as she returns her green card whether it has already expired, or not (and that she has to apply for the visa in her country, Brazil).

Yes, that's right. I know I can't have both. Like I said I decided to let my GC expire. My husband is an US citizen. Right now the GC has no benefits for me while we are in different countries.

My only concern are:

Can I apply for a Tourist visa after an expired green card?

If yes, how long do I have to wait AFTER my card expire.

Thank you so much for the help so far. This site is great

[Tricia599 2]

You should be able to apply for a tourist visa right away. You can just turn in your green card at the interview for the tourist visa.

However, just to point out one thing - if you apply for a tourist visa, you have to enter the US within 60-90 days of it's issuance for it to be valid. If you don't enter, then the visa, no matter how long it is for, will expire. So unless you are planning a trip back to the US relatively soon after getting back to Brasil, you really shouldn't apply for a tourist visa until you are ready to go. You need to have that first trip within the allotted time frame after it's issued to validate it. Otherwise you'll have to do the whole process again.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Formally relinquish the GC at the US embassy in Brazil. Don't just wait for it to expire. Turn it in and ask about a tourist visa at the same time.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

You should be able to apply for a tourist visa right away. You can just turn in your green card at the interview for the tourist visa.

However, just to point out one thing - if you apply for a tourist visa, you have to enter the US within 60-90 days of it's issuance for it to be valid. If you don't enter, then the visa, no matter how long it is for, will expire. So unless you are planning a trip back to the US relatively soon after getting back to Brasil, you really shouldn't apply for a tourist visa until you are ready to go. You need to have that first trip within the allotted time frame after it's issued to validate it. Otherwise you'll have to do the whole process again.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Tricia: I have never heard of restrictions of when one may need to enter when applied for tourist visa. I have applied for tourist visa in the past, and got it granted, but I only took advantage of it and entered the US on that visa year, or two years later. And it never "expired". I've got it as a 10 year B visa, so maybe you are talking about something else. But, in a simple fact, of she wanting to apply for tourist visa once she gave up her GC has no expiration on it, except the date that is printed on it. If she gets say one that is valid for one year, then she can travel anytime she wants to during that one year with that visa. If she gets it for 10 year like I did, then she may even enter the US three years later of when she has applied. I've never heard of this 60-90 days rule, so unless it varies from citizens of certain countries, that I do not know.

[Tricia599 2]

Tricia: I have never heard of restrictions of when one may need to enter when applied for tourist visa. I have applied for tourist visa in the past, and got it granted, but I only took advantage of it and entered the US on that visa year, or two years later. And it never "expired". I've got it as a 10 year B visa, so maybe you are talking about something else. But, in a simple fact, of she wanting to apply for tourist visa once she gave up her GC has no expiration on it, except the date that is printed on it. If she gets say one that is valid for one year, then she can travel anytime she wants to during that one year with that visa. If she gets it for 10 year like I did, then she may even enter the US three years later of when she has applied. I've never heard of this 60-90 days rule, so unless it varies from citizens of certain countries, that I do not know.

Huh - all my tourist visas for Brazil always had "first entry must be within 90 days" on them - with the reciprocity, I would have sworn that the US visas had them as well. At my husband's tourist visa interview, they asked us specifically if we were going to enter within 90 days and looked at our tickets (stupid, but we bought them ahead of time - that's why it sticks out in my mind). But I've been wrong before and will certainly be wrong again! This has sparked my curiosity, so I'll check my husband's passport when I get home.

I apologize for the misinformation!

[SunDrop 59]

Don't assume reciprocracy to mean the same. US/ UK you get 90 days into the states but 6 months into the uk.

[Brit Abroad 166]

Best advice I can think of is .... renew your GC and get a 10 year one and apply for an extended period parole document for, say, 2 years. What happens if you get to RJ and your husband doesn't like the job or you find it difficult to settle down there? Cover your bases. You can always surrender a green card once you know everything is going to work out in Brasil.

If you can afford to do so, it'll at least buy you 2 years in which to return to the US either for holidays or to maintain status if you intend to return in future, without having to go through the entire visa process again somewhere down the line!

[sumianta 0]

You should be able to apply for a tourist visa right away. You can just turn in your green card at the interview for the tourist visa.

However, just to point out one thing - if you apply for a tourist visa, you have to enter the US within 60-90 days of it's issuance for it to be valid. If you don't enter, then the visa, no matter how long it is for, will expire. So unless you are planning a trip back to the US relatively soon after getting back to Brasil, you really shouldn't apply for a tourist visa until you are ready to go. You need to have that first trip within the allotted time frame after it's issued to validate it. Otherwise you'll have to do the whole process again.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

This makes totally sense. i don't have a date to return yet. But I know that it's something important to keep in mind.

Thank you for the time answering my questions.

[sumianta 0]

Best advice I can think of is .... renew your GC and get a 10 year one and apply for an extended period parole document for, say, 2 years. What happens if you get to RJ and your husband doesn't like the job or you find it difficult to settle down there? Cover your bases. You can always surrender a green card once you know everything is going to work out in Brasil.

If you can afford to do so, it'll at least buy you 2 years in which to return to the US either for holidays or to maintain status if you intend to return in future, without having to go through the entire visa process again somewhere down the line!

Thank you Brit but at this point going to Brazil is more important than staying here by myself. my husband is not just an US citizen - he is also Brazilian. We both have our whole families down there. We ran out of reasons to stay in US and it's not fair for to keep a card that other immigrants are fighting to get right now.

Huh - all my tourist visas for Brazil always had "first entry must be within 90 days" on them - with the reciprocity, I would have sworn that the US visas had them as well. At my husband's tourist visa interview, they asked us specifically if we were going to enter within 90 days and looked at our tickets (stupid, but we bought them ahead of time - that's why it sticks out in my mind). But I've been wrong before and will certainly be wrong again! This has sparked my curiosity, so I'll check my husband's passport when I get home.

I apologize for the misinformation!

I know what you meant. I think you are right. When you first ask for a visa you need to have proofs that you can be granted with that Visa whatever category it is. After that, I can use any time of my convinience but in rder to have it for the first time I do need to have a reason to ome back.