LPR out of US (temporarily, with USC spouse) more than 1 year. Options?

[mjd2014 0]

I am a US citizen by birth and am in my second and final year of a masters degree outside the US. My LPR (unconditional) spouse and our young son have been living with me attached to my student (temporary resident) visa.

My wife does not have a re-entry permit and we have not visited the US since leaving. We intend to return to the US permanently once my program ends this summer.

If we simply buy tickets and fly back as a family, without taking any further immigration steps, what is likely to happen at the POE?

Many thanks in advance for any advice or opinions.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

I am a US citizen by birth and am in my second and final year of a masters degree outside the US. My LPR (unconditional) spouse and our young son have been living with me attached to my student (temporary resident) visa.

My wife does not have a re-entry permit and we have not visited the US since leaving. We intend to return to the US permanently once my program ends this summer.

If we simply buy tickets and fly back as a family, without taking any further immigration steps, what is likely to happen at the POE?

Many thanks in advance for any advice or opinions.

Your first step is to check asap with your local embassy/consulate about the status of your wife. Being a LPR with an extended period out of the country might have trigger an abandonment of status LPR, is not automatic as far as I recall and the specific situation is taken into account. If that is the case (trigger abandonment), then they should be able to get you some options. Depending on what you hear you might want to re-check here and/or with an attorney in inmigration.

I'll let others more experienced comment.

[Harpa Timsah 13,263]

Returning resident visa. More than a year outside the US will cause LPR abandonment. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[rhein 452]

Returning resident visa. More than a year outside the US will cause LPR abandonment. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

This. It amazes me that with so much on the line people can be so bloody careless.

[mjd2014 0]

Thanks for the opinions and advice. I'm aware that one option is to see if we qualify for the SB-1, and another is to simply repeat the entire process. Assuming we qualify for SB-1, what are typical processing times?

Another option, possibly not the best one, would be to simply fly back as a family as if everything is normal. What exactly is most likely to happen in this scenario? Will CBP/DHS break up the family right then and there? Would it be the sort of thing that would end up in an immigration court?

Probably these are the kinds of questions I should be asking a lawyer, but if anyone here has ideas, suggestions, or mere speculation, I'd be very grateful to hear it. Even if you feel like being rude about it (nods to Jon and Sol).

[Dave&Roza 748]

I am a US citizen by birth and am in my second and final year of a masters degree outside the US. My LPR (unconditional) spouse and our young son have been living with me attached to my student (temporary resident) visa.

My wife does not have a re-entry permit and we have not visited the US since leaving. We intend to return to the US permanently once my program ends this summer.

If we simply buy tickets and fly back as a family, without taking any further immigration steps, what is likely to happen at the POE?

Many thanks in advance for any advice or opinions.

If your wife has been out of the US for more than 2 years, you will have to file for a spousal visa and start all over. If it is between 1 year and 2 years, get thee to the nearest Consulate/Embassy and see about a returning resident visa before it is too late. Then have your wife enter the US before she has been outside for 2 years if she wants to keep her current LPR status.

Arriving at the POE and hoping that the CBP will not break up a family in front of the kids is foolish as they are just doing their jobs and your wife abandoned her LPR status by remaining outside the US for an extended period of time and they will detain her and send her back on the next plane. The only people guaranteed entry into the US are those that carry a blue passport with "United States" written on it. All others are subject to the immigration laws of the US and can be refuse entry to the US by CBP.

Good luck,

Dave

[mjd2014 0]

If your wife has been out of the US for more than 2 years, you will have to file for a spousal visa and start all over. If it is between 1 year and 2 years, get thee to the nearest Consulate/Embassy and see about a returning resident visa before it is too late. Then have your wife enter the US before she has been outside for 2 years if she wants to keep her current LPR status.

Arriving at the POE and hoping that the CBP will not break up a family in front of the kids is foolish as they are just doing their jobs and your wife abandoned her LPR status by remaining outside the US for an extended period of time and they will detain her and send her back on the next plane. The only people guaranteed entry into the US are those that carry a blue passport with "United States" written on it. All others are subject to the immigration laws of the US and can be refuse entry to the US by CBP.

Good luck,

Dave

Thanks, Dave, for the advice and the well-wishes. Out of curiosity, do you have any specific, case-based evidence that detention followed by prompt deportation is actually a likely sequence of events in this situation? Or are you just using it as a rhetorical device to emphasize the seriousness of the situation?

Matt

[aussie_jason 195]

Here is one case where the immigrant had their GC confiscated but were allowed to enter under the VWP: http://www.justanswer.com/immigration-law/7lkad-stopped-port-entry-green-card-taken.html

[Harpa Timsah 13,263]

I saw a case where the couple was allowed to enter as paroled or something, and the USC was supposed to file a concurrent I-130/I-485 and start over. They didn't do that because they felt above the law and the immigrant left the US for some reason, then was stuck outside the US with a 10-year ban (they overstayed their parole).

We can't say for certain what would happen if you tried to enter the US, because many things could happen. But you can see if you search "maintaining permanent residency" that LPR is considered abandoned if out of the US for more than a year.

If you have a year left, you could start a new visa process now and move together when your program is over. Better than rolling the dice and having your wife be stuck outside the US.

[mjd2014 0]

Thanks all for the input and advice. Further ideas and comments are always welcome. I'll do my best to post some updates as things progress.