Working Abroad After Obtaining Permanent Residence

[Clashman 2]

Hello,

wife and I moved back to the states around 8 months ago on a green card. However, my company has just offered me a huge promotion conditional on me relocating to the UK. While this is a great opportunity for me, I am concerned about the effect this could have on my wife's permanent residence status. We are not able to wait the additional 2 1/2 years to apply for citizenship, and so if we accept the job and move to the UK, what are the risks?

I understand that if we will be away for more than a year, we will need to file form I-131 or SB-1 in order for her to return. I don't know, however, what happens if, for example, we want to return and visit the US once or twice per year. Will we need to keep filing new I-131/SB-1 applications each time we return, or is there something else I am missing in this process? Furthermore, what is the likelihood that an SB-1 application would be approved, provided that we don't currently own any property in the US, but would be fiiling tax returns, maintaining bank accounts, etc? Is there anything else we should be doing to prove to immigration officials that we do intend to eventually move back?

Thanks a lot for any feedback.

[Hypnos 6,579]

The bar on SB-1 returning resident visas is very high; you need to show that the reasons for being outside the US for so long were unexpected and beyond your control, which is clearly not the case here.

Your wife could apply for a re-entry permit which would allow her to remain outside the US for up to two years, but she may need to show CBP proof she has maintained her permanent residency when she attempts to finally re-enter.

Her continuous presence clock would likely be reset even if she was able to pull this off, meaning she would need to wait for either three or five years again from the time she finally re-entered to when she could apply for citizenship.

Exactly how long are you planning on remaining outside the US?

Edited July 26, 2014 by Hypnos

[Clashman 2]

The job is open ended, but we do intend to eventually return to the US, and would like to be able to return once or twice per year for family visits before that. I think we are ok with resetting the continuous presence clock, but I'm worried about having to restart the entire immigration process again.

[Boiler 47,501]

Open ended will not work, when you say eventually what sort of time span are you looking at?

May be simpler to remember that with a GC you live in the US and visit elsewhere.

[Hypnos 6,579]

It sounds as though abandoning her residency is a distinct possibility, especially if you have no concrete timeframe for returning.

If that does happen, you could file DCF for a CR-1 / IR-1 in London and have an immigrant visa probably in just 3 - 4 months, if that was your wish.

[Clashman 2]

My original thought was that we would need to be based in the UK for 3-5 years before returning to the US.

It appears though, from your responses, that our choices are:

A. We both stay in the US until my wife obtains her citizenship

B. My wife and son can stay with my parents until she gets her citizenship and I go abroad

C. We can abandon her permanent residence and apply again later down the line when we are ready to settle more permanently

Is that pretty much it? If we did choose option C, would the fact that she abandoned her permanent residence be held against her when re-applying? Moreover, what happens if we were to try visiting the US during our time abroad? Would she have to apply for a visitor visa, even though her PR card has technically not expired?

[Boiler 47,501]

Yep

There is a form to fill in to abandon your residency. Then you would avoid lengthy discussions.

[Clashman 2]

It sounds as though abandoning her residency is a distinct possibility, especially if you have no concrete timeframe for returning.

If that does happen, you could file DCF for a CR-1 / IR-1 in London and have an immigrant visa probably in just 3 - 4 months, if that was your wish.

My concern with that is: would we have to go and re-document our marriage again? The first time was a nightmare, because my wife is from Sri Lanka, we met & married in China where we started her immigrant visa application, and then had to transfer and complete it in Hong Kong after moving there. Getting all the documentation and approvals needed, pulled together, and then translated was very difficult and took over 2 years to complete.

[Clashman 2]

One more question: Would my wife staying in the US 6-7 months per year, and spending the rest in the UK be an option? Or would that still be considered abandonment if it happened over an extended period of time?

[Boiler 47,501]

It is pretty easy to say at the extremes this will be OK, this will not.

When you want to get close to the line, well that gets harder.

A company move suggests available Legal advise, now most Immigration Lawyers have about as much knowledge on this subject as you will find here, make sure you consult with one who has tried a few abandonment cases.

[Harpa Timsah 13,260]

My concern with that is: would we have to go and re-document our marriage again? The first time was a nightmare, because my wife is from Sri Lanka, we met & married in China where we started her immigrant visa application, and then had to transfer and complete it in Hong Kong after moving there. Getting all the documentation and approvals needed, pulled together, and then translated was very difficult and took over 2 years to complete.

But now you did it, so you should have all that paperwork already, right?

[Clashman 2]

But now you did it, so you should have all that paperwork already, right?

Quite a few items, like the police clearance certificates, are technically valid for only one year after they are issued, I believe.

In any case, we'll be looking into getting some legal advise in place, as well as considering whether we want to do this at all. I really appreciate all the feedback we've received from people here. Thanks once again.

[Harpa Timsah 13,260]

Quite a few items, like the police clearance certificates, are technically valid for only one year after they are issued, I believe.

In any case, we'll be looking into getting some legal advise in place, as well as considering whether we want to do this at all. I really appreciate all the feedback we've received from people here. Thanks once again.

Right, that's true for police certs, but the other stuff should be the same. Good luck.

[TBoneTX 47,533]

One post has been removed because (at minimum) it advocated a skirting of the rules.

VJ Moderation

[kehills 217]

Something to think about: if you accept the job and your wife abandons her residency, see if you can have it written into your employment contract that if the company relocates you back to the United States, or terminates your employment (rather than you voluntarily leaving), they handle any new VISA petition paperwork to make sure your wife relocates or returns with you.