Urgent help needed!

[mor_digo 3]

My father-in-law applied last year asking a green card to bring his mother from Brazil to live here in the United States. She got here in October 2014, all procedures were done correctly. She already has her social, but the green card has not yet arrived.

The problem is that she wants to go back to Brazil.

Our questions are: We can let her go to Brazil before the green card arrives, and then send the green card by mail for her in Brazil?

Is there any possibility of "switch" the green card for a tourist visa?

Thank You!!!

Edited March 6, 2015 by Morgana Colombo

[john_and_marlene 162]

She should have an I-551 stamp in her passport. That serves as a temporary green card until the actual card arrives. If she has the stamp, there is no problem returning to the U.S. following a short trip. You aren't clear if she wants to go back to Brazil for a vacation or to reside. If she plans to return to Brazil to reside, she may forfeit her U.S. residence.

[mor_digo 3]

She wants to go back to Brazil for good. But she could come back here for visit...

[john_and_marlene 162]

Then she will no longer be a U.S. resident. She will no longer qualify for a green card.

[Pennycat 880]

She wants to go back to Brazil for good. But she could come back here for visit...

Then she will give up her green card. You can't be a permanent resident and not also be a resident. It's not a "feel free to live abroad and to visit whenever you want card" (a friend of mine's mother in law refused to stop thinking of it that way). If she wants to live in Brazil and visit, she'll have to get a visitor's visa which (depending on what they give her) can be valid for up to ten years, for visits of up to 6 months at a time.

Edited March 6, 2015 by CatherineA

[Sunnyland 639]

She wants to go back to Brazil for good. But she could come back here for visit...

She will loose her resident status in US if she leaves for good. She will have to apply for a tourist visa I guess.

[Pennycat 880]

My father-in-law applied last year asking a green card to bring his mother from Brazil to live here in the United States. She got here in October 2014, all procedures were done correctly. She already has her social, but the green card has not yet arrived.

The problem is that she wants to go back to Brazil.

Our questions are: We can let her go to Brazil before the green card arrives, and then send the green card by mail for her in Brazil?

Is there any possibility of "switch" the green card for a tourist visa?

Thank You!!!

I just saw the part where you were asking about "switching" to a tourist visa, I looked around on USCIS and State's websites and found that there IS actually a way for this to happen---well, not a tourist visa.

She could apply for a re-entry permit before leaving but apparently this does not guarantee re-entry (again, she has to show that she doesn't intend to abandon residency---which she does). This is good for one year.

http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

Longer than one year, she'd need a "returning resident visa" . It sounds like these may not be easily gotten--you need to prove that you did not intend to abandon residency, that the prolonged stay was beyond your control, that you are still admissible, medical exam, vaccination records...all that again.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/types/returning-residents.html

I doubt that you can apply for a re-entry permit before you even have a green card, but I suppose you can try. In terms of switching to a ten-year tourist visa...I really don't know how that would work out. Sounds doubtful because she has or at least had immigrant intent. Sounds like no matter how you cut it, you're in for a big expensive headache. It's her business, of course, but is something so pressing in Brazil that she can't just wait it out until citizenship or at least keep real residency in the US and visit Brazil for a few months at a time?

[Teddy B 17,252]

It sounds like the Mother simply doesn't want to live here permanently. This happens, especially with older people who are set in their ways.

If the Mother abandons her greencard by returning to Brazil for good, obtaining a tourist visa shouldn't be too difficult so long as she re-establishes ties to Brazil. She has clearly shown she does not have immigrant intent by giving up her greencard. It would be wise to voluntarily turn in her greencard before she leaves rather than simply abandoning it, that shows she willfully gave up her residency.

[Ryan H 3,813]

Moved from What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum to General Immigration-Related Discussion forum.