Husband of a US Citizen on Green Card

[AmAjjD 33]

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm not sure employment is covered the way you think it is. I think it means something such as your US employer sends you abroad temporarily, a big example being the military. Not going back to your home country to work your permanent job. Could someone verify?

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

No i never claimed that, not sure why are you trying to be personal...lol.

My father-in-law probably manages to satisfy all the 12 points mentioned in the article and probably that is why USCIS allowed him the permits for the last 10 years.

I have come across another person through personal network who has been doing that for the last 22 years.

I am not here to prove anything right or wrong. These are case by case basis scenarios.

I got help with my queries all the time here at VJ and this was a small effort to share my case so that others may get some help from it.

(Boiler also requested to add some details).

Did that person who has done it for " last 22 yrs" apply for citizenship?

I know of a Chinese family here in the US who refuses to get citizenship here because China doesn't do dual citizenship and she wants to have that option of going back to home country as a Chinese citizen available to her.

In that scenario, this woman who lives here meets the residency requirement. But your father might not.

Get a lawyer to figure it out and you might wanna look into his tax records too to make sure he has been filing. Naturalization time is when all the your past demons come after you.

Don't get too passive with folks' honest opinions, not everyone here is an "average joe", some have worked in immigration for years and we have immigration lawyers on this forum too.

Good luck!

[alex06m 2]

Hi All,

This inquiry is for my father-in-law. My mother-in-law came to the US via Diversity visa program. Now she and her rest of the family are US citizens except my father-in-law. He has been taking permissions and extending green card for the last 10 years.

Question: Now that his wife (my mother-in-law) is a US citizen, will my father-in-law be considered as the husband of the US citizen and can apply for naturalization once he has stayed "3" years in the US instead of 5 years?

If so, will he need to apply for any special permission to get his green card application to the spouse of US citizen track from spouse of green card holder status?

Also, for a year to be counted in the US, i know he needs to stay at least 6 months. Can he stay 2 months, 2 months, 1 month and 1 month in 5 separate occasions within the year and get the year counted?

Thanks,

Appreciate all your help.

P.S. I hope this is the right section to put this, moderators please redirect the post if it belongs somewhere else.

I'm not sure that understand everything right (especially after reading some comments here), but as far as I understand:

If your father-in-law has already GC (so he is LPR) through diversity program I doubt that he can apply for naturalization in three years. Because as far as I know choice of 3 or 5 years is based on the grounds for GC, not your current status (maybe except of the case of divorce when you get your GC though marriage, but can apply for naturalization in 5 years, not three)

Did I understand your question right ?

As for your second question. Other users have given you links already, I can add this ( I'd been LPR for 15 years, lived abroad, came back to the US 3 years ago and I'm USC now, so I know this subject). Yes, you can count this year as a year with his presence in the US for 181 days. There are two factors: physical presence and continuous residence. The way you describe it, it is kind of ok to maintain his residency.

I'd like to add: he can travel back and forth, have Reentry permit, staying somehow 181 in the US without break for more than 4-6 months (it can cause some problems when he enters the country, I've got a stamp once "absent for more than 4 months" in my passport and was told that I could have some more serious problems next time), so it is better to have Reentry permit, but when time comes to apply (keeping in mind that the time he spent before using Reentry permit is not really counted anymore and two years of Reentry permit will be counted as one) he has to show some proofs that he is actually a resident of the US, living here, paying taxes etc. If he is working abroad it really does not help as an excuse to apply for naturalization. It helps to keep the LPR status, but not the reason to apply for naturalization.

[asisflyer 47]

With the I-131 re-entry permits, the length of the permit will change based on time outside of the US since LPR or CPR status was gained.

The 2 yr gets abbreviated to 3 months short of date of condition removal if conditional.. (just for ref)

Then once the time outside accumulates to more than 4 years in the last 5 years, then re-entry permits can get reduced down to 6 months.

I-131 Re-Entry must be filed while "admitted" and "physically present" to the U.S. Offshore mailed apps have been shut down in appeals (lots of references)... then biometrics done here...

but he can have the actual extended re-entry permit mailed to USCIS Office or US consulary post overseas.

While the USICS Adjudicators manual has review guidance on re-entry permits... one suspects more of a stamping as few stories of rejections appear......

UNDER 6 MONTHS - NEVER LEAVES

If an LPR leaves U.S. for under 6 months--- he technically is not "seeking admission" --- he is admitted and left for a temporary trip. not up for domicile/public charge review.

6 - 12 MONTHS - "Seeks Admission" -- Re-Entry Permit creates Presumption of Non-Abandonment

Leaving over 6 months -- he is "seeking admission" and domicile/abandonment may be visited--- HOWEVER, the Re-Entry permit leaves the

CBP officer with the idea that the USCIS has pre-determined non-abandonment and therefore would rarely question this.

CBP manual released under FOIA provides some guidance on their viewpoints there.

12 MONTHS + Not technically permitted to seek admission without RE-ENTRY PERMIT / U.S. GOVT ORDERS military/agency or spouse of party

That being said, many many paroled in and queued for the IJ to argue non abandonment.

Can CBP question a RE-ENTRY PERMIT - yes --- in practice.... well let's here a story of a RE-ENTRY PERMIT ignored and the person not paroled in or otherwise admitted...

Still OP QUESTION is just about the NATURALIZATION CALCS...... and had few responses...

OP MUST HAVE MISTAKENLY THOUGHT IT WAS A SUPPORT FORUM AND NOT PUBLIC JUDGMENT PLACE.

OP - Easier for you to read the Adjudicator's Manual on the USCIS website on the calculation then wondering.... afterall in your interview if there was an issue you would mount a defense using USCIS training guidance, statutory references, and case references and it's nicely summarized in the training guide.

Edited October 27, 2015 by asisflyer

[MarinaMaya 3]

I think he will have to wait 5 years to get citizenship and not be absent for more than 6 months which will be enough to qualify for being in US for half the time.

[Boiler 43,450]

With the I-131 re-entry permits, the length of the permit will change based on time outside of the US since LPR or CPR status was gained.

The 2 yr gets abbreviated to 3 months short of date of condition removal if conditional.. (just for ref)

Then once the time outside accumulates to more than 4 years in the last 5 years, then re-entry permits can get reduced down to 6 months.

I-131 Re-Entry must be filed while "admitted" and "physically present" to the U.S. Offshore mailed apps have been shut down in appeals (lots of references)... then biometrics done here...

but he can have the actual extended re-entry permit mailed to USCIS Office or US consulary post overseas.

While the USICS Adjudicators manual has review guidance on re-entry permits... one suspects more of a stamping as few stories of rejections appear......

UNDER 6 MONTHS - NEVER LEAVES

If an LPR leaves U.S. for under 6 months--- he technically is not "seeking admission" --- he is admitted and left for a temporary trip. not up for domicile/public charge review.

6 - 12 MONTHS - "Seeks Admission" -- Re-Entry Permit creates Presumption of Non-Abandonment

Leaving over 6 months -- he is "seeking admission" and domicile/abandonment may be visited--- HOWEVER, the Re-Entry permit leaves the

CBP officer with the idea that the USCIS has pre-determined non-abandonment and therefore would rarely question this.

CBP manual released under FOIA provides some guidance on their viewpoints there.

12 MONTHS + Not technically permitted to seek admission without RE-ENTRY PERMIT / U.S. GOVT ORDERS military/agency or spouse of party

That being said, many many paroled in and queued for the IJ to argue non abandonment.

Can CBP question a RE-ENTRY PERMIT - yes --- in practice.... well let's here a story of a RE-ENTRY PERMIT ignored and the person not paroled in or otherwise admitted...

Still OP QUESTION is just about the NATURALIZATION CALCS...... and had few responses...

OP MUST HAVE MISTAKENLY THOUGHT IT WAS A SUPPORT FORUM AND NOT PUBLIC JUDGMENT PLACE.

OP - Easier for you to read the Adjudicator's Manual on the USCIS website on the calculation then wondering.... afterall in your interview if there was an issue you would mount a defense using USCIS training guidance, statutory references, and case references and it's nicely summarized in the training guide.

But is it Support to provide simplistic and inevitably misleading comments on what is a fact specific and complicated sector of Immigration law?

[Hypnos 6,576]

My final post, since you obviously have all of this well in hand.

Your father-in-law is not complying with the terms of his green card by only entering for a couple of months for the past ten years or so. As an LPR he needs to spend the majority, not the minority, of his time inside the US which is his permanent residence. Instead he is living and working overseas but trying to maintain his green card to basically use as a tourist visa. USCIS has started to figure this out by limiting the validity of his re-entry permit (this is not an "extension"). At some point CBP are probably going to notice what he's up to as well, and honestly I'm surprised they haven't already. Probably his prolonged use of re-entry permits has kept the wolves at bay, but even that is not bulletproof.

It's possible CBP could ask him to voluntarily surrender his green card when he attempts to re-enter. If he declines then they may give him a Notice To Appear in immigration court where they would recommend to the immigration judge that his LPR status be revoked due to abandonment. It's also possible that if he's finally going to actually move to the US next year - as he was meant to when he obtained his green card in the first place - then he'll be able to keep it.

Either way, if he's spending such little time in the US then he obviously does not qualify to file for naturalisation right now due to failing both the physical presence and continuous residence requirements.

At this point you should be more concerned with keeping his green card than obtaining US citizenship.

[London2SFrancisco 5]

My final post, since you obviously have all of this well in hand.

Your father-in-law is not complying with the terms of his green card by only entering for a couple of months for the past ten years or so. As an LPR he needs to spend the majority, not the minority, of his time inside the US which is his permanent residence. Instead he is living and working overseas but trying to maintain his green card to basically use as a tourist visa. USCIS has started to figure this out by limiting the validity of his re-entry permit (this is not an "extension"). At some point CBP are probably going to notice what he's up to as well, and honestly I'm surprised they haven't already. Probably his prolonged use of re-entry permits has kept the wolves at bay, but even that is not bulletproof.

It's possible CBP could ask him to voluntarily surrender his green card when he attempts to re-enter. If he declines then they may give him a Notice To Appear in immigration court where they would recommend to the immigration judge that his LPR status be revoked due to abandonment. It's also possible that if he's finally going to actually move to the US next year - as he was meant to when he obtained his green card in the first place - then he'll be able to keep it.

Either way, if he's spending such little time in the US then he obviously does not qualify to file for naturalisation right now due to failing both the physical presence and continuous residence requirements.

At this point you should be more concerned with keeping his green card than obtaining US citizenship.

Thanks to everybody who tried to help, I really appreciate it. There are some grey areas that have been identified by you all which I will check with an immigration lawyer.

@hypnos - not sure why you were unnecessarily personal sometimes with comments like ' he wants to jig the system' and all that without even knowing and understanding the situation and matter in depth especially when these are sensitive matters. However, i agree with few certain valid points you made out of many. Thank you for that.

[alex06m 2]

Thanks to everybody who tried to help, I really appreciate it. There are some grey areas that have been identified by you all which I will check with an immigration lawyer.

@hypnos - not sure why you were unnecessarily personal sometimes with comments like ' he wants to jig the system' and all that without even knowing and understanding the situation and matter in depth especially when these are sensitive matters. However, i agree with few certain valid points you made out of many. Thank you for that.

After reading and re-reading all the comments, I thought it should be clarified: if your father-in-law has all this time a Reentry permit ("extension" is not a good word in fact, and this is why it was a kind of confusing for some of us) it doesn't matter how much time he is spending in the US, you cannot really count almost any time from any year that he is spending in the US toward "physical presence requirement" under Reentry permit. He should "go back" to the US first and then have 2.5 years out of 5 physically spent in the US. Some of them could be under Reentry permit, but not all. It is written in the Reentry permit book and in the USCIS guide (you have a link from Nick-Nick).

I know some people who became USC and spent only couple of weeks in the US, some of them did it with help of immigration lawyers, but in fact it is not a "grey area", there is a pretty clear and obvious reasoning behind it and it's the choice of your father-in-law of course if he wants with your help and the one of lawyers to pretend that he is continuously living in the US and is planning to do so.

[GandD 5,966]

Personal attack removed as well as a few posts continuing the drama.

It looks like this thread has run its course and the OP has "an" answer. As a result I'm closing the thread to prevent any additional drama. OP, if you would like this thread reopened, report this post and we will review.