Drudging This Up Again

[Khal_Drogo 50]

So my wife and I are going back to the States for Christmas/New Year's. We are flying from England to the U.S. with a layover in Iceland. Now, we have her extension letter and her expired green card, but as some of you know from the March Filer's thread, her ROC was approved November 25th. There are absolutely no Infopass appointments available in all of the UK between now and the time we are due to leave to get an I-551 stamp (actually, there were none anyways before that; the USCIS embassy staff is three people total in London).

Now, I have heard that most people get into the States no problem with the extension letter, and we have that letter, her expired green card, her letter stating her ROC has been approved, my military orders with her on them, her military dependent ID, and our passports.

Now, will this be an issue at all? She has not been back to the U.S. since we first came to England back in January of 2014, so we don't know what to expect really.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Given that battery of documents I doubt she would have any issue re-entering the US.

[Khal_Drogo 50]

My other issue is we are flying Icelandair, who requires ID info be provided before checking in. Her Green Card comes back invalid because of the expiration date, and since we are UK, their UK customer service line is having trouble getting me info on how to fix it.

We have the small chance her 10 year GC arrives before we leave and it goes off without a hitch. But we're worried that we won't, and it may cause an issue.

[NikLR 13,220]

She has the 1 year extension right? That's the ID you need along with her expired green card and her passport.

[slvrfx576 15]

I am certainly no expert, but it would seem to me that since your wife has been outside of the US for almost 2 years her legal permanent resident status may be considered to have been abandoned.

[Hypnos 6,576]

You are mistaken.

Time spent outside the US on military service or as the spouse of someone on military service is considered to be in the US for USCIS purposes.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Hypnos

[Khal_Drogo 50]

I am certainly no expert, but it would seem to me that since your wife has been outside of the US for almost 2 years her legal permanent resident status may be considered to have been abandoned.

Normally you would be correct.

However, I am in the Air Force on active duty, and currently stationed in the United Kingdom. Spouses of active duty military personnel stationed abroad on orders are considered to be on U.S. soil for the purposes of immigration. If that were true, her ROC would not have been approved.