New IR1 and business travel

[My_Wife_and_I 1]

I hope I have posted this in the right subforum. My wife (Chinese citizen) has recently received her IR1 and will make her initial POE in a couple weeks. I am a US citizen and we have been married for over 6 years. She has been employed in China by a US company for the last several years to help develop their Chinese market. It seems the company would still like to keep her employed after her receiving US LPR status, but will want her to be in China for a considerable amount of time each year (each trip to China for approx 3 months or so, definitely less than 6 mo). One of our concerns is quite obvious - we don't want to risk her immigration status (perception of abandoning greencard). We have read a lot about this and are confused about the real rules used to determine this. Some simply say it is required to sleep in the US more nights than out of the country, others say be out of the US for less than six months, some say be out of the US for less than a year. It is also quite possible that I have misunderstood what I have read as well. We are definitely confused. Her job pays quite well and she would hate to have to give it up, but of course would if need be. This brings us to our next question. Her US employer pays her in China in USD's that are converted by a Chinese service company (as required by China for tax reporting purposes) to RMB and deposited in a Chinese bank. I am certain we need to consult a tax advisor on how to handle this for IRS filing purposes, but can this also affect her immigration status? Just for the record, we own homes free and clear both in the US and China and have joint bank accounts (checking, savings) here in the US (no joint accounts in China). Thank you so much for considering this long-winded post.

[A'n'L 735]

For the taxes, she has to make sure to file (not necessarily pay) taxes in the US on all her foreign earnings, as well as report any foreign assets. Consulting a tax professional might be helpful.

 

As for the residency, it's confusing because there's no set in stone rule. It will always be up to the CBP at her return to the US to assess whether she is keeping up with her residency or not. Spending three months out of the country should not be an issue as long as she is maintaining ties to the US (home, family, bank accounts, DL etc).

[My_Wife_and_I 1]

18 minutes ago, A'n'L said:

For the taxes, she has to make sure to file (not necessarily pay) taxes in the US on all her foreign earnings, as well as report any foreign assets. Consulting a tax professional might be helpful.

 

As for the residency, it's confusing because there's no set in stone rule. It will always be up to the CBP at her return to the US to assess whether she is keeping up with her residency or not. Spending three months out of the country should not be an issue as long as she is maintaining ties to the US (home, family, bank accounts, DL etc).

Thank you for your help. Her job may require multiple trips to China each year. Seems CBP may evaluate both consecutive and cumulative time outside the US. No single trip would approach 6 mo (3 mo or less is more likely), but we are worried if the total time away over a year adds up to more than 180 days.

Edited April 17, 2017 by My_Wife_and_I

[A'n'L 735]

37 minutes ago, My_Wife_and_I said:

Thank you for your help. Her job may require multiple trips to China each year. Seems CBP may evaluate both consecutive and cumulative time outside the US. No single trip would approach 6 mo (3 mo or less is more likely), but we are worried if the total time away over a year adds up to more than 180 days.

Especially with foreign employment, repeated trips of long duration might become problematic after a while.