Advice for “abandonment” of I751

[mmonster 0]

Before reaching out to immigration lawyers I wanted to see if any kind souls have some experienced advice to share:

 

I am a Singaporean citizen married to a US citizen. We went through a legal marriage. I was working and paying taxes in US, but when I became pregnant, I decided to move back to singapore as I wanted to birth him in Sg (with the support of my family, plus child Is a dual citizen). Before I left, I applied for I751. I left US on Dec 6 2017 and I was told by US consulate that I have to return by Dec 5 2018 or I would have considered to abandon my I571. 

 

Question:

-if I do return before Dec 5 2018, how long do I have to stay in the States for?

 

-If I abandon this petition for now, Consulate informed that spouse can reapply for me in the future. At what success rate would it be and how long will it take? Will it be furthered delayed or compromised because I had previous abandoned status? 

 

If you have any answers or tips, I will be grateful. Thank you! 

Edited August 10, 2018 by mmonster

[Jojo92122 1,924]

A green card is for living in the US.  It's not for visiting the US.

 

You don't have to stay in the US.  You could leave anytime you want.  Failure to live in the US and take up residency in your home country can be deemed an abandonment of your green card.

 

You want a green card and you want to live in your home country.  The two is incompatible.   Pick having a green card and live in the US or give up your green card to live in your home country.  

[Dee elle 1,368]

18 minutes ago, mmonster said:

Before reaching out to immigration lawyers I wanted to see if any kind souls have some experienced advice to share:

 

I am a Singaporean citizen married to a US citizen. We went through a legal marriage. I was working and paying taxes in US, but when I became pregnant, I decided to move back to singapore as I wanted to birth him in Sg (with the support of my family, plus child Is a dual citizen). Before I left, I applied for I751. I left US on Dec 6 2017 and I was told by US consulate that I have to return by Dec 5 2018 or I would have considered to abandon my I571. 

 

Question:

-if I do return before Dec 5 2018, how long do I have to stay in the States for?

 

-If I abandon this petition for now, Consulate informed that spouse can reapply for me in the future. At what success rate would it be and how long will it take? Will it be furthered delayed or compromised because I had previous abandoned status? 

 

If you have any answers or tips, I will be grateful. Thank you! 

You can abandon or voluntarily relinquish the GC and be able to reapply in the future. You would need to demonstrate a bonafide relationship which, if you and your spouse are living in different countries for extended periods,  may be very difficult 

Consider applying for a reentry permit when you come back to the US before the 1 yr has elapsed .. it will allow you to remain overseas for 2 years without abandoning the GC.. but it is only delaying the inevitable need to decide where you will live 

Remember too that if you are called for an interview for your ROC, you will be required to demonstrate a continuing bonafide relationship  .. 1yr apart as a personal choice rather than necessity may not look good to the  IO 

[TNJ17 1,329]

20 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

A green card is for living in the US.  It's not for visiting the US.

This. 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

As the others have said, the whole point of being a green card holder is that you want be in the US PERMANENTLY and it is YOUR responsibility to prove that to the American government. There is no such thing as a standard "minimum" time you would have to be in the US as a GC holder. There is only the general policy that if a GC holder is out of the US for 6 months or more, they are at risk of abandoning their permanent resident status. As that time approaches 12 months, that risk basically turns into a certainty. Meaning you WILL be considered to have abandoned your status if you are out of the US for a year or close to it.

 

As for reapplying, of course you are allowed. But you and your spouse will have wasted all the time and energy and money put into the process up to this point and will have to start from square one and pay all the fees all over again. If you wish to naturalize, your clock would completely restart as well. I personally am not someone who would want my life to go this way because none of us are getting any younger and I also hate spending my resources twice on the same thing. They would take your entire immigration history into account if you were to do this a second time. It would probably be hard for them to believe you want to live in the US permanently the second time since you're showing you don't seem to want to be here permanently during your first time as a GC holder.

[mmonster 0]

36 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

You can abandon or voluntarily relinquish the GC and be able to reapply in the future. You would need to demonstrate a bonafide relationship which, if you and your spouse are living in different countries for extended periods,  may be very difficult 

Consider applying for a reentry permit when you come back to the US before the 1 yr has elapsed .. it will allow you to remain overseas for 2 years without abandoning the GC.. but it is only delaying the inevitable need to decide where you will live 

Remember too that if you are called for an interview for your ROC, you will be required to demonstrate a continuing bonafide relationship  .. 1yr apart as a personal choice rather than necessity may not look good to the  IO 

Can you elaborate on a bonafide relationship? My husband and I moved to Singapore as a family. So we're not living separately. 

 

What is the code for this re-entry permit? Is it something that I can find online and submit to the US embassy here?

 

I understand that ultimately I would have to make a decision on whether I want to live in the US. But that does not seem likely for the next few years, which is what I'm trying to gathering all the information I can right now. 

 

I've also heard that you are able to freeze the green card, but not for long. Would you know anything about this?

[mmonster 0]

18 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

As the others have said, the whole point of being a green card holder is that you want be in the US PERMANENTLY and it is YOUR responsibility to prove that to the American government. There is no such thing as a standard "minimum" time you would have to be in the US as a GC holder. There is only the general policy that if a GC holder is out of the US for 6 months or more, they are at risk of abandoning their permanent resident status. As that time approaches 12 months, that risk basically turns into a certainty. Meaning you WILL be considered to have abandoned your status if you are out of the US for a year or close to it.

 

As for reapplying, of course you are allowed. But you and your spouse will have wasted all the time and energy and money put into the process up to this point and will have to start from square one and pay all the fees all over again. If you wish to naturalize, your clock would completely restart as well. I personally am not someone who would want my life to go this way because none of us are getting any younger and I also hate spending my resources twice on the same thing. They would take your entire immigration history into account if you were to do this a second time. It would probably be hard for them to believe you want to live in the US permanently the second time since you're showing you don't seem to want to be here permanently during your first time as a GC holder.

This is my spouse's point, that we would have wasted the time and energy and money that we've put it thus far. But our lives are in here in Singapore at the moment and I don't see us moving back in the next 5 years or so. 

 

We definitely have intentions to do so as we have plans to put our child through high school & college in the US, but I know holding on the a GC from now till then is not a possibility while I'm living here. My main concern is how long it will take if I abandon my status now, to reapply and get it again in the future as it will affect whether I can work in the US. 

 

Thanks your for 2 cents. 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

12 minutes ago, mmonster said:

Can you elaborate on a bonafide relationship? My husband and I moved to Singapore as a family. So we're not living separately. 

 

What is the code for this re-entry permit? Is it something that I can find online and submit to the US embassy here?

 

I understand that ultimately I would have to make a decision on whether I want to live in the US. But that does not seem likely for the next few years, which is what I'm trying to gathering all the information I can right now. 

 

I've also heard that you are able to freeze the green card, but not for long. Would you know anything about this?

I don't believe such a thing as "freezing the green card" exists.

[Dee elle 1,368]

8 hours ago, mmonster said:

Can you elaborate on a bonafide relationship? My husband and I moved to Singapore as a family. So we're not living separately. 

 

What is the code for this re-entry permit? Is it something that I can find online and submit to the US embassy here?

 

I understand that ultimately I would have to make a decision on whether I want to live in the US. But that does not seem likely for the next few years, which is what I'm trying to gathering all the information I can right now. 

 

I've also heard that you are able to freeze the green card, but not for long. Would you know anything about this?

I am sorry that I incorrectly assumed you had returned to Sg without your spouse.. my bad.. you have good bonafide evidence..

 

Search Reentry permit on the USCIS site..  This is what you are thinking can "freeze" the GC. What it allows is 2 years overseas without being considered that you have abandoned your GC, I believe it can be renewed once ?  You must be in the US to apply and renew the card.. you have to stay to do biometrics but can then leave and have the card sent to the local US consulate. It could potentially give you 4 years..,

 

Reapplying and receiving a GC again will take however long the process is taking when you apply.. 2 years ago it was taking 9 months, now it is taking 14 months.... no idea what it will be in 4 or 5 years.. but the processing time is not prolonged or impacted  by your previous GC application. 

 

Hopefully you have already registered you child's birth  and dealt with obtaining USC status. 

[Dee elle 1,368]

12 hours ago, mmonster said:

This is my spouse's point, that we would have wasted the time and energy and money that we've put it thus far. But our lives are in here in Singapore at the moment and I don't see us moving back in the next 5 years or so. 

 

We definitely have intentions to do so as we have plans to put our child through high school & college in the US, but I know holding on the a GC from now till then is not a possibility while I'm living here. My main concern is how long it will take if I abandon my status now, to reapply and get it again in the future as it will affect whether I can work in the US. 

 

Thanks your for 2 cents. 

My personal opinion only ... I would choose an Sg education over the US system any day. 

[mushroomspore 3,043]

Re-entry permits can only be applied for while one is still INSIDE the US. OP can't apply for one at this point.

 

There is also a thing called a "returning resident visa". I just learned about it because of another recent thread where a guy left for 13 months and has an expired GC and extension letter. However, the returning resident visa is hard to get. You would also need to prove the reason for being out of the US was beyond your control. So unfortunately I don't believe OP would be able to get this either since she has chosen to stay out of the US for now.

[Dee elle 1,368]

3 minutes ago, mushroomspore said:

Re-entry permits can only be applied for while one is still INSIDE the US. OP can't apply for one at this point.

 

There is also a thing called a "returning resident visa". I just learned about it because of another recent thread where a guy left for 13 months and has an expired GC and extension letter. However, the returning resident visa is hard to get. You would also need to prove the reason for being out of the US was beyond your control. So unfortunately I don't believe OP would be able to get this either since she has chosen to stay out of the US for now.

Agreed. SB1 requires demonstrating that the reason for extended stay was out of your control... doesn't seem to be in this case 

[mmonster 0]

14 hours ago, Dee elle said:

My personal opinion only ... I would choose an Sg education over the US system any day. 

This is why when we found out we were expecting, we made the move back to SG. 

 

Out of curiousity, what formed your opinion on this? I was raised here so I know the pros and cons of the public school system, but always appreciate hearing the thoughts of other who are pro Sg education.

[mmonster 0]

15 hours ago, Dee elle said:

Agreed. SB1 requires demonstrating that the reason for extended stay was out of your control... doesn't seem to be in this case 

Indeed, I don’t think SB1 works considering it was a personal choice to leave. 

 

At this point I think my best option is to reapply when we are ready to return to live/work in the US, if that day comes. 

 

Son is already a USC, applied for his birth at embassy here, not sure if that will aid my case in the future. 

[Dee elle 1,368]

4 hours ago, mmonster said:

This is why when we found out we were expecting, we made the move back to SG. 

 

Out of curiousity, what formed your opinion on this? I was raised here so I know the pros and cons of the public school system, but always appreciate hearing the thoughts of other who are pro Sg education.

I am an Australian citizen, US LPR.. Australia had very strong ties with Sg as you would be aware and my personal experience, contact and understanding informs me on this. I have also  lived  in the US for 12 years.. my children were born here but like you we chose to return to AUST .. we relinquished our GC when we did that.. both children chose to move back here as adults so now  we have 6 grandkids here.. so we are here again. I know tho workings and see the outcomes of all 3 educational systems . I have some close Sg friends in Aust.