Green Card Abandoned but Now Need B-2 Visa

[Zorgon 0]

Hello Everyone,

 

I apologize in advance for such a long post but I thought that the details would be important.

 

I am a US citizen and have been working in China since 2009 as a technology consultant.  I married a Chinese citizen in 2011. In 2014 we decided to move to the USA because my work in China was wrapping up. We applied for an IR-1 visa and it was granted without much difficulty. We arrived in the USA in September 2014 and proceeded to get settled. My wife applied for and received her Social Security card and she also got a driver license.  She received her Green Card in the mail exactly one month after we arrived in the USA.

 

After we had been in the USA for about six weeks, I got a call from a Chinese company who wanted my help on some technical issues they were having.  After a few more phone calls, I received the proverbial job offer that I couldn’t refuse. I accepted the offer and my wife and I flew back to China. The original contract that I signed was only for six weeks, but the company was impressed with my work and they offered and I signed a one-year contract at the expiration of the initial contract. I then signed what amounted to an open-ended contract at the expiration of the second contract.

The contracts were somewhat flexible in that my wife and I were able to make a few trips to the USA to at least make an effort to keep her Green Card valid. Truly meeting the requirements of the Green Card were impossible because of the drastic change in our plans caused by my new job. The situation got even more extreme in late 2016 when my wife became pregnant (after many years of trying!) Her pregnancy had some complications so we were not able to travel to the USA before our baby was born. And after our baby was born, we decided that we didn’t want to take such a small child on such a long flight.

 

My wife has now been away from the USA for 28 months and we accept that her Green Card is now abandoned.  Even though we hate to give up her Green Card, I don’t think we have any choice. We don’t meet the requirements for an SB-1 visa; specifically the requirement that states that the reason for being out of the country “…was caused by reasons beyond your control and for which you were not responsible.”

 

Besides, my new job and the birth of our baby have changed our plans. We now plan on staying in China for a few more years so we would not be able to fulfill the obligations of the Green Card even if it was reinstated. However, we still want to travel to the USA on visits for the short term and then permanently move back to the USA in the longer term. So what do we do? Do we take Path 1, Path 2 or another path?

 

Path 1: We just act as if her Green Card never existed and apply for a B-2 tourist visa now and then apply for an IR-1 visa again in a few years when we are ready to permanently move back to the USA.

I’m sure that it will raise red flags for a former Green Card holder to apply for a B-2 visa, but in our case it is totally legitimate. I know that it is assumed that all tourist visa applicants have immigration intent and it is incumbent upon the applicant to prove that this is not the case. But my wife DOES have immigration intent but she doesn’t have CURRENT immigration intent.  We just want the ability to travel to the USA for short trips until we decide to move permanently. I think that we can prove that she has strong ties to China. Obviously, since I work in China, she wants to stay here with me and our baby.  She doesn’t have a job that binds her here because her full-time job is to take care of our baby. But she does have family here. We also just recently bought a new larger house (flat) in China to provide a better environment for our baby. And we put the house in my wife’s name because it greatly simplified the process.

 

Path 2: We go through the SB-1 visa process to be officially told that her Green Card is abandoned and then apply for the B-2 visa. To me this seems like the wrong approach because we know that we can’t fulfill the obligations of her Green Card.

 

We would appreciate any advice that you can offer.

[geowrian 22,335]

File the I-407 to formally abandon the existing green card. Then apply for a B-2.

Good luck.

[Roel 7,191]

Also when you apply for b2 you cant pretend that the green card never existed. That information needs to be disclosed in the application and your wife will be probably asked about it during the interview.

 

But imo her chances of getting a b2 visa are pretty high considering you are both established in China pretty well. 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

6 hours ago, Zorgon said:

 

Path 1: We just act as if her Green Card never existed and apply for a B-2 tourist visa now and then apply for an IR-1 visa again in a few years when we are ready to permanently move back to the USA.

I’m sure that it will raise red flags for a former Green Card holder to apply for a B-2 visa, but in our case it is totally legitimate. I know that it is assumed that all tourist visa applicants have immigration intent and it is incumbent upon the applicant to prove that this is not the case. But my wife DOES have immigration intent but she doesn’t have CURRENT immigration intent.  We just want the ability to travel to the USA for short trips until we decide to move permanently. I think that we can prove that she has strong ties to China. Obviously, since I work in China, she wants to stay here with me and our baby.  She doesn’t have a job that binds her here because her full-time job is to take care of our baby. But she does have family here. We also just recently bought a new larger house (flat) in China to provide a better environment for our baby. And we put the house in my wife’s name because it greatly simplified the process.

 

Path 2: We go through the SB-1 visa process to be officially told that her Green Card is abandoned and then apply for the B-2 visa. To me this seems like the wrong approach because we know that we can’t fulfill the obligations of her Green Card.

 

The Green card does indeed exist. Formally surrender it using I-407, and thereafter apply for a B2 visa. 

Forget path 2. See's not eligible for a SB-1. 

[Lil bear 3,831]

6 hours ago, Zorgon said:

Hello Everyone,

 

I apologize in advance for such a long post but I thought that the details would be important.

 

I am a US citizen and have been working in China since 2009 as a technology consultant.  I married a Chinese citizen in 2011. In 2014 we decided to move to the USA because my work in China was wrapping up. We applied for an IR-1 visa and it was granted without much difficulty. We arrived in the USA in September 2014 and proceeded to get settled. My wife applied for and received her Social Security card and she also got a driver license.  She received her Green Card in the mail exactly one month after we arrived in the USA.

 

After we had been in the USA for about six weeks, I got a call from a Chinese company who wanted my help on some technical issues they were having.  After a few more phone calls, I received the proverbial job offer that I couldn’t refuse. I accepted the offer and my wife and I flew back to China. The original contract that I signed was only for six weeks, but the company was impressed with my work and they offered and I signed a one-year contract at the expiration of the initial contract. I then signed what amounted to an open-ended contract at the expiration of the second contract.

The contracts were somewhat flexible in that my wife and I were able to make a few trips to the USA to at least make an effort to keep her Green Card valid. Truly meeting the requirements of the Green Card were impossible because of the drastic change in our plans caused by my new job. The situation got even more extreme in late 2016 when my wife became pregnant (after many years of trying!) Her pregnancy had some complications so we were not able to travel to the USA before our baby was born. And after our baby was born, we decided that we didn’t want to take such a small child on such a long flight.

 

My wife has now been away from the USA for 28 months and we accept that her Green Card is now abandoned.  Even though we hate to give up her Green Card, I don’t think we have any choice. We don’t meet the requirements for an SB-1 visa; specifically the requirement that states that the reason for being out of the country “…was caused by reasons beyond your control and for which you were not responsible.”

 

Besides, my new job and the birth of our baby have changed our plans. We now plan on staying in China for a few more years so we would not be able to fulfill the obligations of the Green Card even if it was reinstated. However, we still want to travel to the USA on visits for the short term and then permanently move back to the USA in the longer term. So what do we do? Do we take Path 1, Path 2 or another path?

 

Path 1: We just act as if her Green Card never existed and apply for a B-2 tourist visa now and then apply for an IR-1 visa again in a few years when we are ready to permanently move back to the USA.

I’m sure that it will raise red flags for a former Green Card holder to apply for a B-2 visa, but in our case it is totally legitimate. I know that it is assumed that all tourist visa applicants have immigration intent and it is incumbent upon the applicant to prove that this is not the case. But my wife DOES have immigration intent but she doesn’t have CURRENT immigration intent.  We just want the ability to travel to the USA for short trips until we decide to move permanently. I think that we can prove that she has strong ties to China. Obviously, since I work in China, she wants to stay here with me and our baby.  She doesn’t have a job that binds her here because her full-time job is to take care of our baby. But she does have family here. We also just recently bought a new larger house (flat) in China to provide a better environment for our baby. And we put the house in my wife’s name because it greatly simplified the process.

 

Path 2: We go through the SB-1 visa process to be officially told that her Green Card is abandoned and then apply for the B-2 visa. To me this seems like the wrong approach because we know that we can’t fulfill the obligations of her Green Card.

 

We would appreciate any advice that you can offer.

Path 2. This is certainly not an uncommon situation and should not be an issue. Have you gone through registering the child’s birth abroad? This will impact whether the child needs a visa or a US passport to enter the US

[Zorgon 0]

Thanks very much to everyone for all the great advice! We now have a path forward. We will submit form I-407 and then apply for a B-2 visa.

 

Responding to Lil bear’s question:

“Have you gone through registering the child’s birth abroad? This will impact whether the child needs a visa or a US passport to enter the US?”

 

No, we have not yet registered our child’s birth at the consulate. She is currently listed on her Mother’s Hukou. We are still considering the best approach to get travel documents for her.

[Liam2021 551]

1. Do CRBA for your child, after that apply B-2.If B2 is deny, then the second IR1 visa is the only option.

[Zorgon 0]

Do you think it's important to do the CRBA before applying for the B-2 visa?