how many months can a green card holder spend outside the U.S

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

6 hours ago, CEE53147 said:

Apply for a reentry permit. 

Not required for a 4-mo visit

[CEE53147 559]

2 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

Not required for a 4-mo visit

 

True, but emergencies occur while outside the US preventing a return as planned.  It is better to prepare for an unexpected need to stay longer.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

OP is planning to visit a spouse and return in 4 mos. No issues

[arken 4,197]

32 minutes ago, CEE53147 said:

 

True, but emergencies occur while outside the US preventing a return as planned.  It is better to prepare for an unexpected need to stay longer.

Pointless to waste $660 for reentry permit unless one is planning to be out of US for more than a year, intentionally or unintentionally. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by arken

[CEE53147 559]

$660 is cheap rather than risk losing GC.    Better safe than sorry.  If you cannot afford the $660, you cannot afford not to work for 4 months.

[Unidentified 2,930]

Total waste of money. There have only been a handful (barely even that) people on VJ that has ever been in a situation where a short trip home ended up with an emergency so bad they had to stay longer than a year. 

[arken 4,197]

45 minutes ago, CEE53147 said:

$660 is cheap rather than risk losing GC.    Better safe than sorry.  If you cannot afford the $660, you cannot afford not to work for 4 months.

Just because one can afford it doesn’t mean one needs to waste it in something not required. A Return Permit (RP) doesn’t mean a guaranteed admission into the US. 

 

As long as the OP is maintaining his residence in the US, one time 4-5 months trip abroad would not be a problem. 

 

If OP was going for 9-10 months, may be RP is a good idea in case that get extended to more than a year.

[CEE53147 559]

2 hours ago, Unidentified said:

Total waste of money. There have only been a handful (barely even that) people on VJ that has ever been in a situation where a short trip home ended up with an emergency so bad they had to stay longer than a year. 

 

There will be people who come whining the VJ that for reason XYZ they had to stay out of US for so long that their GC was forfeited, and they want to know what to do.  If the reason for the first GC no longer exists (such as the sponsor is now dead), the answer is SOL.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

2 hours ago, CEE53147 said:

 

There will be people who come whining the VJ that for reason XYZ they had to stay out of US for so long that their GC was forfeited, and they want to know what to do.  If the reason for the first GC no longer exists (such as the sponsor is now dead), the answer is SOL.

Misfortune could befall anyone, but OP has stated a 4-month duration of intended visit. If she had mentioned anything beyond 6 or more months of intended travel, we'd all have recommended a RP.  But at this juncture spending 660 bucks would not be efficient. 

[SalishSea 16,770]

2 hours ago, CEE53147 said:

 

There will be people who come whining the VJ that for reason XYZ they had to stay out of US for so long that their GC was forfeited, and they want to know what to do.  If the reason for the first GC no longer exists (such as the sponsor is now dead), the answer is SOL.

Really?   Interesting.

[CEE53147 559]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

Really?   Interesting.

 

 

If someone loses their GC, he/she will need to start again.  If the sponsor was a now dead parent,  ....

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 hour ago, CEE53147 said:

 

 

If someone loses their GC, he/she will need to start again.  If the sponsor was a now dead parent,  ....

If it was the kind of catastrophic emergency you mentioned earlier it would be justification for a SB1 returning resident visa. You don’t need the original sponsor still alive for that.

[CEE53147 559]

One  might choose to remain with a family member rather than return to the US.  That is not beyond the GC holder's control.  A reentry permit is cheaper than plane fare.

 

If someone is worried about a relatively small amount for the reentry permit,they need to reconsider leaving their job and spending the money on travel.

 

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Yes, one might “choose to remain”, but that seems unlikely if the family member is the person the LPR wants to sponsor for a green card, being clearly cognizant of the requirements for domicile etc, and almost certainly irrelevant to the OP’s question about spending 4 months away with said spouse.

 

of course some people do plan for every possible permutation of outcome lol, but most of us go with most likely or most reasonable risk scenario.

Edited March 19, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[Boiler 43,433]

Must admit I have never not come back when I expected to so the concept of staying much longer is hard to conceptualise.