Foreign Travel As A Permanent Resident (Greencard holder))

[ktahi 0]

Hi All,

I have been a permanent resident since July 2018 and have travelled internationally so far on 4 occasions and each trip has been for about 3-4 weeks. 

I recently got married in June 2021 and my wife's I-130 application is in process with USCIS. Considering the long wait time for the F2A category at the Potomac Service center, I wanted to travel abroad for about 3 months from August 2022 to October 2022 to spend some time with my wife.
I am worried that I might be risking my permanent resident status if I stay out of the US for so long. Can I face scrutiny at the airport by CBP? Has anyone else been away for so long? If so how was your experience while entering with the CBP?

 

Prior to this I travelled internationally for 1 month in December 2021.

 

Thank you in advance for all your suggestions.

[Mike E 11,723]

3 months is fine.  At 3 moths you are still spending 75 percent of your time in the USA. 

[Verrou 1,899]

general rule of thumb : stay in US for minimum 180 days ( 6 months), as long as u do that, u will be ok

[Mike E 11,723]

9 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

general rule of thumb : stay in US for minimum 180 days ( 6 months), as long as u do that, u will be ok

I disagree  because: 

 

1. 180 / 366 < 50 percent. Thus less than 50 percent of time is spent in the USA. Thus is sufficient grounds for a Notice to Appear (NTA). 

 

and 

 

2. 365 - 180 > 180. Thus a continuous absence of 181 days or more which is sufficient grounds for an NTA. 
 

6 months  is not 180 days.  

 

 

 

[Verrou 1,899]

4 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I disagree  because: 

 

1. 180 / 366 < 50 percent. Thus less than 50 percent of time is spent in the USA. Thus is sufficient grounds for a Notice to Appear (NTA). 

 

and 

 

2. 365 - 180 > 180. Thus a continuous absence of 181 days or more which is sufficient grounds for an NTA. 
 

6 months  is not 180 days.  

 

 

 

yeah, i never will go for bare minimum though. 

i agree if u count to the dot, 180 days is not enough, hence i said minimum. 

almost everyone that i know will not go for bare minimum

[Dashinka 23,242]

If you have any thoughts that this trip will last longer than 6 months, you can look at getting a re-entry permit via the I131.  You would need to apply for this and attend the biometrics appointment before you depart the US, but you can have the card sent to the consulate of the country where you will be.

 

Beyond that, I agree, if only 3 months, you will be fine.

 

Good Luck!

[arken 4,197]

32 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I disagree  because: 

 

1. 180 / 366 < 50 percent. Thus less than 50 percent of time is spent in the USA. Thus is sufficient grounds for a Notice to Appear (NTA). 

 

and 

 

2. 365 - 180 > 180. Thus a continuous absence of 181 days or more which is sufficient grounds for an NTA. 
 

6 months  is not 180 days.  

 

 

 

I'd be surprised if there is a single person who got served with NTA by staying abroad for lets  say 250 days (>180 days), unless the person is making such trips multiple times while traveling to the US for just few weeks in between.

 

Uscis itself uses 6 months (180 days) figuratively so not sure why users here can't use 6 months terminology here.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3

1. Absence of More than 6 Months (but Less than 1 Year)

An absence of more than 6 months (more than 180 days) but less than 1 year (less than 365 days) during the period for which continuous residence is required (also called “the statutory period”) is presumed to break the continuity of such residence.^[12] This includes any absence that takes place during the statutory period before the applicant files the naturalization application and any absence between the filing of the application and the applicant’s admission to citizenship.^[13]

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by arken

[ktahi 0]

40 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

If you have any thoughts that this trip will last longer than 6 months, you can look at getting a re-entry permit via the I131.  You would need to apply for this and attend the biometrics appointment before you depart the US, but you can have the card sent to the consulate of the country where you will be.

 

Beyond that, I agree, if only 3 months, you will be fine.

 

Good Luck!

I plan for it to be just a 3 month trip, I have already booked the return tickets as well. Should I take documents with me to prove my ties to the US? Like an employment letter, bank statements etc?

[Dashinka 23,242]

24 minutes ago, ktahi said:

I plan for it to be just a 3 month trip, I have already booked the return tickets as well. Should I take documents with me to prove my ties to the US? Like an employment letter, bank statements etc?

If it is definitely only 3 months, then all you should need is your GC.

 

Good Luck!

[arken 4,197]

1 hour ago, ktahi said:

I plan for it to be just a 3 month trip, I have already booked the return tickets as well. Should I take documents with me to prove my ties to the US? Like an employment letter, bank statements etc?

Don't worry about such at all. Enjoy your trip and relax.

[Kai G. Llewellyn 821]

6 hours ago, Mike E said:

I disagree  because: 

 

1. 180 / 366 < 50 percent. Thus less than 50 percent of time is spent in the USA. Thus is sufficient grounds for a Notice to Appear (NTA). 

 

and 

 

2. 365 - 180 > 180. Thus a continuous absence of 181 days or more which is sufficient grounds for an NTA. 
 

6 months  is not 180 days.  

 

 

 

Time alone is not sufficient to conclude residence was abandoned. One could theoretically have abandoned their LPR after a week, or have preserved it after a 2 year absence. It is all down to intentions and that comes down to factors surrounding the absence, ties in the US and ties abroad. Time is just one factor that contributes to the totality of the circumstances which can lead to status abandonment.

 

If OP is simply taking a 6 month vacation/sabbatical to go travelling, but otherwise maintains a residence, domicile, and ties in the US and has none abroad, absolutely no CBP officer will file an NTA for that. On the other hand, if someone leaves for 6 months, buys a home overseas, lives and works there and then ends up coming back to the US on a round trip ticket for a week...then that's a different matter.
 

The 6 months/12 months is moreso a matter for the continuous residence requirement for naturalization, and that after 6 months an LPR becomes an applicant for admission, so grounds of inadmissibility can then apply. However, the easiest way to keep the you off the radar is to ensure that a majority of days since your admission as an immigrant were in the US rather than overseas, but it's not an absolute rule by any means.

 

tl;dr imo OP will be fine.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[Sarah&Facundo 576]

My husband and I went on a four month trip to backpack Europe the summer of 2019 after he immigrated in 2018. He had only had his green card for a few months at that point. Absolutely no issues returning. They never asked a single question.

 

A few months later we went to his home country for 6 weeks. Therefore 5.5 months outside the US. Once again, nothing was asked when he returned.

Edited June 25, 2022 by Sarah&Facundo

[Mike E 11,723]

14 hours ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

My husband and I went on a four month trip to backpack Europe the summer of 2019 after he immigrated in 2018. He had only had his green card for a few months at that point. Absolutely no issues returning. They never asked a single question.

If he immigrated in say December and left  USA on say July for 4 moths then upon return at least 60 percent of his time was spent in the USA. 

14 hours ago, Sarah&Facundo said:

 

A few months later we went to his home country for 6 weeks. Therefore 5.5 months outside the US. Once again, nothing was asked when he returned.

If he left in August and returned October, then 5.5 months absence out of 10 months was pushing his luck, assuming he immigrated in December. 
 

Single anecdotes don’t prove it is safe to spend more time outside the USA than in.  It isn’t and when people post on VJ and other forums that they got a hassle from CBP for doing so there is generally not not much sympathy.  

[ktahi 0]

Thank you everyone for your replies, I feel much more relaxed taking this trip now.