Amount of time you can be outside the USA with Advance Parole?

[kurtbead 0]

We are doing the K1 visa and eventually my fiance wants to move to the USA but she has a business in Colombia that she wants to keep growing so we want to spend a lot of time in Colombia even after receiving approval. Is it perfectly ok for her to come to the USA after the K1 approval, get married and get her advance parole approved and then use that to travel outside of the USA for say 6-9 months? Or do they frown on it or ask questions if you are using it to be outside of the USA for that long

 

Thanks for any help

[JeanneAdil 6,554]

she is not suppose to work in our outside the US till she has the EAD to do so

[Crazy Cat 41,980]

34 minutes ago, kurtbead said:

We are doing the K1 visa and eventually my fiance wants to move to the USA but she has a business in Colombia that she wants to keep growing so we want to spend a lot of time in Colombia even after receiving approval. Is it perfectly ok for her to come to the USA after the K1 approval, get married and get her advance parole approved and then use that to travel outside of the USA for say 6-9 months? Or do they frown on it or ask questions if you are using it to be outside of the USA for that long

 

Thanks for any help

In theory, up to a year.  I would expect any absence over 6 moths to receive a lot of scrutiny. 

[kurtbead 0]

11 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

In theory, up to a year.  I would expect any absence over 6 moths to receive a lot of scrutiny. 

Ok thanks. So probably the best plan is to maybe leave in 3 month chunks, come back to the USA for a month, and then go back to Colombia for 3 months to keep it to smaller periods abroad

[appleblossom 2,687]

43 minutes ago, kurtbead said:

Ok thanks. So probably the best plan is to maybe leave in 3 month chunks, come back to the USA for a month, and then go back to Colombia for 3 months to keep it to smaller periods abroad

 

She can do that but should spend more time in the US than in Colombia - if she's suspected of not living in the US (as a permanent resident she's supposed to be - as the name implies - resident there) then she may run in to issues. 

 

If her being able to work and grow the business is a priority, then it may be worth looking at the spousal visa instead of the K1. With K1 she'll have quite a long time before she can work (even remotely) or leave the US. 

[SalishSea 17,928]

5 hours ago, kurtbead said:

We are doing the K1 visa and eventually my fiance wants to move to the USA but she has a business in Colombia that she wants to keep growing so we want to spend a lot of time in Colombia even after receiving approval. Is it perfectly ok for her to come to the USA after the K1 approval, get married and get her advance parole approved and then use that to travel outside of the USA for say 6-9 months? Or do they frown on it or ask questions if you are using it to be outside of the USA for that long

 

Thanks for any help

I’d be very nervous doing this.   Even with a green card-  the point is to reside in the U.S., but it doesn’t sound like this is the plan.

[kurtbead 0]

Do you know why it would be an issue? Point is to be on a path to citizenship/residency

 

Im a US citizen and that is what my life is, spending half the time outside of the country and that is kind of the type of life we want, winters in Colombia. I get being a citizen is different, but why would they have an issue with it

[EmilyW 1,452]

You might want to look up responsibilities of being an LPR, as they are different from being a US citizen.

 

Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) | USCIS

 

Maintaining Permanent Residence | USCIS

 

International Travel as a Permanent Resident | USCIS

 

 

 

 

[Ontarkie 14,275]

~~Moved to Working and Traveling During Immigration, from K1 P&P - as the OP is asking about traveling and working after entry on a K1 but before AOS is approved.~~

[kurtbead 0]

35 minutes ago, EmilyW said:

You might want to look up responsibilities of being an LPR, as they are different from being a US citizen.

 

Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) | USCIS

 

Maintaining Permanent Residence | USCIS

 

International Travel as a Permanent Resident | USCIS

 

 

 

 

Ok thank you, those links are helpful. So it seems like over 180 days at a time is pretty risky. Hopefully that isnt cumulative over the years

 

Definitely annoying how unclear the rules are and how strict they can be on traveling outside the country, seems like it shouldnt be that big of an issue. But it is what it is and we have to deal with it

[Cathi 5,771]

2 hours ago, kurtbead said:

Do you know why it would be an issue? Point is to be on a path to citizenship/residency

 

Im a US citizen and that is what my life is, spending half the time outside of the country and that is kind of the type of life we want, winters in Colombia. I get being a citizen is different, but why would they have an issue with it

Yes, because a green card is for living in the U.S. She must spend the majority of her time living in the U.S

[JKLSemicolon 414]

If you know that this is the situation ahead of time, a K1 visa followed by Adjustment of Status is not a very good fit.

 

Two alternatives that seem more appropriate could be:

 

1) Get married and file for a spousal visa, delaying at the NVC stage as needed until she is truly ready to immigrate to the US. Depending on how long it takes to wrap up things with the business, she may be eligible for a 10-year GC and avoid ROC when all is said and done.

 

2) Get married and file for a spousal visa, and if she is still not ready to live in the US by the time the visa is issued, have her apply for a re-entry permit and complete biometrics after entering the US with the visa and before going back to Colombia. Even better if she were to wait until the GC is in hand before leaving the US.

 

I realize you may already have started the K1 visa but speaking from experience, that doesn’t mean you can’t still change course (sunk cost fallacy and all that).

Edited July 23 by JKLSemicolon

[Nous Eb 128]

40 minutes ago, Conchas Chinas said:

I'm genuinely curious where it states one would need an EAD for work outside of the US?

 +1

[JKLSemicolon 414]

52 minutes ago, Conchas Chinas said:

I'm genuinely curious where it states one would need an EAD for work outside of the US?

I can’t think of a situation where this would be the case for work outside the US. Remote work for a foreign employer (or in this case, running a foreign business) while physically present in the US is a different story as mentioned upthread.

Edited July 23 by JKLSemicolon

[kurtbead 0]

1 hour ago, JKLSemicolon said:

If you know that this is the situation ahead of time, a K1 visa followed by Adjustment of Status is not a very good fit.

 

Two alternatives that seem more appropriate could be:

 

1) Get married and file for a spousal visa, delaying at the NVC stage as needed until she is truly ready to immigrate to the US. Depending on how long it takes to wrap up things with the business, she may be eligible for a 10-year GC and avoid ROC when all is said and done.

 

2) Get married and file for a spousal visa, and if she is still not ready to live in the US by the time the visa is issued, have her apply for a re-entry permit and complete biometrics after entering the US with the visa and before going back to Colombia. Even better if she were to wait until the GC is in hand before leaving the US.

 

I realize you may already have started the K1 visa but speaking from experience, that doesn’t mean you can’t still change course (sunk cost fallacy and all that).

Thank you for the suggestions, this is helpful. 

 

Unfortunately we have a pretty heavy sunk cost on the K1, started it in Aug 2022 and we have been able to schedule the interview since January 2024 but have just been delaying it until she is ready to spend an extended period in the USA to get Advance Parole, Work Authorization and start the Adjustment of Status. But looking at the timeline and the current average wait for Adjustment of Status is 414 days, that is a lot longer than I thought. Do you think it would be ok if she was in Colombia for two separate 3 month periods during that time using her Advance Parole?

 

Initially we avoided the spousal visa because she is Venezuelan and it seemed difficult/potentially impossible for two non citizens to get married in Colombia. Now it is easier for me to get a visa to travel to Venezuela so maybe that is an option to get married there. Although that would delay her coming to the USA for another 2 years and I like living in the USA in summers at least

 

Frustrating that the travel rules are this strict, there are no great options