ebe

You don't necessarily need to go back to establish domicile.

I had been living in Chile for 2 years when I applied. It's not 6 years or anything, but I was also stressed out about this same thing. I didn't own property in the US or anything like that and I didn't want to go back before my husband did, so I was worried about it, too.

To prove my intent to re-establish domicile, I showed my application to a graduate program in the US, my US bank account, my US voter registration (which I had renewed online), my resignation letter to my Chilean employer, and a job offer for my husband and a bit of his correspondence with his future employer in the US. Don't know which of these things mattered or didn't matter, but in our situation it was enough and they didn't give us any problems about it along the way.

It's funny because you go to so much work filling out these forms, that seems like enough intention in and of itself!

If you're willing to relocate (and okay with the cold) you might look at states in the midwest. I am from Iowa and companies are actively looking for candidates from different backgrounds, and because there's not a lot of diversity there, you might stand out as an attractive candidate in that respect.

Thanks heo luoi, that is what I was trying to get at! Of course anything is better than imminent danger, but I'm sure refugees would also hope for a situation in their new country that would allow them to get settled and get on with their life.

Chile's a great place to live, not anything against it. The economy has been on a downswing here, so it's been rough on industry, but I think that will change eventually.

I do think it could be hard as a Muslim as there is not a large Muslim community here and a lot of prejudice against Muslims (mostly based on the average Chilean's only exposure to Islam being images they see on the news).

My main point was, I agree that the crisis is awful and I also wish there were more ways to help.

I'm aware of that Boiler. But they're also looking for long-term solutions. And so which country they arrive to, whether it's livable for them (given economic conditions, job possibilities, racism, language abilities, educational opportunities) is important, too.

I have thought about the same thing. Like what if there was a website that could help link refugees with work visa opportunities. Or for example, countries they may not have thought of. Here in Chile, for example, you can apply for permanent residency based on being "useful" for the country, which in practice is basically having a university degree. And you can apply from within Chile, too––so all you need is to enter as a tourist, and you go from there.

Whether Syrians would like to come to Chile, I have no idea. But I agree, Adil & Jeanne, that it would be great if there were a way to help. Especially for those of use who have been through visa/paperwork turmoil and know the ropes. Even in the best of circumstances this stuff is stressful, so I can't imagine what the refugees are going through.

Okay. I guess the next step is emailing the Santiago embassy and seeing what they say re: how to submit it.

Even though we're sure we want to stay here, it feels like a big step! All that work to get the green card...oh well.

Enjoying life here in Chile with mountains and ocean and such.

Okay! Thanks hypnos and newacct!

And is there any real timeline on this? Either than the fact that we want to do it sooner rather than later for not-paying-US-taxes purposes? And before any attempts to enter US under VWP, of course.

Just wondering since we've already been in Chile 6 weeks, but at the moment have quite a few other commitments that make it difficult to get to the US embassy during business hours.

Hey all,

My husband and I moved back to Chile about 6 weeks ago. We are 99% sure we want to stay and settle here.

My husband's biometrics appointment for Removal of Conditions was set for after we moved back. So he missed that appointment, so I *think* his Green Card is already considered abandoned.

But I want to do everything right. So should we fill out an I-407 and go to the Santiago Embassy and officially relinquish his papers?

A few questions about that:

- Is it a problem that we didn't do this right away after moving? Does the timeline matter? It's been sort of hectic here so I didn't think of it until now.

- Will this affect his access to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP/ESTA) at all? He has Chilean and Swiss passports and has entered US multiple times on VWP (before having a green card) and we plan to go back regularly for visits.

Thanks for your help. Have read a ton of other posts regarding this but want to make sure I have the most up-to-date/pertinent info.

love visajourney, don't know what i'd do without you guys.

Thanks for your suggestion axnstef! It's a bit of a drive for us, though, and my husband doesn't have ANY time off until we leave for Chile august 2. The idea is to put off the biometrics appointment as long as possible so that we don't actually have to do it, since we're going to be stopping the removal of conditions process anyway, once in Chile. Just want to make sure we won't have any problems if we do keep "rescheduling."

sorry for the bad time you had to endure––sounds like a very sad situation for everyone involved. i am very glad things worked out for you; best of luck here in the US.

Anyone?

Bueller...Bueller?

I think I'll just reschedule the biometrics; not sure what else we should or could do in this situation. (Funny that USCIS actually works quicker the one time you would prefer them to be slow... )

Just wanted to check in case anyone had any input. Thanks!

Hi all,

Husband got his biometrics appt (July 9) but will be traveling for work during that time. So, we need to reschedule that and are planning on checking the "request for rescheduling" box and sending the form back as instructed.

However, we are also moving back to Chile on August 2nd and planning on settling there and turning in my husband's GC at the embassy in Santiago. (Weird, I know, after all this work! But we want to settle down in Chile!)

I'm worried that we'll get rescheduled again for biometrics for before we're actually out of the US. I know a failure to appear means we're abandoning the petition, and I don't want to do that until we're physically in Chile.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this? I guess if needed we could just keep rescheduling, right? Want to make sure there are no flaws in our rather strange plan.

Yes...we definitely do not plan on overstaying anything!! Way too paranoid for that! We will probably come to the US no more than two weeks at a time, for vacations and that sort of thing.

Thanks for all your advice. I think we'll just do everything by the book––file ROC as soon as we're able and move forward with that process until we do move to Chile, then turn in the green card officially at the consulate. Then if we ever did want to move back to the US, we'd file for a new green card. Would be too bad to have to repeat the process, but I don't see any point in maintaining green card or staying another year to get citizenship as it looks like we'd like to settle down and start our family in Chile.

Definitely let me know if anyone has other insights on this topic! You guys are all very helpful.

Jawaree, do you mean instead of doing ROC? Or later on do a B1/2 if we were visiting the US? Since Chile/Switzerland (husband also is a Swiss citizen) have VWP I thought B1/2 didn't really come into play for us.

I would suggest another possibility:

- Wait a little longer for the ROC to be completed and file for re-entry permit so you will not be loosing that GC in case something doesn't quite work out in Chile and you want to come back. That way you don't have to redo the green card process again.

Thanks for your input, discoverusa. Interesting idea. Do you mean file for ROC and also file for a re-entry permit while that process in going, still go to Chile, but maintain the green card as long as we are allowed under the re-entry permit? (Could we do biometrics for ROC and stuff in Chile if needed?)

Then eventually if we were settled in in Chile and sure we didn't want to come back, we could do the official turning in the green card process then.

(Just trying to summarize what I think you're saying and make sure it's right!)

Thanks all, this is all very helpful. I will have to do some thinking. I don't see much advantage in husband becoming a USC at this point. I don't think I really want the IRS following him everywhere we go, too. And we're pretty keen on getting back to Chile. His fellowship ends in July, as does our lease (thus the Aug 1 move date). So to avoid any future problems, based on all of your advice, I might just move ahead with ROC, feel the pain losing a bit of money now to avoid any future problems, and then turn in the green card and the I-407 at the embassy in Santiago.

It's also very good to know that having rescinded LPR doesn't make it harder to reapply for a GC in the future.

I LOVE VISA JOURNEY! i feel less alone when i come here.

Hi! This is probably not very helpful, but I just wanted to say, we had the opposite situation, when I was living in Chile with sub-par Spanish, it was very difficult to find a job. I started out just working independently as an English teacher. I learned to enjoy the process of developing Spanish little by little and focused my energy on that. About a year in, I finally got a full-time job, also as an English teacher, but at a school where I needed to know Spanish. Eventually my Spanish rose to the occasion. But there is so much frustration along the way. You kinda feel like you're going back to being a small child, just having to learn the most basic things. I would encourage your husband to see this as part of the process, and also to push himself, not be afraid to make mistakes, and think that many Americans are probably just threatened by the fact that he DOES speak two languages––most of us only speak one!

That's not very practical advice. But hopefully he knows MANY of us have been there. And a year from now, his English will be amazing.

PS––I'm sure there's some parents out there who would pay a fortune for bilingual piano lessons...

It's a good question, Jxn! We've thought about that quite a bit. That was sort of our initial plan in coming here, actually. It *might* still happen, but we're both really keen on getting back to Chile––we prefer it there, have more family and friends, etc. (and it's not so cooooold)

The other thing is, he's a surgeon, and unless he re-does his residency there's not much outlook for him career-wise, whereas having done a US fellowship at a good hospital here he's now going to have a lot of potential in Chile. (In my field I can easily telecommute, so all I really need is wifi!)

The other thing is, Chile and the US don't have a tax treaty, so we're not even sure if him becoming a US citizen is such a good idea financially...

We might be kicking ourselves later if we have to go through the awful terrible horrible green card process again!! But then again, I also think we're going to be very happy to be back in Chile. So who knows.

Thanks Hypnos and Nancy––yes, I'm also interested to see what others think. It's a weird situation timing-wise. I'd rather pay more $$ up front than have any issues later, but of course no use in wasting money if there's no reason to. (Also I'm one of those worry-about-everything people so the "deportable" thing might drive me crazy even if it's just for a few months!)

Of course I'd also love to keep the green card as long as possible, but I get the sense that once you're living out of the country you really can't maintain permanent residency unless you work for the US govt abroad or something.

Thanks for the info! You guys are awesome.

Nancy, I would love to save the money (and the time putting all of this together!!). But I have a few questions:

- Since we're leaving in August, but his green card expires May 25, what happens between that time? Is he technically "illegal" in the country? Could this cause us problems for a future green card petition, or any subsequent entrance to the US? (We'll come back frequently to visit, using the VWP with him as a tourist.)

- Do I need to give the US a heads up that we are moving to another country? They seem to like forms Is there a form for this situation?

Hi all,

In a few weeks, I'll be able to file the ROC petition. Husband's green card expires May 25, 2015.

The complication is... We've decided we want to move back to Chile (not employed by US in any way) and will probably stay there indefinitely (but who knows where life might take you, right?!). We're planning to move back August 1, 2015. (After all that effort! Trying not to think about all the forms I suffered through. But it's been a cool two years in the US.)

I've been stalking these forums for a while and I know I need to do the ROC petition and proceed as normal for now to avoid any deportation issues.

But what happens next? A few questions...

- There seems to be some inconsistency on how long ROC takes to complete. Could this affect our travel plans in any way, assuming I file at end of Feb?

- When I file my change of address and we lose domicile in the US, will that just be, goodbye green card? Is there anything we can do about this?

- If at some point we want to come back and have to petition for another green card, will it be very difficult to get another one, having had it and lost permanent residency in the past?

- Any other advice from people who have faced similar situations?

Apologies if this isn't quite the right forum for this, I wasn't sure where else to prove it.

You all have been amazing throughout this whole process, I don't know how people dealt with all this before VJ! A virtual hug to everyone.

I 100% agree! Have been digging through the forum all morning trying to find out how I should fill out our taxes. Have lots of questions and don't even know exactly where I should be posting them. Great idea guys.

Thanks -- HR at the university directed him to the international student office as well; he's going there today.

From what I investigated none of their plans work for permanent residents, though hopefully once he's there in person they might have more options! I'll keep you all posted!

Would love to hear any other options folks have used, especially these short-term immigrant insurance things...they seem reallllly sketchy but maybe there's a good one out there.

Hey all! We've been living in Iowa for a while now (6 mos or so) and my green card (CR-1) holder spouse had health insurance through my job, but now I've quit my job and unfortunately he's no longer uninsured. He is a surgery fellow at a University here but they are not providing him insurance.

We've been battling with healthcare.gov but it can't validate him without a US credit record. So our paperwork is sitting in London, Kentucky with everyone else's and who knows when that will get processed.

We've looked into some short-term immigrant plans but they all seem TERRIBLE. Like, the list of things they don't cover basically covers...everything. And the student plans don't cover permanent residents, despite him being affiliated with the university.

Thoughts? Anyone had a good experience with a short-term immigrant plan?

Hope this is all a moot point soon as I have a good lead on a job, but in the meantime ...

(This whole insurance business in the US makes me miss living abroad! It's so much simpler almost anywhere else!)

Would really appreciate any suggestions on this as we're at a bit of a loss.

Thanks! That's what I thought! I mean permanent resident means go about your business, work, and just don't vote or do anything stupid as far as I'm informed...

His medical license is a whole different issue haha but it's nice knowing we at least have the visa part worked out!