jamisteven

Thanks for all the replies. 

I am not in the military so that wouldnt apply, seems for now we will be holding onto the GC. We still have bank accounts there and are still filing taxes jointly but at the same time we own a house here in Switzerland and with a kid on the way I think we wont be going back for at least another 3 years unless something major happens with my job. 

Hey All,  my wife and I lived in the US from 2016 to 2018 / 2 years and then at beginning of 2019 moved to Switzerland due to my job.

She has a permanent resident card that doesnt expire until 2029 and at this time it is unclear if we will be moving back to the US or not as we are soon expecting our first child, of course would like to keep the greencard if at all possible so we dont need to go through that headache of a process all over again should we decide to go back to the states, but dont want any trouble either.

Just not exactly sure what to do here,  keep it and let it expire? Surrender it ASAP? 

Thanks in advance.

Cheers, 

-J

Still no solution to this, there has to be something? Or dare I try and call USCIS 😕 

6 minutes ago, arken said:

I think she may face problem at POE in DEC even with her GC. While the GC seems valid, her reentry permit will have expired which implies she stayed out of US for more than one year without a valid reentry permit, that could imply her GC is no longer valid. I am using the logic where someone with a 10 year GC in hand in US travels and  returns back to US after one or two years beyond the reentry permit validity.That person has to apply for returning resident visa in that case to be able to enter US as the 10 yr GC is considered invalid otherwise.

 

The first thing they usually ask at POE is “when did you leave US” or “ how long you are gone for”. After saying more than a year, they’ll ask for reentry permit. Then they would see you are traveling back way past the validity of reentry permit regardless of when GC was issued.

 

There may be a chance they could admit her without any issue after seeing her GC’s issue date but do you want to take that chance? Unless someone here confidently tells you that would be a no problem, i strongly suggest not to do that.

 

 

Thanks. Yes this is basically my concern as well, to me I think like well she was issued the greencard it should be fine, but at the same time we dont want to risk it. 

On the other hand, she has two passports and could technically just come in on the passport not used for the greencard/re-entry permit, but this doesnt really accomplish anything either as it would present its own set of problems. 

3 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Go home before to pick it up. Do not trust the mail system that it won't get lost. If it gets lost it could turn out to be a nightmare trying to get back.

Thanks. A family member of ours will be here in October and could just bring it with as well, I am really more concerned with the legality of it all however. 

Hi all - my SO and I moved to Switzerland from the US late last year as my employer moved me temporarily for work. Before we moved she got the re-entry permit just in case however it was only for 1 year (not 2 year as we anticipated). The permit expires in June however the notice that her lawful permanent residence application (greencard) was approved just came in the mail and we should have her greencard at our address in the states within 60 days. 

My question is: 

1. If we ship her greencard here to Switzerland from the US, will she be OK to fly back in December with me for the holidays? 

We should be back in the states permanently by mid 2020 and dont want to do anything illegal, having a hard time finding any info on this accept for the fact that if we want to file for an extension on the re-entry permit it has to be done in person, in the US, before June. Which unfortunately isnt an option for us. 

Thanks in advance. 

Thanks all, the point of this for us is basically to ensure the following: 

1. We dont have to start from scratch IF we decide to come back

2. She doesnt need to wait 6 months again for a work permit upon re-entry, again if we decide to come back.

On 2/23/2018 at 10:31 PM, SusieQQQ said:

The “if/when” bit makes it sound like you plan to move indefinitely. The thing is, even if you remove conditions from her 2-year GC, she’s still subject to normal green card conditions in terms of residency requirements after that, so if you guys move to Switzerland for a year without a re-entry permit, or for more than 2 years, she will be deemed to have abandoned her green card anyway. So it seems to make the most sense to just abandon now and reapply later, as that may be the route you’d need to go anyway if you stay out long enough.

Thats not entirely true, we can apply for a re-entry permit while the greencard is in processing which is valid for 2 years after the issue date. 

Hey All - my wife and I have now been married for 2 years and live in the states. Her 2 year Visa is now up and we received the letter in the mail that we need to start with the i-751. Only problem is we planned on moving back to her country (Switzerland) for a year, possibly more, at the end of 2018.

Everyone is saying to wait, apply for the 10 year / 751, and then apply for the advance parole while the 751 is processing as it can take years. We arent really sure what to do with this though, has anyone else been in this scenario? It seems its perfectly fine to travel internationally IF you have the AP already, but is it even worth it for us to go this route or just abandon the Visa process altogether and deal with it if/when we decide to return? 

Searched around but didnt see much for this kind of thing, thanks in advance.  

Hey All! Not sure if this is the right forum for this but the situation is as follows, my Swiss wife and I currently live in Tennessee, and have lived here for 2+ years. We are getting ready to move back to Switzerland for at least a year, in 2018. The problem is, her greencard expires in June of 2018, so the question is, do we get it renewed before we leave? Do we let it expire and deal with it when/if we want to come back? Pros/cons of either? Ive searched everywhere, I figured this would be fairly common info but perhaps im not searching for the correct terms? Any help is much appreciated! 

-Jami

Thanks all - seems I need to address this after I move there, and not before. 

Hey All! Im wondering if anyone is in the same boat with the Shared Responsibility Payment for the 2016 Tax year. My CPA is telling my me that my wife who arrived at the end of August in 2015, and didnt file for adjustment of status until 2016, not receiving greencard until June of 2016, and who in my eyes would be considered a Dual status Alien for the year of 2016, still owes this penalty. 

Per the IRS website, if she was a dual status alien, she is exempt from this. I am certain that she was in fact a dual-status alien as she was both a nonresident alien and resident alien in the same year, 2016. 

https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/aca-individual-shared-responsibility-provision-exemptions

Has anyone had to deal with this same issue? 

Hey all - not sure if this is the right forum but I am wondering if anyone can point me to a basic template for obtaining an EU passport. My wife and I live in America and are married, went the k1 visa process a year back. She is a Swiss and EU Citizen and we are wondering what it takes to get me an EU passport ahead of moving back eventually. If anyone has any links/docs etc please let me know! 

-J 

When did you recieve your NOA1 jami? AND congrats!!

January 6th!

Just got the approval!!!! It went from saying "name change" to "approved" in the same day!!!!

So I go to check my status today and it simply says "name was updated".. However we have not changed out name, does anyone know what this means??? It said "case was recieved" for the longest time and now this???

Where do you go once on this site?

Heaps of Jan filers approved yesterday - about 22. All in the 7th-9th range. A Few February filers too. Reckon we can start being disgruntled now

Where did you see this? Ive checked mine and the three before me that havent been approved and status is still the same, at least online anyways. Mine was received on January 6th

That's good news! Did you send yours in early January as well? Do you mind sharing your receipt number? Ide like to see how far mine is from yours!!

They received our package on January 6th, 2015. Havent heard anything since then, not sure if this is normal or not... Checking the receipt numbers it seems like there are only three more before ours.

Has anyone had to get a new passport in the middle of waiting for the k1 visa to be approved? My Fiance just had to renew her swiss passport and we have already sent in the visa package (received January 6th), will this cause an RFE or any other issues? I have searched everywhere and cant seem to find anything, thanks in advance.

Jami

Thanks all!

ESTA lasts a certain amount of time, you don't just apply for every trip, they last about 3 months I think.

But I'm not sure if that could be it, especially if it's been 8 months.

But ESTA has nothing to do with your k1 application, so hitting start a new application will do NOTHING to your k1.

Yea, ive told her the same thing as it only makes sense. The esta site says it is good for two years or until the applicants passport expires, I wish I could find something in writing stating it wont affect the k1 though.

Hello all, woke up with a text from my s/o this morning stating there was an error when she was applying for an esta visa for a wedding we are attending in California in May. We have a k1 pending (i sent it on Jan 6, so very early stages).

The error she is getting states:

"A valid, approved application with more than 30 days remaining has been found for this passport. Submitting this application will require payment for this application and will then cancel the existing application"

My s/o is freaking out because she thinks this is referring to our pending k1, and thinks that if she submits the esta application it will cancel our fiance visa process. I think there is no way this is possible however she has no other pending applications for an esta on her visa as of current, and the last time she was here was over 8 months ago.

Their email support hasnt been much help and keeps referencing the website. Has anyone run into this issue? Image attached below..

Package was received on 1/6 - hoping for a speedy approval but expecting that wont be the case!