caligirl334

21 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

 

The only way you lose your status as a LPR is by filing a 407, or a final order by an immigration judge.

There are other presumed losses of LPR status - such as staying out of the US for an extended period and other things, but it remains the case that they are not final until an order by a judge. A CBP officer cannot strip someones LPR status. 

Even when in removal proceedings you are still entitled to proof of LPR status (a stamp) and have rights as a LPR until a judge determines otherwise.

 

 

Bottom line: until he dies, ceases to be a LPR, becomes a citizen, or accumulates the required quarters of work, the I-864 you signed remains valid.

 

 

 

 

There is also no such thing as a 'late' filed I-751 with a divorce waiver. You are permitted to file a waiver 751 (or multiple I-751s) at any time between your 'resident since' date and a final order of removal by an immigration judge, which can take years.

You do not have to request this, or give a valid reason for late filing, as you do with a late jointly filed 751 outside of the 90 day window. 

 

 

 

Thanks for this, this is what I suspected initially. I’ll continue to do my job and file my I-865 forever. 

I just find it so interesting that you can renew your GC essentially whenever after doing whatever, he could file that I-751 in ten years and come and live in the US as an LPR, I mean that’s useful for him but it’s just really interesting.

4 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

Short of having him officially surrender his permanent residency, unfortunately you'll have that hanging over your head for a while, but with decreasing likelihood of it being an issue.

I agree. Also, even if he did officially surrender it, and signed and filed the I-407, I would never know about it. It’s not like USCIS would send me a copy so I guess I will just never know.

18 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

Because it's very difficult in most cases to get it back, especially after an extended period of time. But it's possible.

For sure, thanks for all of your help. I don’t anticipate that he will ever come back on his GC but I’ll always be looking over my shoulder.

12 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

There are ways to resurrect his green card. There's the SB-1, filing the I-751 late, etc. but those are not very likely. But if they do happen, you're still in the hook, so nobody can tell you you're off the hook definitively.

Thank you. This was my suspicion. I’ve read posts where people have filed the I-751 ten years after their GC expired and it was all fine. I wonder why anyone is so worried about abandonment when there are always ways to get it back.

39 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

Divorce or re-marriage does NOT stop the I-864 obligations.

Again, not asking if divorce or remarriage ends the I-864, asking if moving permanently outside the US and not returning does, because he should lose his green card because he doesn’t live in the US and has no ties to the US.

12 minutes ago, NikV said:

you are right. I just looked it up. Its a binding contract. I looked it up on USCIS website. I think in OP's case once her ex is no-longer a LPR and is outside of united states, she may not be obligated. Thanks for enlightening me

https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/affidavit-support

When you sign the affidavit of support, you accept legal responsibility for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant(s) generally until they become U.S. citizens or can be credited with 40 quarters of work. Your obligation also ends if you or the individual sponsored dies or if the individual sponsored ceases to be a permanent resident and departs the United States.

Note: Divorce does NOT end the sponsorship obligation.

If the individual you sponsored receives any "means-tested public benefits," you are responsible for repaying the cost of those benefits to the agency that provided them. If you do not repay the debt, the agency can sue you in court to get the money owed. Any joint sponsors or household members whose income is used to meet the minimum income requirements are also legally responsible for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant.

I understand all of this. I know divorce or remarriage does not end the affidavit of support, I was well aware of the consequences before I signed it. 

My question is not about the divorce my question is that he permanently moved to another country and has not returned to the US. Even if we were still married and he did that he would lose his LPR status, correct? You can’t live outside the US and never return and keep your status as an LPR.

Just now, Boiler said:

He might be asked to formally relinquish his GC, might not if he is entering to visit anyway. Either way you would not know so irrelevant to the question.

You're right, I will never know if he ever formally surrenders his green card, so essentially I will always live with the fear that he can come back to the US and sue me for the I-864. Then I suppose this means I do need to continue to file the I-865 when I move. 

5 minutes ago, NikV said:

oh yeah. You should check about that with an expert. HE can come back to the US and if he becomes a public charge, you may be held liable for it.

But if he attempted entry into the US, wouldn't CBP know that he has a green card, and that he's been living outside the US, and therefore abandoned his status? 

So he could, say 10 years down the line, enter the US either without a visa or on a B visa, then file the I-751, remove conditions and live in the US as an LPR? That seems insane to me. 

3 minutes ago, NikV said:

Do you know if he is from a country that has visa-waiver relationship with the US? IF yes, he can come back to US and you might want to check with law expert on that. 

He's from Canada, which doesn't look like it's on the Visa Waiver program list, but he could certainly come into the US on a B tourist visa. If he did that, he could then stay with his green card? 

Let me first say that I do have a call into an immigration attorney for advice, as I understand my situation may be unique, but I would appreciate any insight or knowledge that you all might have.

I got married in 2015, my husband received his conditional 2 year green card through our marriage based I-485 application in April 2017. Soon after, our marriage fell apart (no fraud issues, we were just very very wrong for each other). He left the US in November 2017 and returned to his home country. We got divorced in mid 2018 and he had not returned to the US since he first left, and has stated that he never intends to return. 

His conditional green card will expire this year (April 2019). For all intents and purposes, he has "abandoned" his green card and LPR status in the US by permanently relocating to another country. My issue is that I was his sponsor for his green card application, signed the I-864 Affidavit of Support. This means I have to update my address by filing the I-865 anytime I move. I thought I would be free of this obligation and any other obligations of the I-864 due to his abandonment of his status. However, the I-865 states that the immigrant needs to either A. formally abandon his LPR status by signing the I-407 OR B. be found to have abandoned his status by an immigration judge while in removal proceedings.

I know my ex-husband would never sign an I-407 willingly (and I am certainly not going to ask him to, we haven't been in contact in 8 months and he was emotionally abusive and I fear him) I do not think he will be put in removal proceedings either. From what I have read, it seems that only if you file an I-751 to remove conditions and have the application denied that you are sent to immigration court. He won't ever file an I-751 and it seems like USCIS doesn't really do anything if you don't file one. Also, how could he even be put in removal proceedings if he isn't in the US?

It seems like he might just keep his LPR status forever, leaving me stuck with the obligations of the I-864 forever. Does anyone have any insight into what I could do to rectify this or should I quietly file my I-865 every time I move for the rest of my life?