SimranS

If I go to Pakistan and do a nikah but not through court is it okay to file a K1 instead of a CR1?

That's a very very bad idea. Applying for a K1 after a nikah has taken place (whether or not it's registered) is totally against the rules. If you get caught or if they suspect you're already married during your K1 interview they'll reject you and force you to withdraw your petition. This happened to someone in India just for having a "marriage" ceremony that wasn't recognised by Indian law.

Hi !

I don't see why you wouldn't book your trip ahead of time. You know, now most of the air companies have a policy allowing you to change your departure (or return) date up to 48 hours prior to departure, and for the ones I've checked so far it's just a matter of a $150 fee. I have done this before, not through my visa process though, but I plan on doing so.

The worst that can happen ? You're charged $150.

I personally think it's worth all the money you would save by booking your plane ticket in advance -- much more than $150.

You also have the option of purchasing a flexible plane ticket but according to me it's over expensive !

Good luck,

Aurore.

That would be fine to simply change the travel dates if your visa was delayed for a short period, but what if it's rejected outright and the petition sent back to the USA? Or if something unexpected comes up that delays issuance by several months? Most tickets have a "not valid after" date, before which you can change your dates as many times as you want but after which the ticket expires and you lose all your money, if the ticket is non-refundable. Remember if the fare is higher for the date you want to change to, you also have to pay the difference in fare.

Some visa cases are clearly riskier than others, so you have to weigh the odds and be very familiar with the airline's change/cancellation policies if you do book ahead.

Any Chicago POEs this month? We're in on Sept. 24.

Definitely not October. Most likely the first half of November.

Our case was completed by around the 15th of March, we got our appointment letter via e-mail on March 26 for a May 3 interview at New Delhi.

You have the right to appear in front of an IJ.

They have the right to detain you until this happens.

Usually they parole people in, no visa required.

If they detain you until the hearing then obviously you're not being paroled in, but if they decide to send you a summon instead then you would be paroled in pending the hearing.

The previous poster said that AFTER signing an abandonment the OP would still be allowed to enter the US as a visitor. This is clearly incorrect because after signing an abandonment you lose your right to a hearing and your LPR status is revoked. Nepal is not Canada nor is it a VWP country, therefore common sense tells us that after losing LPR status there would be no legal basis to admit a Nepali and he would likely be deported on the next plane. If he wanted to reenter as a visitor he could apply for a B2 visa (which may or may not be granted) after reaching Nepal, through the normal application process.

My point was that the OP should exercise his right to appear before a judge, and not agree to sign an abandonment. He should also not be under the false impression that he would still be allowed to enter after signing an abandonment.

"When permanent residents return after a trip abroad, it is important for them to understand their rights. The most important of these rights is the right to a hearing before an immigration judge if their permanent resident status is questioned by the immigration inspector.

Most visitors and other nonimmigrants have no right to a hearing, and immigration inspectors have been known to try and encourage permanent residents to sign an abandonment of their green cards instead of requesting such a hearing. Once a person signs an abandonment, their permanent resident status is gone and very difficult (in fact, normally impossible) to recover.

Returning permanent residents, therefore, should be familiar with the rules governing that status as set forth in this paper, and if their entitlement to that status is questioned, they should present the evidence outlined here. If it is not accepted by the immigration inspector, they should politely request a hearing on the question."

http://www.klaskolaw.com/articles.php?action=view&id=51

You are mistaken.

USCIS, ICE and CBP are all children of the same mother: DHS.

If a Green Card holder who is IN THE USA is found to be in violation and USCIS wants to terminate his status, he has the right to see a judge.

If a Green Card holder is OUTSIDE the USA then CBP can deny him admission based on abandonment of residency. They just won't let him back in . . . unless he signs the form. After he signed the form, they let him in as a visitor, a tourist, and as such there's no point to see an immigration judge anymore.

That doesn't make any sense- how can a person from Nepal be admitted as a visitor without a valid B2 visa in his passport? The case you're talking about (I think) was someone from Canada who is eligible to enter as a visitor without a visa. Also, that person had spent several years outside the US without obtaining a reentry permit. Someone reentering within the stipulated time (1 year) does have the right to see a judge.

"the Supreme Court in Kwong Hai Chew v. Colding, 344 U.S. 590, held that an alien who had previously been lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and who was seeking to make a reentry, was not in the position of a person seeking initial admission, but was to have his status assimilated to that of a resident alien who had not left the United States and was, therefore, entitled to due process of law and to a hearing. In Kwong Hai Chew v. Rogers, 257 F.2d 606 (D.C. Cir., 1958), the court carried the situation one step further, and declared that not only was the returning resident alien applying for admission entitled to a hearing, but he was entitled to a hearing at which the Government bore the burden of proof."

http://www.americanlaw.com/maintlpr.html

Thanks for all the replies. The keyword here was "MAY" be moving, in other words we may or may not move, so updating the address at POE won't be an option, because if we *don't* move then we'll obviously have a problem. Seems the best option for us will be to let the GC come to our current address and let our relative there manually forward it to us.

Whether you actually lose your residency is dependent on several factors, not just your physical length of absence from the USA. You should never agree to sign an abandonment of residency paper if an officer at POE asks you to, because they have to give you a hearing with an immigration judge. The judge will normally look at your ties to the USA versus your ties abroad and determine whether you intended to abandon your residence. Maintaining property and paying taxes is good evidence of ties to the US, as is using a US bank account while abroad, keeping a valid US drivers license, etc. Keep evidence of these things with you when you reenter the USA in case you're asked to show them.

VJ members have reported their experiences in other threads reentering between 6 and 12 months. All reported that they were let in either without any hassle at all or with just a lecture about not being gone for too long. With that being said, there are never any guarantees and it's always safer to never be out of the country for more than 6 months, because an absence of longer than 6 months is usually much more likely to be put under scrutiny. You might be fine at 7.5 months or you might not, it depends more on the mood of the officer that day than anything else.

Hi,

I may be moving within a week or two of POE. Will the GC be forwarded to my new address with all my other mail, provided I fill out the correct postal forwarding card? Thanks.

This is what the CBP officer said to her:

“You stayed a long time outside of the country.” Then looked at the greencard and asked, “can you read here, do you know what means, permanent resident?” and then said, “you need to be living here to be a resident. This is not a visa. I am just telling you this because I see a lot of people losing their greencard.” Then he asked “what do you do for a living?” She responded, “I was just working as a waitress and my boss said when I returned from my trip I will have my job back.” he asked, “After 6 months? “ “Yes, I am a good employee.” Then he looked at her passport and said, “it says here that you came on a k-3 visa, so you got this green card because you married, so where is your husband?” He arrived a day before me because we couldn’t find flights on the same day, but he was with me in Brazil the whole time.” He said “anyways, he is a citizen and he can do whatever he wants but you need a few more years to be a citizen to and this time out does not count. You need to agree with me. That looks very suspicious that you are not with your husband. Be aware of this and pay attention next time.”

Thanks for sharing this...it makes more sense now. Looks like she ran into a slightly mean officer who was suspicious of her reasons for marrying. Did the friend's uncle you mentioned ever receive any similar warnings?

There was one LPR member who entered after 11 months and got a stern warning along with "11 months" written in her passport. The next time she entered after 4 months and had no problem, even though they told the officer she would only be in the US for a short time again. It really depends on the officer's mood and the officer you get next time wouldn't have any way of knowing that she had previously been given a verbal warning.

When I left the USA last time (I'm an LPR), I did not receive any stamp in my passport, nor my green card was swiped.

Does this mean that as far as the USCIS concern - I'm still in the country?

The reason I'm asking is because I've been out of country for more than a year and now, when I'm returning to the US I might need to prove to the IO that I have not abandoned my permanent residence.

That's a good question I hope someone else can help with. The first question the officer will normally ask when you return is "how long were you out of the country"? I don't know that there's any way for them to know besides what you tell them. I assume you have a reentry permit which is needed for an LPR for any stay over a year outside the US.

I am a USC and have been traveling back and forth between the USA and India frequently for the past 10 years. I have ALWAYS, without exception, received an entry stamp upon arrival in the US.

Imzadi mentioned that the exits/reentries are all recorded in the system for a GC holder. But with no immigration check at exit from the USA how would they have your exit recorded? Only the airline check-in people swipe your GC or passport when leaving the US but does that info go directly to CBP......

For the OP: the officer who admitted you is right- according to the CBP website a passport is *not* required for GC holders to enter the US, only the GC. They do mention, however that it's probably a good idea to have your passport with you as well.

I have talked to a friend who’s uncle lives in Venezuela and he just returns to the US every 6 months for a few days for the past 5 years and he has never had a problem.

That pretty much says it all...although theoretically you can lose your green card if you live/spend too much time outside the USA, for this to actually happen in practice is rare, especially if your trips outside the US aren't longer than 6 months each.

It's correct that the most the immigration officer can do is refer your case to an immigration court and you would be summoned for a hearing. If you get an immigration officer who is a total jerk, they may try to get you to sign an abondonment of residence, which is something you should never agree to do. EVERY returning green card holder is entitled to a hearing with a judge and the officer cannot simply "take your green card away".

Please refer to the thread "Anyone refused entry under one year on green card". This topic of possible abandonment of residency is discussed in detail there with posters giving real life examples of what has happened to them when entering.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/254598-anyone-refused-entry-under-one-year-on-greencard/

As others have mentioned, the best thing you can do is carry proof that you have not abandoned your US residency- proof of tax filing, a US driver's license, bank statements, etc.

Just one question- when the immigration officer told your wife she shouldn't be spending so much time outside the US without her husband, why didn't your wife honestly explain to the officer that you were with her abroad and just returning by separate flights due to availability?

Could you please tell us what all the questions the officer asked actually were and what she replied (this will be good info to have since there are many other members in the same situation as you). It seems odd that the officer would have had a problem with her husband not being with her, because from the point of view of maintaining residency, having a spouse remain behind in the US is normally good evidence of ties to the US and having a residence there you don't intend to abandon.

Himher,

Thanks for the info. I agree it is awfully hypocritical for someone who used a visitor visa to live in USA to talk about "weeding out" people who have followed the legal immigration process and need to spend time abroad. Anyway even if Mr. Overstay did become a CBP officer, he wouldn't have the final word on whose GC gets "yanked" because every returning LPR is entitled to a hearing with an immigration judge.

This is something very important to remember for everyone in this situation: never agree to sign an abandonment of residence even if the CBP officer asks you to. You have the right to ask for a hearing before a judge, and the burden of proof will be on the government to show that you have abandoned your status (See the "American Law" link posted above by Vanessa&Tony). And yes, and judge will consider your ties to the US like property and tax paying and not just the physical length of absence alone.

BTW, does the IO write your wife's length of absence in her passport every time she enters?

Hi HimHer,

You mentioned that you and the expats you work with have so far been allowed entry to the US. Would you mind telling us what the average length of your "stay" abroad usually is, and what questions the CBP officers normally ask you? There are many others in a situation similar to yours, and this would be very valuable info to have. Seeing how actual CBP officers react in different situations would be practically far more useful than just theoretical guesses others are giving. Thanks.

What would the POE officer do if he tried to enter on his GC after 5-6 months? Confiscate his GC and send him straight to the deportation room? Would he not be allowed to appear before an immigration judge.

Hi,

My husband is interviewing for CR1 at New Delhi on May 3. Our 2nd marriage anniversary is July 23. If we choose to enter the USA a few days after our anniversary, what are the chances of him being issued a permanent green card instead of the conditional one? Since all his documents will be for the CR1, will the USCIS staff actually go and look up our wedding date to decide what card to send us?

Thanks.

Hi,

Can someone please tell me the approximate time frame from submitting all the required documents and AOS to the NVC, and receiving the Embassy interview appointment letter? Thanks.