Green card dilemma

[nbanik1987 0]

I am an F-1 student married a US citizen, applied for I-130. I wanted some suggestions/opinions/advice regarding my impasse that I am going to describe.

I am currently pursuing my PhD and will be graduating in Summer 2016, after that I want to apply for jobs in academia like lecturer or post doc positions. For this I may have to go outside the US and stay for more than 2 yrs. I just found out that if I am granted a green card, I can not reside outside the US or be absent for than a year. So I have the following questions

1. Should I postpone applying for the adjustment of status (I-485), since I don't know if I will get an academic job in the US. If I do stay in Europe for more than 2 yrs, my green card will be invalid and I will have to reapply again with all the fees etc. But then again, if I do get a job in the US and settle down, I won't be able to work without a work permit, so should I apply for a work permit instead?

2. Say I do go to Europe and after 2-3 yrs I get a permanent position in the US, I would want to come back and settle down, what kind of visa/entry permit will I need to enter the US?

3. If I am approved for the I-130, how long will it stay valid?

Thanks

[NikLR 13,220]

An I-130 never expires.

You could do the I-130, and if you get a job in the USA, apply for the AOS at that time including the EAD with it, and stay in the USA, with the ability to work after about 90 days. Also if you get a job outside the USA, then the hard bit of the I-130 is done and you can simply use form I-824 to recall the approved I-130 from the National Records Center, so you could finish off with consular processing from whatever country you're living in at the time.

You have the alternative of applying for a re-entry permit as well but that is leaving the return up to the graciousness of the CBP.

[nbanik1987 0]

Thanks! If I apply for a green card from overseas and I am approved for it, how long can I stay overseas before returning to the US?

Also let's say I work for 5yrs outside the US and then I get a permanent position somewhere in the US and I want to return to the US, how would I do it? Can my employer help me get a visa? Will the fact that I am married to a US citizen help?

[NikLR 13,220]

Thanks! If I apply for a green card from overseas and I am approved for it, how long can I stay overseas before returning to the US?

Also let's say I work for 5yrs outside the US and then I get a permanent position somewhere in the US and I want to return to the US, how would I do it? Can my employer help me get a visa? Will the fact that I am married to a US citizen help?

The reentry permit works for about 2 years. http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/B5en.pdf

So if you have the green card before leaving to work overseas, you have up to 2 years before they consider it abandoned and you must start the process over again with a re-entry permit.

Like i said, if you are living overseas, wait until you're ready to move back to the USA, then file the I-824 to pull the approved I-130 out of storage and have it moved to the National Visa Center. There you can do the rest of the IR1 journey, interview abroad, and obtain your green card and move back to the USA. The NVC stage takes from 2-6 months however so you will want to plan accordingly.

You need to activate your visa within 6 months of the interview or medical, it varies by country. You can leave again, same day, but at that point you are subject to staying in the USA more than you are out of it or getting a re-entry permit if you will be out of the USA longer than 1 year.

However, if you find a job in the USA after graduation, and haven't yet filed the AOS with the EAD, you will not be able to work at that job until the EAD is approved, which takes about 90 days. You cannot work, volunteer, etc, without that EAD.

[nbanik1987 0]

The reentry permit works for about 2 years. http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/B5en.pdf

So if you have the green card before leaving to work overseas, you have up to 2 years before they consider it abandoned and you must start the process over again with a re-entry permit.

Like i said, if you are living overseas, wait until you're ready to move back to the USA, then file the I-824 to pull the approved I-130 out of storage and have it moved to the National Visa Center. There you can do the rest of the IR1 journey, interview abroad, and obtain your green card and move back to the USA. The NVC stage takes from 2-6 months however so you will want to plan accordingly.

You need to activate your visa within 6 months of the interview or medical, it varies by country. You can leave again, same day, but at that point you are subject to staying in the USA more than you are out of it or getting a re-entry permit if you will be out of the USA longer than 1 year.

However, if you find a job in the USA after graduation, and haven't yet filed the AOS with the EAD, you will not be able to work at that job until the EAD is approved, which takes about 90 days. You cannot work, volunteer, etc, without that EAD.

Thank you so much!!!

Does the 2-6 months for the NVC stage mean it takes that long just to move the I-130 record to NVC and then in addition I have to wait for the AOS application so around 11months?

I think I will not file my AOS now since there are so many opportunities in Europe, Canada etc for post-doc jobs. Of course post doc positions in the US are my first priority. If I can get a post doc position in the US, then I will have at least 4-5 months before I will join, so that time I will apply for AOS along with EAD.

[NikLR 13,220]

No the CR1/IR1 does not include an adjustment of status, as it's not needed.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9bvTEwLyHz1aW0yTWRqa3lqYzA/edit