How to keep your green card?

How to keep your green card?

Living and Working in the USA

Go, live, work in the USA

Small formalities and solutions

How to keep your green card?

Become an American Citizen

Immigration and Marriage

Precaution at the border

Beware of time spent outside the USA

 

Can we lose her?

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Oh yes, alas.

After a lot of pitfalls and waiting, you have finally obtained your green card. A green card allows you to be a Permanent Resident.

The definition of a permanent resident is to live in a country. What should we do if we have to leave the US for a while?

If you think you will be away for more than 6 months, you must, BEFORE leaving, apply for a re-entry permit. It is a document that plays the same role as a passport, which allows you to return to the US without problems for 2 years (or less, the expiry date is indicated on the permit).

The important thing is to cross the border minimum once every 6 months. If this is not possible, then request a re-entry permit.

Theoretically, the law allows one year outside the US, but in practice now you will be in serious trouble if you do not meet the 6 months.

 

Immigration does not take care of the number of days you spend in the US to give you your green card, but the length of your absences.

How to get this re-entry permit Read our article.

 

You can leave after being sure that the CIS has received your request, but without waiting for it to be approved. You can choose to have this re-entry permit sent to the consulate of your residence abroad or to friends in the US who will forward it to you.

 

What if you are away for a long time?

What if your absence is longer and you have not requested a reentry permit?

You will have the right to a prolonged passage at the "small office" at the airport, which can be very unpleasant because they are not tender.

Immigration officers will try to pressure you into signing a paper saying that you are giving up your green card.

 

Hang on and don't be swayed!

Don't sign anything.

They can't fire you.

If you are firm, they will eventually give you a summons to appear before an Immigration Judge, usually a few weeks or months later.

This can be really annoying if you haven't planned on staying in the US for long, but it will be the price to pay for keeping your green card.

In front of the judge, you will have to show that you never wanted to give up your permanent residence in the US. For example, you will need:

 

• Have filed your US tax return as a resident each year.

• Next, maintain a US bank account and credit cards in the most active way possible.

• If you left for work reasons for an American employer, your salary must go to the US.

• You must renew your Driver's License and retain ownership of a house or apartment if possible.

• An explanatory and detailed letter from your US employer, if you have one, is important.

• If you left the US for family reasons, for example the illness of a loved one, you will need to collect all the evidence.

 

In view of the supporting documents that you have produced, the judge will decide whether or not you keep your green card.

We advise you to be assisted by a lawyer.

If you take the precaution of crossing the border at least every 6 months, you shouldn't have too much of a problem as long as you meet roughly the above conditions.

What about becoming an American?

 

In the event of an absence of more than 6 months, or under certain conditions, of more than a year, even if you keep your green card thanks to a reentry permit, the counter may be reset to zero for your count. 3 or 5 years to become a citizen.

It takes 18 months of physical presence for 3 years to obtain nationality when married to an American citizen OR 30 months of physical presence for 5 years to obtain nationality when you have had the green card otherwise.

So be very careful if you have to leave the USA for more than 6 months to take all these precautions.