tintagel74

Dear All,

So I have a potential scenario that I would like to run by you fine people to see what your thoughts are on it's feasibility.

I'm a British Expat LPR and have been in the US for a couple of years now. My wife is a USC. When I moved over I left behind a rental property in the UK which I had never lived in (being self-employed it was a steady income that i could rely on whilst getting set up here).

So a couple of years down the line my wife has expressed an interest in moving to the UK for a year or two to explore Europe a bit which I am open to. It would give us the opportunity to spend some quality time with my family which has been a bit lacking.

My questions are:

1) Could I apply for the I-131 Re-entry Permit for no better reason that we want to live abroad for a year or 2?

2) If we live in my property whilst we are in the UK and at the end want to sell in order to buy a place back in the States, would I avoid Capital Gains Tax as it was my primary residence for that time? Or because I am still officially a LPR of the US, would I still have that liability in the eyes of the UK govt?

3) Or would my best option be to give up my LPR status, move back to the UK, and re-apply for LPR when we want to move back? This seems like a bit of a pain to go through the process again, but if it saves me from getting taxed to hell then might be favourable.

Anyway, your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

ian-mstm

Yes, you can apply. Keep in mind, though, that there's no guarantee that your status won't still be considered abandoned. The re-entry permit helps to demonstrate your intent to return, but it's not 100% foolproof. You will still need to maintain other ties to the US... filing annual US tax returns, for example.

Keep in mind that your USC wife will need a visa to live in the UK and, as her sponsor, you will need to demonstrate sufficient finances to that end.


That, I don't know - but that's not an immigration issue, so you might want to ask that in the general USA forum.


IMHO, your "best option" would be to stay in the US long enough to apply for naturalization and become a US citizen. Once you're a USC, you can move freely back and forth at will for as long as you want.

Ian

Michael

Up until 2009, you could exclude 100% of the US capital gains by doing that for 2 yeas but the law has changed where there is now a more limited tax benefit. I don't know about UK tax law.

Taxes in Converting Rental Property to Personal Residence | Nolo.com

S Folinsky

OP's questions are quite sophisticated. It is good that he is considering them NOW.

Hubby should look into the possibility of naturalization as a US citizen. [There are scenarios where he would not have to wait the three years from grant of LPR]. He may want to look into the rules for preserving continuity of residence for naturalization purposes and also when he would be able to apply for naturalization upon return.

OP may very well want to consult with professional advisors on both the immigration and tax issues.

Guindalf

My immediate (layman's) thought was to wait for naturalization first. That would certainly make coming and going a lot easier.

The main complication would/could/may be the tax implications, for which a good CPA or attorney would be needed.

hungryhorace

+1

Wait it out in the States and apply for naturalization. I wouldn't make any plans to voluntarily leave the US until I was naturalized given the total head-ache involved if / when I wished to return with my USC wife.

S Folinsky

Not that I disagree with your comment and that of Guindalf. That said, many people may have different intentions and desires. Also, there may be some "little" fact or two that may change the equation. ["little" is in quotes because they may turn out not to be so little after all.] Knowing that there may very well be things we don't know, I would hesitate to give advice even in a one-one-on one very brief consultation much less in the format of this forum.

hungryhorace

One can only go on the information that is presented. From what is presented it appears like the OP's wife just wants to visit Europe for a few years and to be closer to family. On the face of it it hardly sounds like something that couldn't be pushed out a few years, does it?

I take your point, but if a person asks for an opinion on this forum, they shouldn't complain when one is offered (I stress, not that the OP has nor am I implying they will).

S Folinsky

I am not "complaining." However, I will admit that the importance of "little" facts is one that I learned the hard way -- both good and bad. So I had to learn to not be so damn certain about the way to proceed in individual cases based upon first examination.

In the office where I am of counsel, we often have student interns and that is one thing we have to teach them.

hungryhorace

But this is not your office 'of counsel'. We are not lawyers. The same procedures and rules that apply in that line of work, simply don't apply here. If they did, this place would be eminently boring.

tintagel74

Research suggests that in the UK I could only get tax relief for 36 months + the time I live in property, and would most likely have to lose the benefits gained in the past from having it as a let property. So some serious calculations would need to be done.

tintagel74

Many thanks for all the replies so far. For ease of immigration it seems that yes, naturalisation would make life easiest for moving backward and forward. As this stands this looks like it would, all going well, complete around 2 years away from this date. (Been in the US for 2 yrs 4 mths). Does that sound about right?

Re: tax implications, yes it seems like this requires the brains of my accountant.

ian-mstm

It's not how long you've been in the US, but how long you've been a PR. If you entered the US on an immigrant visa (CR-1/IR-1) then you've been a PR from day one and you can apply to naturalize about 5 months from now (3 years less 90 days). If you entered the US as a K-1 and got married, then it's 3 years (less 90 days) from when your AOS was approved (roughly = the "resident since" date on your GC).

Either way, naturalization takes about 6 months start to finish.

Ian

Guindalf

...or less.

I started my application in late August and was a citizen on November 9th. This was about three or four years ago and, of course, YMMV.