Jarisleif

Hi,

I moved to the States in 2006 and obtained a Permanent Resident card, which was renewed and is good for another 8 years or so and in 2009, I came back to the UK to live with my American wife as it wasn't working out for me over there.

Last year we went back for a visit and I naturally joined the citizen and resident queue at immigration. This was frowned upon by the officer and I was taken to a holding area while they checked my credentials. 10 minutes later, my passport and green card were handed back and I was on my way.

My question is, will this happen again when we visit this year, or should I join the visitor line, even though I'm travelling with my American wife?

Thanks in advance.

meauxna

It was "frowned on" because you may not be a Permanent Resident anymore and should not use your green card.

If you don't intend to live in the US, you should look into formally abandoning your status, turning back your green card, and visiting the US as a tourist, per normal. If you have to use a different line from your US citizen wife, well, it's only for a few minutes.

Jarisleif

We're unsure as to where we will eventually settle, so giving up my green card is not an option, especially given the cost of it all.

The reason I ask is because of the customs form we have to fill in on the plane, where you have to fill it out per family. As we understood it, I would have to enter with my wife because the form is filled out as a family. If only one of us has that customs form, that could also present a problem.

Nutmegger

You are reunited after immigration, and can pass through customs together, at which point the form is handed in.

meauxna

If you do not make some decisions, they may be made for you. Your status can be challenged at the border any time now. You are not living in the US and are likely not entitled to maintain your PR status. For example, have you been filing your US income tax returns as required?

Customs is different than Immigration and the family provision is nothing to do with which line you go through. Whoever gets through Immigration first can simply wait for the other family members and then go through Customs together. Lots of bi-national couples deal with this.


Rights and Responsibilities of a Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident)

Maintaining Permanent Residence

Abandoning Permanent Resident Status


You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently
* Remain outside of the United States for more than 1 year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However, in determining whether your status has been abandoned, any length of absence from the United States may be considered, even if less than 1 year
(more)

(me again)
A green card is not forever and occasional visits do not necessarily keep it current.

Noorah101

The point is, though, that a PR is meant to be living full time in the USA, and you are not. Before leaving the USA, did you get a re-entry permit (this helps allow you to be out of the USA for up to 2 years without abandoning your PR status...although it doesn't 100% prevent it).

What steps are you taking to maintain your residence in the USA? Do you own a home in the USA? Banking? You're filing a US tax return each year, right?

The longer you stay outside the USA, the more you will get "frowned upon" until one day they will simply not admit you as a PR, but will admit you so that you can get to go before an Immigration Judge who will decide if you are indeed still a PR or not.

Rene

Jarisleif

See, if we'd known all this before coming back to the UK, we might have done things differently. Things didn't work out in the States because I had to come back and care for my father who is disabled. I have, at no time, earned any money from employment because this is a full time thing, and I receive Carer's Allowance in the UK.

Both myself and my wife were unaware we had to file tax returns while not in the US, and neither of us have done so. But once again, neither of us have earned any money from employment since moving back here.

So I guess I just queue up along with the visitors this time around then. They never said anything to me last year though, in regards to entering the country. We waited in the holding area, and my passport and green card were handed back without a word.

About the only thing we've done is maintained a bank account. We had rented accommodation the whole time we lived there.

Noorah101

If you are allowed in as a PR on your next visit, I would file an I-131 towards a re-entry permit if you think you'll still be spending long periods outside the USA. You have to stay in the USA long enough to get biometrics done, but then you can have USCIS send the re-entry permit to the US Consulate so you can pick it up overseas. Or you can provide a US mailing address where someone checking that mail can send it to you.

You say you haven't earned income from employment, but do you have income from other sources? Savings, interest, etc? USC's can still file a tax return even if it's low (or zero) income.

Rene

S Folinsky

Interesting turn of phrase. I wonder if Miss Kane and Mrs. Huang thought the same thing? A consultation with an attorney experienced in abandonment law might be in order.

md95065

Well, since your wife is a US citizen even if you do abandon your US permanent resident status you can always get it back again later if you decide that you want to go back to the US - all you have to do is go through the immigrant visa process again.

meauxna

This is far more complex than you are giving it credit for. Which is understandable, it's dense legal lingo and complicated to do it "right". Your choices are to try & figure it out, or just give up and reapply for a visa when you are ready to move. Does your wife have ILR or some legal status there or is she hopping in and out for 6 months at a time?

Because MrF has posted a couple of famous court cases that are the backbone of abandonment arguments, but are not pleasant afternoon/evening/ever reading, you might prefer this summary article:
http://www.americanlaw.com/maintlpr.html

You and your wife BOTH, but certainly she, need to read up on US income tax filing abroad. You are splitting hairs that I don't want to really get into with you, but you are accepting money for labor and the IRS wants to know about it. It's highly unlikely that either of you would owe tax, but she can't just ignore other income or choose to not report because you don't call it employment.

You also haven't mentioned anything about dates. It may be that you have not abandoned your status, but it is something you need to look into and learn about, preferably before traveling again. Abandonment is a fairly specialized immigration topic & I don't know an attorney to recommend, although JCraigFong has very good resources and has been very helpful to other users here (find him in the pinned articles at the top of the forum or in the members list).

meauxna

I'd submit that it's not necessarily that simple. Mrs USC has no employment, no home in the US and they don't have much money by their description. I'm not saying that it is impossible, but the time to take action is now, not "just wait and see what happens to us".

md95065

Agreed - I was just pointing out that if it does turn out that the OP is deemed to have abandoned their PR status then, unlike many other people, they do at least have a fairly straightforward way of getting it back.

Jarisleif

Thanks for all the posts regarding this situation. They are very helpful but also very confusing, although confusing because I don't fully understand what's going on. We've always tried to do it the right way and even hired a lawyer to sort out the PR for me, who clearly didn't point out everything we needed to know.

To summarise a couple of points, I think I will have no option but to give up my PR because filing for re-entry is near $400 after biometrics and we'll not be in the country long enough.

The income I receive is from the UK government and is not taxable. I am neither employed nor unemployed. My wife has a conditional visa until April 2012, where she can apply for a full spousal visa.

We've flying at the end of June for a visit; this is already booked. It does look as though I'll have to abandon my resident status and reapply at cost sometime in the future if we do decide to go back to live.

discoviking

You are still missing the point. It may not be taxable in the UK as per UK tax laws, but UK and US law both apply here. You are only considering the UK piece of the equation. It's unlikely that you will owe any US tax, but there is still a reporting requirement that apply to US Citizens and Permanent Residents, no matter where in the world they reside.

I believe IRS maintain a presence at the US consulate in London. From what I have read on here, they are actually very helpful and can assist your wife with her reporting requirements.