crashandcari

Hi everyone..

Need some advice on what we need to do.

My husband and I were married in July, 2005. He and his son finally arrived as conditional permanent residences in May, 2006. If my calculation are correct we need to file our petition to remove conditions this month.

To make a very long story short, my stepson's biological mother who had been out of contact for a million years turned up and my stepson began communicating with her and his half sister who he hadn't seen in 13 years and missed terribly.

My stepson (who is 16) decided he wanted to return to England and go live with his mother. And so he went.

Our questions are:

1. Do we need to notify CIS that he has left the country? Or do we just let his green card expire in May?

2. When we file the petition to remove my husband's conditions we obviously have to leave my stepson off.. Should we make reference to him returning to England in our cover letter?

We just aren't clear as to what we need to do, obviously lol. Any advice would be appreciated as always.

Thanks again everyone..

Cari

ian-mstm

His status will expire the same day as his GC if he does not file to remove the conditions within 90 days of the expiry date. That said, it wouldn't hurt to send something to USCIS to let them know of this turn of events. Be sure to include his full name, A#, and anything else that will help them identify the correct person!


I would suggest not saying anything in the cover letter (and you probably don't really even need a cover letter). If you do nothing, his status will expire anyway.

Ian

Noorah101

I don't know what to do about your step-son, but just wanted to clarify for you that you have the whole 90-day window just prior to the expiration of the 2-year green card to file the I-751 (not just this month alone). Just didn't want you to feel you're running out of time.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I would NOT leave him off the I-751 for now. You might want to let him know that his lpr status is in jepordy.

While he is under 18, the fact that Dad maintains LPR is a good guard against abandonment.

Having said the above, a decision will have to be made at some point -- but you are not there yet.

Rete

When did your stepson leave the US? If it was under a year ago, perhaps he can come and visit his father and you for a holiday and while here file an I-131 for a re-entry permit. This permit will allow him to be outside of the US, i.e. for educational purposes, etc. for at least two years, without surrounding his residency status. At age 16, he might well change his mind about living in the US and should not just abandon his green card without at the very least preserving it for at least two years until he knows without doubt what he wants to do.

PS he should be named on your husband's I-751; he does not have to file a separate one for himself.

Noorah101

I thought if a Re-entry permit was filed while holding a 2-year green card, the Re-entry permit won't be valid beyond the expiration of the 2-year green card.

Rene

Rete

Very true. OP does not say just when the youngster left the US to return to UK. But he should at the very least apply for the re-entry permit if he comes back to visit the US and his father and if that is not possible, he can obtain a returning resident's visa from the US Consulate if his stay outside of the US is under 2 years.

crashandcari

My stepson knew that he would be giving up his permanent residence status when he left and he did not mind. He never actually wanted to be in America but had no choice at the time but to come with his father. His plan was always to return to England when he turned 18 but the circumstances with his mother turning up gave him the opportunity to go back now. So the chances of him choosing to return to America are lower than low.

Folinskyinla, you said "While he is under 18, the fact that Dad maintains LPR is a good guard against abandonment." Where does abandonment come into play?

We were under the impression that legally we could not file the I-751 with him attached if he is no longer in the country. That by doing so we would be deceiving the government which we have no intention of doing.

I suppose the question is.. if we let his green card expire in May, does CIS need to know that he is no longer in the country? We wouldn't want them thinking that since my husband is on the petition and he is not that somehow is staying here illegally.

Noorah, yea we know we have within the 90 day period to file but we just want to get the paperwork started as soon as we can.. lets just say we've learned our lessons about how CIS works LOL

Thanks for your feedback everyone..

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Calm down a bit. "Abandonment" is exactly what you are talking about. Until he reaches majority -- the legal choice of where to live is NOT his, but belongs to his parents. Adolescents are known to change their minds -- and a 16-year old is quite different from an 18-year old.

But what happens is that his father's LPR status is "imputed" to his son for the time being.

The law of abandonment is quite tricky at times. Most people, including government officials and immigration attorneys get it wrong all the time.

Also, there is no deceit on the government in this one. He has NOT given up his LPR -- he doesn't have the legal capacity to do so. So there is nothing wrong about including him on the I-751.

BTW, I wonder if there is something going on here with the "step" relationship? I'm not asking for an answer on that one, it is none of my business. But I still wonder.

crashandcari

I guess I'm asking how is it abandonment when he went to go live with his biological mother? And if both his parents agreed to it?

As for a 16yr old vs an 18 yr old.. While here in America we consider 18 the legal age.. in the UK a 16 year old can finish school, move out on their own and join the military (both with parental consent). My husband's custody over him actually ended when he turned 16 under UK law. So while under American standards he isn't legal yet.. having grown up in the UK his ideas of what he could do when he turned 16 are much different than ours.

And what do you mean you wonder if something is going on with the "STEP" relationship? That's what he is.. my stepson. Normally I do just call him my son when I talk about him.. but since I was referring to his returning to live with his biological mother I didn't want any confusion about whether or not he was mine biologically.

Noorah101

Abandonment here just means abandoning (terminating) his US PR status.

Rene

crashandcari

oh ok.. i didn't get that.. was thinking along the lines of the other way. thanks Noorah !

ian-mstm

This may be moot now, but he was *in* the US and so was subject to US, not UK, law. It didn't matter which law he *thought* he was subject to, he was subject to US law at the time.


I think Mr. F. was alluding to the possibility that perhaps the boy didn't like you and so jumped on the chance to return to the UK to be with his biological mother. It happens.

Ian

crashandcari

oh i know he was subject to US law while he was here.. i was just trying to explain his mindset about how he felt about turning 16.. which was one of the biggest reasons he wanted to leave the country.

as for whether or not he left cuz of the relationship he and i had.. that couldnt be further from the truth.. mainly it was that he just hated america and never seemed to fit in or more accurately never really tried to. he knew he was going to go back to england when he turned 18. the only reason he decided to go now was because of his mother and half sister who have been out of contact for most of his life. now they found each other and he wants to get to know them better which gave him a reason to go back to england sooner rather than later

the issue isnt why he wanted to go to back to england.. its how do we handle the removing of conditions petition. i don't want the reason for my posting to get lost

meauxna

The thoughts I have on the topic?

Go ahead and go through the motions of removing conditions for him and do the things that USCIS will consider 'maintaining residency'.

It's been my observation over the years that kids around this age do change their minds. Things back 'home' might not be what he's hoping for, or he realizes how much he really likes it here. Or whatever.. the point is, keep the door open.

IIRC, there is no fee for the kid if he qualifies to be on Dad's petition, so it's a no harm no foul there. There are instructions on the uscis website that discuss what to do when the applicant is overseas.
I'd concentrate on doing what you can to keep as many options open as is possible.
HTH