cosmicjunkie

Hello everyone! I would like to ask a question on behalf of a friend of mine. Julie, married an American citizen, went through all the 'proper' channels by obtaining a Spousal Visa and lived happily in the US for almost 5 years. Roughly 7 months ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to return to England for her treatment because she had no health insurance. She and her husband are now living permanently in the UK. However, they need to return to the US for a short period later this year to tie up a few loose ends as they have property here. She is worried immigration won't let her back in. Does anybody know how she should go about it? Is her permanent green card still valid or can she just come over on a VWP? Thank you.

jeffreyhy

Her green card may still be valid, but the more pertinent question is, is she still a Permanent Resident?

Unless she has formally relinquished her status and had her green card taken, with less than 1 year outside the USA she is almost certainly still considered to be a PR and should have no trouble entering the US as such.
http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/abandon.html


Regards, JEff

sir_eccles

For that period of time I would doubt they would bat an eye. That said they may try and force her to sign away her PR status (I-407). But if you are set on living in the UK now I doubt that would be an issue.

A thought experiment pops into my head. One wonders what would happen if a PR did try to apply for ESTA? I would assume the databases the system checks would notice and deny it.

Apfelkuchen

On a related note, I wonder what happens when someone with an unexpired ESTA becomes a PR. Does the existing authorization automatically get cancelled when the PR's details are entered into whatever-database-they-get-entered-into?

cosmicjunkie

Thanks very much for the info. I'll let her know.

rpjs

I suspect not. The first time I flew back from the UK to the US as a newly-minted LPR I still had an unexpired ESTA but was never asked for my GC by the airline. The second time my ESTA had expired and I was asked at check-in if I had an ESTA and showed my GC to show I didn't need one.

md95065

Very unlikely - the idea that two separate computer based systems designed and operated by the US government would be sufficiently well integrated for this to happen automatically is almost certainly not correct ...

sir_eccles

Ha, true!

The more I think about my original question, the more I suspect that if a PR did apply for ESTA it would probably be approved (barring other circumstances). But on entry to the US, the act of traveling on the VWP rather than using the Greencard for entry could be taken as an explicit act of abandonment and an I-407 would likely be forced upon the traveler.

rpjs

I'd very much doubt that, unless there was some good reason for CBP to suspect abandonment such as an extended stay outside the USA.

For starters, as I previously stated I think it's likely that ESTAs are not cancelled on acquiring LPR, so it's most likely possible for an LPR to enter the US with a pre-existing ESTA "in the system".

Further, I've definitely seen questions on these boards along the lines of "now I have a Green Card, do I still need an ESTA?" and I'm sure there must be LPRs who don't ask that question and go and apply for a new ESTA after they've acquired their GC because they don't realise they don't need an ESTA any more.

sir_eccles

Yes, I was just thinking out loud of worst case get a POE officer on a bad day scenario kind of thing.

ian-mstm

But you're not travelling on the VWP. You're travelling on ESTA... the VWP doesn't enter into the equation until you're standing in front of the CBP officer and about to ask for permission to enter. At that point in time, a GC trumps the VWP... so the VWP won't even come up!

Ian

jeffreyhy

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this, although it may be a matter of semantics.

ESTA is pre-authorization to use the Visa Waiver Program. A visa is a travel document, isn't the VWP a program under which certain people can travel without a visa? ESTA just removes some, but not all, of the uncertainty as to whether or not CBP will grant entry.

And prior to the introduction of ESTA, if people who didn't have a visa weren't travelling on the VWP, what were they traveling on?

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

I disagree. A passport is a travel document; a visa is an entry document. I shouldn't need to remind you that that's the reason you can't get a US visa from inside the US.

Ian

jeffreyhy

No, a visa is a travel document. A visa allows a person to travel to a POE and request entry.

Regards, JEff

RICH

7 months out of US should not cause a problem with her PR status. A year or more probably would.
Also, mentioning to Immigration that they are now permanently living in UK would be counterproductive.