confusedexpat44

I love this forum...thanks to all that have contributed! Now, our issue:

Since getting married two years ago, my wife and I have been based in the UK together on her work assignment. She is a conditional PR on a marriage visa, and I am a USC. Neither of us work for the US government or contractors. She returns to the US every 5-11 months, but recently obtained a Re-entry Permit to avoid the inevitable secondary inspection and threats at the border when entering the US. We are not sure if this was necessary, since we continue to travel back and forth regularly, pay US taxes, have a US address, and fully intend to return indefinitely within the next few years.

After submitting the I-751 to remove conditions of residence several months ago, we have finally recieved the I-797E Notice of Action with a request for further evidence. It appears from this that the I-751 has been put in "overseas hold" and we are being asked to submit further evidence by a deadline six weeks from now. Specifically, the "evidence requested" says the following:
Given that we are presently based in the UK, can anyone provide input on the best way to proceed? The evidence is due on six weeks, and we are planning a brief trip back to the US in advance of that. Will it be sufficient to simply submit a statement that we have "returned", or do we actually have to find jobs in the US and move back?--Yikes! What sorts of "evidence" might be acceptable?

Thanks for any and all input you can provide---this is a really great forum!

ian-mstm

First - you need to know that USCIS can *not* terminate her status as a US permanent resident. If there's a problem, she has the right to appear before an immigration judge who will make the final determination based on the totality of the circumstances. Time outside the US, by itself, is *not* sufficient to lose status. She *is* a PR until an immigration judge says she isn't.


Quite simply, she needs to return to the US and live there *permanently* as afforded by her current status.


You will likely need to document your attempt to return to the US on a more permanent basis.

Worst case scenario - she loses her PR status, and you will then have to petition for an immigrant visa for her. Either way, if she intends to keep her status, she needs to reside permanently in the US.

Ian

Rete

What they are asking for is proof that your wife has not applied for residency in another country which, if she had, would cause her US residency to be abandoned. They are also asking for some type of proof that she will be returning to the US to live and work. If she is planning on living back in the UK for the next few years, then abandon the residency in the US and reapply when she is ready to return to live and work in the US.

US Residency is called "permanent" for a reason. Brief trips do not mean that you have retained US residency.

Search for posts from notacrime who filed I-751 from Scotland and was approved.

confusedexpat44

Thanks for your input on this. I wonder if anyone is familiar with the specifics of an "overseas hold" in pending I-751 processes? I've done a lot of searching, and seen very limited information on this.

The above replies seem to indicate that the issue for USCIS is the legitimacy of my wife's residence in the United States. I had understood from previous posts that it is acceptable to file I-751 from outside the US, especially if she's holding a valid re-entry permit. I thought the I-751 was more concerned with the legitimacy of the marriage (ie. proving that you are living together, sharing assets, etc.).

As for the question of the permanance of her residence in the US, our standing on this with the immigration authorities has been that she is a resident of the United States but temporarily overseas due to employment. We own property, have an address, business activities, bank accounts, file taxes, and are in the US every 5-11 months. As well, we intend to return in the next 1-3 years, once we can secure employment. Is this not sufficient to counter any charges of abandonment?

Thanks again!

notacrime

Did you provide a US mailing address on the form I-751?

Rete

You must realize that if USCIS thinks there is no US residency then there is nothing to remove conditions from. And yes, all the above is NOT enough to say you have not abandoned US Residency. In her case, she is working in her own country regardless of where the headquarters might be. Why in heavens name did she apply for residency if she wasn't going to reside in the US? Brief visits are not proof of residency. Filing taxes must be done by all US Citizens and PR's. She did not have always have a re-entry permit as per your post and it is only a recent acquisition.

Temporary employment for 5 years? That is a very long temporary position. Do you rent in the UK or own property? If you own that can be construed as residency in the UK. What is your status in the UK? If you have right to remain that also construes residency in the UK and negates her residency in the US.

There are many variables.

confusedexpat44

Actually, neither of us are UK citizens, though I am a USC. We relocated to the UK for her job after getting married, as the company that she works for has its headquarters here. We are both on fixed term temporary work permits while in the UK. We just rent, don't own. Do you think any of this helps our cause?

confusedexpat44

Hi Notacrime---Your postings have been very helpful to us, seems that you've had some similar experiences. Congrats on getting through the process!

As for your question, we listed our US Address as the first address (this is our permanent US address), and current mailing address in the UK. As well, we provided an attachment (as requested by the form) listing the two addresses we have lived at since getting married, both of which are outside the US.

Rete

Yes, that will most definitely help.

meauxna

It looks like the foreign address is what did you in.
Did you turn up this page in your search?
<edited; please see the more complete version at the above link, and see post #18>

The processing for non-government CPRs overseas will continue to be placed on "overseas hold" until the CPR, his or her spouse and dependents return to the U.S. after a temporary absence of less than one-year. The non-government CPRs should complete biometrics at an ASC at that time.


This is from an AILA question session, so you might not see this info presented the same way on the USCIS site. It's also dated Nov 08, so is pretty much current. I see some notes from the AILA conference posted here that say:
Filing While Abroad
If I-751 filed from abroad, case is held by USCIS until a U.S. address is put into the system, at which point it will be moved into the processing queue

Since the named lawyers appear to have given a workshop on the topic, they might be good ones to get ahold of for assistance. For balance, I see another attorney flat out telling a woman in similar circs to forget it and simply re-immigrate when she is ready to return to the US. (I don't like that answer)

There was a thread on this group not too long ago, but the OP hasn't been back to let us know what happened. http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=471319

Lots of dead end threads like that out there..

confusedexpat44

Thank you to meauxna for the excellent guidance---this appears to explain exactly where we are in the process, and how things may have gotten off-track.

From the lawyer's guidance in the link you sent, it appears that our best course will be to respond to the evidence request with a simple letter when we return this summer informing USCIS that we have returned to the US and are requesting that the process be resumed.

I'm noting that once the process gets resumed the next step is biometrics, assuming there's no interview. Does anyone know if biometrics are required for I-751 applicants that have already had biometrics taken for a previously-obtained Re-entry Permit?

notacrime

I think that you might have confused them with that. The mailing address has to be in the US unless you are working for the state department or military. Annoyingly they do provide a place for country on that part of the form. My application had my current Edinburgh address in the first section, and my brother's address in New Jersey in the mailing address section. All correspondence was sent to my brother's address and the biometrics appointment was set up for an ASC close to that address. (Like you we've also lived at several different addresses, three of which were abroad, since I gained LPR status in 2007, and I included those on an attached piece of paper.)

The worker that opened your application probably just gave up when they saw your mailing address was in the UK. The process that they usually follow is to set up a biometrics appointment close to the mailing address if one is provided, and since yours was outside the US it stopped them in their tracks, (ie. there is no Edinburgh or Glasgow ASC.)

Unfortunately this leaves her application in a weird state. My advice is to send back the RFE with an updated mailing address in the US. If you have a friend in the city that you are visiting soon then use their address. If the application becomes unstuck at that point then you should get a biometrics appointment notice quite soon after that, and your wife will have to attend the appointment. (She can reschedule it if it's an unsuitable date, and can probably turn up earlier than the date on the notice too, there are a bunch of other posts on this issue.)

But there's no guarantee that it'll move forward after you send an updated mailing address.

meauxna has done some great research for you, I hope that helps uncloud the issue a bit.

Good luck.

Bluegrass Lass

She will be required to re-take biometrics for the I-751. You have to provide a set of fingerprints for every application that requires them. So that means multiple trips to the US it sounds like.

notacrime

Yeah, I think that's the best plan. And she will be expected to go for biometrics specific to the I-751.

I forgot to mention in my last post - I ended up having to call the service center (Vermont in my case) and I was able to talk to an actual person who was very helpful. The I-797 receipt for my application never arrived. They were able to arrange to have it resent. So it might be worth calling and asking about your situation, they may be able to just add a mailing address to your case on their computer system.

notacrime

Fantastic advice, and well researched as always meauxna. Kudos.

But...

I'm curious to know why you don't like that answer? If I were intending on staying another few years in the UK I think I would have considered that option. Hand in GC and then reapply about 8 months before moving back - assume that it'll take 4 - 6 months (consular processing) and then you have a 6 month window to move after the IR-1 is granted.