Noorah101

You might have trouble, yes. A green card holder is a permanent resident of the USA, and must live in the USA. If you have a very good reason for being outside the USA for extended periods, such as school or work, you can get a re-entry permit which allows you to stay up to 2 years outside the USA. You must also maintain your ties to the USA, i.e. banking, property, and filing US taxes.

Rene

Noorah101

You can really only safely go live in another country after you become a USC. Any time spent outside the USA while you are a PR can be subject to being viewed as abandoning your PR status.

Rene

meauxna

How did you get your Green Card this time?
Not all roads are open forever, and some that are open take a long time.

fatbrit

Yep! His original GC was courtesy of ma. Once he turns 21 and/or marries, she can still sponsor him but this time there's a queue -- a rather long queue, in fact.

Whether he'll lose his GC is unsure. Anything under six months and you're unlikely to have problems. But six months out, a week in, and then six months out again, etc. generally ain't gonna cut it. This was the pre-9/11 paranioa method of having a GC and living elsewhere. Having said that, people have been out for yonks and managed to get back in -- though usually with a large lawyer's bill to go with it I might add. It's all to do with your intent -- and proving intent is mighty difficult. But once you're out, the onus is on you to prove you didn't intend to give up your residence here.

The solution BTW is easy -- naturalize!

elfman

Married a USC while living in London, moved here three years later.

So if I lose PR status by being abroad > 2 years they take a dim view of things if I apply for a GC again even if I'm married to a USC? And if I were to naturalize can I become a dual citizen? Bit remiss but I've never given this any thought before.

meauxna

IF you are still married to a USC, and have lost your PR status, you can re-immigrate through her. They won't take a dim view of this.

If you naturalize, you can be a dual citizen. You can apply as early as your 3rd anniversary of PR status (90 days before actually).

If you'd like to look into more, check out the Guide to Naturalization at uscis.gov. My UK husband got his USC last summer and likes being dual. It was part of our plan from the get go.. do our 'time' in the US so we could be free to go where we liked for as long as we liked.