Q: Entering U.S. on DV-2002 Visa
Jun 10th 2002, 10:20 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Q: Entering U.S. on DV-2002 Visa
Dear people,
I was selected and KCC has received back my forms (DS-230 ...). Looking at my case
number there's a good change I will get an interview. I've read several seemingly
contradictory answers to my questions about the rules/requirements of entering the
U.S. wrt obtaining and keeping a greencard.
On state.gov I read that you need to enter the U.S. within 6 months after getting a
greencard was approved (as a result of the interview). I failed to find more detailed
information on state.gov.
However on greencardcenter.com I read: "What happens if I do not want to go to the
USA immediately...? On principle the green card is valid a life long! In case of
winning, you will have to enter the USA at least once and latest until the end of the
year 2003, but you will not be forced to stay there for a long time. The current US
immigration laws will obviously apply additionally to it."
http://www.greencardcenter.com/faq-us.htm
And on http://www.immihelp.com/gc/retain.html I read that the INS may cancel a
greencard if for example you stay outside the U.S. for more than 6 months....
Right now I'm confused. Can someone help me out or point me to detailed description
of these issues on an official (e.g., U.S. Dep. Of State) web-site?
Thank you for your time!
Kees
I was selected and KCC has received back my forms (DS-230 ...). Looking at my case
number there's a good change I will get an interview. I've read several seemingly
contradictory answers to my questions about the rules/requirements of entering the
U.S. wrt obtaining and keeping a greencard.
On state.gov I read that you need to enter the U.S. within 6 months after getting a
greencard was approved (as a result of the interview). I failed to find more detailed
information on state.gov.
However on greencardcenter.com I read: "What happens if I do not want to go to the
USA immediately...? On principle the green card is valid a life long! In case of
winning, you will have to enter the USA at least once and latest until the end of the
year 2003, but you will not be forced to stay there for a long time. The current US
immigration laws will obviously apply additionally to it."
http://www.greencardcenter.com/faq-us.htm
And on http://www.immihelp.com/gc/retain.html I read that the INS may cancel a
greencard if for example you stay outside the U.S. for more than 6 months....
Right now I'm confused. Can someone help me out or point me to detailed description
of these issues on an official (e.g., U.S. Dep. Of State) web-site?
Thank you for your time!
Kees
Jun 11th 2002, 9:32 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Q: Entering U.S. on DV-2002 Visa
On Mon, 10 Jun 2002 11:17:59 +0100, - Kees van der Bent - <[email protected]> wrote:
>Dear people,
>
>I was selected and KCC has received back my forms (DS-230 ...). Looking at my case
>number there's a good change I will get an interview. I've read several seemingly
>contradictory answers to my questions about the rules/requirements of entering the
>U.S. wrt obtaining and keeping a greencard.
>
>On state.gov I read that you need to enter the U.S. within 6 months after getting a
>greencard was approved (as a result of the interview). I failed to find more
>detailed information on state.gov.
The answer lies in the wording. The correct statement would be "you have to enter the
US within six months after the immigrant visa is approved". Consulates do not issue
Green Cards, they only issue visas. You don't get the GC until you arrive in the US
(you get it right at the airport). All US visas have an expiration date, and the
expiration date for immigrant visas is usually six months from the date of issue.
>However on greencardcenter.com I read: "What happens if I do not want to go to the
>USA immediately...? On principle the green card is valid a life long! In case of
>winning, you will have to enter the USA at least once and latest until the end of
>the year 2003, but you will not be forced to stay there for a long time. The current
>US immigration laws will obviously apply additionally to it."
>http://www.greencardcenter.com/faq-us.htm
Ignore that. This seems to be based on what somebody heard from a friend of a friend.
While there is a kernel of truth in it, this statement is extremely misleading.
Correct is:
- a GC is not valid life long, but only for as long as you maintain a US residence.
If you abandon your US residence, you give up your GC, too.
- if you win, you have to get your immigrant visa at the latest by the end of FISCAL
2003 (which is, September 2003). You don't actually have to enter the US until the
immigrant visa expires.
- you must establish a residence in the US at that time, so you should not generally
plan on leaving immediately.
Contrary what this paragraph implies, coming to the US and leaving immediately is not
something that is routinely acceptable - but rather something that some people get
away with.
>And on http://www.immihelp.com/gc/retain.html I read that the INS may cancel a
>greencard if for example you stay outside the U.S. for more than 6 months....
That is basically correct, although a simplification of the actual situation. Here is
the outline of the rule:
- if you intend to abandon your US residency, you lose your GC regardless of how long
your absence is. For instance, if you explicitly state that you move out of the US,
that tends to be pretty strong evidence. Similarly, if you showed up at the
Canadian border with a moving van, that could be considered evidence of your intent
to abandon your residency (unless you have a good reason, such as short-term
studying).
Also, if you file your tax returns as a non-resident, this will be considered
automatic evidence that you abandoned your US residency, and you will lose your GC.
- if you leave the US for less than six months and then return, you do not have to
be readmitted. Rather, you are automatically allowed into the US much as a US
citizen is, even if you had in the meantime become inadmissible (for instance,
because you got infected with tuberculosis). For this reason, INS generally
doesn't even ask about intent to abandon your residency for such short absences.
Usually, you would be presumed to have maintained your US residency unless there
was evidence to the contrary.
- if you leave the US for more than six months but less than a year, you have to be
readmitted. Among other things, this means that grounds of inadmissibility would
apply again - for instance, if you in the meantime got infected with tuberculosis,
you could be denied admission. Also, you will be presumed to have abandoned your
residency but will be able to overcome that presumption.
- if your absence is more than one year, the presumption becomes irrefutable, and you
will lose your GC no matter how much evidence you have. Exception: if you obtained
a reentry permit before you left, you can still overcome the presumption. Reentry
permits are available for two years.
>Right now I'm confused. Can someone help me out or point me to detailed description
>of these issues on an official (e.g., U.S. Dep. Of State) web-site?
All this is written up in very legalese in the INA and accompanying regulations. You
can find them on the INS Web site (see below for link). Pretty tough reading, and
please forgive me for not looking up the exact sections.
Ingo
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
>Dear people,
>
>I was selected and KCC has received back my forms (DS-230 ...). Looking at my case
>number there's a good change I will get an interview. I've read several seemingly
>contradictory answers to my questions about the rules/requirements of entering the
>U.S. wrt obtaining and keeping a greencard.
>
>On state.gov I read that you need to enter the U.S. within 6 months after getting a
>greencard was approved (as a result of the interview). I failed to find more
>detailed information on state.gov.
The answer lies in the wording. The correct statement would be "you have to enter the
US within six months after the immigrant visa is approved". Consulates do not issue
Green Cards, they only issue visas. You don't get the GC until you arrive in the US
(you get it right at the airport). All US visas have an expiration date, and the
expiration date for immigrant visas is usually six months from the date of issue.
>However on greencardcenter.com I read: "What happens if I do not want to go to the
>USA immediately...? On principle the green card is valid a life long! In case of
>winning, you will have to enter the USA at least once and latest until the end of
>the year 2003, but you will not be forced to stay there for a long time. The current
>US immigration laws will obviously apply additionally to it."
>http://www.greencardcenter.com/faq-us.htm
Ignore that. This seems to be based on what somebody heard from a friend of a friend.
While there is a kernel of truth in it, this statement is extremely misleading.
Correct is:
- a GC is not valid life long, but only for as long as you maintain a US residence.
If you abandon your US residence, you give up your GC, too.
- if you win, you have to get your immigrant visa at the latest by the end of FISCAL
2003 (which is, September 2003). You don't actually have to enter the US until the
immigrant visa expires.
- you must establish a residence in the US at that time, so you should not generally
plan on leaving immediately.
Contrary what this paragraph implies, coming to the US and leaving immediately is not
something that is routinely acceptable - but rather something that some people get
away with.
>And on http://www.immihelp.com/gc/retain.html I read that the INS may cancel a
>greencard if for example you stay outside the U.S. for more than 6 months....
That is basically correct, although a simplification of the actual situation. Here is
the outline of the rule:
- if you intend to abandon your US residency, you lose your GC regardless of how long
your absence is. For instance, if you explicitly state that you move out of the US,
that tends to be pretty strong evidence. Similarly, if you showed up at the
Canadian border with a moving van, that could be considered evidence of your intent
to abandon your residency (unless you have a good reason, such as short-term
studying).
Also, if you file your tax returns as a non-resident, this will be considered
automatic evidence that you abandoned your US residency, and you will lose your GC.
- if you leave the US for less than six months and then return, you do not have to
be readmitted. Rather, you are automatically allowed into the US much as a US
citizen is, even if you had in the meantime become inadmissible (for instance,
because you got infected with tuberculosis). For this reason, INS generally
doesn't even ask about intent to abandon your residency for such short absences.
Usually, you would be presumed to have maintained your US residency unless there
was evidence to the contrary.
- if you leave the US for more than six months but less than a year, you have to be
readmitted. Among other things, this means that grounds of inadmissibility would
apply again - for instance, if you in the meantime got infected with tuberculosis,
you could be denied admission. Also, you will be presumed to have abandoned your
residency but will be able to overcome that presumption.
- if your absence is more than one year, the presumption becomes irrefutable, and you
will lose your GC no matter how much evidence you have. Exception: if you obtained
a reentry permit before you left, you can still overcome the presumption. Reentry
permits are available for two years.
>Right now I'm confused. Can someone help me out or point me to detailed description
>of these issues on an official (e.g., U.S. Dep. Of State) web-site?
All this is written up in very legalese in the INA and accompanying regulations. You
can find them on the INS Web site (see below for link). Pretty tough reading, and
please forgive me for not looking up the exact sections.
Ingo
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. For reliable advice, please consult
with a professional immigration attorney.
For further information, check the following frequently-requested links.
For many questions, you may find answers at
http://travel.state.gov/visa_services.html (Department of State)
or http://ins.usdoj.gov (INS).
For consular policies and visa reciprocity fees, find your consulate in
http://travel.state.gov/links.html
For visa denial and suggestions what to do about them, see
http://travel.state.gov/visadenials.html
For DOL Online Labor Certification: http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/
For information on affidavit of support for marriage to US citizens (I-864), go to
http://travel.state.gov/i864gen.html and http://travel.state.gov/checklist.html
For information on entering the US as a K-1: http://www.k1poelist.com/
For poverty levels, see http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/poverty/00poverty.htm
For information on H/L/O/P visa extensions at Dept. of State in St. Louis, MO, see
http://travel.state.gov/revals.html
For non-official information, check:
(When using these sites, and any Web sites, please watch out for privacy, as I do not
know all site operators.)
http://www.visalaw.com http://www.shusterman.com http://www.immigration.com
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall http://www.murthy.com/ http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
(dual citizenship FAQ) http://www.ilw.com http://www.srs-usvisa.com
http://www.getusavisa.com http://greencard-lottery.virtualave.net/
http://www.jcvisa.com (H-1B) http://www.h1bresources.com (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.kamya.com/misc/ (marriage and fiancee)
http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm http://www.workpermit.com
This is not an endorsement of any of these Web sites. I am not affiliated with any of
the Web site owners and do not receive nor accept payment in return for listing them,
and typically don't even know them.
(if believe you have a good immigration-related Web site and want your Web site
listed here, please e-mail me).
