British Expats - How long can you be outside of the US while waiting on a Green Card?

On Sun, 04 Aug 2002 18:20:13 -0700, lapiaz wrote:

    > My fiance is Cuban, and is in the process of adjusting his status here in the US
    > through the Cuban Adjustment Act. We want to travel back to Britain, marry there,
    > and remain for a while. How long can he stay outside of the US before he receives
    > his Green Card? Will he risk losing
    > it / delaying the process? If we travel after he receives his Green Card, how long
    > would he be able to stay outside of the US before having to reapply?

While an adjustment of status is pending, you generally cannot leave the US even for
one minute. There is an exception: you can apply for Advance Parole. If this is
approved (in theory, it should be approved just for the asking, but in practice, some
INS offices don't seem to do it), then it MAY be safe to travel to Britain for an
unlimited time (although it's a good idea to return at the latest as soon as you are
notified of the approval).

I'm saying that it may be safe because there is a second issue to be aware of: if
your fiance is subject to a ban from the US, then Advance Parole won't help him. This
would apply if he was out of status too long.

Please note that I'm not familiar with the details of the Cuban Adjustment Act, and
there may well be special rules that I'm not aware of.

As far as staying out of the US after the GC is received: it depends, but in most
cases, up to six months are considered safe. 12 months are also possible, and with an
advance application (Reentry Permit), up to two years are doable.

Ingo