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How do they do it?


dxtr

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I am curious to know how some people do to keep they permanent residence card even when living abroad.

I know all the legal and official steps like not being out of the Us for more than 1 year etc, but I know of many people who they got they green card and move back to their home countries and still keep the card, they travel occasionally for 2 or 3 days a year to the US but basically they live and have their lives made out of the US. So that's I'm curious, how do they do it? I guess something under the water should going on but I really dont know how. And in case someone wonder why I ask, yes I got my GC a year ago (I'm not planning to move back to my country) but you never know, and in case there is a situation where I will have to move back I would like to know just in case I want to keep my GC.

Thank you in advance for your comments.

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1 hour ago, dxtr said:

My question is regarding US green card holders. Thank you. 

Knowing some Mexican US green card holders that live in Mexico, they use stealth. They do not admit northbound their actual residence and maintain an address in the US, usually a relative's.

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10 minutes ago, AngusMactavish said:

Knowing some Mexican US green card holders that live in Mexico, they use stealth. They do not admit northbound their actual residence and maintain an address in the US, usually a relative's.

that's what I thought and I believe is a bit risky; also, not sure if they come to the US let's say once or twice a year, if the customs or border officers can see in their system this people have not been doing taxes or making any income during the time they were out; officers usually ask how long you have been out and basically you can say anything (of course usually that you were out 1 week or so for vacation or anything) so if they ask this is because they really can't see anything on their systems and they trust on people only? hehehe just wondering.

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My understanding is that to retain permanent resident status in the US you cannot be out of the US more than one year.  So if a green card holder returns to the US once in 365 days they would retain their US permanent residency.  That info is based on my knowledge but I could be mistaken.  I'm sure it can be researched on internet.

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If one flies out of the country you are in the computer as having left. Drive out, they have no idea that you are gone, so returning can easily be masked when you return, especially by land.

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10 hours ago, bdlngton said:

Thanks bdIngton, I know all this information, but like I said, people find the way to skip it either keeping an address from relatives or like AngusMactavish said driving out and return driving too. However this makes me think on on more question, how do they prove an income in the US or pay taxes? either way, not a big deal, I wont put on risk my status, if I want to leave I will leave either after becoming US citizen or drop my green card status.

Thank you all.

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In a manner of speaking. You must prove income as a Temporale, and then when you apply for Permanente, they assume nothing has changed, so they don't ask or proof. Which, knowing the bureaucracy in this country, still boggles my mind.

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1 hour ago, ComputerGuy said:

In a manner of speaking. You must prove income as a Temporale, and then when you apply for Permanente, they assume nothing has changed, so they don't ask or proof. Which, knowing the bureaucracy in this country, still boggles my mind.

hehehe, are you talking about bureaucracy in US or MEX? so far I have not seen as much bureaucracy in US as it is in MEX.

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https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/maintaining-permanent-residence

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

Additionally, absences from the United States of six months or more may disrupt the continuous residency required for naturalization.  If your absence is one year or longer and you wish to preserve your continuous residency in the United States for naturalization purposes, you may file an Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes on Form N-470. For more information, please see the “Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements” page.

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/continuous-residence-and-physical-presence-requirements-naturalization

 

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Alan is right. I'm Canadian, and most things run smoothly with the government... because I'm Canadian. (That is not to say there aren't major screwups on a daily basis. Just look at the Federal government: paid a fortune two years ago for a new accounting system, and thousands of federal employees have either not received their pay, or have been getting too much money. And guess what? The banks, waiting for their loan payments and mortgage income, are not that sympathetic.)

From the point of view of immigration, an average Canadian would know nothing of the difficulties of trying to get in. Mexico, which can be unjustly frustrating (especially lakeside), has nothing on the Canadian system.

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26 minutes ago, AlanMexicali said:

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/maintaining-permanent-residence

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

Additionally, absences from the United States of six months or more may disrupt the continuous residency required for naturalization.  If your absence is one year or longer and you wish to preserve your continuous residency in the United States for naturalization purposes, you may file an Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes on Form N-470. For more information, please see the “Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements” page.

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/continuous-residence-and-physical-presence-requirements-naturalization

 

AlanMexicali

you are right, and like I said before I know all those rules, the thing is I know of many people (Mexican) they are US green card holder but live and have their life made in Mexico and they didn't file any form to preserve their US resident status and they still have it, they may travel to the US 2 or 3 times a year and when they are being ask how long they were out of US they can say 2 or 3 days only. Unfortunately I don't know well this people, (or they are friends of my friends) to ask how do they do it, or maybe they didn't do anything and they just took the risk.

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On ‎09‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 1:53 PM, dxtr said:

AlanMexicali

you are right, and like I said before I know all those rules, the thing is I know of many people (Mexican) they are US green card holder but live and have their life made in Mexico and they didn't file any form to preserve their US resident status and they still have it, they may travel to the US 2 or 3 times a year and when they are being ask how long they were out of US they can say 2 or 3 days only. Unfortunately I don't know well this people, (or they are friends of my friends) to ask how do they do it, or maybe they didn't do anything and they just took the risk.

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

 

"Does travel outside the United States affect my permanent resident status?

Permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status. If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status.  A general guide used is whether you have been absent from the United States for more than a year. Abandonment may be found to occur in trips of less than a year where it is believed you did not intend to make the United States your permanent residence.  While brief trips abroad generally are not problematic, the officer may consider criteria such as whether your intention was to visit abroad only temporarily, whether you maintained U.S. family and community ties, maintained U.S employment, filed U.S. income taxes as a resident, or otherwise established your intention to return to the United States as your permanent home. Other factors that may be considered include whether you maintained a U.S. mailing address, kept U.S. bank accounts and a valid U.S. driver’s license, own property or run a business in the United States, or any other evidence that supports the temporary nature of your absence."

 

If they don´t live, work, file IRS returns every year etc. they can and might have their Permanent Resident card confiscated when entering the US by CBP agents. I wouldn´t doubt it happens sometimes and possibly many times more than you have heard about. Renewal for Permanent Resident visas/cards is every 10 years. They want proof you where there the last 10 years, not in some other country.

When I had a Permanent Resident card the law was you can only leave the USA for 6 months out of a 12 month period and nothing to do with seeking naturalization. You could go longer with a permission to leave and re-enter but they were hard to get back in the early 80s - a  blood relative needs you to care for them because they are dying, an American Company needs you to work for them abroad, a scholarship abroad etc.

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21 hours ago, bournemouth said:

I'm wondering what all this has to do with Mexico?

HI bournemouth

It does not have anything to do with Mexico specifically, I put that example because I am from Mexico, that's all. 

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On 3/9/2018 at 1:20 PM, AlanMexicali said:

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/maintaining-permanent-residence

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

Additionally, absences from the United States of six months or more may disrupt the continuous residency required for naturalization.  If your absence is one year or longer and you wish to preserve your continuous residency in the United States for naturalization purposes, you may file an Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes on Form N-470. For more information, please see the “Continuous Residence and Physical Presence Requirements” page.

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/continuous-residence-and-physical-presence-requirements-naturalization

 

This info is correct if one wants to become a naturalized US citizen.  I'm not sure if it applies to one who is a permanent resident without plans to apply for citizenship.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/8/2018 at 2:30 PM, dxtr said:

I am curious to know how some people do to keep they permanent residence card even when living abroad.

I know all the legal and official steps like not being out of the Us for more than 1 year etc, but I know of many people who they got they green card and move back to their home countries and still keep the card, they travel occasionally for 2 or 3 days a year to the US but basically they live and have their lives made out of the US. So that's I'm curious, how do they do it? I guess something under the water should going on but I really dont know how. And in case someone wonder why I ask, yes I got my GC a year ago (I'm not planning to move back to my country) but you never know, and in case there is a situation where I will have to move back I would like to know just in case I want to keep my GC.

Thank you in advance for your comments.

I wonder if in some cases, it because of marriage?

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