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Hi,
I've had a green card for 10 years (expires in July) and have been largely staying in India on a consulting job assignment for the last few years - i have visited the US without letting 6 months pass.
During my current visit, I was warned at the SFO airport by the immigration officials that i need to either live here and show ties to the US or surrender my GC, else he said on my next visit they would take me to an immigration judge - my explanation of holding a consulting job in India did not have bearing and the official insisted that i'm at risk of abandoning my green card. I do plan to be in India and continue with my job for the next few years. I have the following options at this point -
1) Surrender my Green Card in India and apply for a tourist visa or a business visa (ideally 10-yr multiple entry)
- any suggestions on which one is easier to get upon surrender?
2) Apply for a re-entry permit and a GC renewal (since my GC expires in July). However, this has 2 complications
(a) I need to report back in India in 3 weeks and the re-entry permit requires me to stay here for 2 months - not sure if there's a way to expedite this or process this while I'm in India.
(b) Not sure if this would reduce my chances of getting a non-immigrant visa after 2 years if i plan to stay in India and surrender my Green Card at that point
3) Do neither 1 or 2 and re-visit US in 6 months - not sure what the warning at the airport means and if it is advisable to continue doing this - while I do not intent to get naturalized at this point in time, I do not want to impact my chances of getting a non-immigrant visa.
Which alternative is best in this situation? Also, pl address my questions in each option.
thanks
Kb
I've had a green card for 10 years (expires in July) and have been largely staying in India on a consulting job assignment for the last few years - i have visited the US without letting 6 months pass.
During my current visit, I was warned at the SFO airport by the immigration officials that i need to either live here and show ties to the US or surrender my GC, else he said on my next visit they would take me to an immigration judge - my explanation of holding a consulting job in India did not have bearing and the official insisted that i'm at risk of abandoning my green card. I do plan to be in India and continue with my job for the next few years. I have the following options at this point -
1) Surrender my Green Card in India and apply for a tourist visa or a business visa (ideally 10-yr multiple entry)
- any suggestions on which one is easier to get upon surrender?
2) Apply for a re-entry permit and a GC renewal (since my GC expires in July). However, this has 2 complications
(a) I need to report back in India in 3 weeks and the re-entry permit requires me to stay here for 2 months - not sure if there's a way to expedite this or process this while I'm in India.
(b) Not sure if this would reduce my chances of getting a non-immigrant visa after 2 years if i plan to stay in India and surrender my Green Card at that point
3) Do neither 1 or 2 and re-visit US in 6 months - not sure what the warning at the airport means and if it is advisable to continue doing this - while I do not intent to get naturalized at this point in time, I do not want to impact my chances of getting a non-immigrant visa.
Which alternative is best in this situation? Also, pl address my questions in each option.
thanks
Kb
