Keep GC or give up...need advice

[carlos83]

My situation is, I'm Spanish and I'm married to a US citizen. I have my GC since December 2014 as a Conditional Resident, so it expires in December 2016. We have planned to move to Europe for personal reasons, but we don't know yet if it would be now or some time in the short future.
We just want to know which would be our options, so we can take the right decision. If it's better to give up my GC, or try to keep it.

These are my doubts..
- If we leave the US:
. From 1st October 2016, the 90 day period to quit the conditions in my GC will start. If I ask for a reentry permit and I leave the country (before the 90 days period) without quitting the conditions...which will be situation? I assume my reentry permit will expire in December 2016 (as my GC) and my GC will be revoked in 1st January 2017 because I didn't quit the conditions...is it right?

. If I keep the GC through a Reentry permit, would a be excluded from Double Taxation?

. If I give up my GC (as I'm already married to a US Citizen), whenever I decide to come back to US and reapply to get a new GC, would I be charged with the same fees and the process will be exactly the same as when I got the GC at the first time through the Fiancé visa?


- If we stay in the US:
. I know that in Spain, for my wife if she stays for 5 continuous years living there, she could get out of the country for up to 2 years (with no problems) with the permanent resident card.
Which would be my future in US for this aspect? I mean, now as a CR, and if I quit the conditions in the GC and I become a LPR, I can just be out of the country for up to 1 year without reentry permit (but with chances of getting in trouble if I cannnot convince the officers that I didn't intend to abandon US).
If I apply to be a US Citizen, would this change in any aspect? Or because I'm a citizen but really a foreigner, I would still have the same conditions?


Sorry to text this much but I need some clarity in all my thoughts.
Thanks so much in advance.

[carlos83]

Can anyone give me a hand, please?

[Logan5]

Carlos,

If you are outside the US at a time during which you must apply to have your conditions removed (90-1 days before your GC expires), your application may be put on hold until you have returned to the US. If you remain outside the US for more than 6 months, immigration will challenge your intention to permanently reside in the US, in which case you will have to provide evidence of your continuous ties to the US, e.g., bank account, credit card, driver's license, rental agreement, tax returns, etc.

If you apply by providing a US mailing address, you will still need to return to the US to have your biometrics taken. If you fail to do this, your GC will expire and you will not be allowed to re-enter the US with it. In this case, if you ever want to return to the US, you will have to apply for a GC, again. This will infer the same costs as when you applied for the first time.

If you are a permanent resident, and if you wish to remain one, you will always have to file taxes in the US. If you apply to have your conditions removed and then leave the US, you need to apply for I-131. In any case, however, if you remain outside the US for more than 6 months, the above mentioned case applies.

You can only apply for US Citizenship if you have a) been married to a US Citizen for at least 3 years and b) resided in the US for at least 18 months of which the last 12 months were consecutive. If you are a US Citizen, however, you can leave the US for as long as you wish, but you will still need to file taxes in the US.

Hope this helps!