Reentry Permit

[Nidhi]

I m a green card holder due to some family problems i want to take reentry permit for 2 years. i got my Green Card in Jan 2001 and in 2001 i have been out of US for a period of four and half months.i want to know for how many times u can apply for a reentry permit to enter US safely? and is there a minimum period for which u have to stay in US for ur green card to b valid....as i m interested in comin bak to US and settling my life here.
thank you

[JoeF]

See the instructions for the I-131. A reentry permit can't be issued if you were out of the US for 4 of the last 5 years (if I remember correctly).
With the reentry permit you can stay abroad for a maximum of 2 years. The stay abroad has to be temporary, and you have to have the intent to return to the US at all times.

[Nidhi]

thanx a lot. but i have one more question.....can u apply for a reentry permit twice....provided that u have stayed outside US less than 4 yrs out of 5 yrs.and also i just got my GC last year before that i was in India so even i have stayed outside US in last 5 yrs so does that law includes me too?

[JoeF]

Re: Reentry Permit

You can *apply* as much as you want.
The issue is if the reentry permit would be approved. This is completely in the discretion of the INS. If they think you have stayed abroad too much, they may decide to not approve it.

[Nidhi]

Re: Re: Reentry Permit

thanx a lot again for ur reply.one more question is that i have read on few sites that they will give u the reentry permit but when u come back they might not allow you to enter back in US is that true?

[JoeF]

You obviously have to be admissible to be able to come back.
There are several considerations:
- your stay abroad has to be temporary
- you have not abandoned your residence in the US, e.g., by not filing a tax return or filing a non-resident return (as a PR, you have to report your worldwide income to IRS)
- you have to have the intent to return to live in the US, and you have to keep this intent during the whole stay abroad
- you can't have a communicable disease

The reentry permit is pretty good evidence that you have the intent to live in the US.
But, there is *never* a guarantee that you can return. In general, there shouldn't be any problems, and I think that the people who reported problems probably have caused them themselves by not following the rules that I listed above.

[Nidhi]

thanx a lot for helping me.