Legal Question in Immigration Law in New Jersey

Re: re-entry

It is correct that your friend should not stay out of the US more than 6 months. He should also continue to pay US income tax on world wide income. However, that is not complete protection for his green card.

This person is trying to avoid obtaining a re-entry permit by entering the U.S. every six months. If a foreign national is outside the U.S. for more than six months there is a presumption that they have abandoned their permanent residence status. The way to avoid this from happening is to apply for a Re-Entry Permit and maintaining sufficient ties to to the U.S. to evidence your intent to return. Such ties may consist of property ownership, financial investments, bank accounts, credit cards, a driver's license, close family members, U.S. employment.

The longer a foreign national resides outside the U.S. the more difficult it will become to prove that they maintain sufficient ties to the U.S. Just entering the U.S. is not enough, ultimately to show that a foreign national has ties to the U.S. Eventually the CBP will catch on and could potentially revoke the green card if they find the foreign national has not maintained sufficient ties to the U.S.

Let me know if I can assist you further.

Re: re-entry

You are correct in recommending that your friend not remain out of the country for over six months but advising him/her to come back for only a week is also not necessarily great advice. When presented to USCIS those week-long stays in the US may show that your friend's intentions were not to maintain permanent residence even though he/she was complying legally. Please feel free to call my office if you have further questions.