I had this situation arise in a consultation. A wife had received her green card based on her marriage to a US citizen. He left to live in another country. She followed him. What she expected to be a short stay turned into years in the foreign country. She wanted to return because the relationship became psychologically abusive and she was never physically forced to stay with him all that time. Did she lose her green card?
Returning resident status refers to a permanent resident who has been outside of the US beyond an expected period (“for a protracted stay”) but has never abandoned their U.S. residency (a term of art, not literally abandoning their ownership of a house). It all rests on
the intent of the immigrant but the longer the stay, the fewer ties in the U.S. that remain, the conduct of the immigrant while outside the U.S. can all factor in as to whether the immigrant intended to give up their U.S. residency. Plus, it’s hard to argue that the protracted stay was due to circumstances outside of her control if she was never physically detained by her husband, held prisoner without the right to leave her foreign “residence” with him. To make the situation even more unfair, the law automatically assumes that any children under the age of 16 who also had their green card when they left with the mother from the U.S. had the same intent as the mother. This seems really unfair to the child who has no choice but to go with the parent, so if the parent cannot prove intent and circumstances beyond her control, the child is out of luck and will lose his or her green card.
About Attorney Heather L. Poole
Heather L. Poole represents clients in complex family-based immigration matters, including cases involving extended travel, possible abandonment of permanent residence, and other issues that can place a green card at risk. She focuses on identifying the facts that matter, evaluating how the government may view the immigration history, and developing a strategy tailored to the client’s circumstances.
