Briny Breezes, FL Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Where an individual has left the US for a year even with a reentry permit, that person has interrupted residence for naturalization purposes. Immigration believes that such an individual can only apply four years and one day after having returned to the States.

Generally speaking, USCIS issues an employment authorization approximately 90 days after an I-485 application for adjustment of status to permanent residence is filed if so requested on form I-765 application for employment authorization. I note that in the process, your US citizen spouse would have to submit an I-864 affidavit of support form on your behalf. Your income would not count for purposes of the affidavit of support. As your contemplated spouse is unemployed, you should both also think of contacting relatives or friends to see whether they would be amenable to submitting joint affidavits of support on your behalf. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.

Generally, if an LPR remains outside the U.S. for more than 1 years they are considered to have abandoned their LPR status unless they obtained a Re-entry Permit before leaving or they can prove that unforeseen events prevented them from returning. If their Green Card is expired, then they will have to obtain a SB-1 visa from the U.S. Consulate in their home country. However, if the consulate believes that they abandoned their Green Card, they will not issue the visa. This is the type of matter that you should schedule an consultation with an immigrant attorney to discuss since the issue of abandonment involves many factors.