Visa Lawyer Blog
By Lupe Lopez
Alan and Diana married in February 2014. They quickly filed for Diana’s green card and because they had been married less than two years at the time of the interview, Diana received conditional permanent residence. Everything was fine and there were no problems until Alan received a promotion to a position in one of the firm’s overseas offices. Both Alan and Diana were concerned because they knew that Diana would not be able to spend much time out of the U.S. and still maintain her permanent residence.
Alan and Diana came to our office in to get an attorney’s opinion of their situation and to see if there was any way they could file a form that would maintain Diana’s permanent residence while living abroad. Normally, if you are a permanent lawful resident, you cannot be out of the country for an extended period of time if you wish to maintain your residency; especially for the purpose of obtaining citizenship. In order to be naturalized as a U.S. Citizen, the permanent resident must fulfill residency requirements and show evidence that he or she has been physically present in the United States for at least half of the three years (for people who have gained status through marriage to a U.S. Citizen – half of five years for all others). Diana would not be able to accumulate the time needed if she is forced to live abroad with her husband.