alt Hacker NewsThere's no requirement that a green card holder spend 6 months in the U.S. during the year. You and your wife can and should travel freely. And you could live outside the U.S. for several years and still keep your green card. If you decide to move to Portugal for a period of time, for example, you should consult an attorney but the solution to protect your green card status (for at least 5 years) is to get a document called a reentry permit, which is easy to get.
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I’ll spare a new thread and just ask here as we are in the same situation (sorry OP!).
My understanding is we at least need to be in the US once every six months in order for my partner to maintain their green card status while we live abroad.
We were not aware of the reentry permit, does this avoid the requirements of needing to enter the country periodically? We are of course concerned about losing their green card status.
Lastly, how realistic is the timing in obtaining the permit? We have our move planned for next month.
Thanks you as always for these threads!
Interesting. Thank you for the response. If this is true, that's amazing!
Do you know where the 6-month requirement (rumor?) is from? Reading over https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter... section C states
"...there are two ways outlined in the statute in which the continuity of residence can be broken:
The applicant is absent from the United States for more than 6 months but less than 1 year; or The applicant is absent from the United States for 1 year or more."
Is this only for citizenship/naturalization and not to maintain a green card?