Motscochin

Hi all,

My wife and I are from India, in our 50's. We got our greencard 2 years back
and now we need to get back to the US to renew it further. We are not
inclined to do so because of the expense involved and the fact that we're
financially comfortable in India.

How do we politely refuse the greencard, social security card and the travel
document without prejudice to a 10 year multiple entry visa, as our son is
also a greencard holder and also we have our dear nieces settled in the US,
whom we would like to visit. Our son is currently in India after applying for
renewing his greencard for a period of 23 months.

The best deal we are looking at is 'no greencard', but a '10 year multiple
entry visa'.

Kindly advice.

Thanks,
Stephen

Joe Feise

motscochin wrote on 10/09/07 23:24:

> Hi all,
>
> My wife and I are from India, in our 50's. We got our greencard 2 years back
> and now we need to get back to the US to renew it further. We are not
> inclined to do so because of the expense involved and the fact that we're
> financially comfortable in India.


You already have abandoned the GC. A Permanent Resident has to reside in the US.
A person abandons the GC if he or she resides abroad.

> How do we politely refuse the greencard, social security card and the travel
> document without prejudice to a 10 year multiple entry visa, as our son is
> also a greencard holder and also we have our dear nieces settled in the US,
> whom we would like to visit. Our son is currently in India after applying for
> renewing his greencard for a period of 23 months.


The proper way is to file an I-407, surrendering the GC. Check with the US
consulate.

-Joe

Motscochin

Joe Feise (Immigration) wrote:
>motscochin wrote on 10/09/07 23:24:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> My wife and I are from India, in our 50's. We got our greencard 2 years back
>> and now we need to get back to the US to renew it further. We are not
>> inclined to do so because of the expense involved and the fact that we're
>> financially comfortable in India.
>
>You already have abandoned the GC. A Permanent Resident has to reside in the US.
>A person abandons the GC if he or she resides abroad.
>
>> How do we politely refuse the greencard, social security card and the travel
>> document without prejudice to a 10 year multiple entry visa, as our son is
>> also a greencard holder and also we have our dear nieces settled in the US,
>> whom we would like to visit. Our son is currently in India after applying for
>> renewing his greencard for a period of 23 months.
>
>The proper way is to file an I-407, surrendering the GC. Check with the US
>consulate.
>
>-Joe

After our first visit, we have returned to our country and are now wondering
if we should make this yearly/ 2 yearly trip to keep the GC status active.
Our son is keeping his active.
Stephen

Joe Feise

motscochin wrote on 10/10/07 02:12:

>
> After our first visit, we have returned to our country and are now wondering
> if we should make this yearly/ 2 yearly trip to keep the GC status active.
> Our son is keeping his active.
> Stephen

Visiting the US once in a while is *not* and has *never* been enough to maintain
the GC.
A Permanent Resident has to reside in the US. It is called "Permanent Residence"
for a reason.

meauxna

Your son is RESIDING in the US, so he can be a Permanent RESIDENT.
You are NOT residing in the US, and your "Green Card" (it is actually called a Permanent RESIDENT Alien card, right?) is not valid.

If you would like to VISIT the US, you need a visa to do so, so you need to formally (and politely, as you pointed out ) turn your Green Cards back in so you can return to being VISITORS instead of presumed RESIDENTS.