how long can i stay out of the states while holding the green card?
367266
no more than 180 consecutive days
95670
Yes, there is a 12 months limit.  \nIf you stay outside of the US for 12 months, your Permanent Resident card could be terminated.  Make sure before you travel to get a Travel Permit from immigration.  This is extremely important; if you don't, you will have problems coming back into the country.\nIgnore the negative comments from Tragic_Hero; with your current passport, your Permanent Resident card and your travel permit from INS, you should have no problems whatsoever.
416911
Nothing , you just go in and start a new life, Ecuador doesn't car but the US does, they wont give you a green card for at least 10 to 20 years
31908
Yes, you can change your ticket to stay for the entire period granted.\n\nYou can also apply for a visa extension, which, if granted, gives you a permission to visit for longer than 5 months.  However, be sure to only apply after the third month, but before the visa expires.\n\nWhatever you do, make sure to NOT OVERSTAY your visa (either the 5 months, or if extended, beyond the new expiry date), as doing so can result in your not allowing to re-enter US for TEN YEARS.
1090896
what i know is if a person has a case in court he is supposed to be available for the hearing. a hold departure order may be filed if there is a tendency for the person to go out of the country.
241111
At least 24 hours.  The longer you ca hold off the better, but at least 24.
427734
Well the short answer is NO there isn't a minimum period that you must stay in the Canada before re-entering, however, there is a catch.\n\nThe border officer has full discretion of whether or not to allow you to enter the US again. If he/she suspects that you have a defacto residence in the US you will be denied entry ( basically you need to have a valid reason for you to be there for so many months, remember that you are a visitor and can't work)\n\nHope that answered your question
962908
If you are an immigrant and are planning to go back, then you may want to take it out, coz becoming debt free should be your primary goal. But if you are a citizen, a greencard holder or planning to continue to stay here. Please leave it there. Its very great that you have started with your IRA fund. I would not take it out.
24375
You can be out of the country up to one year, without needing to apply for a reentry permit. As noted above, there is no limit to the total amount of time you can be out of the country, but you do have to travel to USA, however briefly, at least once a year.\n\nUSCIS:\n"You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:\n...\n* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year."\n\nAs always, USCIS is intentionally vague, allowing them to do as they please (as an immigrant, your life is a privilege, not a right).\n\nNote that if you're planning to apply for a U.S. citizenship, you need a continuous residence of 5 years, and being out for a long time would reset the count.
654842
A green card means you're a resident, so you can work here without getting kicked out.  I don't believe there are any restrictions to you working outside the country.
226711
At least at the begining, part of your being allowed your green card is that you will not use these social welfare programs and thusly become a burden on the state otherwise your sponsor will be required to pay that back. I do not know if that ends when you are a premenant resident or if it doesn't until you are actaully a citizen.
941994
If a lawful permanent resident (LPR) stays out of the USA more than one (1) year (without prior approval from Citizen and Immigration Services (CIS.GOV)) then they may have been deemed to have abandoned their residency.\n\nThe intent of a LPR to remain a permanent residence in the U.S. is a key factor in the USCIS's determination whether the LPR abandons his/her permanent residence in the U.S. However, a mere oral or written statement of intent to remain a U.S. resident to the USCIS is not controlling. Apart from the length of the absence from the U.S., the USCIS will look to many objective facts that reflect the LPR's intent. The major factors that are considered in determining the LPR's intent include:\n\nThe length of the LPR's absence from the U.S.; \nThe purpose for the LPR's departure; \nThe existence of facts evidencing a fixed termination date for the stay abroad; \nThe continued filing of U.S. tax returns with the IRS in a resident status; \nThe location of the LPR's close family members; \nThe location and nature of the LPR's employment abroad; \nThe maintenance of other ties with the U.S. including mailing address, bank account, ownership of property, driver's license, club membership, mortgage, and credit card, etc. \nThe Totality Test to Determine the Alien's Intent\n\nNo single factor in the above list is controlling with regard to the alien's intent to maintain legal permanent resident status in the U.S. The USCIS officers will analyze all relevant factors and circumstances of the alien, and look to the "totality of the circumstances" to decide. \n\nAs a general rule, if a LPR leaves the U.S. for one year or less, he/she can use the green card as a reentry document. By contrast, when an alien is absent from the U.S. for more than one year, he/she may have a difficult time reentering the country because the USCIS takes the position that an absence of longer than one year in duration indicates a possible abandonment of U.S. residency. For those LPR’s who have been out of the U.S. for more than one year, they will need to obtain reentry permits or special immigrant visas. Many green card holders accordingly believe that in order to keep their LPR status they can simply return to the U.S. once a year and stay for several weeks. This, however, is a grave error. Merely returning to the U.S. and using the green card once a year has little bearing on the question of whether the LPR has maintained the intention to remain a permanent resident of the U.S. In fact, although some aliens have returned to the U.S. more often than once a year, they lose their LPR status because they lack sufficient ties with the U.S. indicating that they consider the U.S. to be their country of permanent residence. An alien may have multiple residences as a LPR, however, in order to keep his/her green card, he/she must retain the U.S. residence as the permanent one. \n\nTherefore, all LPR’s who wish to keep their green cards should take the necessary steps in accordance with the above to establish sufficient facts evidencing that they are maintaining strong ties with the U.S. and retaining the U.S. as their permanent home.\n\nNecessary Steps to Assure Continuity of LPR Status\n\nAn LPR who will travel abroad for a considerable length of time should take certain steps to assure that his/her permanent resident status will not be lost.\n\n· Filing Tax Returns as a U.S. resident \n\nUnder all circumstances, a LPR must file tax returns as a U.S. Resident Alien annually with the IRS. To properly file such a tax return, the LPR must claim his/her worldwide income in the return. Filing a tax return as a resident alien does not necessarily mean that the alien must actually pay income taxes if he/she is employed overseas, because treaties and foreign tax credits may minimize the tax amount actually paid to the IRS. Filing tax returns as a non-resident alien will raise an assumption that the alien has
1178839
first off I want to commend you for thinking about staying here in a legal way. Why do you need a green card now? Did your other one run out or are you here illegally?
626791
When you get a green card by marrying an American citizen you get under a 2-year condition.  The INS does this to assure that marriages are real and not fake.  \n\nYou say your friend has been married for more than 2-years.  The "key" to her keeping her green card is if she's had her meeting with the INS to remove the condition.  If this has happened then her green card can not be taken away because of the divorce.  If the condition is still on her green card then it will be taken away if she gets divorced.\n\nIf she gets divorced and does not have the condition removed her green card will expire and she will be an illegal alien.  Legally she should leave before her card expires.
408789
It doesn't matter if he stayed for a short time in the US, what matters is not ot stay outside of the US for longer than 6 monthes, some experts say 1 year but no body knows when the new law will be applied so to make sure, he should not stay outside of the US for more than 6 monthes.
693971
REMOVING CONDITIONAL RESIDENCE \nIf the marriage is less than two years old when the foreign-born spouse becomes a permanent resident, the green card will expire after a two-year period. Both spouses must submit a joint petition (form I-751) to remove the two-year condition within the 90-day period immediately preceding the end of the two year period. \nIf the marriage has terminated by reason of divorce, death of the citizen spouse or spousal abuse, the foreign-born spouse may apply for a waiver of the joint petition requirement. \n\nOn April 10, 2003, the CIS issued a policy memorandum which states that a person who has obtained permanent residence based upon a marriage to a U.S. citizen can not submit an application for a waiver of the joint petition requirement based on the "good faith" marriage exception to the joint petition requirement until the person has obtained a final dissolution of the marriage.
603312
In immigration parlance a visa is a document that allows you to enter the country.\n\nYou have to stay until you have your interview. That's the one prior to being issued a temporary green card ("Resident Alien Card"). There is no set time because it always takes longer than the estimate, which is all the DHS will give you. In my case it was about a year. After your interview you can apply for a Travel Waiver. I never applied for one so I don't have any experience of that. I didn't go back 'home' until five years after I arrived.\n\nYour temporary green card is good for three years. In the meantime, usually about a year before it expires, you can start processing for your permanant green card ("Permanent Resident Card"). Once you have that you can come and go as you please.