What is the physical presence requirement for EB-5 investors with conditional permanent green cards?

If they stay outside the USA for more than 12 full months at one time, they lose the green card automatically. If they stay outside the USA less than six months, it is usually not an issue. If they stay outside the USA between six months and one year, the immigration people can question them to see if they abandoned their permanent residency in the USA. We advise clients it is best to come back every six months or apply for a re-entry permit, which will allow them to stay outside the USA for up to two years.

A conditional permanent resident must spend the majority of his or her time in the United States. In addition, an unconditional permanent resident must also spend the majority of his or her time in the United States.

The physical presence requirement for a conditional permanent resident of the U.S. based upon an EB-5 investment would be the same as far as any permanent resident of the United States. You simply must not be deemed to have abandoned your residency. As a general rule, you should spend as much time physically in the U.S. as possible and any continuous periods of time outside the U.S. should not exceed six months. In other words, you should seek to return within the six-month period. If you are out over six months and less than 12 months, it may be possible for you to maintain your residency but upon re-entry, you have a higher level of proof to establish that you did not intend to abandon your residency.

You have to be in conditional permanent resident in the U.S. for two years before you can apply to be a permanent resident. If for any reason you need to reside outside the U.S. during the conditional period, it is advisable to discuss with your immigration attorney and then file for parole.

The person is required to live in the U.S. and the U.S. must be their home. Absences are looked at cumulatively, and any absence over one year breaks the permanent residency. Persons who are not living in the U.S. for acceptable reasons must apply for re-entry permits or advance permission to be out.

There is no minimum amount of time that conditional green card holders need to be in the U.S. However, extended time abroad (such as more than one year) without an intervening trip back to the U.S. may result in an assumption of abandonment of permanent residency in the U.S. In order to avoid an assumption of abandonment of permanent residency in the U.S., you can file for a re-entry permit prior to departing the U.S. if you are anticipating spending extensive time outside the U.S.

Permanently, of course! Kidding aside, being outside of the U.S. for more than six months out of the year (combined) or for a period of six months straight may result in abandoning your green card.

In order to obtain a permanent green card, you will have to remove your condition on residence by filing I-829 within 90-day window before the expiration date on your two-year green card. You should retain an experienced EB-5 immigration attorney to competently prepare your case. If you intend to depart the United States for a period of one year or more, you must apply for a re-entry permit first. This application will require that you are present in the United States for the fingerprint appointment, then you may depart and have the permit sent to a consulate abroad for you to pick up. It is generally valid for two years or until your conditional permanent resident card expiration date, whichever comes first. You must re-enter the United States before its expiration and also continue maintaining ties to the United States, such as a place of abode, filing U.S. taxes, family in the United States, bank accounts, assets, etc., to keep your resident status in the U.S.

If you think you&#39ll be outside of the U.S. for an extended period of time (six months or more), apply for a re-entry permit before leaving.

No minimum time, but to avoid abandoning their green card they should apply for a re-entry permit while on U.S. soil if substantial time is spent abroad (more than 180 days per year).

There is no set amount of physical presence requirement to becoming a permanent resident (removing condition) per se. However, the understanding of giving you a conditional residency is that you and your family will move and establish your residency here permanently. Thus, if you spend most of your time outside of the U.S. without letting them know by applying for and receiving a re-entry permit, you may be found to have abandoned your residency by USCIS. This could complicate and lead to the denial of the removal of condition application; if you have abandoned your conditional residency, there is no condition to remove.

There is no minimum physical presence requirement, but you should not stay out of the U.S. for more than six months unless you have a travel doc, in which case you can stay out up to a year. During CPR status you should build residential ties to the U.S.