K Visa pending marriage based I-485, but moving outside USA for work

[mayfly1]

Our situation:
My husband, who is a French citizen, and I (American citizen) have been married for three years and currently live in California. We filed for permanent residency for him almost 1.5 years ago based on our marriage (date of application: June 2004), and everything is almost done, except that we are still waiting on the security clearance. So, we have a pending application.

My question:
I received a presitigous fellowship to work for at least 2 years in France, and I will accept it. We will both move soon (March 2006) to France and he will seek employment there. We do not know necessarily intend for this move to be permanent, because we aren't sure what future career opportunities may arise between now and two years from now.
Because things at the INS move soooo slow, we do not expect to have his green card by the time we leave, but because we have already invested so much time in the application, etc., we don't want to abandon it.
What should we do? Is there anyway to make the move to France but still keep our applicaiton pending?

The information I have read so far seems to indicate that this is impossible, which makes us feel like we are being held prisoner for our desire to live and work in the same country!!

 

[mayfly1]

Just one more question:
In the case that we have to abandon our pending application, I have read in some of these other posts that the fact that we once applied would make it difficult for him to visit the US. Seeing that we plan to have children and that ALL of my family lives in the US, I cannot imagine travelling to the US without him. On the other hand, if he is to be treated as a criminal everytime we try to enter, we would like to (at least!) know that in advance.

Thank you for your help. I know it is the INS, but it is quite frustrating to be a stable, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen and still be treated like a criminal on parole.

 

[KlyxKlysma]

Hi, I unfortunately don't have an answer for you, but I do have a very similar situation that I also would like help with.

I am a Swedish citizen and my wife is American. I moved to the U.S. in the year 2000 after my wife had filed as a petitioner for me.

In 2004, the condition was removed on my green card, so the new one I have does not expire until 2014.

Just about the same time as the condition was removed (we had more luck with the timing here than you) my wife was offered a position lasting two years to work for the same employer she was working for, but in South America. We evaluated the offer and decided to accept (big payraise).

All our furniture is located in a storage unit in the US, which may be relevant if I have to prove that the move was never intended as permanent. Here in Chile we rent a furnished apartment.

The next year in January, we had to return to the US because I had thought I could get a reentry permit in the US Embassy here, but it turned out I could not. So we took a vacation and spent 2 weeks in the US, while filing the petition. A few months later, I went to the Embassy here and picked up my reentry permit, which will expire in April of 2007.

Now, when the two years are up, if we return to the US there will be no problems. But now they want to extend the contract with my wife for one more year (with even more payraise), and for myself I have found a job that I like and would rather not leave that into unemployment in the US.

What are the options here? Will I be refused entry into the US after the reentry permit expires. Is there a possibility that they will grant me another reenty permit? If I go back in April 2007, how long to I have to stay in the US to be considered having returned? If I stay for two weeks and leave again do I have automatically one whole new year before being considered abandoning my status?

I read on this forum that the law considers me to have abandoned my residence if I live abroud for a long time, but here is how I see it: My residence is not in a country, it is with my wife. If they ban me from returning they are effectively also banning her, a citizen of the U.S. because we will live together.

We have filed one tax return since the move, and we will file anotherone next january.

 

[Husty]

Just some points you should consider... if you EVER consider moving back to the U.S. with your husband, you should think twice about the actions you're about to take. First, did he accumulate any "unlawful" stay in the US? This is forgiven when the adjustment is approved but if you leave before that, the application is considered abandoned then you might find yourself in a tough spot. Obviously, this is a decision you should never take lightly, specially since have a "immediate relative" now to consider.
I'm not a lawyer and this is NOT legal advice...

Good luck!