Following is an e-mail I received from a client who had recently gone through their Adjustment Interview.  I like to post these summaries if possible — it gives everyone a feel for what they can expect.   The client said that I could post it, and I have removed all identifying information.

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The short of it is, thank you so much for all your help, Gunnar! I got my actual Green Card in the mail today (one week after the interview) That was a surprisingly quick turnaround since the interview.

Just for your interest — the interview itself was about as you described. It was not high pressure, they kept us together, and they didn’t ask us any difficult questions.

• She asked us about some of our biographical information (age, parents, place of birth) but nothing in too much detail.
• She asked us how we met.
• She asked us where we lived, and for a copy of our new lease.
• She asked if we had been previously married, and if we were still married to each other.
• She asked where we got married and who was in attendance. She was surprised when we said no one attended, and asked us why we didn’t invite anyone.
• We replied that we would be inviting our friends and family to a ceremony in later in the year. When she asked for evidence that we were planning for a future ceremony, we gave her the receipt from the down payment on our reception.
• She told us that we would be recommended for approval and that we should expect the Green Card in six weeks.
• The interview lasted about 30 minutes in total.

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I can’t guarantee that every interview will go this smoothly, but many of them do!

Gunnar

Remember that it is not true that if you have a green card, as long as you return every year you can stay out of the country for extended periods of time.   It is true that if you have a green card (and don’t have a reentry permit), you cannot stay out of the US for more than a year at a time, but that alone won’t protect your green card.   The issue is whether or not the CBP (Customs/Border inspection guys) or the USCIS believe that you are residing out of the country.   It is possible to lose your green card even if you return after a stay of less than a year — I have had clients given hard times at the airport for trips of less than one year.   On the other hand, I have one client who “lived” outside the country for about twenty years, returning only one time a year, and she had no difficulty at all.   There is no way to know what to expect — but it is better to be careful.

I advise my clients to, in any consecutive 12 month period, be in the US more than they are out of the US, and, to talk to me before committing to any trips of five months or more.   That way we can prepare for possible trouble on the border.   That is also why I advise people to get their citizenship as soon as possible — so they don’t need to deal with these issues.    Remember that there are special citizenship opportunities for missionaries!

I will talk about Reentry permits at another time.

Gunnar

That if you are a US citizen, and you want to bring you brother or sister to the United States to live, there is a 13 year wait for most people.  If your brother or sister is from Mexico, there is a 19-year wait.   If they are from the Philippines, there is a 23½-year wait!

There is a special provision in the US immigration law that allows certain m*ssionaries to get green cards if they have been m*ssionaries for two years before applying.  However, this statute used to expire every three years.    This last time, they only renewed it for one year — until September 30, 2010.   So far, every three years, it has been extended.    But, often, it is not extended right away, and there is always some anxiety as to whether or not it will be extended.  Fortunately, there are enough Congressmen who value the work of m*ssionaries, and, eventually, the statute is always extended.

We are now at one of those times again.   The statute will expire on September 30, 2016.   We don’t know if it will be extended or changed or what.   I am encouraging you all to pray for the passage of this statute, so that m*ssionaries will be able to continue to come to the US and minister.  If it is not extended, no new m*ssionaries will be able to get green cards, and those who have started the process will never get their final approval either.

Gunnar

The short answer is that you need them if you have a green card and are going to be out of the US for more than one year.   You normally can’t return to the US after a trip of more than one year if you have a green card and you don’t have a Reentry permit.   A Reentry Permit will let you stay out two years (sometimes a little more) — as long as you don’t do something during that time that strongly evidences that you have abandoned your residence in the US.

Under certain circumstances, they will give you less than two years time for a Reentry Permit.   The main time is if you have a two-year conditional residence card — your Reentry Permit will expire when your two-year card expires.   The other main time is if you have been out of the US for more than four of the last five years — in that case, you can only get a Reentry Permit for one year.

If you can only get a Reentry Permit for one year, then what is the purpose of a Reentry Permit?  After all, if you can only stay out one year, you can always reenter with a green card, right?    The answer to this is, “Who knows?”   In my experience, no one really knows the point of a Reentry Permit — expecially if they are border guards — who don’t seem to have any clue.

The main point of a Reentry Permit is that it is evidence of your intent to remain a resident of the US, and, therefore, they should not hold it against you if you have been out of the US a lot.   That is why even a one-year Reentry Permit should be helpful on the border or in an airport.   Although the green card is enough to reenter the US if you are returning from a trip of less than one year, if the Border Patrol/Custom officer sees that you have been out of the US for most of the last four or five or six years, they may say you no longer have the intent to be a resident of the US, and could take away your green card.   A Reentry Permit is supposed to protect you against that.   But to be honest, I have seen returning residents, who had just recently obtained their green cards, and who had a Reentry Permit, and had been out of the country for much less than a year, be given trouble by a Customs officer at an airport, and the Customs Officer didn’t even want to see the Reentry Permit.

So, in short, if you do a lot of traveling, even if you never are out of the country for more than a year, a Reentry Permit should be helpful, and I do recommend it.   However, it appears that the Border Patrol/Custom officers tend to only treat it as a permit to stay out of the country for more than one year, and disregard its other, main purpose — that it is meant to evidence that you have the intent to keep your residence.   So, it is good to have, but is it worth paying the money if you are not going to be out of the country for more than one year?   I don’t know!

This is something that I think a lot of people don’t know about, but it is important for Americans who are in the m*ssion field to understand.    If you and your spouse are US citizens (and at least one of you spent time in the US), your children will be US citizens.   If you are a US citizen, and you are married to a non-citizen, your children will be US citizens if you grew up in the US.    But if you are a US citizen married to a non-citizen, and you grew up in a foreign country (perhaps the child of a US m*ssionary), your children possibly will not be US citizens from birth.   There are certain exemptions (for example if you are the child of a member of the US military serving overseas), but, in general, if you are a US citizen married to a non-US citizen, your children will only be citizens when they are born if you have spent five years in the United States and two of those years were after you turned fourteen years old.

The reason I am bringing this up is not for this generation of m*ssionaries, but for your children.   Most of my clients are people who grew up in the United States and now have gone to foreign countries as m*ssionaries.   Your children will be U.S. citizens.   But, if they grow up in a foreign country their children may not be U.S. citizens when they are born.    I don’t think that is the end of the world.   Following God is more important the U.S. citizenship rules.   On the other hand, it is something that you need to keep in mind as you make your long-term plans.   It is quite easy to get citizenship for your children, but there are steps that you will need to take.

Gunnar

The I -360 is used to file for USCIS approval for a rel*gious worker visa so that a m*ssionary can stay and work permanently in the US.   It is the first step in the process.   After the I-360 is approved, the m*ssionary has to then proceed to file for the issuance of the green card (Adjustment of Status) if he is in the U.S.   If he is abroad, he must file at a consulate for an immigrant visa to come to the US to stay.

However, the USCIS has been slowing down in its processing of about everything.   This one took eight months, which is, in my opinion, pretty good right now.   And what is especially nice, it was approved without any annoying follow-up requests for additional paperwork!

Don’t forget that there are special citizenship provisions for spouses of US m*ssionaries.  It is much easier than many people realize.   It can be obtained with no required residence in the US.  You will need to get a green card first, but then, if you satisfy the requirements, you can immediately apply for citizenship.   This allows you to enter the US at any time with peace of mind.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

If you are an R-1 Missionary and are receiving support from overseas, I want to encourage you to have your foreign supporters contribute directly to your R-1 employer.   That way, your R-1 employer can use that money to pay you, and then, at the end of the year, your R-1 employer will be able to give you a W-2 or a 1099 form.   You then can use those forms to file tax returns.   And, as I said last week, you want to be filing US tax returns each year reflecting income from your R-1 employer.  This will help you when you file for an extension of your R-1 or for a religious worker green card.

If you are in the US on an R-1 missionary visa and you are supported rather than receiving a regular salary, remember that you are allowed to do Deputized Fundraising for your employer.   That is fundraising where the supporter gives the money directly to your employer rather than to you.   Under the tax law as I understand it (I am an immigration lawyer, not a tax lawyer), the money has to be given to the employer without any direction from the supporter.   But often there is a way to let the employer know who you want to support.   Then the employer often passes the money on to the missionary (maybe with a small amount taken out for administrative fees).    This is very common among mission organizations in the United States.

The reason this is important is that as an R-1 missionary, it is good if you can file tax returns each year.   And if you want to file tax returns each year, you will need income from your R-1 employer each year and you will need a W-2 form or a 1099 form from your R-1 employer each year.   Remember that you can only work for your R-1 employer, so you can only get salary/compensation from your R-1 employer (I will talk about foreign donations in a later post).