Thai Getting Us Green Card

[migrant]

Hi All,

Thought I'd check the combined knowledge here.

My soon to be wife (Thai National) and I just came back from US immigration here in California. She had gotten another 10 year extension on her green card.

The immigration clerk said she is eligible to apply for citizenship in 2 months.

Question is;

We are planning to move to Thailand for retirement in 4-5 years, she currently owns land and a condo there. I imagine there is no effect on her ownership by getting the residency here, but what about future purchases in Thailand? Is she still classified as a Thai national for property ownership purposes?

I do not know much about dual residency obviously.

Thanks!!

[Maestro]

My soon to be wife (Thai National) and I just came back from US immigration here in California. She had gotten another 10 year extension on her green card.

The immigration clerk said she is eligible to apply for citizenship in 2 months.

...

Is she still classified as a Thai national for property ownership purposes?

She remains a Thai national, for any and all purposes.

---------------

Maestro

[Silurian]

One thing to be aware of, she might lose her Green Card status if she is gone longer than 1 year out of the US. I believe this is not the case if she becomes a US citizen.

If you are planning to be out of the US for an extended period, greater than 6 months but less than 2 years, you might want to fill out an I-131 re-entry permit before leaving the US.

[OldAsiaHand]

One thing to be aware of, she might lose her Green Card status if she is gone longer than 1 year out of the US. I believe this is not the case if she becomes a US citizen.

If you are planning to be out of the US for an extended period, greater than 6 months but less than 2 years, you might want to fill out an I-131 re-entry permit before leaving the US.

We recently had an Immigration officer insist to my wife when she entered the US that she HAD to have a reentry permit if she was out of the US more than six months. I didn't want to stand there arguing with him (boy, would that have been a bad call), but he was absolutely wrong.

We obtained an application for a reentry permit right after that and it says clearly right on it that a reentry permit is only required if a green card holder is absent more than twelve months. Under twelve months, the form states just as clearly, a green card alone is sufficient for entry.

Just a reminder that you can't even count on immigration officials always to know the right answer to all these things. These days my wife carries a copy of the reentry permit application just in case the subject ever comes up again.

[migrant]

Thanks all,

As always voices of wisdom and experience