temporary passport stamped greencard activation

xwarriorx

hi,
i've had DV visa interview and everything went fine.the visa unit officer took me passport to be stamped with temporary greencard and i was told that i'll get it back in a week or so.
however i have a question related to temporary green card activation.
i know that it's usually activated in US point of entry or through US customs in shannon or dublin airports.however i'm wondering on how long can i stay outside of US (like ireland,england and so on) after my temporary green card was activated in US point of entry?

silja

You need to spend more time inside the USA than outside in order to remain a legal permanent resident (= greencard holder). So technically you could fly to the USA to get the stamp, turn around the next day, and spend almost 6 months out of the USA (in Ireland or wherever). I would be careful doing that though, as the border officer can require you to prove you reside in the USA (have a flat, job, etc), so if possible, I'd keep it down to a couple of months. Remember that you also have 6 months to immigrate, which should give you enough time to wind up your affairs.

xwarriorx

so,basically it's sort of really tricky thing to turn around after my passport's stamped at US point of entry and get back to ireland for another 6 or more months?

xwarriorx

i'm just wondering if my passport was taken by visa officer to be stamped with temporary greencard,it basically means that i'll get it back stamped and immigrational document package?is that final?

xwarriorx

i'm just wondering if my passport was taken by visa officer to be stamped with temporary greencard,it basically means that i'll get it back stamped and immigrational document package will be there too? is that final?

silja

I think you are a bit confused. What you get back from the embassy a few days/ weeks after your interview is NOT a temp greencard. You will get your passport, in which is a visa, and the brown envelope with various papers. Once you immigrate to the USA (via Dublin airport, a US airport or a Canadian road crossing for example), the border officer there will stamp the visa in your passport, and this will act as a temp greencard for one year, because it can take up to three months for your physical greencard to arrive.

silja

Definitely do not stay out more than 6 months right after turning around; if you do that after, say, a few years in the USA (and you stay out less than a year), you should be fine but right after activation it would be very risky.

The Diversity Visa lottery- and all other immigrant visas- assume you wish to go live in the USA pretty much immediately; they do give you the 6 months after issuance before you must use it, because they recognise it takes a while to move your whole life. What is the reason for you wanting longer? If you have a very good reason, the embassy MAY re-issue the visa and give you an extra 6 months before you must use it; I know they have done this for spousal visas when there was a terminally ill family member the new visa holder needed to look after, or when they had kids who wanted to finish the school year in their home country before immigrating to the USA. I am not sure they do it for DV people such as yourself; if they say yes, make sure you get the re-issued visa in your passport before the original visa's validity is up, as they have been known to change their minds!

xwarriorx

well,i was told by visa interviewing officer that i'll have to handle over brown envelope with immigration documents to US customs and immigration officer either in dublin or shannon airports or as you mentioned through another point of entry which say can be canadian/us border.so i'm wondering if i'm supposed to handle over my immigration papers to US customs and immigration officer before i board the plane to US or i can do that in US airport?

silja

It depends which way you fly. For most flights leaving from Dublin or Shannon and flying directly to the USA, you will do US immigration in Ireland, and thus hand over the envelope and do fingerprints etc there. But there are a few flights which you will only do immigration once you arrive in the USA- mostly the late afternoon flights; same if you fly, say, Dublin-Heathrow- USA, you would do immigration in the USA then, or if you'd fly Dublin-Toronto-USA, you'd do immigration in Canada.

However- even if you do immigration in Dublin, you cannot then just cancel your flight and leave the airport with your visa activated.

Palmy

Once you have entered and activated your green card (visa in your passport) they will then process you and then send out the actual green card.When they send it out to you they also send you a small information pack with it and it states that as long as you dont spend longer then 12 mths outside the U.S you will be ok getting back in.Anything longer and you will have to fill out a form when leaving.This being said you will have to use your green card and just not go on holiday once every year.So if you went over and activated your green card,left and went back permanently after 10-11 mnths you wont have much of a problem,as stated it takes awhile for people to sell things and move permanently.But you might only beable to do this once as they will pulll you up on it every time you enter back into the U.S why you are out of the country for so long.

lil_lisa

I HAVE MERGED THESE TWO THREADS. OP, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM STARTING TWO THREADS ON THE SAME TOPIC.