Reentry Permit Timing Strategies and Considerations

U.S. permanent residents (green card holders) who spend extended period of time are likely (or should be) aware that the reentry permit is a document, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) allowing its holder to remain outside of the U.S. for an extended period of time without causing their green card to be considered abandoned (or facing hostile questioning at the U.S. port of entry).       However, during the reentry permit application process, one of the main factors of success is the careful planning for the application filing and completing the required biometrics.

Filing of Reentry Permit Requires Physical Presence in the United States

The reentry permit regulations require that the green card holder applicant be in the U.S. physically at the time of filing.   The time of filing refers to the date USCIS receives the reentry permit application and start processing it – and normally this is the day FedEx delivers the application documents to USCIS.

Because of this requirement, reentry permit applicants, and especially those who are abroad and are considering filing a reentry permit application, must carefully plan the timing of their travels to the U.S. and coordinate their reentry permit application filing (with their attorneys, if they use an attorney for the filing).   It is generally okay for the application to be received by USCIS on the day the applicant has landed in the U.S.  In fact, our office routinely plans the filing of reentry permit applications for our green card holders who reside abroad in such way to ensure the application is filed on the day of arrival or the first available business day afterwards in order to maximize the time the green card holder has in the U.S. in order to complete the required biometrics appointment during the same trip to the US.

The Biometrics (If Required) Must be Done in the U.S. Only

In addition to the requirement that the applicant must be in the US at the time of filing of the reentry permit application, the reentry permit process requires the applicant to submit to biometrics – digital fingerprinting and digital photo.   Normally, several weeks after filing USCIS issues a biometrics appointment notice and mails to the applicant inviting them to appear and have their biometrics taken.   Over the past months, USCIS has been attempting to reuse and waive the biometrics requirement in a number of cases so it is possible that the biometrics may be waived.   This is more common for renewals or for cases where USCIS has a recent set of biometrics – for example, as part of a prior I-90 green card renewal/replacement application or similar.   Unfortunately, it is impossible to know for sure if the biometrics will be waived in a particular case, but we can give a pretty good estimate for most cases based on our recent experience.

When our office files reentry permit applications and when we request expedited processing of the biometrics appointment (which we often do), USCIS is able to schedule the biometrics appointment in anywhere between three and five weeks from the filing date.   As a result, reentry permit applicants should consider the timing of their biometrics process when they plan for reentry permit.     One option is to plan to remain in the US for at least 5-8 weeks in order to do the filing and the biometrics during the same trip to the US.

Another option is to do two trips – one short trip to the US for filing of the application and then, within no more than 120 days of the date of filing, taking another trip to the US to complete the biometrics, if they are required.    Traveling to the US again for biometrics makes this an expensive alternative, but it is an option nonetheless for green card holders who are unable to remain in the US for 5-8 weeks at a time to do filing and biometrics during a single trip.    In addition to continental US, the required biometrics can be completed in Guam or Hawaii which makes it a desirable alternative to green card holders residing temporarily in the Asian region.

Conclusion

The reentry permit application process may be deceivingly straightforward, especially for green card holders who must depart the US relatively quickly or for green card holders who reside abroad.    We urge careful and early planning for the various stages of the reentry permit application process and we also urge using the services of an attorney who can coordinate the process and assist from within the US should any issues with the process arise.

Our office has a special reentry permit division where we handle reentry permits on a daily basis for a variety of green card applicant situations and we will be delighted to discuss and, possibly, help throughout the application process.    Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments, or if we can be of any assistance with this or related immigration-related issues.  We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.