Green card holder limitations

I was discussing with one of my girlfriends (Thank you Maude!!),  a few weeks ago about our plans to go spend a sabbatical year in Abidjan, when she casually mentioned that I should check to make sure that I would be able to be outside of the US for more than 6 months.

You see, because I am a green card holder, I apparently have some restrictions on how long I can be outside of the US. Thank you Maude for catching my attention on this important detail! Otherwise, it would have been, to say the least, a very interesting situation at the airport on our way back…

 Anyway, the good news is I can stay up to a year outside of the US and come back without any issue with my green card. But, what if we want to stay a little longer? 

Then I will have to apply for a special re-entry permit (I-131 form) that would allow me to stay up to 2 years. 

Now, I have never had great experiences with Visas and permits and all that. I understand they are a necessary evil. But I just don’t enjoy dealing with administrations, putting together application files, and proving to other people that I am worthy of entering/ travelling/ living in their countries. It’s just not a process that I enjoy doing. It’s always stressful for me. And I always end up waiting longer than expected to get whatever document I am applying for!

I-131 or N-400? 

So I was doing my research and trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I looked up the fees for the re-entry permit (I-131 form): $600. Then I looked up the fees for the naturalization application (N-400 form): $725. It became very clear to me that I would most likely start my naturalization process. 

Mind you, I have been thinking about becoming an American citizen for a while. Hubby and I have been married for more than 5 years now. I’ve had my permanent green card for more than 3 years. But for some reason, I had never felt ready to take the big step and make it official by becoming an American citizen. Is it my African pride? Maybe. Is it because I  thought the process was more expensive and I wasn’t ready to fork another chunk of money so soon after having been through the green card process? There’s also a little bit of that. 

Whatever it was, I decided today that I was gonna take that big step and start my application. It is time! And although the 2-year reentry permit is an option, I just don’t want to take any chance. I want to be able to freely move back and forth without having to strategize everytime. 

Goodbye repat dreams?

Now, what does it mean for our plan to move back to Abidjan in January 2022. Well, unless some kind of magic happens and the USCIS expedites my application (that is not even submitted yet) in 6 months, that most likely means that we will have to push back our plan by 6 months, or even a year !! 

Hubby and I are still processing the reality of possibly spending up to 18 months more in Miami (that is the higher range of the processing time for naturalization here). I hope it doesn’t stop us in our momentum and excitement for Abidjan. We are really looking forward to moving from Miami. We love it here but we just feel ready for our next step! Whatever we decide, I’ll keep you updated.

For those of you who are planning their return to the MotherLand, are you running into similar immigration challenges? Are you team #IDontCareNotPlanningToEverComeBack or #LemmeJustMakeSureYouNeverKnow? For those of you who already moved back to Africa, what advice do you have for the rest of us?