visa - green card

[tdowsett]

my boyfriend is a uk resident but now has a usa green card, his dad lives in usa and has done for 8years. boyfriend has to go over usa for 6months or his green card will be invalid, is this true? and if so, can he come back after 6months and stay in uk for how ever long he wants and return the usa whenever he wants.

[dzug]

His green card will become invalid if it is not used within a certain period of time - usually 6 months from date of issue but can be longer for certain types..

Once used, he must retain a permanent residence in the USA and not remain outside the USA for long periods or again it will become invalid.

Once he is a US citizen there are no restrictions.

So maybe to your first question and no to the second.

Of course if he gives up the green card he can stay in the UK as long as he wants depending on his immigration status here.

[KARL]

I am no expert on US green cards, but I know of people who have and maintain these. It is my understanding that they are a sort of self-renewing or self-destructing work visa and there may be different lengths of validity. In fact I think that they may initially be 6 months ones and after some time they lengthen (or can be obtained) to 12 months. If during the validity period the holder remains outside the US without once setting foot past US passport control, then the green card becomes invalid. Visiting the US during the validity period serves to extend it. I know people who go there for a few weeks only per year to maintain the thing. The US authorities may have a "manual override" whereby if they think a holder who has recently obtained the green card does not really make use of it by staying in the US for work etc. and then they may simply refuse to honour/extend it. This may mean at some point staying for some longer time than just a short visit in order to "show faith". No doubt the rules are to be found on the Net, but a telephone call (anonomous if you prefer) to the US embassy should provide the answers you need.

[KARL]

Part 2. Finally, any permit to enter and reside in the UK is entirely independent of any residence permit elsewhere - but it is dependent on the passport and the nationality to which it was issued. If he becomes the national of another country and loses or renounces the nationality he held when he obtained entry into UK (or other country) then that right disappears with the old nationality. The only exception to this is if he obtains a nationality which automatically confers a right to enter the country in question (such as UK) by virty of a treaty. US citizens do not need a visa to visit (short-term) the UK but they do need one for longer stays and they need a work permit to work in the UK. Similar rules apply internationally in general. Dual nationality, when permitted by both countries, removes any ambiguity in this regard.