Legal Question in Immigration Law in Virginia

Have Green card Residency; Family Emergency; Must Leave U.S.

I and my very young son received a diversity lottery

green card and entered the U.S. on December 1, 2004.

I understand that I must stay in the U.S. for more than

6 months each year or I will lose time to get my

citizenship.

In March, my father died in Latvia and I had to go home

to his funeral and to work for months on problems from

the inheritance issues. So I went to Latvia for just

under 6 months and returned a few months ago.

Now, my grandmother also is very sick and near death

and I feel I need to go back again right away to be

with her.

If during the year 2005, I spend 5-1/2 months and then

after 2 months I go back again to Latvia, so I will spend

less than 6 months in the U.S. during 2005, will I have

legal problems?

Do I need to file some form to ask permission for special

circumstances because of the death of my father and

near death of my grandmother?


Asked on 11/09/05, 1:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Have Green card Residency; Family Emergency; Must Leave U.S.

You apparently need to file form I-131(Application for Travel Document) seeking what's called advanced parole approval from the Department of Homeland Security(DHS), explaining the emergency nature of the circumstances underlying your request.

Form I-131 can be downloaded from DHS's website

and comes with instructions as to exactly what must accompany the application and the fee that must be paid in order for the application to be approved.

Needless to say, these instructions must be followed exactly as outlined in the application.

Read more
Answered on 11/10/05, 9:19 am


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