I wish to marry a USA citizen and immigrate there. If we travel outside of the USA will this affect?

Question

....my application?

Answer 1

Yes. You will get a visa for one entry to the United States when you go to the embassy. Once you arrive, you must stay in the USA until your conditional residence is approved if you wish your application to continue. Conditional residence means another interview and a stamp in your passport, which is valid until you get your Green Card. Once you have the stamp in your passport you can travel freely. When I came here, it took about nine months to get the interview.

You can apply for advance parole to let you travel if you have a need for it, but you should only do that if it is unavoidable - death or illness in the family, stuff like that.

Answer 2

Once you put in your petition for a green card based on marriage, most people cannot travel outside the country. If you travel outside the USA while your application is being processed, you run the risk of not being let back into the USA upon your return. Also, if you spend too much time outside the USA, you will also be deemed to have abandoned your application. Some people are able to get an advanced parole travel document, but this is usually for business professionals who demonstrate a strong need to travel outside the USA for business purposes. For most people, you cannot travel until you have at least your conditional permanent resident card.

Even with the green card, if you spend too much time outside the USA, you will be deemed to have abandoned your US residency.

Answer 3

My wife immigrated here from China, and I have been through the visa process.

Once you get your conditional green card (which is good for two (2) years) you can travel outside the US as long as you are gone for less than a year. If you are out of the country for more than a year it is assumed that you have abandoned your US residence unless you file for a re-entry permit. My wife was here less than a year when we went on a three week trip to China. She returned to the US without any trouble.

About three months before your conditional card expires you will receive the application to issue you the 10 year card. You should make sure you are here for that. Once you do marry, you are eligible for US citizenship three years after you enter the US instead of the normal five. Once you get that you can come and go as you please on your US passport.