Visa for Returning Residents (SB-1) for the U.S.

The SB-1 visa is provided to those persons who have previously owned a U.S immigrant visa or Green Card. They moved to a different nation for an impermanent visit, but due to circumstances outside their control or knowledge, they could not come back to the U.S within one or two years and lost their immigration status. The Green Cards are active for one year, so you must go back from your travels to the U.S within that fixed period. If you identify that you will be staying in a foreign country for more than one year, you should apply for a Re-entry Authorization to the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Re-entry Authorization is valid for two years, so you must return in that time. If you do not come back, then you will have to apply for the SB-1 visa. Examples of situations which meet the requirements as outside an individual’s regulator and that stop them from going back to the U.S could be:

• Unexpected sickness or disease which does not allow travelling
• A pregnancy where the medical specialist does not suggest travelling
• A family argument throughout which your travel papers are withheld from you
• You required to consent to leave the country, and you are not able to get it, etc.

The SB-1 visa is advantageous since instead of applying for the immigrant visa status from the start, the candidate only asks for it as a regular visa. This signifies that the measures of petitioning to USCIS or the Department of State or Homeland Security are removed and the waiting and processing times are quicker. All those who have stayed outside the U.S for more than two years should apply for an SB-1 visa if they desire to continue residing in the U.S. There are still a few who do not require the SB-1 permit. These are:

• Spouse and children of an associate of the U.S Armed Forces
• Civilian staffs of the U.S government posted overseas

The two groups can re-enter the U.S even if their status has ended and do not require to obtain an SB-1 visa to renew their immigration standing.

If later you have been out of the U.S for one or two years, you try to come back without renewing your permit and accomplishment of an SB-1 visa, the officers at the U.S port of entry may not permit you to go in the USA. This is because those who reside in another nation as well the U.S for such a long time are measured to have dropped their status. Abandoning your status indicates that you are willingly giving up your immigration grade and do not desire to come back to the U.S as an immigrant. You can still obtain U.S nonimmigrant visas though, but you will not be able to enjoy the aids of a permitted immigrant in the U.S. To be allowed entry into the U.S, you should attain the SB-1 visa.

Not all individuals who leave the U.S for one or two years are qualified to obtain the SB-1 visa. To be permitted to apply and gain this permit, these are the orders that you should accomplish. You must verify that:

• You were a legal permanent resident with authorized status in the U.S before you departed for your trip
• You had aimed to return to the U.S after your impermanent stay and still have the purpose of staying in the U.S.
• Your stay overseas was provisional, and you could not come back due to situations beyond your regulatory
• You are qualified to maintain an immigrant visa that you had before your temporary stay in a foreign country

If you achieve all these settings and can show them, then you are qualified for the SB-1 visa and can begin your application procedure.

Applying for the SB-1 visa is a quicker and less complicated process than applying for an immigrant visa from the start. In the meantime, you have had an immigrant permit before, you will not require to have a worker or family member issue an appeal, but will only go over the U.S Embassy where you are currently located. To have your permit managed, it is best to inform the U.S Embassy that you require an SB-1 visa three months earlier you plan to travel to the U.S. Yet, if you cannot do that, then you must apply as soon as it is possible. The phases to apply for the SB-1 visa are as follows:

• Complete and submit Form DS-117, Application to Determine Returning Resident Status
• Complete and submit Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card or Green Card, which you had previously you travelled outside the U.S.
• Submit your Re-entry Authorization if you have one
• Submit backup documents such as:
  • Dates of planned travel outside the U.S such as your airline itinerary or passport stamp
  • Evidence of aim to return, such as job offer, tax returns, salary certificates, etc.
  • Evidence that you remained outside the U.S for circumstances beyond your control, such as medical papers, etc.

After the U.S Embassy receives and evaluates your documents, it is up to them to determine whether you meet the requirements to apply for the SB-1 visa. If you are qualified, you will then proceed with the next stages:

• Complete and submit Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration Application which you have completed before throughout your initial immigrant visa request.
• Conduct a medical check-up with a certified doctor
• Submit subsidiary documents:
  • Your Form DS-260 validation page
  • The signed medicinal documents
  • Your passport
  • Two photos which as per the U.S. Visa Photo Requirements
  • Additional documents as per the directives of the U.S Embassy where you are applying

To apply for the SB-1 visa, which is managed by the U.S Embassy, you have to make payments for the charges. The mandatory fees are as follows:

• The Form DS-117 filing fee
• The Form DS-260 processing fee
• Medical check-up fees
• Additional dues to get and/or translate supportive documents

The dues must be compensated for your application to be useful. If you just submit the visa appeal without paying, it will not be taken into account by the U.S Embassy.