Q: My husbands daughter is a us permanent resident who was sent to Dominican Republic for the holidays and never returned.
Mother and father are both in a legal process in Dominican Republic where we're requesting full custody of the child. Her mother signed an agreement before granting custody to the father for the 5 year old to reside in the US and now refuses to return the child. We're aware that after a year out the US you are exposed to losing your residency. What can we do to avoid this?? We agreed that her status will not be jeopardized and our plans were never to have her out of country for this long. Please help!!!!
A: You should schedule a consultation with a competent immigration attorney, and possibly also with a family law attorney. Also, is your husband a U.S. Citizen, naturalized or by birth? If so, then your step-child may, but not necessarily, have a claim to U.S. Citizenship, in which case "abandonment" of lawful permanent residence would be a non-issue. Again, you should schedule a consultation with a competent immigration attorney.
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