Fulltiming with a green card

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trailer_sheep

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Dec 16, 2015
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Hi there,

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with full time RVing on a green card (so, permanent residence but not citizenship)?

I've recently received my green card after getting married to an American citizen, which requires me to update the USCIS and DHS within 10 days of moving address. 

What I can find no information on at all is whether setting up a domicile and mailing address satisfies this requirement, or if I would need to constantly re-update the information every time we drove to a different camp site (or indeed if that is even a practical and legal thing to do!).

Unfortunately the USCIS help line could not offer me any more information than that which is available on their website, and extensive googling has got me nowhere. If neither of the above options are available then it seems we're completely unable to RV full-time until I apply for citizenship in roughly a decade (the absolute minimum time), which seems a bit unreasonable!

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Dave, although some of us have been green card holders at various times, I doubt you'll get a current valid response here. The rules change so, for example, my info is out of date. My best suggestion would be to call an immigration attorney who will be current on the requirements. You can do it over the phone with a credit card. I could give you a phone number of someone I've used multiple times but, since we live in the San Francisco Bay area, it might not be your cheapest option (due to high local attorney costs).
 
For most all legal purposes you merely need to have an address of record, meaning a way you can be contacted within a reasonable period of time. But Immigration law & regs are often so different than normal civil law practices that I think Tom's advice is the best. You need an up-to-date opinion form a credible source. If you can't get it direct from the Immigration folks, get it from an immigration attorney with current experience.
 
Thanks for the advice. The USCIS website FAQ hints that they used to just generally not enforce this requirement at all, but are now starting to make it a priority, so you're likely correct that the advice could have changed recently.

I'll post back when I can find an up to date and reliable answer.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Hello Dave,

trailer_sheep said:
Thanks for the advice. The USCIS website FAQ hints that they used to just generally not enforce this requirement at all, but are now starting to make it a priority, so you're likely correct that the advice could have changed recently.
Click to expand...

We think it's very important to get some sort of "official" answer from someone -- if not directly from USCIS, at least from a competent attorney. In our limited experience so far, we've found that many times a large part of immigration law/practice simply isn't "written" anywhere explicitly...

trailer_sheep said:
I'll post back when I can find an up to date and reliable answer.
Click to expand...

Please do. This interests us mightly, as we will also coming to the US on a green card and will start fulltiming as soon as we arrive (for more details, see here -- it's a little outdated as we've already made our EB5 investment and even filed the initial petition).

Thanks in advance,
--
    Vall & Mo.
 
Taking your question to its logical conclusion, if you must notify them each time you move rv parks,  then even a week end trip would require notification. Logically, that is silly! That said immigration rules sre not necessarily logical. I doubt you can get a final answer; this sounds like the kind of thing you find at border crossings where the guard is often the only authotity. The next guard may well have a different opinion.

Ernie
 
Retired Border Patrol guy here:  Please, take my word for this.............No one cares, as long as they can contact you.  You will NEVER be questioned about whether or not you have kept up your alien registration address changes.  This could change in time of war, but as things stand right now, seriously, no one cares.
 
I would worry that the recent political debates about refugees and terrorists might be much the same as a "war" as far as INS is concerned. Politics are rarely rational.
 
That was my concern when suggesting Dave seek advice from an attorney. But I respect that inscop has a better "inside" perspective on how the system works. OTOH if Dave decides to cross the northern or southern border, all bets might be off.
 
If you end up talking to an attorney,  please pass on what you learn to be a help to others.
 
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