Giving up permanent residency in US?

Going back to the unconditional permanent residency issue in the 1st post, my husband met someone on a plane who had unconditional permanent residency. How this individual kept his for the 10 years it's good for, was visiting the states every 6 months. for whatever reason, he has never been questioned about it and has been able to keep his.We thought maybe there was a loophole, though it sounds like if they think you're out of the states permanently they just take it. We do plan to stay in the UK for a while, but you never know what could happen. I am worried about officially writing the government, and I'm wondering if it would be a problem to wait until closer to when the year is up. Around May of next year will be when my husband plans on going back to the states for a visit and that will be just around 11 months since we moved. 

I am worried about officially writing the government...

Who will you write and what will you say? I don't think you'll get much feedback.

If you wish, the green card can be turned in to the US Embassy in London - see the Embassy site for more information.

You can be considered a non-resident from the first day you leave the US - certain conditions must be met in order to maintain permanent residence, (as detailed on uscis.gov).

yep, if you really don't live in the US and you're just going back for visits every 6 months to a year, it's really luck of the draw as to when you'll get your green card confiscated.   It might be on your 2nd or 3rd trip back, it might be 5 years later, it might be never.  But the longer you do it, the higher the risk of getting caught. (Kind of like visiting the UK for 6 months and then going home for a week and coming back for another 6 months- the officials tend to get suspicious of that because they think you're trying to live in the UK when you don't have the proper visa.  Same deal here, although sort of in reverse.)

Its just a bit silly really that paperwork can hold up your life especially when married (not dating). In our situation my husband still has to file US taxes yet his green card may be confiscated if we are not currently living there because of personal/work/financial circumstances that have kept us here.  Sometimes I think "why in the heck do we try to do things the right way". Oh well at least we are completely sorted out on the UK side. To be honest if I didn't feel so guilty about being far from my parents in their later years and I was totally comfortable with my standard of living in the UK....I would just throw in the towel with all of the US immigration stuff and stay here.

Well this is lovely, it seems you are not longer allowed to email the embassy with a question...not sure what to do now about our situation??

Email that I received back from them:


THIS IS AN AUTOMATED REPLY.  PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL.

IF YOU WERE ASKED TO USE THIS ADDRESS, WE WILL ANSWER IN THE ORDER YOUR
E-MAIL WAS RECEIVED.

IF YOU WERE NOT ASKED TO USE THIS ADDRESS, YOU WILL RECEIVE NO FURTHER
RESPONSE.

This e-mail address is solely for individuals who have been authorized
to contact the Consular Information Unit about a specific matter.

This address is not for general inquiries from the public, attorneys or
agents of record.  Unauthorized inquiries will be deleted without
response.

Highly detailed visa information is available from the Embassy's website
at http://london.usembassy.gov.  Due to our heavy workload, we cannot
respond to email inquiries when the subject matter is addressed on the
website.

We also cannot respond to requests for expedited processing, or
nonimmigrant visa "case status" inquiries which are still within the
estimated time frame given on the website, or by the interviewing
Consular Officer, whichever is longer.

If you still have questions after reading all of the content on the
website, please call the Embassy's Operator Assisted Information Service
for personalized service.  Contact information can be found on this
page: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/index.html.

Can you call the embassy?

Yes I suppose I can call the £1.20 per minute line but I remember calling it a couple of years ago and the person I spoke with wasn't much help (forget what my question was). Maybe its changed but it didn't seem like I was talking to an advisor. I guess I could always snail mail too because I would really like something in writing.

Update, I actually received an email back from the Embassy even though it said if I wasn't asked to use the address they wouldn't respond.

In the rare chance anyone is ever in this situation, here is what they said.

The application to remove conditions (Form I-751) can only be filed at a
USCIS office in the United States. The office where you file will determine whether
or not to accept an application from applicants who live outside the United
States. 

Additionally, please find attached information pertaining to lawful permanent
resident status, which should be self-explanatory.

Lawful Permanent Resident

Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) may apply for admission to the United States using their Permanent Resident Card, provided they have remained outside the United States less than one year and have maintained an unrelinquished domicile in the U.S.  Customs and Border Protection (CBP) make that determination at US ports of entry, see their website for more information at www.cbp.gov. A Lawful Permanent Resident who wants to be permitted to remain outside the United States for more than one year without losing LPR status, should apply for a Reentry Permit.  The application for issuance of a Reentry Permit is Form I-131.  This form must be filed in the United States prior to departure from the United States.  The Form I-131 is available at www.uscis.gov.  Reentry Permits are valid for two years from issuance and cannot be extended.   Permanent Resident Cards cannot be extended or reissued outside the United States.  Failure to return to the U.S. within the validity of either of these residency documents may jeopardize permanent residence status.  For more information on the rights and responsibilities of US Lawful Permanent Residents, see the pamphlet “Welcome to the United States, A Guide for New Immigrants” available on www.uscis.gov.  Persons who are not admissible as a resident because they have remained outside the United States for more than one year without a valid Reentry Permit, or beyond the validity of a Reentry Permit, may wish to contact the Immigrant Visa Section of the U.S. Embassy to obtain information about “returning residency status” at 5 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1A 2JB, or online at www.usembassy.org.uk.   Otherwise, a new Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) must be filed on their behalf in order to obtain a new immigrant visa.

...which should be self-explanatory.

Really?  So, Jules, based on your particular situation, what does this all mean?  That you have to apply for reentry?

Yes, I liked the self explanatory bit too...

It looks like we need to file the I-751 in the states and they will determine whether or not they will lift the condition but when I read under the lawful perm resident piece "and have maintained an unrelinquished domicile in the U.S" I think that is the issue for us because my husband doesn't have a domicile in the US because we didn't move back.

Who knows....I am beginning to think we should just start the whole process over here again rather than go through the hassle of an I-751 only to find out they deny it. I am going to think on it.