Ms. Y and her son had just received their U.S. green cards and had lived in the U.S. for only a little over a month. Because of family circumstances, they needed to go back to China for a while, possibly close to two years.

• A green card holder who stays outside the U.S. for a long time can be found to have abandoned permanent resident status. After more than a year abroad without a reentry permit, the green card is effectively no longer valid and reentry is likely to be refused.
• Having barely lived in the U.S. since getting their green cards, the mother and son could expect USCIS to look closely at whether the reasons for a long absence were solid and whether they still intended to live in the U.S.
• A reentry permit must be filed while the applicant is physically in the U.S., and they planned to leave in about a month, so time was short.
• The son is a minor and needed his own application plus documents proving the parent-child relationship.

• We filed a separate I-131 reentry permit application for each of them, so neither green card would be treated as abandoned during the long stay abroad.
• The cover letter set out the two real reasons for leaving: Ms. Y needed ongoing medical follow-up in China, supported by a doctor's letter with an English translation, and her son, in his final year of middle school, wanted to finish middle school in China and then return to the U.S. for high school. The reasons were specific and time-limited, and the letter also explained their plan to come back and settle in the U.S.
• We filed before they left. Since both had already given biometrics, the applications also asked USCIS to reuse the existing records, cutting down the time they had to stay in the U.S. waiting.
• We obtained a notarized birth certificate for the son to prove the mother-son relationship.

Date	Milestone
Early 2025	Mother and son received their green cards
July 21, 2025	Both reentry permit applications accepted
September 30, 2026	Both reentry permits approved the same day, valid for two years

Having a green card does not mean you can never go back to China. The key is getting a reentry permit before you leave. Ms. Y can return for medical care with peace of mind, her son can finish middle school in a familiar setting, and in two years they will come back to start their new life in the U.S. together.

Living back and forth between China and the U.S. over the long term is possible. But how long each trip lasts, when to apply for a reentry permit, and how to protect your green card and prepare for future naturalization all call for careful planning. Lingtu Law will be with you along the way, so you can move between the two countries with confidence.

Both reentry permits approved on September 30, 2026, valid for two years.