LPR working outside US for 2 years...

[rian_paul]

I am a Legal Permanent Resident got my GC through my wife a US citizen a we had a US citizen son.
Before i got my GC i am a seafarer in a Norwegian based shipping company in the Philippines and had a valid contract of 4 years. my questions are;

1. With the re-entry permit (RP) can i used my RP multiple times coming back in US territory for my contract is 6 months and 1 month vacation for a span of 2 years and can i renew it for another 2 years?

2. In filling up RP what shall i put on Part 4 purpose of travel and list of countries intend to visit ( i am not sure yet which country i am going to because we are tramping worldwide.

3. In filling up RP on Part 5, if i have ever filed a Federal Income Tax? yes my wife filed a joined return for the reason that i was unemployed. shall i attached a copy of form 1040 A (US Individual Income Tax Return) in my I-131 form?

4. I am only planning to finish my contract to avoid legal problems and settle down permanently here in US.
Will it create any problem with the immigration officer in the airport if they see that i am getting in and out of the country more often? Is it better i just consume the 2 years period straight out of the country?

Thanks in Advance..

[Ogemaniac]

I am a Legal Permanent Resident got my GC through my wife a US citizen a we had a US citizen son.
Before i got my GC i am a seafarer in a Norwegian based shipping company in the Philippines and had a valid contract of 4 years. my questions are;

1. With the re-entry permit (RP) can i used my RP multiple times coming back in US territory for my contract is 6 months and 1 month vacation for a span of 2 years and can i renew it for another 2 years?

2. In filling up RP what shall i put on Part 4 purpose of travel and list of countries intend to visit ( i am not sure yet which country i am going to because we are tramping worldwide.

3. In filling up RP on Part 5, if i have ever filed a Federal Income Tax? yes my wife filed a joined return for the reason that i was unemployed. shall i attached a copy of form 1040 A (US Individual Income Tax Return) in my I-131 form?

4. I am only planning to finish my contract to avoid legal problems and settle down permanently here in US.
Will it create any problem with the immigration officer in the airport if they see that i am getting in and out of the country more often? Is it better i just consume the 2 years period straight out of the country?

Thanks in Advance..

As for question one, RP are not renewable. You will have to apply for a new one before your old one expires. This, unfortunately, requires two trips to the US, or one long one. By law (not USCIS policy), you must be on US soil when your I-131 is filed, even if your lawyer is the one who puts it in the mail. 4-8 weeks later, you will need to be back for biometrics. Note that you have to surrender your first RP as part of the application for the second, so if you choose two short trips over one long one, you will have to bully your way past immigration without your RP. However, if you have the notice for your biometrics appointment, it shouldn't be too hard (it wasn't for us when we did this).

I am not sure about the second question, but as for the third, if you filed jointly, yes you have filed. Send a copy of your joint return.

As for question four, if you have a valid RP, USCIS won't hassle you much when entering and exiting. From their perspective, spending half your time here is at least as good as zero.