Good Afternoon,
I need some help with a minor problem that I have regarding Permanent Residency, the I-407 Advised stamp in passport and US Citizenship.
I am a Legal Permanent Resident of the US for 20 years. The only other semi-recent time I left the US was in Jan 2003 - Jun 2003 (5mths). Since that time, I had resided as a LPM in the US for 5 years.
However, as of 2008, I was called back to AUS for family/personal reasons (father was sick and later passed away) and because of the extent of the diffucult circumstances under which I lived, I felt I had no choice as to when I might leave.
So having spent almost a year there from 2008 - 2009, US customs, at the port of entry stamped my passport as such "ARC 407 Advised". However, I did NOT SIGN any form, but was given a talking to. Now I have been here for just coming up on yet another year.I now desire to become a US Citizen and dearly hope to be successful in this endeavor.
But this is my problem; I am fearing that I might not be let back into the country if after having applied/enrolled for US Citizenship, that I may not travel outside of the US while it is being processed and be able to be re-admitted, because of the glitch I have on my passport. I would happily remain Stateside if this could pose a problem, until I know one way or the other.
In my past years as a Permanent Resident, I have never fallen into any such predicament. So therefore I am asking;
(1) Would I be able to apply for a "Re-Entry Permit" BEFORE going abroad, while the Citizenship App is being processed and STILL be seriously considered for processing and attainment of a US Citizenship - even if I take about a month trip out of the US? (I have been told specifically that this will be NO problem) Also even if I remained a LPR, would the Re-Entry Permit still hold for coming back home here?
Because, I am sure that if I had cut my last trip to AUS in half (although at the time, it wasn't entirely possible to do this) - and NOT had any problem upon re-entry - I wouldn't be writing to you.
But - being that there is a stamp in the passport and obviously a databank notification with the USCIS/CBP records, may I assume there is going to be a problem with processing and therefore maybe even a problem with being able to get back in to the US should I take any trip outside the US?
(2) How unstable is this stamp/databank notification, and how long would it continue to be an "alert" issue?
(3) Lastly - there is $675 (US Citizenship Enrollment/Application & Processing Fee) which might I might lose, if my case is deemed null and void from the outset. I need to know if my plight is even worth considering on USCIS/CBP part, in light of also losing this money.
Thanks and hope this email was not too long, just wanted to spell it out succinctly, so facts are all on the table.
D.P.

