How to Apply for a Returning Resident Visa

If you are a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) in possession of a valid I-151 or I-551 Alien Resident Receipt Card (“Green Card”) and you have remained outside the U.S. for more than one year, you have lost your status as an LPR and you may not return to the U.S. without a Returning Resident Visa (SB-1).

In order to apply for a Returning Resident Visa, you must be able to demonstrate the following:

• that you were a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. at the time you departed;

• that when you departed, you had the intention of returning to the U.S.;

• that during your stay outside the U.S. you maintained this intention;

• that you are returning from a temporary stay abroad;

• that your protracted stay outside the U.S. was caused by reasons beyond your control and for which you were not responsible; and

• that you are eligible for this visa in all other respects.

If you are an LPR originally from Sierra Leone, you may file an Application to Determine Returning Resident Status (DS 117) at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown.  We recommend that you apply at least three months in advance of your intended travel in order to permit sufficient time for visa processing.

You must provide:

• The filing and adjudication fee ($400 cash in US dollars or the equivalent in Le5,000 and Le10,000 notes)

• Valid, independently verifiable evidence of your identity (usually a passport)

• A valid Form I-551 (“Green Card”)

• A valid From I-191, Application for Advance Permission to Return to Unrelinquished Domicile (re-entry permit), if applicable

• One photocopy of each original document

• Notarized translations of all documents that are not in English

• Two 2"x2" (5cm x 5 cm) color photographs on a white background

• A passport with a minimum of six months validity

• Evidence of travel dates (passports stamps, plane tickets, etc.)

• Proof of ties to the U.S. (tax documents, other evidence of family, social and economic ties)

• Proof that your protracted stay was for reasons beyond your control (for example, medical incapacitation, war or civil strife, employment with a U.S. company)

As soon as a consular officer approves your DS-117 application, he will give you instructions on how to apply for the Returning Resident Visa.  Much of what you will need to provide will be the same documents you provided for your original immigrant visa.  Approval of the application is no guarantee that we will issue you the actual visa.  We strongly advise you not to make final travel arrangements until the visa is issued.