A legal permanent resident (LPR) has the legal right to live and work in the United States. Please note, however, that because LPRs are not U.S. citizens, they are eligible for only very limited services at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
How Long Can an LPR be Outside the United States?
An LPR may apply for admission to the U.S. using his or her Permanent Resident Card, provided he or she has remained outside the United States less than one year, and has maintained unreliquished domicile in the United States. An LPR with sufficient cause to remain outside the United states for more than one year may apply for a Reentry Permit. The application for issuance of a Reentry Permit must be submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) prior to departure from the United States. Reentry Permits are valid for two years from issuance and cannot be extended or revalidated. Permanent Residence Cards cannot be extended or reissued outside the United States. Failure to return to the United States within the validity of either of these documents may jeopardize permanent residence status. Persons who 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 be eligible to apply for returning resident immigrant visa (SB1). Currently, U.S. Embassy in Kyiv is not processing SB1 visa applications. You are welcome to apply at any U.S. Embassy abroad .
Lost, Stolen or Expired Green Card
We do not issue replacement Permanent Residence Cards (also known as Green Cards or Form I-551) in Kyiv. To apply for a replacement card, please contact your local USCIS office in the United States. If your green card is lost or stolen while in Ukraine, you may need a boarding foil in order to travel back to the United States.
You may apply for a boarding foil through the Non-Immigrant Visa unit of the U.S. Embassy if you are an LPR and:
- You are returning from temporary international travel of less than one year and your green card has been lost, stolen or destroyed.
- You are returning from temporary international travel of less than two years and your reentry permit (Form I-327) has been lost, stolen or destroyed.
The length of your absence from the United States will be measured from the time you departed the U.S. to the time you pay the fee for filing Form I-131A. Conditional residents whose cards have expired will also need to submit evidence that they filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or they will not be eligible to receive a boarding foil.
Processing usually takes several business days, but may take longer in certain cases requiring additional administrative processing. Processing cannot be expedited under any circumstances. All boarding foils are valid for 30 days. If your application for a boarding foil is approved and you fail to travel within the 30 day window, you will have to follow the same process to obtain a new boarding foil.
As of December 23, 2016 anyone wishing to obtain a boarding foil must submit an I-131A Application for Travel Document and pay the associated $575 fee. This fee is non-refundable.
In order to apply for a boarding foil at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, you must present the following:
- A valid passport;
- Evidence of your most recent date of departure from the United States;
- A copy of your green card (if available);
- A recent passport-sized photograph of yourself;
- A completed I-131A (available at https://www.uscis.gov/i-131a); and
- Proof of payment of the $575 fee – either a printed copy of payment confirmation page or a printed copy of your emailed receipt.
Please send an email to kyivniv@state.gov to schedule an appointment once you have your documents ready.
Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, no longer accepts I-407 (“Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status”) forms from Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) willing to abandon their status in the United States. Form I-407 is used to let USCIS know that you have decided to voluntarily abandon your status as an LPR of the United States.
Where to file: You can submit Form I-407 in person or by mail at a location with a USCIS office. For more information on the procedure of submitting Form I-407, please visit the USCIS website at https://www.uscis.gov/i-407.
For more detailed instructions, please contact the relevant office or the USCIS toll-free hotline at 800-375-5283. For those with speech and hearing impairments, the number is TTY 800-767-1833.
