Man jailed for sick joke.

[Tiberius]

He came over on an engagement visa, so they had to get married within (I think) 6 months from when he arrived. Then he got his temporary Green Card, meaning he can work, but he can only leave the country once a year, until his Green Card becomes permanent (3 or 5 years). I think it's 3... And he's allotted one trip out of the US a year, though the trips don't have to be a year apart. They had to revise their plans for a Caribbean cruise for their honeymoon, because he wasn't allowed to leave so soon after the wedding.
I believe it's different for different types of visas. He's not planning on becoming Naturalized either, I don't know if that makes a difference or not. I'm sure with your skills, you'd be able to get a skills based visa, not an engagement one (he did, he's a travel agent, no "special skills"). The US government would love to have you come work for our team!

P.S. There are also limits on how long he can be out of the country, but I think it's like 90 (?) days... He can't be away from work that long, so that has not been a problem. Once he gets his permanent Green Card, he can travel outside of the US as long as he wants.

I'm not so sure this is true. Admittedly, I haven't done that much research into it, but a quick Google search seems to suggest that people with green cards can leave as much as they like, as long as you don't leave for more than a year:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/m...2ca60aRCRD

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/...and-return

Key quote:

"If you are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), you may leave the U.S. multiple times and reenter, as long as you do not intend to stay outside the U.S. for 1 year or more."

So, not sure what is stopping him from leaving more than once?

[festive1]

He's not permanent yet. To prevent convenience marriages to get citizenship, they have to be married for a certain length of time before he gets a permanent Green Card. They did an interview and questionnaire before the visa was issued to ensure they were a legitimate couple. There's definitely a waiting period between the temporary and permanent Green Cards, at least with the engagement visa. He can work, has to pay taxes, but has limited travel.

[Tiberius]

Hmmm, apparently you can still travel on the temporary green card though; you just need to apply for re-entry each time.

Can you find a reference to the travel limitations for me?

[festive1]

I'll ask my friend... She did all the paperwork herself... Might take me some time to get back to you, but I'll see what I can find