Continued Residency - Question for me and my family.

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Parkar4k

New Member
Just seeking advise. This is going to be a long post since I want to be a bit detailed:

My mom, dad, bro and myself got our greencards in early 2008. We move to U.S. immediately and begin our lives here. Now until middle of 2014, we worked and studied here, and did not fly out of the U.S. even once. We only changed residences between NJ and PA 3 times as we shifted leases between South Jersey and Philadelphia.

Anyways - mid of 2014 we all get homesick and decide to visit India and see our family/friends who we hadn't met since so long. But here's where things get interesting: Mom, myself and brother decide to stay in Delhi for a while. Dad came back after 2 months and got a new smaller apartment in NJ and resumed his work.

Up until recently, its almost been a year for us living outside the U.S., so I alone decide to visit my dad in U.S. In airport they questioned me a bit and they talk about some re-entry permit but I tell them I'll keep that in mind next time and they let me through. So I'm here now and left wondering about how we should go about applying for Naturalization.

I guess my father won't have any issues, but my brother, mom and myself have broken continued residency in some form? Can anybody point out to me the specifics of how we might fall short of requirements and how we can rectify it? I've already told my mom and brother to apply for their re-entry permits.

In hindsight, I realize that we should have just applied back in 2013 when we completed our 5 years with legit residency but hey, I admit my family (myself included) are not very forward thinking people.
 
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Yes, it seems like your mom, brother and yourself have broken your continuous residency. If you all stay outside the US for more than a year than you can use the 4 year+ 1 day rule. Basically, your mom and brother and yourself would need to live in the US for another 4 years before applying for citizenship.
 
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Your mom and brother need to re-enter the US before 1 whole year passes (ASAP, preferably), because otherwise they would lose their green cards. They can only apply for re-entry permits from within the US.

So, get the re-entry permits while you're in the US, and once you do the biometrics, you can leave again. Plan on returning within six months IF it is rejected (this is unlikely, though). Your dad should apply for naturalisation ASAP in case he also plans to leave eventually.
 
You can't apply for reentry permits unless you are in the USA. A green card alone is no longer valid for entry after you are outside the USA for more than one continuous year. It is highly, highly recommended (almost mandatory) for your family members to return to the USA before one year abroad has elapsed, or else they are in danger of losing their green cards.

If you do end up outside the USA for more than one continuous year, standard procedure is to apply overseas for a returning resident visa. In order to qualify for a returning resident visa, you would need to demonstrate that the length of your stay was beyond your control, usually because of an unplanned death or medical emergency in your family.

A trip abroad of more than six months breaks your continuous residency for the purposes of naturalization, unless you prove otherwise. A trip of more than one year breaks your continuous residency no matter what (unless you are a US government or military employee traveling on official orders, or a religious minister proselytizing abroad, who files N-470 in a timely manner), and in addition endangers your green card. Neither a reentry permit nor a returning resident visa preserves your continuous residency. Moreover, trips shorter than six months are not guaranteed to be safe, if they are too frequent.
 
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