6 months or 12 ?

[creack]

I cannot understand :

I went to USA one month ago to stamp my immigrant visa in order to get my GC.
I left after 10 days because I've still a lot of things to do before settling in America.
Coming with my visa from US Embassy, a welcome leaflet spoke about the way for keeping his GC .
It was written : if you leave USA more than one year, you need to submit a reentry permit with I131.

I draw this conclusion : I've to come back into us before 12 months.

Everywhere on this forum, I read : 6 months

what's right ?

[Mr Vertigo]

Both. 6 months is if you want to maintain your residence for naturalization purposes, and 12 months is if you just want to maintain your residence.

[Hannah7]

This is what we are talking all the time on this subforum:-)

I don't know what will happen if you come to USA just for couple days and leave and come again after 364 days.

Almost all agree here that if you spend most time in the U.S. , you are 99,998% safe.

If you want 100% you must be U.S. citizen.

Good luck I am in the same situation as you!

[creack]

thank you for your replies.
I do understand that if you're a GC holder, you've to be a permanent resident.
In my situation, I just need time to complete my affairs and I think I'll be in USA in 10 or 12 months.
Later, I intend to become a citizen and I've understood I've to prove I have been staying in USA a least 36 months during the last five years.
So, as I'll be a "true" resident for 48 months, I can stay abroad the 12 first months ?
isn't it ?

[Jackolantern]

Originally Posted by creack

Later, I intend to become a citizen and I've understood I've to prove I have been staying in USA a least 36 months during the last five years.

For citizenship, you need a total of 36 months inside the US within the last 5 years before applying, with no trips of 6 months or more. There are exceptions ... in some cases you can be approved with a trip of 6+ months, or rejected even though each trip was less than 6 months*, but those are the general rules regarding how much you need to be inside the US.

As far as maintaining the green card is concerned, if you stay outside the US for a year or more you need to have a reentry permit that was applied for while you were still in the US. For a trip of between 6 months and a year, you don't need the reentry permit, but a trip of 6+ months puts you in the category of "seeking admission" which subjects you to additional scrutiny and allows them to reject your entry for reasons that would not apply if your trip was less than 6 months.


*those who get rejected for trips of under 6 months are usually those who have a series of back-to-back trips stretched out over more than a year (e.g. 4 trips of 5 months each with one week stay in the US in between).