6 months in a year? How critical?

seymour1

New Member
Hi There,

I received my Greencard in 2007 and arrived in the U.S in November.

I stayed for just under a month and then had to leave for a period of about six months to complete the studies I had commenced years earlier. I did come back for a week mid-way though.

I've just gone back to the U.S. for two weeks but have already left again, to take a vacation and prepare my resume to find work there. I will likely not return until late september because I must remain outside of the U.S. to participate in a exhibition.

Could anyone give me their opinion on how safe this pattern of activity is? (And do I need to worry about spending 6 months in the U.S. each calendar year?) I am keen not to Jeopardise my Greencard and I am making all the effort I can to move my life and links to the U.S. My life has just been quite erratic, and still is due to having just come to the end of many years of education, and trying to find my way in my chosen career as an Artist.
 
Could anyone give me their opinion on how safe this pattern of activity is?
It is a pattern that jeopardizes your green card and eligibility for citizenship. That's if it becomes an actual pattern.

If you settle down in the US after your traveling is done in September and stop traveling so much, you should be OK (although they may start your 5-year citizenship clock from this year September rather than last November). But if you continue spending the majority of each year outside the US, year after year, you risk losing your green card or having your citizenship denied or delayed by years.

Let me guess ... did you get your green card via the Diversity Lottery?
 
I was told by my lawyer to not have any stay outside the US that was longer than 6 consecutive months. I did not ask her why, as I did not plan on being outside the US for periods longer than 6 consecutive months.
She told me that would cause a problem during applying for Citizenship.
 
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