6 months or 12 months ??

S

sunshineman

Registered Users (C)
hi members,

What is the impact of leaving USA for less than 6 months and more than 6 months in terms of physical or continuous residency for naturalization purposes as a LPR. I am still confused about the process. thanks for clear explanations.
 
sunshineman said:
What is the impact of leaving USA for less than 6 months and more than 6 months in terms of physical or continuous residency for naturalization purposes as a LPR.
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Absences from the United States for more than six months are presumed to break continuous residency for naturalization purposes, unless you can provide evidence that you maintained residence here.
 
so you mean after 6 months outside the clock starts back at zero? you need to wait 4 fours years before applying to naturalization?
 
If you are unable to overcome the burden of proof and convince them that the 6+ months trip did not break continuous residence, your clock resets and you have to wait four years and a day after you return to the US to apply for naturalization.
 
I really didnt know that, thanks man for your input !
I left the us in late november 07, I have to be back before late may 08 right?
 
see my problem is that my wife is running a family business outside the usa.
we have a baby born in MD. I cant stay by myself in the US. All I can do now based on what you guys told is fly back every 6 months. any advice for me??. I really want after all I have been through to be a USC.
 
Flying back once every 6 months and staying for a short time and then going away for another 6 months won't preserve your continuous residence for naturalization. Multiple trips close together tend to be viewed as one big long trip.

And don't forget the requirement to accumulate 2.5 years physical presence in the US within the 5-year period immediately prior to applying for citizenship. If becoming a USC as quickly as possible is your top priority, you will have to spend a lot of time in the US by yourself unless your wife comes back. Otherwise, you just have to wait another 4 years and a day after returning from your series of long trips abroad.
 
No one here has told you to visit the US every six months. That will not work. If you are truly interested in becoming a US citizen, you need to put more effort into it.

sunshineman said:
I cant stay by myself in the US. All I can do now based on what you guys told is fly back every 6 months. any advice for me??. I really want after all I have been through to be a USC.
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In an earlier forum, it was said that as long as you spend less than 12 months, you should be admitted in the US. Later, IO can start a process where you would go (with all the evidence) in front of a judge who will decided whetever to revoke or not your GC.

Am I wrong?
 
sunshineman said:
In an earlier forum, it was said that as long as you spend less than 12 months, you should be admitted in the US. Later, IO can start a process where you would go (with all the evidence) in front of a judge who will decided whetever to revoke or not your GC.
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Maintaining the green card and maintaining eligibility for citizenship are two different things, although they are somewhat related. When citizenship is denied due to breaking continuous residence, the usual result is being able to reapply in the future when a sufficient amount of continuous residence has been (re)done, not revocation of the card.

Usually (but not always) they will allow you to enter the US if the most recent trip was less than 12 months, and if they think you may have broken residence to the extent that you should lose the green card, you'll appear later in court. Or they'll just let you in without further action, as they don't always bother to examine your entire history of trips (that's how many people are able to get away with coming back once every 6 months and staying for a short time again and again).

But when you apply for citizenship, they'll scrutinize your travels to the last detail. The burden of proof is on you to show why you deserve citizenship, unlike with revoking the card where the burden is on them. And continuous residence requirements are more strict for naturalization than for maintaining the green card (for example, a reentry permit will normally preserve your green card for up to two years, but it won't preserve continuous residence for naturalization).
 
jackolantern :
what you said is helping a lot but I need to understand
lets say i leave the US in january of 08, returning in may 08 (5 months)
leaving in june 08 , coming back in november (5 months)
For naturalization purposes what is the impact?
in terms of continuous presence and physical presence ( this is where I am getting confused)
 
I heard from a friend that at the port of entry they are enforcing maximum of 137day absence limit from US.
 
absence

i am in australia and I lost my rtd. i went to the us consulate to get a transportation letter to reenter us (after 8 months abroad). the lady gave them to me for 198$ and told me I can be absent up to one year with no problem. that was it. they did a thorough homeland security check on my identity in their bangkok (regional) office.

ianyu
 
Hi guys, I'm also interested with this topic. How about this scenario,
Not leaving US from Jan 08-Jul08
leave US in August 08,
came back to US in Dec 08, stayed 2-3 weeks
leave US in Jan 09
came back to US in May 09.
Stayed in US for the rest of 09.

Will it be considered as a break of continuous residency
 
RYCeT said:
Hi guys, I'm also interested with this topic. How about this scenario,
Not leaving US from Jan 08-Jul08
leave US in August 08,
came back to US in Dec 08, stayed 2-3 weeks
leave US in Jan 09
came back to US in May 09.
Stayed in US for the rest of 09.

Will it be considered as a break of continuous residency
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Maybe, maybe not. Remember it is not just about a specific trip, but the entirety of your circumstances.

Your example is for two trips of about 4 months each with 2-3 weeks in between. If that is your only long series of overseas trips during the 5-year window and your other ties look strong, you should be in good shape. But there are no guarantees ... it still boils down to the discretion of the interviewer.
 
Isnt the time for apllying for naturalization is 5years from the day one gets green card. I understand as per the rule one can apply 90 days before actual 5years, but I dont understand why people are mentioing 4 year instead of 5 to apply for citizenship


Please clarify.


Jackolantern said:
If you are unable to overcome the burden of proof and convince them that the 6+ months trip did not break continuous residence, your clock resets and you have to wait four years and a day after you return to the US to apply for naturalization.
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mogambo1 said:
Isnt the time for apllying for naturalization is 5years from the day one gets green card. I understand as per the rule one can apply 90 days before actual 5years, but I dont understand why people are mentioing 4 year instead of 5 to apply for citizenship
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If you never broke continuous residence, it's 5 years since GC approval minus 90 days. But if you broke continuous residence, it's four years and one day since you returned from the last long overseas trip.
 
Need advice

Jack, Can I send you a private message?

thanks
-K

Jackolantern said:
If you are unable to overcome the burden of proof and convince them that the 6+ months trip did not break continuous residence, your clock resets and you have to wait four years and a day after you return to the US to apply for naturalization.
Click to expand...
 
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