advice regarding continuous residence & study abroad

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waledale

New Member
I'm LPR for 3 years now and haven't been out of the USA at all. Now I want to study in my home country for a period of 18 months but I don't want to brake the 5 year continuous residence requirement as I want be able to apply for naturalization in 2 years. I plan on getting a re-entry permit and returning every 6 months during the 18 months of studying.
So, my question is, will I be able to apply for naturalization after 2 years from now and what problems would I face during this process (interview) as a result of my absence from the USA.

Thanks
 
waledale said:
I'm LPR for 3 years now and haven't been out of the USA at all. Now I want to study in my home country for a period of 18 months but I don't want to brake the 5 year continuous residence requirement as I want be able to apply for naturalization in 2 years. I plan on getting a re-entry permit and returning every 6 months during the 18 months of studying.
So, my question is, will I be able to apply for naturalization after 2 years from now and what problems would I face during this process (interview) as a result of my absence from the USA.

Thanks
Click to expand...

(This should be in the FAQ)
Please be aware that simply returning to the US every 6 months DOES NOT guarantee you will maintain continuous residence, irrespective of how black and white the "6 month rule" might appear to be. What happens is that USCIS looks at your intent (in this case 18 months foreign study) and says "it seems you have been living abroad for the last 18 months, unless you can prove otherwise, we believe you broke continuous residence".

There have been notable exceptions made for some students who could demonstrate continued strong ties to the US. (e.g. parents/spouse remained living here, mortgages/leases, financial arrangements etc, etc) but it really depends upon the mood of the IO during your interview.

My advice would be to take care of the citizenship before going abroad for an extended period.
 
Are you really going abroad for 18 months with only short trips back. Instead, consider doing some study, coming home to the US, earning some money, and then going back to finish things up.

I'm not an expert, but doing the "study abroad" thing during the school year but returning to get a summer job (like many American students do) would look a lot better than going away for 5.5 months, coming back for a short trip (repeated 3 times).

You want it to look like you consider the US home.
 
I am not an expert but I would think that the following would help also to show your true intent:

1) Getting a reentry permit. And documenting what your purpose of going abroad is. That in my opinion shows that you want to go for an extended period but temporary.

2) Make sure you have an address in the US at all times. It could be with a friend or relative but it would be good to be on the lease, have agreeement with them, pay some utilities etc.

3) Don't sell off your personal belongings - after all you want to return to the US after a temporary trip. You can store them somewhere.

4) Make sure you come back to the US for the summer or holidays, vacations and whenever you can. Stay in the US for as long as you can.

5) File taxes as a US resident. Don't use the 2555 exemption as a bona fide resident of a foreign country. You can use the exemption based on physical presence test however I think.

6) Have things like cell phone here in the US.

7) If you are shipping your car abroad drive on US plates and on US drivers licence. Always identify yourself as non resident in the foreign country.

8) If you can maintain a steady source of income in the US - like working for a professor - that would further beef up your case.

9) If some family can live in the US while you are abroad that too beefs up your case.

10) Maintain yoour drivers licence here in the US. Don't let it expire.

11) Maintain bank accounts in the US. Also use them while abroad. Use US credit cards and pay them off from US bank accounts.

Act as if you are a tourist in the foreign country. Dont establish significant ties to the foreign country.

There maybe other things to think about.
Disclaimer:
I am not a lawyer and this could be bogus advice.
 
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