Complex Background for US Citizenship

J

JonathanCool

New Member
Hi All

My friend got married in 2003 and divorced(has a child) this year. He got his greencard 2008 but has been studying(Bachelors and Masters) in Germany between 2006 and until now. One of the requirement is 30 months continous residence in the USA. Is he going to have a hard time getting US Citizenship?

Thanks

Jonathan
 
That's the least thing he has to worry about. A permanent resident is supposed to maintain residence in the U.S., which includes spending most of the time in the U.S. If he stays outside the U.S. for a year without a re-entry permit, he automatically loses his green card. Even if he returns to the U.S. periodically, it is very likely that he would have been found to have abandoned his green card because he repeatedly spends so much time outside.
 
newacct said:
That's the least thing he has to worry about. A permanent resident is supposed to maintain residence in the U.S., which includes spending most of the time in the U.S. If he stays outside the U.S. for a year without a re-entry permit, he automatically loses his green card. Even if he returns to the U.S. periodically, it is very likely that he would have been found to have abandoned his green card because he repeatedly spends so much time outside.
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Thanks for your answer
When I was discussing with him. He claims at the border post (airport) he is always asked about where he is resident and sometimes immigration officer threatens of taking the greencard. At this moment he has the greencard, but he is unsure whether to apply on the basis of marriage (now divorced) or 5 year term. He has proof he has been studying abroad.
 
Has he been PHYSICALLY PRESENT in the US for 30months in the past 5years? If not, he is not eligible for naturalization (yet): http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/chapter4.pdf. Whenever he leaves the country for more than 6months, continuous residency is broken (with few exceptions). Once this has happened, one needs to wait at least 4years and 1day till one becomes eligible for naturalization. Your friend cannot apply on the basis of marriage because he is now divorced. Applying after 3years is only possible if a person is currently married and living with a US citizen and has been married to and living with the same US citizien for the past 3 years (and if that spouse has been a US citizen for the past 3 years).
Having proof of studying abroad is not gonna help him. He needs proof that he has never given up residency in the US but sounds like he has never even taken up US residency.
 
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newacct said:
A permanent resident is supposed to maintain residence in the U.S., which includes spending most of the time in the U.S.
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Really? I've seen this claim made more than once recently and it seems suspect to me. There are business travelers who travel a lot outside the US but certainly aren't giving up US residence. For example let's say a GC holder owns a home in the US and spends 40% of their time in the US and 10% of their time in each of six other countries. They have no connection--eg no home, no family, no status other than as a business visitor--in any of those six countries. And no single trip abroad lasts more than about 2 weeks.

Surely such a person is not at risk of losing their GC--even though they spend the majority of their time outside the US on business? Even though they aren't here enough to qualify for citizenship.

This isn't relevant to the OP's question though as the OP does appear to have residential ties only to Germany.
 
A permanent resident should have the US as their primary residence. Usually that means consistently spending most of their time in the US, but as you pointed out it isn't always so, like that business traveler example. Ultimately, they look at the entire picture; there is no simple formula that ensures an outcome one way or the other (apart from extremes in either direction).
 
Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this . A little confused whether to advise him to just apply for Citizenship or just wait. If education is not something they will consider I will have to tell him he does not qualify.
 
Send him the eligibility info that I linked above. Whether someone abandoned residency when being outside over 6months can be a matter of interpretation, but as stated before, the 30 month physical presence requirement is very much straightforward and NOT a matter of interpretation. In the application, he will have to list all trips outside the US within the past 5years and list how many days one has spent outside the country. If he wants to waste $700 by applying and being denied, he can sure do that. You could also recommend to him that he checks out the German Amerika Forum.
Btw: He could have applied for a re-entry permit, which would have allowed him to remain out of the country without risking loosing the status for 2years.
 
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JonathanCool said:
A little confused whether to advise him to just apply for Citizenship or just wait. If education is not something they will consider I will have to tell him he does not qualify.
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Does he have at least 30 months (913 days to be exact) physically in the US in the past 5 years? That is a hard and fast rule with very few exceptions (e.g. military service) and education is not one of those exceptions. Without that 30 months, it's a guarantee that he'll be denied.
 
Jackolantern said:
Does he have at least 30 months (913 days to be exact) physically in the US in the past 5 years? That is a hard and fast rule with very few exceptions (e.g. military service) and education is not one of those exceptions. Without that 30 months, it's a guarantee that he'll be denied.
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He is now convinced he will be denied citizenship because of the 913 days. Thanks for the advice

Jonathan
 
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