Continuous Residence requirement met if I visit annually, pay taxes, have a home??

O

OutOfTime

Registered Users (C)
At first pass, the INS publication "A Guide to Naturalization" seems to imply (my rationale below) that if I continue to return to the US once a year, maintain a home here and file with the IRS, I can claim continuous residence.

This seems a little too wierd, since it seems to imply that I can stay out of the US indefinitely, as long as I maintain an intent to settle down, pay taxes and visit annually.

Can somebody with a deeper understanding of the law tell me if my interpretation is correct or not?

My rationale:

On page 22 of the guide (section on "Time as a Permanent Resident") states that in order to prove that continuous residence has not been disrupted by an absence of 6-12 months, you must provide:
- Tax information for the past 3 years
- proof that your family resided in the US
- copies of rent or mortgage payments
- copies of paystubs
 
they also have a requirement of 5 year residence in US, isnt it!

they also have a requirement of 5 year residence in US, isnt it!
 
No Title

Our daughter will get her GC in January 2002 with her parents. However, presently she is a full time college student in Canada. She has 2 1/2 years to finish the college. Does she need to transfer her studies to the USA after receiving her GC in order to keep it? Or can she commute usually once a month between Canada and US? She also spends her college holidays here in the US. Thanks for your help.
 
Yes, but those requirements are for citizenship

I understand that there are physical presence requirements (30 mos) that will need to be met in addition to continuous presence for citizenship.

The question was put to me from somebody who has spent enough time (>30 months) in the US after getting their green card, but now is faced with the choice of riding out the rocky economy or spending some time in greener pastures without losing their eligibility for citizenship.
 
Marta, your daughter must spend 30 months on US soil before citizenship

This is where the 2.5 years comes from. As long as she does not have any trips > 6 months outside the US, she should be fine from the perspective of applying for citizenship in 5 years.

Your question is about keeping her green card - to this, I have no well researched answer, but my instinct says that the requirements for citizenship must be a superset of the requirements of keeping your green card!
 
No Title

Thanks, OutOfTime! Your speculation makes sense. I\'ll keep searching for more info, just to make sure!

Marta
 
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