continuous residence requirements for residency purposes

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daniyatom

Registered Users (C)
What are the ways to rebut the presumption that I have not met the continuous residence requirements should i leave the country for 11 months to pursue an MBA? In general, my understanding is that anything under 6 mths is okay, but anything more than 6 mths might be a problem. So, what can I do to mitigate this?

Also, is it 6mths in a calender year correct?...so say I leave the US in August 2010, come back in Feb 2011, and then leave the US again in May 2011 before coming back in July 2011 for good. Under that scenario I would still have complied with the continuous presence requirements correct?

I don't have an issue with the physical presence requirements at all. And I won't have any other long trips besides the trips for my MBA.

Please advise ppl. Thanks
 
I don't think there is anything you can do. You can apply for a re-entry permit. But, your continuous residence will be broken. This is not true if it's a US univ.

Can you leave for 6 months for your studies, come back for 6 months, then go again to study for 6 months?
 
No, it is not 6 months in a calendar year. They are referring to 6 months in a stretch, whether it crosses into the next year or stays within the same year.

To mitigate this, you either return to the US enough to keep all trips under 6 months each*, or show residential ties to the US ... for example, keep renting or owning a house or apartment in the US while you're away (this is probably the most important one), keep your car in the US, have your spouse and children remain in the US while you're gone, keep bank accounts in the US, file US tax returns when due, renew your US driver's license or state ID if it expires when you're gone, ... all of the above are not necessary or always possible, but the more you can show the better.


*it is possible to be denied for breaking continuous residence even though each trip is under 6 months. This sometimes happens when there is a very long series of trips (significantly more than 1 year), with trivial stays in the US, for example a string of 5 trips of 4 months each with 1 week in between. But given that your total is 11 months, if you keep each trip under 6 months you should be fine. Try to return somewhere in the middle of that Aug-Feb trip.
 
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