Continuous Residence : trips less than 6 months.

D

doof

Registered Users (C)
According to The Guide to Naturalization by USCIS , the 5-year continuous residence is defined as :

"5 years as a Permanent Resident without leaving the US for trips of 6 months or longer"

the guide also states that :

"Continuous Residence may be broken if you take a single trip out of the country that lasts 6 months or more"

My question is : Is it the combined time outside of the country can't be more than 6 months within a year?

If so, does it count from Jan 1st of every year?

I've stayed outside of US from 1/15/2010 to 5/3/2010 (108 days), does that mean i have 72 days left for 2010 if I wish to travel outside of the US again this year?


i was reminded at the port of entry that if i stay more than 6 months i could lose my GC.
please post your source if you know the answers, thanks for reading.
 
They mean 6 consecutive months, whatever year(s) they occur.

However, it is more complicated than that. If you take multiple trips close together which are 4 or 5 months each, you can still be denied for breaking continuous residence, even though each individual trip is under 6 months. They look at the whole picture, not just whether each trip is 6 months.
 
is there a concrete set of rules regarding this "6 months"? i need to know how much time i can spend for my next trip......

being a GC holder, I can't go out spend my time freely outside of the state........what a PITA!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It is more looking at a pattern than a concrete set of rules. Your first post said "you were reminded at the port of entry that if i stay more than 6 months i could lose my GC". This likely implies they also noted this against your file in the computers and the next time you come into the country, they will check this aspect again.

I am sure you can go for another 3-4 months trip easily this year ... after a couple of months break in US. Go after a week or 2, and you risk breaking continuous residence.
 
doof said:
is there a concrete set of rules regarding this "6 months"? i need to know how much time i can spend for my next trip......
Click to expand...
No, there is no concrete rule for it. The 6 month rule only means they can deny you for that reason alone if you have one trip of over 6 months. But if all your trips are under 6 months each, they can still deny you based on the overall pattern of travel and your ties to the US or lack thereof.
 
This continuous or physical residency, according to me is certain when you have stayed in usa for most of the time. When you have travelled a lot, it depends on the officer, if he is nice, he can still let you pass, so if have at least 900 day in usa during a 5 year period then go for it.
 
If someone must travel abroad frequently for work and has substantial ties to the US - job, residence, everything - Can a Green Card be taken away at POE if, during the past few years there is a pattern of many days (say, 9 mos+) outside the U.S., even if each trip is only a few months or less?
 
immi2586 said:
If someone must travel abroad frequently for work and has substantial ties to the US - job, residence, everything - Can a Green Card be taken away at POE if, during the past few years there is a pattern of many days (say, 9 mos+) outside the U.S., even if each trip is only a few months or less?
Click to expand...

Yes. But if that happens you'll get a chance to plead your case in front of an immigration judge to keep your GC, presenting all the evidence you can and you can bring a lawyer if you want. They can't revoke your permanent resident status at the POE; they can physically take the GC and then it's up the judge to revoke it or give it back to you. And usually before that happens, you'll get at least one warning at the POE.
 
I got green card on 1st May 2019, when I was in USA. I stayed there for a month and came to India on 1st of June 2019. I want to stay in India for four months and intend to go back to USA on 1st October 2019. After a stay of three months in USA, on 1st January 2020, I want to come to India for a stay of three months. On 1st April 2020 I shall go back to USA.
So after getting GC, I shall visit India two times. No time it shall exceed 6 months.( 4 and 3 months respectively). I shall stay in USA for 5 months( 1, 3 & 1 months respectively).
Will this schedule of mine harm my possibility of citizenship? Shall I be in trouble at port of entry anytime?
 
It won’t technically break continuous residence. You also need to keep an eye on the physical presence requirements, though. If you continue that trend you won’t meet it. If that’s all you do and you stay in the US after, you’ll be fine.

No one can say if you will get into “trouble” at the border. You may get no problem at all on your re-entries, or you may get someone who challenges you on your frequent stays outside the US that together add up to more time out than in. It may not be pleasant but they can’t just take your green card away. If you get some kind of official warning (google “advised residency requirements”) you may need to be careful that you don’t get referred to an IJ.
 
Bharat kamdar said:
I got green card on 1st May 2019, when I was in USA. I stayed there for a month and came to India on 1st of June 2019. I want to stay in India for four months and intend to go back to USA on 1st October 2019. After a stay of three months in USA, on 1st January 2020, I want to come to India for a stay of three months. On 1st April 2020 I shall go back to USA.
So after getting GC, I shall visit India two times. No time it shall exceed 6 months.( 4 and 3 months respectively). I shall stay in USA for 5 months( 1, 3 & 1 months respectively).
Will this schedule of mine harm my possibility of citizenship? Shall I be in trouble at port of entry anytime?
Click to expand...

Why hijack an 8 year old thread?

You'd likely end up in Secondary during one of those returns and expect to be grilled. You could either be let of after a stern lecture, or with a CBP officer on a bad day, may end up with a date before an IJ. Not a good idea to use a green card as a super tourist visa. Of late, n400 adjudicators have become more eagle-eyed.
 
IMO that pattern doesn't look bad for a new permanent resident. Of course, they could question you, but if you use an APC, that is unlikely.
 
I have Green Card and I made a trip to India about six months ago (Nov - Dec) for a duration of three weeks. I am having to travel for a week again during July. Is this considered too frequent?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top