do a lot of people become US citizen, then immediately move back to the old country?
- Thread starter TwoScoops
- Start date
waitingforins2
Registered Users (C)
moving back
Twoscoops,
In GC you have a requirement that you should be here 183 days out of a year so as not to break continuous residence requirement towards citizenship.
There is no restriction on how many days/years/months you stay outside the country once you are a citizen.
It is possible that some peoples parents are old..they need to go back to take care of them. Also some people like schooling in India better and even you can have a lifestyle equivalent to US in India(I dont know about other countries).
I am not sure if it is a trend but many people tend to think it is better back home.
Hope this helps.
Twoscoops,
In GC you have a requirement that you should be here 183 days out of a year so as not to break continuous residence requirement towards citizenship.
There is no restriction on how many days/years/months you stay outside the country once you are a citizen.
It is possible that some peoples parents are old..they need to go back to take care of them. Also some people like schooling in India better and even you can have a lifestyle equivalent to US in India(I dont know about other countries).
I am not sure if it is a trend but many people tend to think it is better back home.
Hope this helps.
I think you have to appreciate that we live in a very globalized world now...peopleare more interconnected than ever through communication, internet, ease of travel, multinational companies, opening of economies, etc. The green card restricted how much time one can spend outside the U.S. Having a U.S. citizenship provides mobility and an option to develop your professional career and handle personal committments by being able to temporarily or permanently spend extended time outside of the U.S.
I would imagine individual situations would dictate people's decisions.
I would imagine individual situations would dictate people's decisions.
I think lot of Indians do, checkout the Return to India (R2I) forum http://www.indianstudentsnetwork.com
WorkingMan06
Registered Users (C)
Let's set aside the technical aspect of this question (continuous residence, inability to spend more than 6 months overseas as a Permanent Resident, ...etc) for a moment. This is an odd question. I dont know why someone would move back to their birth country as soon as they obtain their US citizenship.
Granted. We live in a global community and attachment to your ancestry is something good to keep and cherish, but physically and permanently moving out defeats the purpose of obtaining a citizenship and shows the person entered the Naturalization process in bad faith. If someone loves their birth country so much, they should have stayed there in the first place.
Let's be honest, the only reason people started coming to America is because their home country sucked (war, famine, repression, poverty, seeking a better life...etc) and I very much fit this description.
I started my immigration journey seven years ago and the only reason I put up with CIS is because I want to become a citizen and fully participate in this country so I guess I don't relate at all to anyone who intends on moving out and they only want a US passport as a Plan B just in case things don't work out back where they were born.
Granted. We live in a global community and attachment to your ancestry is something good to keep and cherish, but physically and permanently moving out defeats the purpose of obtaining a citizenship and shows the person entered the Naturalization process in bad faith. If someone loves their birth country so much, they should have stayed there in the first place.
Let's be honest, the only reason people started coming to America is because their home country sucked (war, famine, repression, poverty, seeking a better life...etc) and I very much fit this description.
I started my immigration journey seven years ago and the only reason I put up with CIS is because I want to become a citizen and fully participate in this country so I guess I don't relate at all to anyone who intends on moving out and they only want a US passport as a Plan B just in case things don't work out back where they were born.
N400Applier
Registered Users (C)
As far as going back to India is converned there is a good deal of going back happening. Once you are a US Citizen it is easier to go back than on GC.
However, I still feel the number of people going back to India once they get their citizenship is far lower than the number of people who stay. The main reason is that by the time you get your US Citizenship you have lived/worked etc. in the US for quite a few years and it is difficult to just up and leave.
I have not heard about the 183 day requirement per year. The requirement is not to stay outside for more than 6 months and not to be absent from the country for a total of 2.5 years in a 5 year period (i.e. 913 days).
What is this 183 day requirement?
I think this is the scoop:
Once you become a US citizen there is absolutely NO obligation to stay in the US period. After you get your US passport you can go directly to the airport and you have no obligations. Furthermore - if you stay out of the US for long enough you qualify for tax deductions on your worldwide income (unfortunately you still have to pay taxes).
There is NO requirement for you to have intention to live in the US after citizenship.
You put up with lots of crap from USCIS - after you get citizenship you are free from them. Not exactly - they can still denaturalize you. I read they tried to do this to a software engineer from Microsoft who put a wrong residence address or sthg trivial like that. But in the end the govt dropped that case. Still it shows the mess you can still get into.
But whatever they do - they cannot use any arguments what you did after obtaining US citizenship. You are free and it is good to enjoy freedom.
I am not surprised that people often go back. With GC you get seperated from your family, potentially suffer hardship. If things are going well in your home country and you get the right opportunity - why not take it? With GC - you had to live in the US - now there is no obligation.
My 2 cents.
Disclaimer:
This is not reliable advice. I am not a lawyer. I don't know the laws myself. I am a complete layman. Don't take what I say seriously.
Once you become a US citizen there is absolutely NO obligation to stay in the US period. After you get your US passport you can go directly to the airport and you have no obligations. Furthermore - if you stay out of the US for long enough you qualify for tax deductions on your worldwide income (unfortunately you still have to pay taxes).
There is NO requirement for you to have intention to live in the US after citizenship.
You put up with lots of crap from USCIS - after you get citizenship you are free from them. Not exactly - they can still denaturalize you. I read they tried to do this to a software engineer from Microsoft who put a wrong residence address or sthg trivial like that. But in the end the govt dropped that case. Still it shows the mess you can still get into.
But whatever they do - they cannot use any arguments what you did after obtaining US citizenship. You are free and it is good to enjoy freedom.
I am not surprised that people often go back. With GC you get seperated from your family, potentially suffer hardship. If things are going well in your home country and you get the right opportunity - why not take it? With GC - you had to live in the US - now there is no obligation.
My 2 cents.
Disclaimer:
This is not reliable advice. I am not a lawyer. I don't know the laws myself. I am a complete layman. Don't take what I say seriously.
Yes, it is easier to go home with a US Passport than with a GC (since you can easily come back to the US anytime once you are a citizen), but...
One of the requirments of citizenship is "attachment to the constitution". I took that to mean "attachment to the country" as well. I don't believe that I would have submitted an N-400 had I thought that I'd be returning to the home country soon afterwards.
My $0.02
One of the requirments of citizenship is "attachment to the constitution". I took that to mean "attachment to the country" as well. I don't believe that I would have submitted an N-400 had I thought that I'd be returning to the home country soon afterwards.
My $0.02
PrasadIyer
Registered Users (C)
About time someone pointed this out
In general I agree with your sentiment. But the fact is that not everyone is interested in acquiring US citizenship out of love for the country. In fact when I came to this country (from India) I wasn't fleeing an oppressive setup or even grinding poverty. I love India and I still root for the Indian cricket team
My reason to immigrate was simple: superior economic opportunity.
That said, to my surprise, over the years the greatest country in the world has worked its way into my system. I know where I want to live, and that is here. The realization came to me in a strange way: during the flight(s) back from India vacations, I start feeling the excitement of returning "back home" as soon as I start hearing the American accents at the airport departure gates in Amsterdam and Zurich. (The weird thing is, my own accent is dyed-in-the-wool Indian!) Then, getting out of Logan airport and seeing the Zakim bridge give me a warm "back at home" feeling.
But this is just how I feel. I see nothing wrong in wanting to going back to one's native land even after acquiring US citizenship. You have to follow where your heart leads you.
-Prasad
In general I agree with your sentiment. But the fact is that not everyone is interested in acquiring US citizenship out of love for the country. In fact when I came to this country (from India) I wasn't fleeing an oppressive setup or even grinding poverty. I love India and I still root for the Indian cricket team
My reason to immigrate was simple: superior economic opportunity.
That said, to my surprise, over the years the greatest country in the world has worked its way into my system. I know where I want to live, and that is here. The realization came to me in a strange way: during the flight(s) back from India vacations, I start feeling the excitement of returning "back home" as soon as I start hearing the American accents at the airport departure gates in Amsterdam and Zurich. (The weird thing is, my own accent is dyed-in-the-wool Indian!) Then, getting out of Logan airport and seeing the Zakim bridge give me a warm "back at home" feeling.
But this is just how I feel. I see nothing wrong in wanting to going back to one's native land even after acquiring US citizenship. You have to follow where your heart leads you.
-Prasad
Yes, I was going to ask the same question. People think that each year has to be spent in the USA. My understanding is the *same*, its just a question of half the time in the USA over the 5 year period - not a restriction per year.
I know of some people who get the process done because they plan to return to India soon. It is their choice and no law is being broken though I have read here that before there was a law which mandated a year's stay after the oath was needed.
After all Americans have been the most opportunistic people and if the whole world is investing in India then there is nothing wrong with returning to catch the next wave.
After all Americans have been the most opportunistic people and if the whole world is investing in India then there is nothing wrong with returning to catch the next wave.
WorkingMan06
Registered Users (C)
I still think that it beats the purpose. People who apply only to get a US passport and then leave immediately only clog CIS/FBI queues and shouldn't be in the process. Nobody is addressing my question that if you plan to go live somewhere else (for example India) because things are better over there economically then why come to the US in the first place and why go through the trouble of GC/Natz process.
I understand if someone comes here seeking a better opportunity/better life and was disappointed and decided to go back home, however I get the impression there's a school of thought that says "Let's get a US citizenship so we can broaden our possibilities and always have a plan B".
Some out there might think this is naive but I do take the oath of allegiance seriously and am looking forward to it.
I understand if someone comes here seeking a better opportunity/better life and was disappointed and decided to go back home, however I get the impression there's a school of thought that says "Let's get a US citizenship so we can broaden our possibilities and always have a plan B".
Some out there might think this is naive but I do take the oath of allegiance seriously and am looking forward to it.
Reasons for returning? Well it's home. People use USC as a security blanket/insurance for returning back to the US. If things don't work out in the home country it would be easier to return to the US with a USC. With USC people think that they'll have the best of both the worlds....they have earned enough by the time they obtain USC and use that as a nest egg to lead a comfortable life in India...just in case they can still come back to the US and won't have to deal with the whole immigration process again.
As to the ethics of it...most don't really care. I don't. Different strokes for different people.
As to the ethics of it...most don't really care. I don't. Different strokes for different people.
One more possible reason why ppl get citizenship and then return to India - securing social security benefits ?
I know that everyone is eligible for social security as long as you have 40 credits, but if you have a GC and you return, your GC will probably be cancelled after a few years and possibly your social security ?
I know that everyone is eligible for social security as long as you have 40 credits, but if you have a GC and you return, your GC will probably be cancelled after a few years and possibly your social security ?
This thread is hilarious. So a few people experience delays with the n400 and suddenly all the people who got done with the process are unpatriotic and should have not filed n400 to make room for the US lovers.
Guys wake up and smell the sewage, you are stuck on your fault most likely. What gives anyone the right to question another person's love for a country?
That too when Twoscoops posted in another thread that s/he doesn't want to give up original citizenship for med insurance purposes!!
Guys wake up and smell the sewage, you are stuck on your fault most likely. What gives anyone the right to question another person's love for a country?
That too when Twoscoops posted in another thread that s/he doesn't want to give up original citizenship for med insurance purposes!!
If you love the US so much I suggest:
1) Go to Iraq and loose some limbs. Coming back with psychological trauma and possibly missing limbs shows you care. And if you take nothing in return - no benefits - this is the ultimate love.
2) Donate all your savings to US Govt. They have a big hole right now in the budget. So you can try patch it up a bit out of love.
3) And please give up rights to social security. The US needs all the money it can get.
Try being like a monk. You should only take care of your basic needs.
1) Go to Iraq and loose some limbs. Coming back with psychological trauma and possibly missing limbs shows you care. And if you take nothing in return - no benefits - this is the ultimate love.
2) Donate all your savings to US Govt. They have a big hole right now in the budget. So you can try patch it up a bit out of love.
3) And please give up rights to social security. The US needs all the money it can get.
Try being like a monk. You should only take care of your basic needs.