GC holder going to Oxford to study

S

srikanthsiva

Registered Users (C)
Dear members,

I have been a GC card holder from August 1, 2005. In late September 2008, my wife and I will go to Oxford for my Masters degree. It is a 1 year program that will end in october 2009. This means we will be out of the country for 1 year (or around 13 months). I plan to file the Reentry permit (Form I-131).

Questions:
1) Do I need to file that form 131? Do i need a reentry permit?
2) If yes, do I file it now in US?, in London? or when im almost coming back in 2009?
3) Will my residency requirements for citizenship be reset to zero? (I would have done 3 years by then)
 
1. to be on the safe side, apply for a RP before leaving the US in case you spen more than a year.

3. I think if you spend more than 6 months outside the US, you have to start again (Thats what I think but wait for a second opinion).

good luck
 
If you spend more than a year outside the US, your GC becomes invalid for use as an entry document, so you will need a reentry permit (unless you take some trips back to the US in between). The reentry permit must be applied for while you are in the US.

It is not automatic that more than 6 months will break continuous residence and reset your clock to zero. However, a trip of more than 6 months creates the presumption that you broke continuous residence, and puts the burden of proof on you to convince USCIS otherwise. But a trip of more than a year (or multiple trips close together adding up to more than a year) makes it almost automatic that your clock will be reset, even if you have a reentry permit.
 
Sad to say, you will be going back to starting line, that happened to my uncle and his more than 4 years of waiting, he have to leave US for 14 months.
 
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