GC holder with one more year left till I get citizenship

S

sikander

Registered Users (C)
Dear friends,

I'm a GC holder with one more year left till I get citizenship, and I had a question in that regard:

SITUATION:
I obtained my Green Card in June 2005. I believe I should be eligible to become a citizen by June 2010. I have been continuously living in the US since I obtained my GC [except for a 4/5 month vacation I took from March 2007 to August 2007, when I went back home to Africa]. I will be graduating with my graduate degree this June 2009, and thereafter would ideally like to return to Africa and live there till I become a US citizen one year later, in June 2010. I have lived continuously in the US for well over the 30-month requirement of continuous residence required for obtaining US citizenship.

Since I have continusouly llived in the US for a good 43/44 months, I was hoping to be in Africa starting June 2009, and return to the US once every 6 months (for a month or so) until time comes for my citizenship. Effectively that would mean a trip to the US around December 2009, and another trip to the US for my citizenship interview in June 2010. In Africa I may/may not work/start a business involving some connection to the US. I could say that I am looking for business opportunities in emerging African markets.

QUESTIONS:
1. Is this plan of living abroad for my last year before obtaining citizenship safe (Provided I return to the US 2 times during that last year)?
2. Do you think the immigration officer at the port of entry could give me issues, even revoke my green card possibly?
3. Would applying for a re-entry permit make my case (of being genuinely interested in residing permanently in the US and becoming a US citizen) more credible?

Thanks friends!
 
You would be eligible to apply for citizenship up 90 days before you have obtained 5 years of continuous residence as an LPR. In your case that means March 2010. Also, you must meet continuous residence requirement up until the oath. Moving to Africa would most likely break that continuous residence requirement even if you return to US under 6 months. A reentry permit is to retain your GC status for prolonged absences outside the US. Unless you can provide sufficient evidence that you did not intent to give up US residential ties, it would be best to hold off your move to Africa until after you obtained US citzenship.
 
Thanks!

Hi Bobsmyth

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. I was wondering, have the rules changed since 2005? I was always under the impression that officially if you prove you have been physically present in the US for more than half of the 5 years post-GC (5 years because mine was applied for me via my company), as well as stay out of the US for no longer than 6 months at a time, then you should theoretically be fine in terms of acquiring citizenship? Also, what if I returned to the US once in December 2009 for a month, and then again starting in March 2010 I physically remained in the US till I got citizenship in June 2010, then would I be meeting the residency requirements to be eligible to get citizenship?

i was also wondering though, that if i indeed only did return to the US once every 6 months, what's the worst thing that could happen? Could my green card get revoked? if so, could I challenge that revokation in a court of law via a lawyer?

Many many thanks Bobsmyth
 
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You've waited long enough, why do you want to risk breaking continuous residence requirement in your final year? You can second guess all you want, but there IS a risk that your absence from the US would make you ineligible for citizenship in the view of the interviewing officer. Why risk it?

Cheers.
 
us immigration attorney

HI,

Check the link available in my signature. There are certain useful citizen ship videos of a us immigration attorney available . Check this out. It may help you.

All the best
 
It doesn't sound like you need to move to Africa for employment. If so, I'd hold off on moving until after you get citizenship unless you can line up a job with a US company before you leave and file for an N-470.

As Bobsmyth already mentioned there are TWO requirements, (1) physical presence and (2) continuous residency. If your calculations are correct, it's the second requirement that you have to worry about. If you move to Africa, you have to show that you maintained ties to the United States and DID NOT BREAK CONTINUOUS RESIDENCY. For example, your wife and children remained in the US, you paid mortgage/utilities in the US, you filed for and paid taxes in the US, do not work overseas, etc. Even if do all of the above, it's still dicey if you're essentially applying while you are still abroad.

The travel back every 6 months is a rule of thumb, not a safe harbor. If your absences are under 6 months, it's ASSUMED that you haven't broken continuous residency. However, if you make back to back 6 month trips or if the interviewer has other facts (i.e., you clearly have a job and have moved permanently to Africa), the interviewer can overturn the assumption and determine that you have in fact broken continuous residency.

QUESTIONS:
1. Is this plan of living abroad for my last year before obtaining citizenship safe (Provided I return to the US 2 times during that last year)?
NO.

2. Do you think the immigration officer at the port of entry could give me issues, even revoke my green card possibly?
IF YOU STAY OUT FOR 6 MONTHS AT A TIME, THEY CAN DEFINITELY HASSLE YOU. THEY CAN PULL YOU ASIDE FOR SECONDARY REVIEW AND QUIZ YOU ON WHERE YOU LIVE IN THE US. IF YOU CAN'T ANSWER TO THEIR SATISFACTION, THEY COULD TAKE YOUR GREENCARD AWAY. IF YOU WANT TO BE SAFE, GET A RE-ENTRY PERMIT.

3. Would applying for a re-entry permit make my case (of being genuinely interested in residing permanently in the US and becoming a US citizen) more credible?
NO. A RE-ENTRY PERMIT WILL NOT HELP YOU PROVE CONTINOUS RESIDENCY, BUT WILL PROVE THAT YOU DIDN'T ABANDON YOUR GREENCARD -- THAT IS IT WILL NOT HELP YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENSHIP, BUT WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOUR GREENCARD CAN'T BE TAKEN AWAY WHEN YOU GO THROUGH IMMIGRATION AFTER A LONG ABSENCE.
 
sikander said:
Hi Bobsmyth

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. I was wondering, have the rules changed since 2005? I was always under the impression that officially if you prove you have been physically present in the US for more than half of the 5 years post-GC (5 years because mine was applied for me via my company), as well as stay out of the US for no longer than 6 months at a time, then you should theoretically be fine in terms of acquiring citizenship? Also, what if I returned to the US once in December 2009 for a month, and then again starting in March 2010 I physically remained in the US till I got citizenship in June 2010, then would I be meeting the residency requirements to be eligible to get citizenship?

i was also wondering though, that if i indeed only did return to the US once every 6 months, what's the worst thing that could happen? Could my green card get revoked? if so, could I challenge that revokation in a court of law via a lawyer?

Many many thanks Bobsmyth
Click to expand...

Under the 5 year rule, one of the basic requirements is to have at least 30 months of physical presence in the US and 5 years of continuous residency before you apply. Also, you must not break continuous residence up until the oath. Although your trips to Africa may not seem to break the continuous residence requirement since they are under 6 months, the intent factor would heavily suggest that, unless you can provide exhaustive evidence that you did not intend to break US residential ties during the process.
The worst that can happen is that your application is denied. As for you GC status, that is a separate matter that will be evaluated every time you return to the US. In other words, a naturalization denial does not automatically equate to GC revocation.
 
Maintian US address as well

All the above points are good. Also a US address has be maintained.

Also in your application there is question which asks
List the address you have lived in the past 5 years with dates.
Listing a foreign address here will definitely rise eyebrows. Maintaining a local US address in important even when you are travelling, which implies that you have not abandoned your permanent residency. The Adjudicating officers give lot of importance to this aspect as well.
 
you are this close, really I'd just wait the 11mths out till you get your citizenship.
Also when you apply, you'll need to come back for your fingerprinting, interview and oath ceremony which could easily be all within 4mths if they process your application as quickly as some folks are seeing.

Do you have a house here? family you could live behind?
If you are working for a company that the US has interests in, you can get a reentry permit, My father has a reentry permit, and was still hassled once when he came in after 5months, thankfully he's now eligible for citizenship. If you get your greencard revoked, it'll be hard to get it back, happened to my uncle yrs ago.
 
I would like to add a third requirement to the one listed by sh1996
(1) physical presence
(2) continuous residency
(3) Intent to permanently reside. It is very difficult to prove in some cases. Even if you visit US every 6 months, the IO might feel that intent is not there.
 
I agree. Take care of your citizenship process first. Once you are a US citizen and have your US passport, you can stay out of US as long as you want.

Drlove said:
you are this close, really I'd just wait the 11mths out till you get your citizenship.
Also when you apply, you'll need to come back for your fingerprinting, interview and oath ceremony which could easily be all within 4mths if they process your application as quickly as some folks are seeing.

Do you have a house here? family you could live behind?
If you are working for a company that the US has interests in, you can get a reentry permit, My father has a reentry permit, and was still hassled once when he came in after 5months, thankfully he's now eligible for citizenship. If you get your greencard revoked, it'll be hard to get it back, happened to my uncle yrs ago.
Click to expand...
 
thanks homo.erectus

Homo.Erectus said:
You've waited long enough, why do you want to risk breaking continuous residence requirement in your final year? You can second guess all you want, but there IS a risk that your absence from the US would make you ineligible for citizenship in the view of the interviewing officer. Why risk it?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

sorry i couldnt reply earlier. but thanks for this advice. the thing is, i really need to be in africa due to family issues. btw, i understand that once one applies for citizenship, they have to be physically present in the US from the time of application, up until the time they get the citizenship, correct? does that mean one has to be in the country continuously for about 3 months before the date citizenship is granted?
 
thanks sh1996

sh1996 said:
It doesn't sound like you need to move to Africa for employment. If so, I'd hold off on moving until after you get citizenship unless you can line up a job with a US company before you leave and file for an N-470.

As Bobsmyth already mentioned there are TWO requirements, (1) physical presence and (2) continuous residency. If your calculations are correct, it's the second requirement that you have to worry about. If you move to Africa, you have to show that you maintained ties to the United States and DID NOT BREAK CONTINUOUS RESIDENCY. For example, your wife and children remained in the US, you paid mortgage/utilities in the US, you filed for and paid taxes in the US, do not work overseas, etc. Even if do all of the above, it's still dicey if you're essentially applying while you are still abroad.

The travel back every 6 months is a rule of thumb, not a safe harbor. If your absences are under 6 months, it's ASSUMED that you haven't broken continuous residency. However, if you make back to back 6 month trips or if the interviewer has other facts (i.e., you clearly have a job and have moved permanently to Africa), the interviewer can overturn the assumption and determine that you have in fact broken continuous residency.

QUESTIONS:
1. Is this plan of living abroad for my last year before obtaining citizenship safe (Provided I return to the US 2 times during that last year)?
NO.

2. Do you think the immigration officer at the port of entry could give me issues, even revoke my green card possibly?
IF YOU STAY OUT FOR 6 MONTHS AT A TIME, THEY CAN DEFINITELY HASSLE YOU. THEY CAN PULL YOU ASIDE FOR SECONDARY REVIEW AND QUIZ YOU ON WHERE YOU LIVE IN THE US. IF YOU CAN'T ANSWER TO THEIR SATISFACTION, THEY COULD TAKE YOUR GREENCARD AWAY. IF YOU WANT TO BE SAFE, GET A RE-ENTRY PERMIT.

3. Would applying for a re-entry permit make my case (of being genuinely interested in residing permanently in the US and becoming a US citizen) more credible?
NO. A RE-ENTRY PERMIT WILL NOT HELP YOU PROVE CONTINOUS RESIDENCY, BUT WILL PROVE THAT YOU DIDN'T ABANDON YOUR GREENCARD -- THAT IS IT WILL NOT HELP YOU MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CITIZENSHIP, BUT WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOUR GREENCARD CAN'T BE TAKEN AWAY WHEN YOU GO THROUGH IMMIGRATION AFTER A LONG ABSENCE.
Click to expand...

sh1996, thanks for these details. i'm single and dont have a wife family who can stay behind here, which i could use as proof of not abandoning residency and proving continuous residency.

i need to get back home for non-employment reasons. if i have to stay here in order to be on the safe side for the 1 year preceding citizenship, then it sucks because 1) i need to get back to africa for family reasons 2) i'm graduating business school in june, with no freakin' job. even though my move to africa isn't driven by employment factors, the chances of being hired in africa are ironically higher than the US :)

Thanks
 
thanks gcluckyguy

gc_luckyguy said:
All the above points are good. Also a US address has be maintained.

Also in your application there is question which asks
List the address you have lived in the past 5 years with dates.
Listing a foreign address here will definitely rise eyebrows. Maintaining a local US address in important even when you are travelling, which implies that you have not abandoned your permanent residency. The Adjudicating officers give lot of importance to this aspect as well.
Click to expand...

hi gcluckyguy:

the local address in the US isnt a problem for me if i'm out for extended periods of time. i intend to sign a year-long lease and even pay rents :). however, even despite doing that, it appears i'm in a dicey situation.
 
Bobsmyth: a follow-up question

Bobsmyth said:
Under the 5 year rule, one of the basic requirements is to have at least 30 months of physical presence in the US and 5 years of continuous residency before you apply. Also, you must not break continuous residence up until the oath. Although your trips to Africa may not seem to break the continuous residence requirement since they are under 6 months, the intent factor would heavily suggest that, unless you can provide exhaustive evidence that you did not intend to break US residential ties during the process.
The worst that can happen is that your application is denied. As for you GC status, that is a separate matter that will be evaluated every time you return to the US. In other words, a naturalization denial does not automatically equate to GC revocation.
Click to expand...


Thanks Bobsmyth. To quote you "...intent factor would heavily suggest that, unless you can provide exhaustive evidence that you did not intend to break US residential ties during the process". what would you classify as "exhaustive evidence"? Rent leases, taxes filed in the US, etc.?

I just wonder, what if I start an independent consultancy (US-incorporated company) focusing on work in africa? or if i start an import-export business that warrants me to stay in africa for extended periods of time. how strong/weak do you think that evidence would be?
 
sikander said:
I just wonder, what if I start an independent consultancy (US-incorporated company) focusing on work in africa? or if i start an import-export business that warrants me to stay in africa for extended periods of time. how strong/weak do you think that evidence would be?
Click to expand...
A new company, with 100% or nearly 100% of its revenue coming from non-US sources, and no employees based in the US, and most or all of the work being done outside the US, would be useless for showing residential ties to the US.
 
sikander said:
Thanks Bobsmyth. To quote you "...intent factor would heavily suggest that, unless you can provide exhaustive evidence that you did not intend to break US residential ties during the process". what would you classify as "exhaustive evidence"? Rent leases, taxes filed in the US, etc.?

I just wonder, what if I start an independent consultancy (US-incorporated company) focusing on work in africa? or if i start an import-export business that warrants me to stay in africa for extended periods of time. how strong/weak do you think that evidence would be?
Click to expand...

Exhaustive evidence means US rental/mortgage agreement, US utility bills, US bank accounts, US based company, location of spouse, and anything else that will show that you did not intent to abandon US residential ties.
 
jackolantern and bobsymth-thank you!

thanks for your replies. looks like my business idea isnt so solid after all huh.

bobsmyth-if you dont mind me asking, your signature shows that between submitting the n-400 and your oath ceremony was well over a year! scary! any roadblocks you'd recommend i avoid so that my n-400-to-oath happens within the theoretical 3 months?

also, does one have to be physically present in the US for the entire peiod from the time the n-400 is filed up to the time of the oath (best case 3 months)?

thanks
 
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sikander said:
thanks for your replies. looks like my business idea isnt so solid after all huh.

bobsmyth-if you dont mind me asking, your signature shows that between submitting the n-400 and your oath ceremony was well over a year! scary! any roadblocks you'd recommend i avoid so that my n-400-to-oath happens within the theoretical 3 months?

also, does one have to be physically present in the US for the entire peiod from the time the n-400 is filed up to the time of the oath (best case 3 months)?

thanks
Click to expand...

You do not have to be physically present in the US but you have to be able to demonstrate upto and including the day of oath ceremony that you continued to reside continuously in the US.
 
sikander said:
bobsmyth-if you dont mind me asking, your signature shows that between submitting the n-400 and your oath ceremony was well over a year! scary!
Click to expand...

Answering one part on Bob's behalf, since my timeline is simlar. In June 2007 USCIS applications fees had a steep rise. The effect of this was a backlog of applications, as large numbers of applicants rushed to get their applications in before the fee hike. Consequently, processing times of over a year were standard for people caught in this backlog, or those who applied in the following few months.

Being one whose straightforward N-400 took 17 months, it can be difficult to be patient with posters who are complaining about 3 month timelines, or less.
 
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