Help .... Physical presence Continous Residence

M

MANTECH

Registered Users (C)
Here is a summary of my status
Became PR on 9/3/01
Lived in MD since 9/3/01 to date.
However i worked abroad for a US registered company. Below are the dates when i was out of the US:-
Went abroad from 01/7/05 - returned to MD on 04/2/05
Went abroad from 04/22/05 - returned to MD on 10/08/05
Went abroad from 10/17-05 - returned to MD on 04/02/06
Went abroad from 04/02/06 - returned to MD on 07/12/06
Went abroad from 07/19/06 - returned to MD FINALLY on 08/31/06

Each time i was abroad i spent less than 6 months on each occassion.

I am about to apply for my citizenship and went to see an Immigration attorney today.
I got a shocker when she told me i was not eligible to file for citizenship because i failed to meet the physical presence requirement but that i met the continous residence requirment. The explanation given wasthat for the physical presence requirement i have to have spent half of each year of 5 years in the US. Example given was that Year 2006, i have only sent about 30days and that means i cannot file for now but have to wait for another 5 years.

My understanding is that as long as you have stayed 30 months continuously in USA, you meet the physical presence requirement.

Please advice ASAP and where possible web links to INS requirments.

Cheers
 
MANTECH said:
Here is a summary of my status
Became PR on 9/3/01
Lived in MD since 9/3/01 to date.
However i worked abroad for a US registered company. Below are the dates when i was out of the US:-
Went abroad from 01/7/05 - returned to MD on 04/2/05
Went abroad from 04/22/05 - returned to MD on 10/08/05
Went abroad from 10/17-05 - returned to MD on 04/02/06
Went abroad from 04/02/06 - returned to MD on 07/12/06
Went abroad from 07/19/06 - returned to MD FINALLY on 08/31/06

Each time i was abroad i spent less than 6 months on each occassion.

I am about to apply for my citizenship and went to see an Immigration attorney today.
I got a shocker when she told me i was not eligible to file for citizenship because i failed to meet the physical presence requirement but that i met the continous residence requirment. The explanation given wasthat for the physical presence requirement i have to have spent half of each year of 5 years in the US. Example given was that Year 2006, i have only sent about 30days and that means i cannot file for now but have to wait for another 5 years.

My understanding is that as long as you have stayed 30 months continuously in USA, you meet the physical presence requirement.

Please advice ASAP and where possible web links to INS requirments.

Cheers
Click to expand...
As far as i know,you have no issues...check with ron/joe...immigrationinformation.com
 
dude as far as i know she is wrong....physical presence is the 90 days u have to be in the district office's area...
i just cant see what is wrong in this...either lawyer is messed up or i have missed some weird rule...
 
My understanding is that there are three hurdles:

1) You must be a Permanent Resident for at least 5 years (give or take 90 days) (3 years in some cases)

2) You must meet the "continuous residence" test, which means that you haven't given up your PR status by staying out of the country for too long at one time (if all your trips are under 6 months, you meet that test), and

3) you must meet the "physical presence" test. This means that in the previous 5 (or 3) years from when you file (and are interviewed and take the oath) you have been in the country at least 2.5 (or 1.5) years. If, in a year from now, you meet this bar, then you've met the test.

I'm not a lawyer, don't believe anything I say.

This is all quite clearly explained (with pictures and flowcharts, etc) in the "Guide to Naturalization".

Good luck
 
For a 5yr applicant, the physical presence test requires you to have an accumulated time of 30 months (900 days) in the US out of the past 60 months (1800 days). It doesn't have to be continuous, assuming you pass the continuous residence test, and you get credit for any partial days - i.e. those days you actually entered or departed the US.

There is no requirement to spend 6 months of each year physically in the US, however your many back-to-back long absences will probably invite detailed questioning during the interview.

Looks to me like you probably already pass the physical presence test, despite spending nearly all of the last 2 years abroad.
 
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Guys

Thanks for the quick respond.

I am still confused because i spoke to the Attorney last night again; she told me she took the naturalization eligibility Worksheet on my behalf based on the info. i told her and that i still failed the test. We discussed the test and said i failed the eligibility based on question 5 (Since becoming a Permanent Resident, I have not taken a trip out of the United States that lasted for 1 year or more.) She said based on my travels outside US, i failed the test BUT in my opinion i did not take a trip out of the US that lasted 1 year.

I am willing to go ahead and start processing my application.

What do you guys think?

Also, anybody with experience of processing their Naturalization via Baltimore? What is the interview like?
 
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physical presence test

I have taken exactly 40 trips abroad in the last five years. to calculate my physical presence, I elaborated a detailed spreadsheet showing each trip, the country visited, voluntarily included the purpose of the trip (even though it is not required on their charts). My immigration lawyer agreed on the interpretation, also said it will be scrutinized at the interview and I should be prepared with a good explanation (such as business trips for international sales) and support data in the form of passport stamps, boarding passes etc. to prove that the dates are correct.

I would suggest go-ahead and apply, calculate the days precisely and be prepared to prove it at the interview.
 
MANTECH said:
...
The explanation given wasthat for the physical presence requirement i have to have spent half of each year of 5 years in the US.
...
Click to expand...

I would stongly suggest -- get another lawyer.
 
Neverthere - the spreadsheet is a good idea. I did the same thing just because it was the easiest way to track the travel (even though I only had a dozen or so very short trips).

I would also recommend the following - for each trip, note down the details of the stamps. So, for example,
Trip 1
Departed US on Date X
Entered Country A on Date Y - Stamp in Passport Page 18.
Reentered US on Date Z - Stamp in Passport Page 19

Etc.

This might obviate the need for boarding passes and other such proof...
 
Thanks Shribuy,
good idea. I will have it ready for the interview. If somebody needs the template, I will be happy to send it.
 
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