Leaving the US as a PR; Naturalization concerns

The 2 years + 1 day rule is for marriage-based green card holders who broke their continuous residence. 4 days + 1 day is for others (unless they meet one of the other exceptions for faster citizenship, like serving in a war for the US military, etc.).
 
shemous said:
So should I not come within 6 months anymore? I mean, is it just the same to come in 11 months since you said short visits do nothing to retain your natz timeline?
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There are two issues going on: 1. Preserve the green card 2. Preserve continuous residence for naturalization. Although similar, those two have somewhat different criteria.

You should still limit each trip outside the US to under 6 months. Going over 6 months on a single trip automatically puts you in a hole where you are presumed to abandon residence, then the burden is on you to prove otherwise.

Multiple trips of 5.5 months doesn't mean you are safe, but at least it shifts some burden back on the immigration officer. You are likely to be able to take 2 or 3 trips of 5.5 months each and still keep your green card; it is for citizenship where they scrutinize it more closely and are likely to interpret the multiple trips as one big long trip, breaking the continuous residence.

But you also have a different problem. You recently got a green card ... how soon are you planning to leave the US to resume your studies? Leaving for a long trip shortly after getting the GC might be seen as not having established residence in the first place; they might count your US residence as starting from the day when you came back from studying. Are you in the US now? Have you been in the US since your GC got approved? If not, do you have the option of postponing your studies for 4-12 months?
 
Thanks Jackolantern,

I'm in Turkey now. I left on the 22nd of August. I got my GC on June, 19th.

I applied for reentry permit before I left the US.

I don't know whether I should go for a week to the US during my semester break in February or not. I'm not sure if that will make a difference.

If I break my residence, according to the 2+1 rule, I should be totally fine which doesn't make any sense to me. Because, you know, that's about how long it will take if I don't break it. The only thing that seems like it might be a problem is for them to think I abondened my residence which I tried to prevent by applying for a reentry permit.

What do you think?
 
Was your reentry permit approved?

Reentry permit preserves residence for the purpose of keeping the green card, but not for naturalization purposes.

As far as the 2 year + 1 day rule is concerned ... that is for people who already established residence in the US before leaving on the long trip that broke the continuity. Because of leaving the US so soon after the GC, they might say your residence wasn't established until the time you came back after your studies. In other words, for you your eligibility date might be 3 years since returning, not 2 years + 1 day.

See this other thread for an example of what I am talking about:
http://immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=262926
 
anyway shemous, you really do not need all that re-entry permit, first of all, you need to calm down and relax alittle bit, congrats meanwhile on your greencard, i have a friend who got her greencard a year and half ago, she moved back to her home country to leave with her husband a month after, she comes in before the expiration of the 6months, she's been doing this for like a year and she is total fine when it's time for her to naturalize, she'll move back and do what she needs to do, so as long as you come in before the expiration of 6months, you really do not need all the re-entry permit, she didn't apply for one, because there is no need for it, honestly stop worrying so much, but if you doubt consult an attorney.
 
Well... I did get a letter from USCIS saying they are processing my application, but I haven't yet received an approval on that.

I hadn't heard about this 3 months rule before I left the US. It does kind of suck, because I lived in Michigan for about a year before I got my GC which means nothing to them, but living there for 3 months after getting the GC means everything.

After all, should I come to the US for a week before I'm out of the US for 6 months, or should I just not botter since it won't make a difference and enjoy my stay here?

Thanks
 
Shemous - sounds like you've already had a pretty good collection of free advice. If you need more detail, then you really should consult a lawyer.

Remember, free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
 
shemous,

if you get little response to your question, it may be because many members in this forum don't know - they are probably in the same situation as you, about to get or recently got their GC.

boatbod, maybe you can point the OP to another sub-forum where he can get more opinions to his question. For instance, I'm guessing Life After The Green Card or US Citizenship might be appropriate. If you're lucky, if you do a search it could be someone asked your question before already, or you might find the answer in the "Stickies" ...
 
There's certainly lots of opinion on natz eligibility in the citizenship forum. Its probably just about the most-discussed topic next to declaring traffic tickets.
 
Actually your situation involve 2 things: maintaining GC and maintaining residency to be eligible for applying citizenship. The latter requires 30 months physically presence over 5 yrs (or 18 months over 3 yrs if you have been married to USC) with no single trip more than 6 months.

If I were you, I would fly back every 5 months to maintain the GC first. When you finish your study and come back, you start to accumulate your residency from that moment.

Check this one to read the info about getting citizenship
http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf
 
Your got yr GC in June and left Aug. I assume you got the GC this yr. You finish yr study next July. You should fly back during winter break and spring break to maintain your GC. After you come back Next yr July, you start to accumulate your residency from that moment. After 3 or 5 yrs when you apply for citizenship, you don't need to show the year that you leave USA.
 
You are probably right Greencattle. I'm planning to make a short trip to the US in Feb even though Mr! Boatbod claims It will mean absolutely nothing for my citizenship schedule.

About Boadbod... All he does is confusing people and leaving them helpless.
 
Boatbod's advice maybe not the one you wanna listen, but he has tried his best to answer. To be honest, I found boatbod he is very helpful in answering most of the ppl's questions.
 
Greencattle said:
Boatbod's advice maybe not the one you wanna listen, but he has tried his best to answer. To be honest, I found boatbod he is very helpful in answering most of the ppl's questions.
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Agreed too. And I agree with his answer... short trips will do nothing to maintain your continuous residency for naturalization purposes. Do not try to "cheat" the system.
 
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