number of days out of th U.S and continuous residence questions

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chesteg

Registered Users (C)
Hello.

I'd like to know how many days are considered 30 months and 6 months in order to meet the requirements for physical presence in the U.S and not breaking the continuous residence requirement.

I took 5 trips out of the U.S which are described below. They are separate trips and the longer I took last 177 days.

I became US resident on march 17th 2006, so by march 2011 I'll be a 5 years Green Card holder. I'm not planning to travel out of the U.S until that date. So my question are: Have I broken the continuous residence requirement? and.. is this math correct?

5 years x 365 days per year = 1825 days

1825 days( in 5 years) - 801 days out of the U.S = 1024 days phisically present in the U.S.

1024/30 days per month = 34 months physically present in the US.

So my question is: Do I meet both requirements?

my trips out of the U.S are as it follows:


Left the U.S----------------------Return to the U.S------------------------#Days out of the U.S
9/30/2006------------------------3/27/2007--------------------------------177
9/30/2007------------------------3/26/2008--------------------------------177
5/4/2008-------------------------10/26/2008-------------------------------174
11/28/2008----------------------5/22/2009---------------------------------174
1/18/2010------------------------4/28/2010----------------------------------99

=======================================>Total: 801 day out of U.S

I'd appreciate your kind help with my questions

Thanks
 
It is a borderline but positive case. Physical Presence is not an issue. You will meet it. Continuous residence (CR) might be.

Do not assume 6 months to be 183 days ... when the IO sees 4 trips almost 6 months long, it can invite further scrutiny.

At first glance, these do not seem back to back wherein you came back to US for 3-4 days and left US.

After first trip, you stayed in US for 6 months. This will not break CR.
After second trip, you stayed in US for about 5-6 weeks.
After third trip, you stayed in US for about 5 weeks.
After fourth trip, you stayed in US for about 6-8 months. Good.

So your first and 5th trip do not seem to be breaking CR as they are well isolated from other trips.
But your 2nd, 3rd and 4th trips could be seen as one long trip where you came back to US to show the residency ...although you seem to have spent more time in US during these breaks than many other people on this board do.

This could require additional scrutiny depending on the IO. As I said before, it is borderline, but on the positive side.
#1. What were you doing in non-US country during these trips? Working? For the same company as in US (if employed)?
#2. Did you maintain a residence in US during your absences?
#3. Have you filed your taxes during your GC period as a "resident" and reported all global income?
 
Thank so much, Sanjoseaug20

I appreciate the time you took in taking care of my questions.

#1: Well, Since I came to the U.S I needed to go outside the U.S in order to finish my studies. That's why I went back for almost 6 months to take another semester and then I came back.
During trips 2, 3 and before the trip #4, I stayed out of the U.S because I needed to do my thesis and get my degree so I will be able to bring it to the U.S and then try to validate it here in order to continue my studies in the future ( when economic situation allows to do that).
And my last trip #5.. I spend about 3 months out of the U.S because I decided to get laser correction (not the fast treatment) on my eyes and I had stay there until I recover a little bit my vision.

#2: I haven't change my residence since I became a U.S Legal Permanent Resident. I mean, I still have the same address and I still live in that address ( Which is my father's house).
#3: I have filed my income taxes for 2006, 2007, and 2009. I din't filed taxes during 2008 because I didn't get any income since I was living on the money I earned in the last couple years and my parents help me paying school and other expenses overseas. I din't work at all in 2008. I mean not in the U.S and not overseas. I was just trying to finish my college overseas.

So finally, if the USCIS officer ask me for information about my interest about not leaving my legal residence status, do you think I could show my education transcription (validated for a particular organization in the U.S)? , or what else could I bring in order to show my intentions of not abandoning my Legal Permanent Resident status?

Thank you very much.
 
chesteg said:
Hello.

I'd like to know how many days are considered 30 months and 6 months in order to meet the requirements for physical presence in the U.S and not breaking the continuous residence requirement.

I took 5 trips out of the U.S which are described below. They are separate trips and the longer I took last 177 days.

I became US resident on march 17th 2006, so by march 2011 I'll be a 5 years Green Card holder. I'm not planning to travel out of the U.S until that date. So my question are: Have I broken the continuous residence requirement? and.. is this math correct?

5 years x 365 days per year = 1825 days

1825 days( in 5 years) - 801 days out of the U.S = 1024 days phisically present in the U.S.

1024/30 days per month = 34 months physically present in the US.

So my question is: Do I meet both requirements?

my trips out of the U.S are as it follows:


Left the U.S----------------------Return to the U.S------------------------#Days out of the U.S
9/30/2006------------------------3/27/2007--------------------------------177
9/30/2007------------------------3/26/2008--------------------------------177
5/4/2008-------------------------10/26/2008-------------------------------174
11/28/2008----------------------5/22/2009---------------------------------174
1/18/2010------------------------4/28/2010----------------------------------99

=======================================>Total: 801 day out of U.S

I'd appreciate your kind help with my questions

Thanks
Click to expand...
You have a travel pattern that can bring continuous residency into question. What ties to US residence did you have during those 4 long trips of just under 6 months?
 
chesteg said:
I din't filed taxes during 2008 because I didn't get any income since I was living on the money I earned in the last couple years and my parents help me paying school and other expenses overseas.
Click to expand...

I would suggest retroactively filing your 2008 taxes, regardless of income, for naturalization purposes...
 
I call the IRS by that time and asked them what should I do: If filing a zero income tax thing or not filing. They said that it was not necessary to file. I just called the IRS a couple days ago and I asked them about this situation and they asked me a lot of questions about income things and after that they said that I didn't had or I don't have to file taxes for that year (2008) cause didn't earn money or things like that during that year. I was just studying overseas so I din't work or got any income by that year.
 
Well, I have my family here. My father and my half sisters are U.S citizens.
I got my transcription for my credits and credential validation for my education overseas and I got that transcription on july 2009.
I have filed my income taxes for 2006, 2007 and 2009 ( 2008 I didn't since I wasn't working at all)
My oldest bank account was open as soon I became a Legal Permanent Resident and I still have it and always had a positive balance in that account.
I have my credit cards since 2006 or 2007. And I opened a new bank account in 2009.
I live in the same residence since I became a green card holder ( which is about 4 years)
I got my driver's license since 2006 and I don't have any bad records on it.
During the periods of 2006 and 2007 that I was in the U.S I worked for the same company.
Just in 2009 I had another job ( after I got my degree) and that's why I filed my income taxes for that year ( even I didn't have a W-2 forms, I filed as independent worker) and I'm planning to do the same for this year since I still have the same job that 2009
 
Thanks,
I requested to the IRS some letter where they are supposed to say that I didn't filed for 2008 income taxes or something like that.
I requested an history report for 2008 just in case.
 
I do not know what is your age, but if you are a young kid (comparatively, just migrating from student to worker) and your family is based in US, and they maintain residence here, and you were out only for studies and no work, it is likely that CIS will look at this in your favor. [ They can always cause trouble, but I think your case is more positive than borderline. ]
 
Nowadays i find there is more negative attitude in this blog. Probably i should put it differently, there is more cautious approach in the blog. I feel your case will be a cake walk. You will have no problem. You can easily explain your absence. Have your student records ready at hand for your interview. Not filing tax in 2008 can be easily be explained. Do not worry and apply when you are due before X'mas.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
madh4 said:
Nowadays i find there is more negative attitude in this blog. Probably i should put it differently, there is more cautious approach in the blog.
Click to expand...

What happened? Ok, so let's take this thread a bit meta.

I will own up to having a negative / cautious approach, as I believe in Colin Powell strategy of overwhelming force. Go with "just enough" force, and you know what can happen ... not that it is guaranteed to happen, but the risks are higher.

At the same time, I am sure lawyers in this world are way more creative and can many a times pull through even lost cases. However, those are tricks of the trade which we many not be familiar with, or even want to discuss publicly. Taking it a bit extreme, what if I was discussing bomb-making in a group ... I would expect FBI to be monitoring it and trying to find out who I am. I am sure some other agency might take a same approach if all this board/blog did was to "help" navigate around the edges. Now, why would a sane person (who is not a lawyer) want to get into something like that.

Last, you do hear of cases once in a while, where the IO was particularly nasty and rejects a similarly (or slightly more or less) borderline case. Ok, it might happen in 1 out of 100 borderline cases ... I would suspect the rejection to be higher (in borderline cases) since CIS denies 5-10% of the applications on an annual basis (many of them because of english test). Is it not our duty to highlight the pros and cons of a situation and let a person make a call?
 
I agree that one has to be extra cautious with borderline cases. Mine is similar to the OP's. I studied a lot abroad, without staying out for more than 6 months at a time, and with enough physical presence. I've got as much documentation as I can, and I'm waiting for my interview. I suggest you (the OP) keep track of my posts in the next couple of months.
 
cafeconleche said:
I agree that one has to be extra cautious with borderline cases. Mine is similar to the OP's. I studied a lot abroad, without staying out for more than 6 months at a time, and with enough physical presence. I've got as much documentation as I can, and I'm waiting for my interview. I suggest you (the OP) keep track of my posts in the next couple of months.
Click to expand...

Cafeconleche and Chesteg,
I am yet to see a post where a student has been denied naturalization because of frequent trips abroad, if he otherwise meets both physical presence and absence not being over 6 months. If you have played by the rules USCIS does not go out of the way to reject applicants. They may delay it and ask for more documentation. I am convinced both of you will get over your naturalization quite quickly without any hassles. Go fully prepared for interview. Best of luck
 
Thanks for your help.
I'm not a kid, I'm 34 y/o and I just got my degree. My family is based in the US. and most of them are U.S citizens.
I didn't work overseas at all. I was just studying there.
Thank you for your words and I'll keep being positive.
 
Thank you very much madh4 for your replay.
May I ask you if you can suggest me what kind of additional information or documents can I bring to the interview in order to probe that I didn't want to abandon my residence in the U.S?
Thanks
 
Your college records year wise and travel records. Next how were you able to support yourself abroad. Do you have anything to support you statement that you did not work abroad. This is not comprehensive as i am a layman. Hope experts will add to this list.
 
Hmm, I'm 26. I guess I can be considered to fall in the transitional period. As for additional evidence, I am showing bank letters and statements, copy of DL, car ownership, registration and insurance, a notarised letter from my mom saying I was her dependant, her tax returns, my tax returns... hmm, what else... I forget. Basically, get whatever documentation you can to show you had ties to the US. Oh yes, letters from my university abroad stating I was a student there. If you had a cell phone in the US in your name, show some of those bills, and if you owned a house, that would be great (I didn't have either a cell phone or property).
 
Thank you Cafeconleche.

I'd like to keep in touch so I could know how your interview and all the thing will go with the citizenship.
Thank you so much for your advice
 
Yah, keep checking the New York City N400 timeline and the March 2010 N400 timeline. Also, lost123 has an interview in a couple of days, and he/she also has a similar case, so check the March timeline for that experience too.
 
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