Physical presence in the USA

T

Tinux

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,

Can anyone help me out with this scenario:

I got my green card in June 2003.I traveled in June 2005(first time traveling out since 2003) and i returned in August 2005.I traveled again in Jan18th 2003 and i returned june 5th 2005, and then i traveled out again in Feb11th 2007 and i returned in Jun 25th 2007.I am presently in the States.

I want to find out if it would be advisable to travel again in september ,and then return in december.I also want to verify that the trips i have made in the past will not affect me when i want to file for my citizenship in 2008.

I travel this often because my husband is still in Nigeria.can anyone help me out.
Thanks all
 
Get the Guide to Naturalization it is all explained in there.

There are two rules: "Continuous Residence" and "Physical Presence"

Continous Residence
In general, you should not leave the country in a way that it looks like you have moved away. Visits outside of the country of less than 6 months usually are assumed to not get in the way (however, if you leave the country and come back to "visit the USA" to make sure you don't break the 6 month barrier, then that will cause problems). If you are gone 6 months to 1 year, then you need to prove that you haven't moved away. From 1 year to 2 years, it becomes *much* harder. After 2 years, you are assumed to have abandoned your residency.

You also need to act like a US resident during all this time, paying taxes (as a resident) while keeping an address and doing other "residential things" (like cell phones, etc.) You must also be careful to never call yourself a non-resident.

Physical Presence
During the 5 years (or three years if you are applying through marriage to a US citizen) before you naturalize, you need to be physically present in the US at least half of the time (2.5 years (or 1.5 years)).

I can't really tell what is going on with your travels - it looks like you mistyped the dates of your 2nd trip (since you "traveled again" two years before your first trip (and you came back from the 2nd trip during the same month you left on your first trip)).

Read the Guide and see if you if you still need help.
 
Physical Presence

Thanks for the response,

You are right,i mistyped the date for my second trip.I traveled out on Jan 18th 2006 and returned june 5th 2006.

Thanks
 
Spread your trips out, keep them under 6 months (like you have been doing - and don't make them obvious like 5 months and 29 days), make sure you keep a residence/file taxes/etc and make sure that you have been in the country at least 2.5 years during the previous 5 years, and you should be in good shape to submit an N-400 next summer.
 
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