I had my N-400 interview last week and it did not go well. Here is my story: On July 2001 I became an LPR. On June of 2003 I graduated from a masters degree, but the job market was horrible. Therefore I decided to take a personal sabbatical while the job market recovered and went to Brazil for 7.5 months. Down there I visited with friends, family and read books. Per my immigration lawyer', before my departure from the U.S. I got a re-entry permit, just to ensure that my LPR status would be OK if I stayed abroad more than 6 months. I did not work in Brazil. I left in the U.S. all my belongings in a rented storage space and all my financial assets up to that point in my life--checking/saving accounts, student loans, credit cards, brokerage account. My U.S. address was that of a friend in MN whom I've known for 20+ years. After 7.5 months I came back to the U.S., found work and filled state/federal taxes for 2003 as a resident, like I normally do as an LPR (in 2003 I paid taxes on investment income only for I had no job income). Goes without saying that I honored my student loan and credit cards while abroad. Anyway, in the interview the IO did not like this one foreign trip at all. He almost immediately said that because my abode was not in the U.S. during that trip, I had broken my continuous residency and my application was invalid. I was floored. I told him that I haven’t yet bought a home and that I had no rent while in Brazil because my on-campus residence ended once I graduated. But apparently he did not change his mind and he said that all my ties to the U.S. that I could prove (financial, storage space) did not help my case. He asked me if I wanted to talk to his supervisor, which I did, but she repeated his points. He asked me if I wanted to read the law and printed me a copy. The law, Title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, part 316.5.c.1.i, says that the "types of documentation [...] which may establish [...] continuity of residency [...] include, but are not limited to", and lists four items. "U.S. abode"--the one he used against me--is item C. I told him after reading it that I though it was unfair that he was using C against me while ignoring item D (D is “the applicant did not obtain employment while abroad”) and the rest of the evidence in my application. Anyway, he went over the rest of my application and at the very end of the interview he finally read the letter from my lawyer and asked me for my federal tax returns for the last 5 years, which I gave to him. Obviously I haven't received a decision letter yet. Any thoughts?
