residence definition

N

namedude

Registered Users (C)
One thing that people would benefit from is to have a discussion what residence means.

It seems there is no dispute so far that if you actually have a home in a given place and live in it (spend nights in it) then you actually reside in it.

Now what happens when you leave for a single 5 month trip overseas?

- If you rent out your home - you don't live there - then you no longer reside and you break continuous residence? What if your mail still comes in and you still work in the US?
- If you leave the home as is then you probably still reside?

Now what happens if you leave for a single 5 month trip and you are a renter. You generally don't want to throw away money and rent an empty apartment unless you don't care about money.

- So you can maintain your address with a relative or a friend. But then you really are not physically present in the relative's place. Even if you pay some utility or sthg - it still is just a cover up. Maybe if you come back and stay at the relative's place for 4 months after you come back - maybe this is ok?

It seems to me that even if you pay taxes, have employment in the US, active bank accounts and numerous other ties than if you do not have a physical home where you will stay then it means you break continuous residence. Even if you rent out your own place - you break continuous residence because the house is not available to you - someone else is living there (It can show that your trip was temporary - but continuous residence and temporary trips have little in common). So even if you go out for 1 day and you are between renting one place and another - then you still break continuous residence.

Is that correct at all?

My reasoning might be too restrictive but this would be common sense if you were to be very strict.

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I am not a lawyer and any advice is probably bogus.
 
namedude said:
Is that correct at all?
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Not quite. To my way of reading, 8.CFR.316.5 specifically addresses this point:

(5) Residence during absences of less than one year. (i) An
applicant's residence during any absence of less than one year shall
continue to be the State or Service district where the applicant last
resided at the time of the applicant's departure abroad.​

There have been successful natz cases where the applicant used a friend's place as his mailing and resident address. Equally, there have been cases where the applicant was given a very hard time for doing exactly the same thing. The differentiating factors (as always) seem to relate to the mood of the IO, length or trip(s), and how strong a case the applicant is able to make that they were taking a fixed length temporary trip. Retaining a mortgage/rental/lease is just one piece of evidence showing intent.
 
My wife and I do not own/rent a residence (we just cannot afford one). I am holding a job and stay with my daughter and family. I believe that the address where I am staying is my residence. Is this acceptable to the IO?
 
Triple Citizen said:
Your "residence" is where your head rests on a pillow after a long day at work.
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LOL. Unless you happen to be sleeping in a hotel and working on temporary assignment across the other side of the country. Under most circumstances, I'd say your "residence" is whatever address you've got on your drivers license or state id card.
 
But see - let's assume you have a house here in the US and you rent it out to go on a temporary assignment for a US company abroad for 5 months - then where do you live for 5 months?

In my opinion - if you rent out a place for you abroad - you live over there. However you are living there on a temp basis. Still you live there.

But I think most IOs don't use such strict definition. They look at other ties to the US like bank accts, taxes, etc.
 
One single trip of less than 6 months will almost never be a problem. For one trip of less than 6 months, the burden is on the immigration officer to prove that you intended to abandon your US residence.

It is single trips of 6+ months, or multiple trips (of less than 6 months each) close together and adding up to over 6 months, which cause a problem.
 
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