Should I keep my home for the time I am out of the US?

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speedy1027

Registered Users (C)
I plan to take 5 month trips outside the US starting from mid 2007 to go to India for personal reasons.

During these trips outside the US, do I necessarily keep my home?

Can I dispose of the home and give my friend's address as my contact/mailing address?

In yes, then in the AR-11 do I fill in my friend's address?

Any suggestions from people who have gone through the same thing before?

Thanks,
Speedy1027
 
Not yet...I have still have some time...

I am just trying to think ahead of time...and avoid any pitfalls if I can.
 
speedy1027 said:
I plan to take 5 month trips outside the US starting from mid 2007 to go to India for personal reasons.

During these trips outside the US, do I necessarily keep my home?

Can I dispose of the home and give my friend's address as my contact/mailing address?

In yes, then in the AR-11 do I fill in my friend's address?

Any suggestions from people who have gone through the same thing before?

Thanks,
Speedy1027
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A 5 month trip shouldn't cause too many additional questions during interview, however I'd caution against using your friend's address unless you actually plan on making that your "official" residence; i.e. changing drivers license to match etc.
 
Boatbod - Why can't he simply write up a letter with his friend saying that he will be renting the house/apt from him - while away. The rent can even be free - or some value and that's it. Even if there is some value - the friend can waive the rent or you can pay some.

He can send his mail over there and even change drivers licence. BTW - he can have mailing address as a P.O. Box - lots of people use P.O. Boxes even when they live in a house because it is so convenient. So mailing address does not mean that you live there. This way there is always a residence for him - he never ceases to be a resident of the US.

I was grilled on this specific fact on Natz. But they let me go. I had the impression (And I could very well be wrong) - that if you say you have no residence in the US then they will say that you broke continuous residence requirement.

Disclaimer:
Obviously I am not a lawyer and don't treat this advice seriously.
 
namedude said:
I was grilled on this specific fact on Natz. But they let me go. I had the impression (And I could very well be wrong) - that if you say you have no residence in the US then they will say that you broke continuous residence requirement.
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That was the point I was trying to make - albeit not very clearly. Maintaining some sort of official residence is definitely a requirement, and making sure your drivers license, IRS and USCIS addresses all match is probably a good idea. BTW, I've nothing against the idea of using a friend's address providing its all done properly.

My other thought is why sell a property if you're only going to be away for a comparatively short time? Maybe its better to rent it out short term and keep the mortgage, thus helping establish continuity of residency. Of course, if the current property is rented, that changes the situation a little.
 
boatbod said:
That was the point I was trying to make - albeit not very clearly. Maintaining some sort of official residence is definitely a requirement, and making sure your drivers license, IRS and USCIS addresses all match is probably a good idea. BTW, I've nothing against the idea of using a friend's address providing its all done properly.

My other thought is why sell a property if you're only going to be away for a comparatively short time? Maybe its better to rent it out short term and keep the mortgage, thus helping establish continuity of residency. Of course, if the current property is rented, that changes the situation a little.
Click to expand...

great thoughts folks...I could never think of such things.

great forum.

BTW, I bought the home....and not sure how well the renting process works out.

cheers

cheers
 
What ever you do, make sure to pay taxes as a resident, and never sign anything that indicates that you may not be a resident of the US. If an accountant gives you tax advice on how to reduce your taxes during your trip, go to an immigration lawyer and get his/her advice as well.
 
The problem is that those rules are vague. Lots of lawyer web sites suggest that keeping mailing address with a friend is okay.....

I think also INS can denaturalize you quite easily for the first 2 years even if it is INS mistake. Then it gets harder but still possible. So it will all depend on the current interpretations.... If they change - many folks might be in trouble.

I think in 2000 there were lots of denaturalizations happening - one was even done to a person who just put in a wrong address somewhere on application - she was a software engineer at Microsoft. Now it is quiet. INS is no under higher burden of proof I think.

At the end I don't know and most people don't know what it means to staisfy continuous residence. Most lawyers used to think that being less than 6 months out is okay. Then you learn that filing form 2555 as bona fide tax resident tax of another country is not okay. Now we learn that maybe address with a friend might or might not be okay.

When I was interviewing INS officer asked me - what kind of address this is. The officer asked if a friend or relative was living there. And then how I could be at that place when I was away and then I changed it when I got back etc. etc.
 
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