Temporary work opportunity abroad: impact on green card and naturalization

Pingpong007

New Member
I’m a LPR since 2015 and I have been offered a faculty position abroad with 1 year ”pre-tenure period’. Post 1 year if the employer is satisifed I will be offered a permanent position. The position begins Jan 1, 2021.

I have a reentry permit throughout until 2022 and intend to spend the summer vacation (about 3 mo) in the US. I don’t have property here and my family will relocate with me.

Have a few questions:

- Is my green card safe to enter the US during 2021 (considering I’m employed abroad, albeit in a temporary positon)?
- Is it advisable to file an N-400 before I leave, and withdraw it should I decide to pursue the opportunity abroad?
- Should I decide to postpone filing the N400 to after I come back for good after this pre-tenure period, would my visit abroad impact the naturalization process? What if any could I do to mitigate the risks?
 
1. Yes, if you have a re entry permit
2. I don’t see the point in filing N400 if you know you will be breaking the continuous residence requirement? This requirement has to be met
3. Yes, it will impact the timing that you can apply due to breaking of continuous residence while you were absent.
 
Thanks @SuzieQQQ. In the event of #3, would the fact that I was employed while abroad impact naturalization in any way?
 
Thanks @SuzieQQQ. In the event of #3, would the fact that I was employed while abroad impact naturalization in any way?
in my understanding, only insofar as it confirms you have broken continuous residence, assuming you are in the other country on a temporary work visa or similar.
 
I see. If this work happens to be my home country but I am able to maintain continuous residence (by frequent visits?)

It’s not just visiting every 6 months. Note the following extracts from the manual:

...The concept of continuous residence involves the applicant maintaining a permanent dwelling place in the United States over the period of time required by the statute. The residence in question “is the same as that alien’s domicile, or principal actual dwelling place, without regard to the alien’s intent, and the duration of an alien’s residence in a particular location measured from the moment the alien first establishes residence in that location.” Accordingly, the applicant’s residence is generally the applicant’s actual physical location regardless of his or her intentions to claim it as his or her residence.

...An applicant for naturalization has the burden of establishing that he or she has complied with the continuous residence requirement...

....An officer may also review whether an applicant with multiple absences of less than 6 months each will be able to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. In some of these cases, an applicant may not be able to establish that his or her principal actual dwelling place is in the United States or establish residence within the United States for the statutorily required period of time.

An LPR’s lengthy or frequent absences from the U.S. can also result in a denial of naturalization due to abandonment of permanent residence.


...an applicant may overcome the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence by providing evidence to establish that the applicant did not disrupt the continuity of his or her residence. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, documentation that during the absence:
  • The applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States or obtain employment while abroad;
  • The applicant’s immediate family members remained in the United States; and
  • The applicant retained full access to or continued to own or lease a home in the United States.
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3

Bottom line, I think if you do it for around a year you’ll be ok, especially if it’s a temporary contract, once you start going much longer than that it starts looking like you have moved back home with no ties left in the US (no property, family all overseas with you, permanent job there etc). Note that while the re-entry permit protects your green card from being considered abandoned based purely on absence, the factors considered for continuous residence under naturalization are evaluated differently, as above. Remember you will have to state your actual addresses and employment on the n400, as well as update any changes to that between application and interview.
 
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