Maintaining LPR and apply for naturalization while working as a seafarer

[mrmct 0]

Hi

If I am married to a US citizen and I became a Legal Permanent Resident how can I maintain my status and apply for naturalization if I work as a seafarer and I am out of the country up to 8 months per year with my job ? I am a seafarer working for a company based Europe if this has any relevance whatsoever (the actual vessel trading area is worldwide)

Edited June 2, 2014 by mrmct

[Hypnos 6,579]

Accumulate a large amount of proof indicating that your country of permanent residence is the United States.

- Maintain a house or apartment, and receive your normal mail there.

- Establish and maintain US bank accounts.

- File your federal income tax returns every year, even if you are not required to file.

- Ensure you have a driver's licence or ID card issued by a US state or territory that you renew when required.

Other things too, but these are good for starters. Keep plenty of proof around that you can use to show CBP (or any other relevant agency) that the US is your domicile, even if you are absent for most of the year on business.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Hypnos

[mrmct 0]

Ok, here is how this works.

Each time I go at sea I sign a contract with the crewing company that does the recruiting process. Even though I have a permanent contract with the mother company, I must sign a new contract each time I go at sea for a specified period of time, say 4 months +/- 1 month, 2 months on / 2 months off, and so on.

I get a copy of each of those contracts.

The period spent at sea is also annotated in my Seaman's Book with the ship's stamp and Master's signature.

Each time I finish my contract I return to United States and take short trips back to my home country Romania to visit friends and relatives.

Regarding this:

- Maintain a house or apartment, and receive your normal mail there.

This will be done.

- Establish and maintain US bank accounts.

I am not sure yet if I want to receive my salary in an US Bank account. I use a bank account in Netherlands for many many years and I am not confortable yet to do a change.

- File your federal income tax returns every year, even if you are not required to file.

Since I do not obtain any wages on US territory, am I obliged to do so ? Technically I am an employee of an European company where I also pay taxes for the salary I get. Does the US have a double taxation treaty with countries of EU regarding this matter ?

- Ensure you have a driver's licence or ID card issued by a US state or territory that you renew when required.

Will be done.

My other concern is, will the US Govt count only the months that I was physically present in the United States until I am eligible to apply for naturalization ?

[Darnell 8,479]

i think if your seaman's book

lists you as a permanent resident of the usa--albeit holding a foreign passport

with the home address IN the USA -

then your domicile is officially somewhere in the USA.

as a LPR - you must declare income worldwide - the first 90 to 97 K can be exempted via form F-2555 when filing the 1040 with the IRS.

still - it's a catch-22 at least IMO.

[mrmct 0]

@Darnell

Actually, the Seaman's Book is issued by the Romanian Naval Authority. But this isn't in a conflict with my residence being on a permanent basis in USA. I just have to renew it every two years. But even though my residence is somewhere in USA ... I am not physically in USA for quite a time per year

Regarding the income I will consult with a professional preparer.

I just need to know how the time counts ...

[Darnell 8,479]

there's not that many professional usa tax preparers that are familar with the F-2555...

as to yer other bits - I dunno - worst case scenario might be that the time is uncountable - with some middle ground where it IS countable when yer on board the ship but not countable when you are back in Romania visiting folk.

I really don't know - but if the documentary evidence proves up yer legal domicile in USA - maybe that helps... Still - I recognize fully that mostly I am clueless about this one aspect...

[Ryan H 3,925]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to US Citizenship Discussion.

[Rip_curl 4]

Hi

If I am married to a US citizen and I became a Legal Permanent Resident how can I maintain my status and apply for naturalization if I work as a seafarer and I am out of the country up to 8 months per year with my job ? I am a seafarer working for a company based Europe if this has any relevance whatsoever (the actual vessel trading area is worldwide)

I had to ponder on this subject quite extensively since I travel quite a bit internationally due to my job. I am not seafarer and only go out for a month at a time. I was also freaking out that I might not be able to fulfill the requirements. Here is what I have found through my research and by the way they are well documented if you search for requirements to qualify for n400:

• You need to prove that your residence is in US.
• You cannot file NR1040. You will have to report all your income anywhere in the world. But here is the bad part. You will need to convince them that although you have foreign income you still have adobe to US.
• Your trips cannot be more than 6 months. That's why they ask in n400 that if any of your trips were over 6 months. If they are you will have to provide reason. I have seen some cases where the applicants were approved but they had only one trip more than 6 months long.
• Now here is the big thing. Since you are married to US citizen, you can apply after 2 years and 9 months since you became PR but you will need to have 1.5 years in the US as physical presence.
• I would advise that you log all your travels on an excel sheet with passport stamps so you can track them when you apply for n400.
• The only exception to being away from home and still be able to log in your time towards your physical presence is if you were onboard a US navy ship and etc. They are mentioned on USCIS website.

So in my opinion you will need to live in the US and have 1.5 years in total out of 3 to qualify. With your long trips unfortunately at the moment it doesn't look good for you.

Hope this helps.

[mrmct 0]

@Rip_curl: Thanks for your answer.

You need to prove that your residence is in US.

My residence will be in the US permanently. The occasional trips I will make to Romania will count as leisure traveling for me, but my permanent domicile will remain US.

You cannot file NR1040. You will have to report all your income anywhere in the world. But here is the bad part. You will need to convince them that although you have foreign income you still have adobe to US.

Well, income report will be solved. I have consulted a tax firm and will be ok. Every expenditure that I will make inside the US will have as source of income my salary that I obtained while working outside US. Since I do not make any income inside the United States and claim absolutely no benefits whatsoever there I should be fine. Basically I bring money in the US. I am just worried about the double taxation, that's all.

Your trips cannot be more than 6 months. That's why they ask in n400 that if any of your trips were over 6 months. If they are you will have to provide reason. I have seen some cases where the applicants were approved but they had only one trip more than 6 months long.

Well, none of my trips will exceed 6 months in one trip. They may exceed 6 months in a calendar year but not consecutive. I will keep a documented journal with every entry/exit into the United States backed by my Sea Service Certificates justifying my travel abroad.

• The only exception to being away from home and still be able to log in your time towards your physical presence is if you were onboard a US navy ship and etc. They are mentioned on USCIS website.

I am unable to do so unfortunately. In order to join a US navy ship I must change all my paperwork, basically starting again from scratch.

[JimmyHou 614]

Hi

If I am married to a US citizen and I became a Legal Permanent Resident how can I maintain my status and apply for naturalization if I work as a seafarer and I am out of the country up to 8 months per year with my job ? I am a seafarer working for a company based Europe if this has any relevance whatsoever (the actual vessel trading area is worldwide)

Please take a look at this (especially the last line in bold), which I have copied from here:

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/About%20Us/Electronic%20Reading%20Room/Customer%20Service%20Reference%20Guide/Permanent_Residents_Naturalization.pdf

-----

A seaman is a person who is a lawful permanent resident, who has served honorably or with good conduct, in any capacity other than as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States,

A) On board a vessel operated by the United States, or an agency thereof, the full legal and equitable title to which is in the United States; or

B) On board a vessel whose home port is in the United States, and

(i) Which is registered under the laws of the United States, or

(ii) The full legal and equitable title to which belongs to a citizen of the United States, or a corporation organized under the laws of any

of the several States of the United States,

You can apply for naturalization as a seaman if you:

• Are age 18 or over; and

• Are a permanent resident; and

• Have served honorably or with good conduct in any capacity other than as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States while a

permanent resident on board a vessel operated by the United States or a vessel whose home port is the United States as described above; and

• Such service occurred within five years immediately preceding the date you file an application for naturalization.

In addition, you must:

• Be a person of good moral character; and

• Have the required knowledge of Civics and English; and

• Support the Constitution of the United States and willing to take an oath of allegiance.

• Attach all required evidences including evidence of service on board,

If you meet the other qualifications herein, you do NOT need physical presence or residence in the United States

-----

It looks like you won't have a problem being away for long periods, but you may have a problem depending on whether your vessel is considered an American or a European ship.

Edited June 5, 2014 by JimmyHou

[christeen 966]

Ok... So your IMO is from Romania... Do you sign on using your C1/D ? Or as an LPR? I assume the ship is not registered in USA (usually Bahamas, panama or Malta) so above exceptions do not count...

My husband has been working on ships for like... Forever... So we had to go through some of this... Unfortunatly, you can have your cake and eat it too... Meaning, you can't be considered all foreign, working and earning tax free AND as a resident towards naturalization at the same time... Something's gotta give. I will detail the issues below...

So regarding the taxation... As an LPR, you have to file.. You wife can file married jointly, you can file the I2555 which exempts foreign earned income... However, to do this, you would have to say you are not physically in the USA and live outside.... Problem... This effects your physical presence and LPR status ... So your choice is... You will have to either declare your income as a LpR and pay the taxes, OR not pay taxes on it but lose the ability to count physical presence towards naturalization (I am assuming that Romania works similar to Italy in that they are not taxing you on the income since you work outside Romania which is why you get paid in Netherlands) ...

Now if you opt to pay taxes, where you can then have a USA account then you need to keep records of time in country... It will have an effect as when the 3 year mark comes up, you will not have the necessary time in country.. You ability to naturalize will be delayed... You have to be physically present in the USA at least 50% of the time which you will not be able to accomplish on a 4/2 contract... Now on the 3/3 contracts, you might be able to squeak by...

To let you know... We kept my husband for the first 7 years of our marriage without any GC.. He worked on his c1/d on 4/2 contracts and would come visit on the VWP (used to sign off in foreign port then fly in at end of contract).. His company gave a lot of issue to hire him as LPr because of taxation. By not getting him GC, I filed married filing seperate, his income was not taxed (italian laws he worked in estero so not required there) and since he had no legal status here, not required for taxes here... Eventually, he got offered a position on land here in the USA, so we filed for the GC, then 3 years later, he got citizenship...

What I am saying is that you have to make choices, you can't be present in the USA enough to qualify for LPr and citizenship at the same time as being not present enough to have to pay taxes... One or the other... Sorry...

[mrmct 0]

Ok... So your IMO is from Romania... Do you sign on using your C1/D ? Or as an LPR? I assume the ship is not registered in USA (usually Bahamas, panama or Malta) so above exceptions do not count...

IMO is from Romania. I don't even need to sign on using C1/D as the ships never call a port in USA.

So your choice is... You will have to either declare your income as a LpR and pay the taxes.

The thing is, I already pay taxes for my wage in the country where I have my work contract registered (Netherlands). Paying taxes twice is not something that I can agree on.

OR not pay taxes on it but lose the ability to count physical presence towards naturalization

Not paying taxes will affect my physical presence ? What if I would have stayed permanently in the US and couldn't find a job for 3 years in a row ?

You have to be physically present in the USA at least 50% of the time which you will not be able to accomplish on a 4/2 contract... Now on the 3/3 contracts, you might be able to squeak by...

In the end maybe I can afford the "luxury" of staying up to 6 months at home (in the US). It seems I will have to make a difficult decision soon enough or find a better contract/rotation somehow.

Thank you.

[Rip_curl 4]

You are not going to pay tax twice. I have many friends who work overseas and are US citizens but still file taxed as they are suppose to. Everyone who is working in US, PR or citizen must file for US tax return. If you do file taxes in another country, you will have to include those when you file US tax returns and they won't charge you double as you already paid. I suggest you hire a really good accountant that deals with these issues. Over 90% of tax accountants in US won't have a clue what to do. As I mentioned in my previous thread you cannot file for NR1040 which means you cannot claim yourself as non-resident. Only US citizens can do that and you have to live over 330 days outside US to qualify for that.

I am not an expert in the situation that you are in but have good knowledge of situation where people have overseas income as stated above. In the mean time I would also suggest consulting a really good immigration attorney to ensure that you get good advice. Based on that you can plan your way forward. Although many on this forum will give you good advice NONE is expert. Honestly your case is bit complicated in the current situation and you need proper guidance.

As you mentioned if you could find a better rotation or at least ensure that you are in US half the year and don't have 6 months away from home at a time then you will be fine. The good thing is that you only have to wait for 3 years not 5 like many of us.