Continuous Residency Requirements For Work Trip Under 6 Months. Am I eligible to apply?

[dee&vee 79]

Hey everyone,

 

Does anyone know if working in Canada for couple months break continuous residency requirements? I used to live in Canada till May 2015. In may 2015 I went through POE to endorse my CR1 visa and came back to Canada for about 7 weeks before permanently moving to USA in July 2015. I continued my Canadian Job during that 7 weeks, and reported my 2015 Canadian income as foreign income on my US 2015 taxes. My green card says resident since May 2015 and I filed both my US and Canadian taxes as a US resident since May 2015.

 

Since I am married to US citizen, am I eligible to apply in Feb 2018 with 3 years-90 days rule? Or does working in Canada for 7 weeks after my POE break my continuous residency?

Edited February 20, 2018 by dee&vee
typo

[TNJ17 1,329]

It’s 3 years from the issues date on the green card. It has nothing to do with work. 

[afrocraft 314]

6 hours ago, TNJ17 said:

It’s 3 years from the issues date on the green card. It has nothing to do with work. 

Yeah, you can turn in an application by this time, but your work outside the US may be scrutinized to see if it broke continuity of residence. The short duration is a plus for you, but if you filed US taxes claiming to be non-resident, that could be a deal breaker.

[dee&vee 79]

On 2/20/2018 at 6:23 PM, TNJ17 said:

It’s 3 years from the issues date on the green card. It has nothing to do with work. 

Ok great! Thanks

 

17 hours ago, afrocraft said:

Yeah, you can turn in an application by this time, but your work outside the US may be scrutinized to see if it broke continuity of residence. The short duration is a plus for you, but if you filed US taxes claiming to be non-resident, that could be a deal breaker.

Thanks, I filed my US taxes as a US resident and claimed Canadian income as a foreign earned income. So at least if I get asked about being out of US for 7 weeks, I can prove my residency using my taxes filed as a US resident. 

[afrocraft 314]

1 hour ago, dee&vee said:

Ok great! Thanks

 

Thanks, I filed my US taxes as a US resident and claimed Canadian income as a foreign earned income. So at least if I get asked about being out of US for 7 weeks, I can prove my residency using my taxes filed as a US resident. 

Hmmm... Claiming a foreign earned income exclusion, if that's what you did, might be a red flag, indeed fatal to your claim of eligibility for naturalization at this time. I'm concerned that in order to claim that exclusion for such a short period, you may have asserted to the IRS that you are a bona fide resident of Canada, not of the US. A diligent immigration services officer could use that as evidence that you've broken continuity of residence.

[dee&vee 79]

2 hours ago, afrocraft said:

Hmmm... Claiming a foreign earned income exclusion, if that's what you did, might be a red flag, indeed fatal to your claim of eligibility for naturalization at this time. I'm concerned that in order to claim that exclusion for such a short period, you may have asserted to the IRS that you are a bona fide resident of Canada, not of the US. A diligent immigration services officer could use that as evidence that you've broken continuity of residence.

I am not sure how claiming my Canadian income as foreign earned income can count me as non US resident? I immigrated from Canada to US in May 2015. So right procedure for taxes is to file 2015 taxes as a US RESIDENT and claim Canadian income from period before I moved to US as a foreign earned income. Wouldn’t that apply to case of any immigrant that moved to US in the middle of the year? 

[afrocraft 314]

4 hours ago, dee&vee said:

I am not sure how claiming my Canadian income as foreign earned income can count me as non US resident? I immigrated from Canada to US in May 2015. So right procedure for taxes is to file 2015 taxes as a US RESIDENT and claim Canadian income from period before I moved to US as a foreign earned income. Wouldn’t that apply to case of any immigrant that moved to US in the middle of the year? 

OK, if it only applied to that first year you became a resident, then you should be fine. Some people continue to work overseas during their US residency, and claim foreign earned income exclusion.