5 years continuous resident but then left US for more than 6 months

[healthteacher 18]

Hello. My wife has been a continuous permanent resident for 4 and a half years, but we are planning to leave the US for a period of more than 6 months (but less than one year) to stay in her home country.

Will this break the continuity of her residency required for applying for US citizenship? Does it "reset" the time required for applying for citizenship?

Also, how is the 6 months of time outside the US calculated for permanent residents, is it 6 continuous months or 6 months in a one year period? For example. if a LPR left the US for 5 months,returned to US for 4 months then left US again for another 4-6 months?

Would her getting an i-131 permission to travel document and staying outside us for the up to 2 years affect the physical and continuous presence requirements for a future application for citizenship?

Thanks!

 

[KazuriSana 324]

Find your answers HERE.

 

1. Absence of More than Six Months (but Less than One Year)

An absence of more than six months [more than 181 days but less than one year (less than 365 days)] during the period for which continuous residence is required is presumed to break the continuity of such residence. This includes any absence that takes place prior to filing the naturalization application or between filing and the applicant’s admission to citizenship. ^[11] 

 

An applicant’s intent is not relevant in determining the location of his or her residence. The period of absence from the United States is the defining factor in determining whether the applicant is presumed to have disrupted his or her residence. 

 

An applicant may overcome the presumption of loss of his or her continuity of residence by providing evidence to establish that the applicant did not disrupt his or her residence. The evidence may include, but is not limited to, documentation that during the absence: ^[12] 

 

• The applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States or obtain employment while abroad.
• The applicant’s immediate family remained in the United States.
• The applicant retained full access to his or her United States abode.

[Alabamak1 688]

8 minutes ago, healthteacher said:

Hello. My wife has been a continuous permanent resident for 4 and a half years, but we are planning to leave the US for a period of more than 6 months (but less than one year) to stay in her home country.

Will this break the continuity of her residency required for applying for US citizenship? Does it "reset" the time required for applying for citizenship?

Also, how is the 6 months of time outside the US calculated for permanent residents, is it 6 continuous months or 6 months in a one year period? For example. if a LPR left the US for 5 months,returned to US for 4 months then left US again for another 4-6 months?

Would her getting an i-131 permission to travel document and staying outside us for the up to 2 years affect the physical and continuous presence requirements for a future application for citizenship?

Thanks!

 

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/continuous-residence-and-physical-presence-requirements-naturalization

[healthteacher 18]

OK we went over all the dates of travel in my wife's passport.

She received her green card on July 1, 2014

She has been physically present in the united states for a total of 33 months since then.

When would be the earliest she can apply for citizenship based on her own record (not for being a spouse)?

Since she now has the required 30 months of physical presence in the US, can she apply at this time, or would she still have to wait until 90 days of her 5 year mark (July 2019) to apply?

[Sukie 1,464]

Healthteacher, I was wondering why she was not just going to apply for citizenship based on being your spouse.  She would be eligible to do that now, but then it would probably be best to wait until she got through the process (6 to 14 months) to travel.

 

Otherwise, to apply on the basis of her physical presence, she would need to wait until around April 2019 to apply.

 

How long have you been married?  Is your three-year anniversary coming soon?  Is she from a country that will allow her to have more than one passport?

 

Sukie in NY (but from Birmingham originally)

Edited July 1, 2018 by Sukie
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[little immigrant 801]

Why not apply under the 3 year rule (preferably online), wait until she has the US passport and then plan the trip? Just curious. 

[healthteacher 18]

She is still not quite up to snuff on her english, i think. She probably could use a little more practice time to be sure she can pass.

If she got an I-131 travel permit, and stayed out of the US for say 18 mos, would that much time away still affect her eligibility to apply for citizenship when we return to US?

 

[Going through 5,671]

24 minutes ago, healthteacher said:

She is still not quite up to snuff on her english, i think. She probably could use a little more practice time to be sure she can pass.

If she got an I-131 travel permit, and stayed out of the US for say 18 mos, would that much time away still affect her eligibility to apply for citizenship when we return to US?

 

If you're concerned about her English skills, sign her up for some (often times free) ESL classes.  You can find many free classes at local libraries, community centers, churches, etc.

 

Frankly, it's  better she applies now, since she is eligible now, and you postpone your travel plans until after she's acquired citizenship.  Then she can come and go as she pleases and not have to worry about re-entry at the border since it would be a guarantee for her as a US citizen.

 

Yes, staying outside of the US for 18 months straight will affect her eligibility to apply based on the continuous residency requirement, unless she has strong evidence to prove she maintained her residency in the States during her 18 month trip abroad.   You and any children being with her abroad for the entire 18 months can further raise an IO's assumption of broken continuous residency.

Edited July 1, 2018 by Going through

[healthteacher 18]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes she has been taking english classes but still doesnt have the fluency levels to pass a citizenship exam, in my opinion. 

Since she has plenty of ties in the US like bank accounts, credit cards, property and of course myself as an immediate family member, I don't see how abandonment would be an issue, but it would be nice to know for sure.

So are you saying as long as she has sufficient ties to US, staying outside of the country over a year with a i-131 travel permit should be OK?

[healthteacher 18]

2 hours ago, Going through said:

If you're concerned about her English skills, sign her up for some (often times free) ESL classes.  You can find many free classes at local libraries, community centers, churches, etc.

 

Frankly, it's  better she applies now, since she is eligible now, and you postpone your travel plans until after she's acquired citizenship.  Then she can come and go as she pleases and not have to worry about re-entry at the border since it would be a guarantee for her as a US citizen.

 

Yes, staying outside of the US for 18 months straight will affect her eligibility to apply based on the continuous residency requirement, unless she has strong evidence to prove she maintained her residency in the States during her 18 month trip abroad.   You and any children being with her abroad for the entire 18 months can further raise an IO's assumption of broken continuous residency.

Would it be best to keep any trips outside US under a year and forget about getting an i-131 travel permit?

[little immigrant 801]

I would have her look at this:

https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/study-test

 

The sooner she starts studying for the test the better. I still would push for application under the three year rule. With practice and determination it can be done. This way you'd have peace of mind about traveling afterwards. 

[Going through 5,671]

2 hours ago, healthteacher said:

Would it be best to keep any trips outside US under a year and forget about getting an i-131 travel permit?

Even shorter and frequent trips abroad can result in hardship at the border for LPRs, depending upon how stringent the POE officer wants to be.

 

I was put into secondary (when I was still a LPR) after being outside of the US for only 2 months, once.  Officer was questioning not only the length of my trip to my home country, but also why I appeared to be travelling so frequently over a span of a few years.

 

Shorter trips are always better, yes, but you also have to watch how *frequently* those shorter trips occur.  POE is very determined (and rightfully so) to not allow GC holders to use their status as a sort of "glorified tourist visa".

 

 

[Coco8 1,042]

6 hours ago, healthteacher said:

She is still not quite up to snuff on her english, i think.

 

 

Make sure to go through the exam. Her English doesn't have to be perfect. 

 

Maybe set up a system in which she has to practice every day and start studying for the exam now? She can practice with you at home 

[Daisy.Chain 317]

If she applies for citizenship now based on her 3 year marriage to you, she will still have several months to practice English before taking the English exam.

[geowrian 22,337]

9 hours ago, healthteacher said:

Since she has plenty of ties in the US like bank accounts, credit cards, property and of course myself as an immediate family member, I don't see how abandonment would be an issue, but it would be nice to know for sure.

So are you saying as long as she has sufficient ties to US, staying outside of the country over a year with a i-131 travel permit should be OK?

There is no way for sure until you try. That said, you're confusing 2 separate issues:

 

1) Abandonment of permanent residency. A re-entry permit generally allows an LPR to be abroad for up to the 2 years the re-entry permit is valid. CBP could still determine otherwise and refer the case to an immigration judge to revoke LPR status if there is reason to believe she intended to abandon permanent residency.

 

2) Continuous residence. One can break the continuous residence requirement for naturalization and still be admitted into the US. BlessedAssurance posted the rules for this above.