Studying abroad for 2 years as an LPR and preserving continuous residency

[Minimo 1]

Greetings,

 

I plan to study abroad in Europe for 1-2 years to obtain a master's degree. I want to preserve my continuous residency, so that I may apply for naturalization by the time I am done with my master's, and I reach my 5 year mark as an LPR. I am not an European national. I have lived in the US for 3 years already as an LPR. I will have immediate family members (my mother) living in my home in the US, to which I will return before every 6 months, at the end of every semester. I will preserve my US employment, and work remotely while abroad, pay taxes as a US resident, and preserve my US address as my domicile. I will carry documentation (US ID, bank statements, student enrollment abroad) with me at all times when I exit and leave the US, and carry this to my naturalization interview as well.

 

Are there any other obstacles that I would face doing this? Would this plan work? If not, what would I need to do differently to be able to apply for naturalization by 2021?

 

Thank you

 

 

[aleful 1,905]

Spoiler

 

hi

 

not possible, you must live here as a LPR, you will have problemas if you live abroad and come here for a few days every 6 months. you will need to file a reentry permit, you can live abroad up to 2 years without loosing your residency

 

you have to file the i131 before you leave, since you will have to take the biometrics, you can return and renew it for another 2 years if needed.

 

you won't be able to file for naturalization but it will allow you to study abroad. by living 2 years abroad anyway, you wouldn't be able to apply to citizenship anyway

 

 

[Sextus Empiricus 15]

6 hours ago, Minimo said:

Are there any other obstacles that I would face doing this? Would this plan work? If not, what would I need to do differently to be able to apply for naturalization by 2021?

It might work (especially if you limit it to 1 year) depending on the interviewing officer you meet. Some immigration officers interpret the continuous presence requirement for naturalization criteria quite loosely. I would say the probability of success are a little low though. The filing fee for naturalization is not too high. You have fulfilled all the following (although it does not automatically save you from being found to have broken continuous residence)

 

Quote

 

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:

 

• 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.

 

In your case what I would do is apply for the i131 as a precaution/backup and then file for the naturalization when eligible. Worst case in that scenario is you get denied and lose your $720. In my opinion gambling $720 is worth it because otherwise you will have to essentially wait another four years plus one day after your return and reestablish residence before filing

 

[Boiler 43,463]

You need to determine which is most important to you and act accordingly.

[AK_2014 113]

Agree that a one-year program may be easier to pull off than a two-year program.

 

Our experience, for what it's worth: My wife (LPR at the time) accompanied me (USC) abroad during my research year (~11 months), with about three or four trips to the US during that time so she could speak at conferences, etc. She did get a re-entry permit, but did not end up being out of the US for more than 180 days at any one stretch due to her several trips back. We maintained bank accounts, credit cards, a car and both of our full-time student statuses at a US institution (she was also a doctoral student past coursework), but we gave up our apartment in the US. Also, being European, she did not need to apply for any sort of residence permit for the European country in which I was doing research. We didn't know how any of this would fly when her naturalization window opened (the $720 gamble mentioned above!), but in the end all the officer was interested in was that she had been here more than 50% of the time and wasn't away more than 180 days in a single trip.

 

However, as I mentioned, she didn't need to apply for a foreign residence permit/student visa or anything of the sort. You probably do. That changes things in terms of relative ties abroad vs. to the US during that period?

 

If you do study in this program, even if it sets back your eventual naturalization timeline, have a wonderful & fruitful time!

[Minimo 1]

26 minutes ago, AK_2014 said:

Agree that a one-year program may be easier to pull off than a two-year program.

 

Our experience, for what it's worth: My wife (LPR at the time) accompanied me (USC) abroad during my research year (~11 months), with about three or four trips to the US during that time so she could speak at conferences, etc. She did get a re-entry permit, but did not end up being out of the US for more than 180 days at any one stretch due to her several trips back. We maintained bank accounts, credit cards, a car and both of our full-time student statuses at a US institution (she was also a doctoral student past coursework), but we gave up our apartment in the US. Also, being European, she did not need to apply for any sort of residence permit for the European country in which I was doing research. We didn't know how any of this would fly when her naturalization window opened (the $720 gamble mentioned above!), but in the end all the officer was interested in was that she had been here more than 50% of the time and wasn't away more than 180 days in a single trip.

 

However, as I mentioned, she didn't need to apply for a foreign residence permit/student visa or anything of the sort. You probably do. That changes things in terms of relative ties abroad vs. to the US during that period?

 

If you do study in this program, even if it sets back your eventual naturalization timeline, have a wonderful & fruitful time!

Thanks for your reply! What you mention regarding the 50% of the time pertains to the physical presence requirement, which establishes that out of the 5 years, the LPR must have lived physically in the US for at least 2 and half years, while keeping trips under 6 months (continuous residency). This is why I believe that my plan should work.

 

Did the officer say whether the re-entry permit was really needed? I've done a lot of research and met with USCIS at my local office, and they said that I really wouldn't need the re-entry permit, given that I would return at the end of each academic semester (every 4-5 months), and have US ties and the such, and the re-entry permit is only helpful to prevent abandonment, for people that have been out of the country for over a year (continuously).

 

I'd like to continue hearing from people that have been in similar situations, or studied abroad! I believe this case should really be common.

[AK_2014 113]

9 hours ago, Minimo said:

Did the officer say whether the re-entry permit was really needed? I've done a lot of research and met with USCIS at my local office, and they said that I really wouldn't need the re-entry permit, given that I would return at the end of each academic semester (every 4-5 months), and have US ties and the such, and the re-entry permit is only helpful to prevent abandonment, for people that have been out of the country for over a year (continuously).

Honestly, we didn't expect the re-entry permit would be applicable to our situation. And it turns out it wouldn't have been needed. But I've also read enough cases of people not anticipating being away for so long, but then illness or emergency or something strikes and they end up staying away for over a year, bringing all sorts of trouble. For us, it was worth it to have the document "just in case." Of course, at the time, the document was "only" $360, as opposed to the current $575.

[dunebuggy 18]

FWIW we have a conditional GC that expires in Aug 2019. We have been abroad for 11.5 months and have a Reentry Permit that expires also in Aug 2019. We are coming back to the USA in 1 week, port of entry is San Francisco. Will let you know how it goes!

[dunebuggy 18]

As a long overdue update, we passed through SFO immigration in July 2019 without hassle after being outside the country for 360 days straight. We had a Reentry Permit and they advised us to use it also next time, they put a little note in the passport that we had it.