[my experience] conditional GC holder 11 months outside American reentering

[PaoloItaly 4]

 

I just wanna share my experience because I have been doing a lot of researches on the last 10 months and I always read stuff like "you cannot leave the US for more than 6 months without a reentry permit", etc. Unfortunately there are not a lot of information available about that ( there are information-- but I could not find people sharing their experiences -- so Im gonna share my case )

 

Here is my experience ( Im not advising anyone to do that - Just wanna share )

 

I left the United States 11 months ago without a reentry permit,  I did not know how long I would stay outside the country but I knew would be for at least a few months.

 

So I landed in US ( Miami, Florida ) YESTERDAY  ( I had proof of all my ties to the US, all my medical records from my medical treatment overseas ) and I knew I would probably encounter some aggressive questions from CBP or even "lose" my green card //or  be sent to a Immigration judge.... 

 

CBP: 

- Good morning!

- Good morning!

- How long did you stay outside the US?

- 11 months.

- Why?

- I was doing a medical treatment in my country.

- What type of medical treatment??

- Mental health, depression, I was supposed to be here last month, but with coronavirus....

 

( he was about to STAMP my passport...but then....silent....typing his computer for like 1 minute )

 

- ok, You are all set!

- Thank you!

 

( again - Im just showing what happened to me, not advising anyone to do that ). he did not ask me any proof of anything. Im a conditional green card holder.

This stay will most likely affect my citizenship plans. So AGAIN, just showing u guys what happened to me.

 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 39,218]

5 minutes ago, PaoloItaly said:

I always read stuff like "you cannot leave the US for more than 6 months without a reentry permit",

That is a common misconception.....based on hearsay.....not facts..... Thanks for sharing.

[geowrian 22,335]

The 1 year point is when there is a presumption of abandoning residence, not 6 months.

Making a habit of being outside the US more than inside it can also raise the same concern.

A single < 12 month trip abroad may or may not raise questions, but generally I would expect one to be admitted in the end.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

Outstanding 

 

We earned a nasty note in the passport “out 11 months” but he waved us thru

 

Next trip out and back in no issue

[PaoloItaly 4]

14 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

Outstanding 

 

We earned a nasty note in the passport “out 11 months” but he waved us thru

 

Next trip out and back in no issue

did u leave again after the 11 month trip??? how long did you stay outside???

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 4/23/2020 at 1:34 PM, PaoloItaly said:

did u leave again after the 11 month trip??? how long did you stay outside???

Lemme see - Jan ‘09-Dec ‘09 out, Jan /10-May or June/10 out
 

We were in the US like 3 weeks, left again, came back like 4-5 months later

[fs2439 46]

If you leave for 11 months, does the clock to citizenship stop while you're away, or does it start from scratch when you return? Or what triggers the click stopping?

[PaoloItaly 4]

7 hours ago, fs2439 said:

If you leave for 11 months, does the clock to citizenship stop while you're away, or does it start from scratch when you return? Or what triggers the click stopping?

USCIS says 12 months. as longs as you can prove that your immediate family is in the US and that you have access to your house, etc in the USA

but I think that depends on the officer that is interviewing you for Citizenship.....I 've read some cases about people who had few 5-months stay and the offices did not grant them citizenship

 

maybe @geowrian @Lucky Cat can answer that!!??

[geowrian 22,335]

11 hours ago, fs2439 said:

If you leave for 11 months, does the clock to citizenship stop while you're away, or does it start from scratch when you return? Or what triggers the click stopping?

There's 2 relevant naturalization requirements that trips abroad impact:

1) Physical presence

2) Continuous residency

 

For #1, this is a strict "are you considered within the US or not" for x days during the 3/5 year period.

 

For #2, this is more of a judgement call. Time over 12 months is a mandatory break (barring a rare exception). Time between 6-12 months is presumed to be a break. The IO makes a judgement call. With 11 months abroad, I would tend to expect that the presumption will hold except in unusual circumstances. The burden is on the applicant to show that they overcome that presumption of a break.

Once continuous residency is broken, the clock restarts upon the date of returning to the US.

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3

 

Edit: Trips < 6 months are still a judgement call...a single trip is likely fine, but multiple trips may result in a decision that it was broken.

Edited May 3, 2020 by geowrian

[fs2439 46]

11 minutes ago, geowrian said:

There's 2 relevant naturalization requirements that trips abroad impact:

1) Physical presence

2) Continuous residency

 

For #1, this is a strict "are you considered within the US or not" for x days during the 3/5 year period.

 

For #2, this is more of a judgement call. Time over 12 months is a mandatory break (barring a rare exception). Time between 6-12 months is presumed to be a break. The IO makes a judgement call. With 11 months abroad, I would tend to expect that the presumption will hold except in unusual circumstances. The burden is on the applicant to show that they overcome that presumption of a break.

Once continuous residency is broken, the clock restarts upon the date of returning to the US.

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3

 

Edit: Trips < 6 months are still a judgement call...a single trip is likely fine, but multiple trips may result in a decision that it was broken.

Thank you, so if this happens in the third year, do you start counting from scratch, or would the time abroad be suspended? Thanks

[geowrian 22,335]

3 minutes ago, fs2439 said:

Thank you, so if this happens in the third year, do you start counting from scratch, or would the time abroad be suspended? Thanks

It would start over from the day you return to the US after the break. It's a reset, not a suspend.

[fs2439 46]

Ok, thank you

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

On 4/20/2020 at 7:22 AM, PaoloItaly said:

 

I just wanna share my experience because I have been doing a lot of researches on the last 10 months and I always read stuff like "you cannot leave the US for more than 6 months without a reentry permit", etc. Unfortunately there are not a lot of information available about that ( there are information-- but I could not find people sharing their experiences -- so Im gonna share my case )

 

Here is my experience ( Im not advising anyone to do that - Just wanna share )

 

I left the United States 11 months ago without a reentry permit,  I did not know how long I would stay outside the country but I knew would be for at least a few months.

 

So I landed in US ( Miami, Florida ) YESTERDAY  ( I had proof of all my ties to the US, all my medical records from my medical treatment overseas ) and I knew I would probably encounter some aggressive questions from CBP or even "lose" my green card //or  be sent to a Immigration judge.... 

 

CBP: 

- Good morning!

- Good morning!

- How long did you stay outside the US?

- 11 months.

- Why?

- I was doing a medical treatment in my country.

- What type of medical treatment??

- Mental health, depression, I was supposed to be here last month, but with coronavirus....

 

( he was about to STAMP my passport...but then....silent....typing his computer for like 1 minute )

 

- ok, You are all set!

- Thank you!

 

( again - Im just showing what happened to me, not advising anyone to do that ). he did not ask me any proof of anything. Im a conditional green card holder.

This stay will most likely affect my citizenship plans. So AGAIN, just showing u guys what happened to me.

 

 

 

I wish more people would post experiences like this, I get so annoyed with all the false information about 6 months = losing green card. 
It would also help if people actually just paid attention to uscis information! 
 

my family got about one more question than you after an 11 month absence, our impression was basically one long absence is ok as long as the CBP Officer is happy that you’re coming back for good and not just trying to touch down to keep your green card.