Reentry permit and N400

[jimbrackets 2]

Hello,

I got a a reentry permit but returned to the US within 200 days or so. I once spoke to a lawyer who suggested to me that this reentry permit would actually indicated to USCIS that I had interrupted my residence or that it might render me ineligible altogether. However, I have not been able to confirm this anywhere else online since then.

 

Does anybody have more information about this?

[Nitas_man 3,100]

25 minutes ago, jimbrackets said:

Hello,

I got a a reentry permit but returned to the US within 200 days or so. I once spoke to a lawyer who suggested to me that this reentry permit would actually indicated to USCIS that I had interrupted my residence or that it might render me ineligible altogether. However, I have not been able to confirm this anywhere else online since then.

 

Does anybody have more information about this?

Depends on why you left and what you were doing

[Lil bear 3,830]

36 minutes ago, jimbrackets said:

Hello,

I got a a reentry permit but returned to the US within 200 days or so. I once spoke to a lawyer who suggested to me that this reentry permit would actually indicated to USCIS that I had interrupted my residence or that it might render me ineligible altogether. However, I have not been able to confirm this anywhere else online since then.

 

Does anybody have more information about this?

A trip out of the US of over 180 days disrupts the “ continuous presence” requirement for naturalisation. The reentry permit does not stop that from happening. It is designed to ensure you do not lose residency status because of a stay over 12 months .. a different purpose to the continuous residency issue. You may need to delay the application for naturalisation until you meet the continuous residency Requirement following your absence of over 180 days.  

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 hour ago, Nitas_man said:

Depends on why you left and what you were doing

The reason why the OP left the US and what the OP was doing has nothing to do with citizenship.  It's a matter of if the OP disrupted continuous residency by staying out more than 180 days.  The law doesn't care why OP left or what OP was doing.  

[ThaOne 101]

3 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

The reason why the OP left the US and what the OP was doing has nothing to do with citizenship.  It's a matter of if the OP disrupted continuous residency by staying out more than 180 days.  The law doesn't care why OP left or what OP was doing.  

What if he left for research abroad or something like that? Wouldn't "the law care why the OP left and what the OP was doing"? 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

3 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

The reason why the OP left the US and what the OP was doing has nothing to do with citizenship.  It's a matter of if the OP disrupted continuous residency by staying out more than 180 days.  The law doesn't care why OP left or what OP was doing.  

You are correct for absences greater than a year, as we did.  The 180-365 day absences are usually but not automatically considered a break in residence.  

 

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

 

Please read the part about absences less than a year.

 

So:  If the OP’s US employer sent him to sunny Siberia on a job, OP worked there 200 days, and returned to OP’s home in the US the OP would have a really good framework of a case for a rebuttal.  
 

Other absences specifically apply.  Since OP did not provide any details about absence there is not enough information here to say one way or another.

 

 

 

 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

*redacted* and replaced with whats up with that e-tone? LOL

Edited October 11, 2020 by Nitas_man

[jimbrackets 2]

The absence was for temporary one year post abroad (200 days). The nature of my career (academic) is that international moves are frequently required. Not for US company unfortunately. However I maintained my apartment, bank accounts,  taxes, family connections, student status  etc. in the US and have now been situated here since that time. This gives me reason to think I can make the case.

 

During that same year, however, I was travelling a lot having just received my green card after waiting around so long for it to arrive. Although these trips never amounted to more than 180 days my total residence for that year is patchy. This was mostly tourism and research, however, so it's not as if I was maintaining residency in another specific country – which is what the law appears to target in spirit.

 

What's frustrating is that I spent six continuous years residing in the US as student prior to all this, but that doesn't acount as "official" in the eyes of USCIS.

 

My thinking is that I need a lawyer consultation to evalute the details of my case. Worst scenario, I'll be reapply for reetnry permit and deal with N400 another time.

Edited October 11, 2020 by jimbrackets

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

2 hours ago, jimbrackets said:

. This was mostly tourism and research, however, so it's not as if I was maintaining residency in another specific country – which is what the law appears to target in spirit.

 

 

Its not quite that simple, and “targeting in spirit” is explicitly not something uscis will do. From the manual, a link you have been provided before, 

An applicant’s intent is not relevant in determining the location of his or her residence. The length of the period of absence from the United States is the defining factor in determining whether the applicant is presumed to have disrupted the continuity of his or her residence.
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3
 

The manual also guides you as to what evidence you can show to try prove  you have not broken residence, again I believe this has been discussed with you before. A re-entry permit has no bearing on any of this (unless what the lawyer you mention in OP may have been implying is that a re-entry permit would indicate that you were indeed planning on being out of the US long enough to properly break continuous residence - this is not something I’ve ever seen used as an argument though.) 

[jimbrackets 2]

You keep referring to the manual like I'm some of child but it has NO information about the practicalities of this highly-ambiguous 6-12 month period. It gives three bullet points on the kind of documents you could theoretically apply but actual cases are where the rubber hits the road. And so far nobody has posted with experiences about that, with reports about how difficult/easy it is.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

58 minutes ago, jimbrackets said:

You keep referring to the manual like I'm some of child but it has NO information about the practicalities of this highly-ambiguous 6-12 month period. It gives three bullet points on the kind of documents you could theoretically apply but actual cases are where the rubber hits the road. And so far nobody has posted with experiences about that, with reports about how difficult/easy it is.

It says period of absence matters not intent, to directly address your statement. 

 

There are certainly reports out there on doing this - are you saying “nobody has posted” because no one has come forth to answer your specific other thread with their own experiences, or have you searched the forums for people who have posted their experiences in the past? Because I’ve definitely seen posts on this. You do realize that the vast majority of posters don’t bother coming back onto forums once their own journey is over, so expecting a bunch of people to answer your post with their own experience is quite optimistic? 
 

Anyway -you seem to be looking for some kind of certainty in a situation where there isn’t any. I don’t agree that it is as “highly ambiguous” as you state, but just as in certain public charge cases it is dependent on individual circumstances and the evidence presented so no, there is no checklist that will guarantee you anything. If you want absolute certainty you will need to wait till your reset period after broken residence meets the requirements.

Edited October 12, 2020 by SusieQQQ