Prior to citizenship how long can a GC holder remain out of country

[miker32us 6]

My wife has her 2 year GC and we will apply to have the conditions removed in January 2009. We plan to go back to Taiwan periodically over the next 2 years but do not know how long we will remain out of the US. We are wondering if my wife is considered to have abandoned her residency if she stays out of country for more than 6 months even though she has a green card. If so, can we fly to Guam from Taiwan to get the entry stamp or do we have to fly to Hawaii or the mainland.

[YuAndDan 153]

A maximum of 6 months in any 12 month period, and must be resident 18 months if continuously married to a US citizen. Going over the 6 months will result in the citizenship clock getting reset.

You can read all about this in the naturalization guide.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf

[lucyrich 20]

There are two separate issues to be concerned about. One is abandonment of status, and the other is eligibility for citizenship.

If she leaves for 6 months, that resets her citizenship clock, and has to begin the three year wait all over, even if it's clear she hasn't abandoned status.

If, during the 3 years prior to applying for citizenship, she has spent more than 18 months total outside the US, she's not eligible to file.

As for abandoning status, she could theoretically be judged to have abandoned status by moving away for a week, if it's clear that she's made her main residence outside the US. I'm not saying that's likely, of course. There's no 100% safe time limit, but as a practical matter, if it's been less than 6 months, and if she's spending more than half her time in the US, and if she's maintaining a place to live in the US, she's unlikely to be considered to have abandoned status.

After a year outside the US, she needs a reentry permit. After two years outside the US, she needs a returning resident visa.

From the USCIS site, in the "Now That You Are A Permanent Resident" page:

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.

* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.

* Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.

[warlord 73]

There are two separate issues to be concerned about. One is abandonment of status, and the other is eligibility for citizenship.

If she leaves for 6 months, that resets her citizenship clock, and has to begin the three year wait all over, even if it's clear she hasn't abandoned status.

If, during the 3 years prior to applying for citizenship, she has spent more than 18 months total outside the US, she's not eligible to file.

As for abandoning status, she could theoretically be judged to have abandoned status by moving away for a week, if it's clear that she's made her main residence outside the US. I'm not saying that's likely, of course. There's no 100% safe time limit, but as a practical matter, if it's been less than 6 months, and if she's spending more than half her time in the US, and if she's maintaining a place to live in the US, she's unlikely to be considered to have abandoned status.

After a year outside the US, she needs a reentry permit. After two years outside the US, she needs a returning resident visa.

From the USCIS site, in the "Now That You Are A Permanent Resident" page:

Yep the abandonment thing is what pops up to me first with this situation. You will still need to maintain US residency or if you are a citizen already, then you probably need to file for a N-470 which then might be able to preserve her status. In the latter case if you are the US citizen then the N-470 could preserve her GC and possibly her residency status as well. You need to look into that otherwise problems could occur down the road...