Leaving the US due to work

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

Hello!

I have a quick questions, There is a possibility that I will have to leave the US for 7 months, and will apply for a re-entry permit of course. Do you know if that time outside the states will extend the waiting time to apply for citizenship, or the time frame is not affected whether you stay or not in the US for a long period of time?

Thank you!

[Captain Oates 911]

Hello!

I have a quick questions, There is a possibility that I will have to leave the US for 7 months, and will apply for a re-entry permit of course. Do you know if that time outside the states will extend the waiting time to apply for citizenship, or the time frame is not affected whether you stay or not in the US for a long period of time?

Thank you!

you have to have no absence greater than 6 months AND be out of the US for no more than 50% of the time in the qualifying period.... ( 3 years or 5 years)

Further reading..

http://www.breakthroughusa.co.uk/us-citizenship-from-green-card-to-us-citizenship/

Edited September 9, 2010 by saywhat

[Captain Oates 911]

An absence of more than 6 months is a rebuttable break in residency. In other words you can argue that it didn't break it. If your argument does not stick, you lose your $675 and have to start again some years later

In the case of absences from the United States of six months or less, there is no break in the continuity of residence for naturalization purposes. An absence of more than six months but less than one year raises a rebuttable presumption that the continuity of residence has been broken for naturalization purposes. An absence of one year conclusively breaks the continuity of residence.

http://www.americanlaw.com/citnat.html

ps note that 'for naturalization puposes ' is different to GC continuity

Edited September 9, 2010 by saywhat

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

Let's say that I leave for 3 months and I come back for a month, then I leave again for another 4 months. My permanent address will be in the US all this time.

You know what, I don't need to apply for a re-entry permit, I thought so but as per USCIS.gov:

"A re-entry permit allows a permanent resident or conditional resident to apply for admission to the U.S. upon returning from abroad during the permit's validity, without having to obtain a returning resident visa from a U.S. Embassy or consulate. Permanent or conditional residents should apply for a re-entry permit if they will be outside the United States for one year or more."

I will not be in the US for 9 months tops.

Edited September 9, 2010 by TävôLuDô

[Captain Oates 911]

Let's say that I leave for 3 months and I come back for a month, then I leave again for another 4 months. My permanent address will be in the US all this time.

You know what, I don't need to apply for a re-entry permit, I thought so but as per USCIS.gov:

"A re-entry permit allows a permanent resident or conditional resident to apply for admission to the U.S. upon returning from abroad during the permit's validity, without having to obtain a returning resident visa from a U.S. Embassy or consulate. Permanent or conditional residents should apply for a re-entry permit if they will be outside the United States for one year or more."

I will not be in the US for 9 months tops.

If you keep your absences under 6 months for any ONE absence, you are ok for both the GC and naturalization (no reentry permit or returning resident permit required) - however - if your total absence is more than 50% of the qualifying period, (3 years or 5 years) you will fail due to that.

returning reident is from outside the US after 12 months

Reentry is obtained before you leave

You dont need either if you keep absences under 6 months

Edited September 9, 2010 by saywhat

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

Nice thanks!

[v333k 59]

Hello!

I have a quick questions, There is a possibility that I will have to leave the US for 7 months, and will apply for a re-entry permit of course. Do you know if that time outside the states will extend the waiting time to apply for citizenship, or the time frame is not affected whether you stay or not in the US for a long period of time?

Thank you!

I recommend that you visit for a week or so in those 7 months to keep your trips less than 6 months....

someone more knowledgeable should be able to answer this question...

The only thing other than being out of the US is to keep ties in the US which is also a requirement - bills, loans, taxes, etc...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

At the 6 month mark, your residence clock stops. It starts ticking again exactly where it stopped when you come back. Thus, you lose 1 month.

Not only do you not need a Reentry Permit, it is completely useless for your purposes (and expensive too!). A Reentry Permit is needed by absences from 1 year to 2 years. Everything under 1 year is just a waste of money.

And while we're at it: once you are absent from the US for 1 year, the residency clock, which stopped when you were absent for 6 months, all of the sudden jumps back to zero, meaning the moment you come back, it's like your first day or residency.

[Captain Oates 911]

At the 6 month mark, your residence clock stops. It starts ticking again exactly where it stopped when you come back. Thus, you lose 1 month.

Not only do you not need a Reentry Permit, it is completely useless for your purposes (and expensive too!). A Reentry Permit is needed by absences from 1 year to 2 years. Everything under 1 year is just a waste of money.

And while we're at it: once you are absent from the US for 1 year, the residency clock, which stopped when you were absent for 6 months, all of the sudden jumps back to zero, meaning the moment you come back, it's like your first day or residency.

Bob would you expand on that 7 month absence ? As I read it, a trip of more than 6 months in the qualifying period (3 years or 5 years), means that one is not qualified to file the n-400 (rebuttable). Are you referring only to notching up the qualifying period and not the 6 months+ disqualifier ? ie even if a seven month absence only knocks out 1 month from accruing the qualifying period, the person is still over 6 months on the absence and therefore not qualified to file if the 6 months+ is inside the qualifying period and they can't rebutt the 7 month trip?

[Captain Oates 911]

Bit more .. it seems to hang on whether the continuity has been broken - so a 7 month absence may not break continuity if the USCIS accepts a rebuttal..

Being allowed back in does not mean that the 7 months is accepted as not breaking continuous residency without an accepted excuse

That's how I read it.

http://www.hooyou.com/naturalization/requirements.html

A prolonged absence from the U.S. will break the continuity of the alien's residence in the U.S. for naturalization purposes, although it may not affect the alien's ability to return to the U.S. as a permanent resident. An absence from the U.S. of less than six months does not break the alien's continuity of residence in the U.S. for naturalization purposes. However, an alien's absence from the U.S. of six months or more breaks an alien's continuity of residence. If the break is from six months to one year, the break can be excused if a reasonable explanation can be given for the alien's absence (e.g. overseas employment). If the break is over a year, an alien's continuity of residence can be preserved, and the break can be excused, if steps are taken prior to the expiration of a year abroad to preserve the residence and certain qualifications are met. (Please click here for information regarding qualifications and steps an alien has to take to be eligible for waiver of continuous residence requirement based on extended absences)

An alien applying for naturalization must physically reside in the U.S. for one half the period of continuous residence required within the period required for continuous residence. For aliens who are married to a U.S. citizen, the alien must have been physically present in the United States accumulatively for eighteen months within three years prior to the date of filing the application. For aliens not married to a U.S. citizen, the alien must have been physically present in the United States accumulatively for thirty months within five years prior to the date of filing the naturalization application. This requirement is cumulative but not continuous. An alien can leave and come back to the United States within the three or five years as much as he wants as long as he does not break continuity of residence, and as long as his total time spent in the United States adds up to eighteen or thirty months.

Residence is required for three months immediately preceding the filing of the naturalization application in the state in which the petition is filed. This requirement is met simultaneously with the continuous residency requirement. Continuous residence in the U.S. is also required from the date of filing until actual admission to citizenship.

Edited September 9, 2010 by saywhat

[jwbthailand 0]

The section at the end of this guide is what is confussing it was revized on 08/10 yet the last section hasn't changed since 2006!

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizenship/Citizenship%20Resource%20Center%20Site/Publications/PDFs/M-476.pdf

I'm reffering to the "Naturalization Eligibility Worksheet and the attachments"!

Edited September 12, 2010 by jwbthailand