Daughter with green card studying abroad

[Harsh_77 718]

I am not making up any rule…. wish I could 

I would guess any schooling would take 3-4 years in normal course like graduate, masters etc and each semester would be 4-5 months long, so assuming 2 months of vacation time in between semester.

So for any student they stay out of US for roughly 8-10 months in a year and visiting US in between for vacation, thus getting each entry and exit stamp.

In your case your son continues to use your address as his perm address in US and thus claiming to be present in the country, having a DL does not constitute one is resident of US.

Maybe immigration is not very fussy when it comes to student with residency length, but all I was saying was if you have a officer who wants to create issue they could.

BOB- Has said the same thing if you look at his post.

Having the financial aide in Russia or Ukraine is not an issue as its upto that govt how to give out that money.

[rika60607 215]

And I wonder if you are testing how quickly people will catch up or if you are in for a disappointment...

(1) 3 year rule applies to USC spouses only, yes or no?

(2) Physical presence requirement of naturalization calls for 1/2 of 3 year or 5 year physical presence, which your son will not be able to accumulate?

However if you legally adopted him before he turned 18, then it could be a different story entirely...

And?

[payxibka 10,045]

Where do you see this exception for student.

Dont make up the exception at your will..... I am just saying what the rules state.

Its upto the officer at boreder to let someone in US or not, when they are not maintaing residence in US as their primary residence.

I am guilty of supporting a proven valid excuse for not being present in the country..

you are guilty of fear mongering

my apologies to the group

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary,

Once he files his N-400, the nights he slept in the US versus in the former Russian Empire since becoming a resident of the US will count. I understand where you're coming from and I also understand that you did your homework, but I have yet to hear from somebody living in a foreign country for almost the entire time of his residency and getting away with it all the way to the end.

Have you heard of a student K-2 being denied for being a student while maintaining all requirements for residency?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Where do you see this exception for student.

Dont make up the exception at your will..... I am just saying what the rules state.

Its upto the officer at boreder to let someone in US or not, when they are not maintaing residence in US as their primary residence.

The rules state that an absence of more than 6 months and less than 12 months MAY disqualify you for the "continous permanent residency. The folks I have worked with at USCIS since before Sergey was issued his visa and the same folks that helped to expedite his green card so that he had his green card in his hand in 7 weeks so that he could arrive, file and receive his green card before returning to Russia for school Just in case there was any hold up, they issued him an "emergency" AP which we had in our hands 10 days after applying, so there was no way he would miss out on returning to school. They even offered to send the AP to the Moscow consulate rather than our home address but that was not necessary

As I have said, I am not guessing and I am not trying to do anything under the radar. I have coordinated the process with USCIS since day one and even before.

Sergey has been admitted to the country three times after an absence of 10 months. Most recently last Sunday, July 3. No questions asked.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I am not making up any rule…. wish I could 

I would guess any schooling would take 3-4 years in normal course like graduate, masters etc and each semester would be 4-5 months long, so assuming 2 months of vacation time in between semester.

So for any student they stay out of US for roughly 8-10 months in a year and visiting US in between for vacation, thus getting each entry and exit stamp.

In your case your son continues to use your address as his perm address in US and thus claiming to be present in the country, having a DL does not constitute one is resident of US.

Maybe immigration is not very fussy when it comes to student with residency length, but all I was saying was if you have a officer who wants to create issue they could.

BOB- Has said the same thing if you look at his post.

Having the financial aide in Russia or Ukraine is not an issue as its upto that govt how to give out that money.

What you are doing is misinterpretting the rule, not making it up. Residents ARE allowed to leave the country and maintain a "continuous presence". They use more than the number of nights you sleep here to determine that. The reasons for the absence will be noted and documented with all applications as they have been so far, along with the documents showing that residency has been maintained.

Having a DL is not required, but along with an active bank account, employment, tax filings, registration for the draft, etc. it indicates the intent to remain a resident. Such is taken into consideration for absences of more than 6 months and less than 12 months.

This is my family, I do not guess and I do not go by rumors Bob has not heard. You do? I go to the source, announce my plans discuss the best way to accomplish this, get the details, follow the directions and sleep well at night. So far there have been -0- problems for anyone in my family and I do not expect any.

You do not have to believe me or follow my advice, you can think I am wrong if you wish. My statements are based on experiences and information from the USCIS, not rumors, or my interpretation of something I read.

The financial aid COULD be an issue IF he had made the claim of being a Russian resident. In fact he made the claim on his application that he is a US resident and was accepted in the program as a US Resident foreign student. This is, again, documentation that we will send with his application that he has maintained US residency, one of the qualifications of which is that you have not claimed to be a resident of another country. I mention it, only because I am aware that we will need to document his being a student and make sure to conduct ourselves in a way that produces documentation we can use. As I said, I do not guess and I do not go by "chance", and I do not hope and pray.

You cannot just be gone for 10 months per year for no particular reason and still qualify to maintain "continuous presence".

I am guilty of supporting a proven valid excuse for not being present in the country..

you are guilty of fear mongering

my apologies to the group

No apologies needed Pay, your advice and information has been sound since I joined VJ.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

And I wonder if you are testing how quickly people will catch up or if you are in for a disappointment...

(1) 3 year rule applies to USC spouses only, yes or no?

(2) Physical presence requirement of naturalization calls for 1/2 of 3 year or 5 year physical presence, which your son will not be able to accumulate?

However if you legally adopted him before he turned 18, then it could be a different story entirely...

Are you not reading my posts? His status as a student has been discussed and been the main concern since his AOS and was the reason his AOS was expedited. Imagine that!

1) three year rule applies to family based visas of which the K-2 is one. K-2s qualify for all privileges just as the K-1. Do you really think I am guessing? K-2s are derivitive of K-1s.

2) If you are right, he will not get his citizenship next year. Do I look worried?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Gary,

I do agree with you that CBP will most likely be very understanding if a young man or woman with immediate family in the US attends school abroad and thus only spends a few weeks a year in the US while in school.

Where I'm almost certain is that once an N-400 is filed, the fact that he spent way more than 80% or even 90% (?) of the time of his residency in a foreign country will be seen as a violation of the continuous residency requirement for naturalization purposes. Can I be 100% certain? No, but I'm near darn sure it will be not be seen as acceptable and his N-400 will be denied based on this.

It's one thing not to take one's Green Card away; it's a totally different thing to adjudicate an application of naturalization for somebody how basically lived, yes lived, in a foreign country all those years.

Let's wait, and see, and learn.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Just Bob

[rika60607 215]

Gary, I was not sure about 3 year vs 5 year rule for a former K-1. I trust that you researched that subject.

I do not question that your son will be successful in maintaining US residency.

But as naturalization requires (1) continuous residency and (2) 1/2 time physical presence, I think he will not be able to meet second requirement and thus not able to naturalize until he's done with his studies and remains in the US for 1.5 or 2.5 years.

Nah, I am sure you are not worried, should not matter much for you and your son. I only did not want someone else to assume that the scheme that you propose so confidently will likely work (it might matter to others!).

Are you not reading my posts? His status as a student has been discussed and been the main concern since his AOS and was the reason his AOS was expedited. Imagine that!

1) three year rule applies to family based visas of which the K-2 is one. K-2s qualify for all privileges just as the K-1. Do you really think I am guessing? K-2s are derivitive of K-1s.

2) If you are right, he will not get his citizenship next year. Do I look worried?