Citizenship Jeopardized by Time Out of USA?

[CyberSamurai013 69]

Hey guys, I have a citizenship question.

Does time out of the USA count against you for citizenship purposes? If so what amount of time are we talking about?

The reason I ask is that my wife is a conditional resident from Russia. We are strongly considering spending some time abroad traveling, as I am retired, but I have been told that any time over 6 months out of the USA can jeopardize her application for US citizenship.

Any info or advice is appreciated, thank you.

[kzielu 1,149]

Yes, it can.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=399faf4c0adb4210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=399faf4c0adb4210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

[nwctzn 55]

Hey guys, I have a citizenship question.

Does time out of the USA count against you for citizenship purposes? If so what amount of time are we talking about?

The reason I ask is that my wife is a conditional resident from Russia. We are strongly considering spending some time abroad traveling, as I am retired, but I have been told that any time over 6 months out of the USA can jeopardize her application for US citizenship.

Any info or advice is appreciated, thank you.

Assuming she will apply based on marriage to US citizen:

1. Trips should be less than 180 days each to not disrupt continuous residence requirement.

2. She should be present in the US for at least 18 months out of the 3 years before she applies to meet the physical presence requirement.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Hey guys, I have a citizenship question.

Does time out of the USA count against you for citizenship purposes? If so what amount of time are we talking about?

The reason I ask is that my wife is a conditional resident from Russia. We are strongly considering spending some time abroad traveling, as I am retired, but I have been told that any time over 6 months out of the USA can jeopardize her application for US citizenship.

Any info or advice is appreciated, thank you.

Time spent outside the US may mean she will have to wait longer before she can apply for her citizenship once you are back stateside, but that is the extent of that. It does not jeopardize the process nor does it count against you, in any way.

[Janice&Ben 2]

Generally the applicant has to have been physically present in the US more than half of the time used to qualify for citizenship. In your case she has to have been in the country for at least 18 months out of the 36 months preceeding the date of filing. Enjoy your trips and schedule accordingly!

[CyberSamurai013 69]

Thank you guys!

I'm assuming the same does not apply to permanent resident status as she already has conditional permanent residency?

Gegel, love the FSM!

Edited November 20, 2012 by CyberKnight13

[JohnR! 5,495]

Thank you guys!

I'm assuming the same does not apply to permanent resident status as she already has conditional permanent residency?

Gegel, love the FSM!

The absences do not affect LPR so long as she does not stay out of the country for more than 12 months at a time, nor are there any requirements of presence in the US that would prevent her from applying for ROC when the time comes.

His Holy Noodleship rules!!!

[CyberSamurai013 69]

Awesome, thank you!

Ramen

The absences do not affect LPR so long as she does not stay out of the country for more than 12 months at a time, nor are there any requirements of presence in the US that would prevent her from applying for ROC when the time comes.

His Holy Noodleship rules!!!

[bigdog 376]

The absences do not affect LPR so long as she does not stay out of the country for more than 12 months at a time, nor are there any requirements of presence in the US that would prevent her from applying for ROC when the time comes.

His Holy Noodleship rules!!!

I need to an introduction, maybe it will help us all.

[CyberSamurai013 69]

Ok I might be beating a dead horse here but can someone clarify for me again. We can be out of the country for up to 18 months out of the 36 months used to apply for citizenship? We can only go for 6 months at a time unless we keep our house in the US? According to this we can be out of the country for 18 months total and in up to 12 month increments as long as we maintain our house in the US?

© Disruption of continuity of residence

(1) Absence from the United States .

(i) For continuous periods of between six (6) months and one (1) year. Absences from the United States for continuous periods of between six (6) months and one (1) year during the periods for which continuous residence is required under § 316.2(a)(3) and (a)(6) shall disrupt the continuity of such residence for purposes of this part unless the applicant can establish otherwise to the satisfaction of the Service. This finding remains valid even if the applicant did not apply for or otherwise request a nonresident classification for tax purposes, did not document an abandonment of lawful permanent resident status, and is still considered a lawful permanent resident under immigration laws. The types of documentation which may establish that the applicant did not dis rupt the continuity of his or her residence in the United States during an extended absence include, but are not limited to, evidence that during the absence: (Amended 9/24/93; 58 FR 49913)

(A) The applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States;

(B) The applicant's immediate family remained in the United States;

© The applicant retained full access to his or her United States abode; or

(D) The applicant did not obtain employment while abroad.

[DC85 113]

review this link

http://www.immig-chicago.com/Pages/Naturalization/Residency_Requirements_Technical

I don't think you can stay out of the country for more than 6 months without breaking the continuous residency for naturalization purposes . There is difference between keeping your GC, and being eligible for naturalization

[AaronLV 12]

review this link

http://www.immig-chi...ments_Technical

I don't think you can stay out of the country for more than 6 months without breaking the continuous residency for naturalization purposes . There is difference between keeping your GC, and being eligible for naturalization

You can stay out of the US for more than 6 months but less than 12 months without breaking the continuous residency. You have to prove you have kept ties to the US and not abandon your residency. Some of the valid ways to show you are keeping residency, a place to live (lease or own), working for a US company, etc.

[mozplay 29]

What seems to be non-negotiable is the rule that the person filing MUST have spent more time in the US (18 months minimum) of the last 3 years/36 months, than they have out. (These are the numbers based on filing through marriage). The only exceptions to this are for people who are in pretty specialized positions, including those serving in the military, in some cases those doing religious work, or those who can prove that through employment (needs to be a recognized entity) that they were away on U.S. business. For that additional paperwork is necessary.

In the Guide to Naturalization (found here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/chapter4.pdf) it says that if you are filing under the spousal rule, that in order to maintain continuous residence, you must not have left the US for any trips of 6 months or longer.

Here are some other questions and answers from the guide:

Q. What if I was outside the US between 6 and 12 months?

A. If you leave the US for more than 6 months, but less than 1 year, you have broken or disrupted your continuous residence unless you can prove otherwise. Read the "Document Checklist" in the back of this Guide to find out what information you must give to prove you did not break your continuous residence.

Q. What if I was outside the US for 1 year or longer?

A. In almost all cases, if you leave the US for 1 year or more, you have disrupted your continuous residence. This is true even if you have a Re-entry Permit. If you leave the country for 1 year or longer, you may be eligible to re-enter as a Permanent Resident if you have a Re-entry Permit. But none of the time you were in the US before you left the country counts towards your time in continuous residence....

Q. What is the difference between "physical presence" and "continuous residence"?

A. Physical presence concerns the total number of days you were in the US during the period required for your naturalization. Continuous residence concerns the time you resided lawfully in the US without any single absence long enough to "break" that continuity for naturalization purposes.....

Here is what stands out to me .... in the first Q./A., it says that absences of more than 6 months will generally disrupt your continuous residence UNLESS YOU CAN PROVE OTHERWISE. There is a checklist that you can look at to see if you can prove this BUT ... we also know from the many many many stories here on Visa Journey that over and over again, people who even come close to staying out of the US for 6 months at a time often experience significant delays and there have been reports of denials. At this point, it will be up to the discretion of the IO (interviewing officer) to determine if you have made your case. And I wouldn't want the fate of my citizenship being at anyone else's discretion.

One of the huge perks of becoming a citizen is that you no longer have to count days spent outside of the U.S. and worry constantly that you are doing something that will cause your permanent residency to be revoked. For me, staying out for more than 6 months at a time is simply a risk I would not take (barring extreme extenuating circumstances). All the work to get here, all the years spent married to USCIS ... to me, it's worth just taking shorter vacations for the next few years and then filing for citizenship ASAP before going on your world tour.

Regardless, there are so many opinions on this, I would STRONGLY urge you to do all the research you can and make up your mind for yourself. This one's on you.

Good luck.. and regardless .. have fun on your vacation .. however long it is.

[AaronLV 12]

Here is what stands out to me .... in the first Q./A., it says that absences of more than 6 months will generally disrupt your continuous residence UNLESS YOU CAN PROVE OTHERWISE. There is a checklist that you can look at to see if you can prove this BUT ... we also know from the many many many stories here on Visa Journey that over and over again, people who even come close to staying out of the US for 6 months at a time often experience significant delays and there have been reports of denials. At this point, it will be up to the discretion of the IO (interviewing officer) to determine if you have made your case. And I wouldn't want the fate of my citizenship being at anyone else's discretion.

One of the huge perks of becoming a citizen is that you no longer have to count days spent outside of the U.S. and worry constantly that you are doing something that will cause your permanent residency to be revoked. For me, staying out for more than 6 months at a time is simply a risk I would not take (barring extreme extenuating circumstances). All the work to get here, all the years spent married to USCIS ... to me, it's worth just taking shorter vacations for the next few years and then filing for citizenship ASAP before going on your world tour.

Regardless, there are so many opinions on this, I would STRONGLY urge you to do all the research you can and make up your mind for yourself. This one's on you.

Good luck.. and regardless .. have fun on your vacation .. however long it is.

We got through with an absences of 10 1/2 months. They reviewed all our documents that we brought, made some copies of a couple of them, and approved on the spot. Our oath letter is on the way.

I was a bit worried about that absence, but with the proper documentation and a valid legitimate reason for being out it was a non-issue at our interview. Our reason was awaiting a decision if our son was going to need surgery and with no medical insurance in the states it was going to be very expensive. They did read through the medical history and make copies of the medical records, and asked us questions about the length of stay out. I did keep my US company, along with having cars, mortgage, etc here in the States.

Everyone's situation is different and every officer is different and it is most likely very subjective. I did a bunch of research on the site, and I did not find anyone who was denied because of staying out over 6 months (just hearsay, but no one with the direct experience), but then again, doesn't mean it won't happen and if you can avoid being out over 6 months, I think it is best to. Why add more hassle if you can avoid it.

[CyberSamurai013 69]

Thanks guys! I really do not think it will be an issue as we are keeping our house here. We are going so her family can see our baby, their first grandchild. The main reason for staying so long on one trip is that it is such a long flight and so damn expensive. With my military disability pay and my back pain, it would not make sense for us to make 2 trips instead just to meet the less than 6 months scare.