Continuous Residence

[Babool 0]

Hi,

I am a permanent resident of the US. Will two separate trips of 5 months each outside the US break my continuous residence requirement when applying for a US citizenship?

 

Thank you,

 

BB

[jyaku 138]

Technically no but it will come up during the interview and it will depend on how you explain them.

 

Job/ Family/ Leisure.

 

Also your ties to the US have to be pretty strong.

[Going through 5,671]

32 minutes ago, Babool said:

Hi,

I am a permanent resident of the US. Will two separate trips of 5 months each outside the US break my continuous residence requirement when applying for a US citizenship?

 

Thank you,

 

BB

Probably not break the continuous residence requirement depending on other factors.

Might break physical presence requirement depending on your total time outside of the US per any other travel history. 

Are you filing under the 3-year or 5-year rule?

Would be helpful if you listed all travel dates if you are not sure of the accumulated time spent abroad.

[Babool 0]

I have already spent 3.5 years in US, comply with Physical presence requirement of 30 months, now 1.5 year remaining out of which i spent 5 months outside US, i intend to spent another 5 months due to taking care of parents.

[geowrian 22,338]

There is not a presumption of having broken continuous residence, but as others noted, the specific timings of the trips may matter. For instance, 5 months out, 1month in, then another 5 months out may be viewed by the IO as having broken continuous residence even though no single trip was 6 months or longer. Whereas 5 months out, 1 year in, 5 months out would probably not be an issue for the continuous residence piece.

[Going through 5,671]

5 minutes ago, Babool said:

I have already spent 3.5 years in US, comply with Physical presence requirement of 30 months, now 1.5 year remaining out of which i spent 5 months outside US, i intend to spent another 5 months due to taking care of parents.

Possible additional scrutiny with a total of 10 months abroad over the last 1.5 year span.  

[afrocraft 314]

I'm in a similar situation. Truth is, no one knows the answer to that question. If you chose to apply, here's what my research suggests.

 

You're not presumed to have broken continuity of residence based on the trips you describe. However, much of the decision is at the discretion of the officer who reviews your application. Note, though, that the naturalization regulation states that: "The applicant shall bear the burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she meets all of the requirements for naturalization ....". Accordingly, it would be wise to preemptively provide evidence that tilts the totality of the circumstances towards a conclusion that you haven't actually broken continuous residence. In your testimony and in your documentary evidence, you should show, where possible, that during your absences from the US:

• The reasons for your trips abroad were temporary;
• You did not terminate your employment in the US;
• Your immediate family remained in the US;
• You retained full access to your US abode; or
• You did not obtain employment while abroad.

Examples of such evidence, which should cover the entire period of your permanent residency, especially when you were abroad, are:

• Letter from your employer approving temporary foreign trips
• Named on leases on rented apartments in the US
• Evidence of short-term housing during your trips abroad (e.g. hotel bookings)
• Named on US utility bills (not mobile phones)
• US credit card statements with transactions
• Federal and state tax filings using resident alien classification
• Tickets/boarding passes for flights originating from and returning to the US
• US health/dental insurance (or evidence of utilization of US health care)
• Evidence of active participation in US life (e.g., club memberships, volunteering)

There some killers that could weigh heavily against you that you should be aware of:

• You must not have filed your tax returns using the NR1040. That's strictly for nonresidents.
• You must not have ever claimed foreign income tax exclusion or deduction as a bona fide nonresident.

Hope that helps. Best of luck -- let me know how things work out!

Edited June 10, 2018 by afrocraft