Continuous Residence with Re-entry permit

[babyjedai]

Hello,

I understand that if you were out of the US for more than 1 yr and used a re-entry permit to enter the US, 364 days of the time you were out are counted in the 5 yr continuous residence requirement. In my case, I filed for re-entry permit in april 2001, and got an approved re-entry permit with an expiration date of october 2003. I returned in october 2003 before expiration, which means I was out of the country for around 2 yrs and 6 months. Do the 364 days still count towards my residence requirement even if I was out for 2 yrs and 6 months? Or was I supposed to come back WITHIN 2 years regardless of re-entry permit expiration, for the 364 days to count.

Thanks!

[raugu07]

Continious residence

Hi,

I am working here in US. My wife travelled to India frequently due to family situation. Let say if she complete 30 month of physical presence and almost completed 31/2 as a permanent resident. I have following situation

1. Visited India come back with with 6 month period and stay here for a week
2. Planning to visit India again stay there less then 6 months and come bck to US and stay here for 1 month
3. Went back to India and come back within 6 months and apply for N400
4. Again planning to go back and come back for Finger printing
5. Again come back for oath...

Will this be possible and she can still apply for Citizenship. Your help is needed.

[rocky]

It should be Okay

My understanding is that as long as you meet the criterion set by USCIS (30 months physcial presence and continuous stay) and are able to prove that you continued to have ties in the US i.e. you always had the intention of returning back to the US for permanent residence, you should be okay.

In your case, you will be here all the time while your wife is visiting India so there should be no issues in applying for her citizenship.

[knowledgeable]

Math allows but ....

With all that back and forth as long as your days add up, you can surely apply for the US citizenship.

However, getting through will be tricky and lot of queries and questioning.

Just be prepared.

Start saving all documentation including your tickets, boarding passes, any documentation that shows why she had to be in her home country like medical notes etc.

Good luck.

[insameboat]

Smae case

I have a somewhat similar case. I was back home for a little over 1 year due to health reasons. I had 2 long absences. One of 5 months and the other of 4 months. I kept coming back for a week or two in between. After my treatment I returned to the US in April 2007 permanently. I am eligible to apply in October 2007. I was always going to come back so I had kept all my bank accts, credit cards, 401 K etc. here in US. The only things I couldn't keep were apartment and cars.

On the citizenship application there is a question about residence and employment. Should I give the address(es) where I stayed back home? I stayed with my parents and in-laws and did a job there at the local office of a software firm registered in US.

[knowledgeable]

Truth prevails

Truth always prevails. Give the correct information whatever it was. They don't care with whom you stayed in India.

If in doubt, submit an attached sheet with documentation explaining your long absence preferably with substantial documentation.

Notarize this sheet.

Good luck.

[insameboat]

Same case

Thanks knowledgeable for the reply. However there is still some doubt in my mind. Are you suggesting that I provide the address back home on the form or only on a separate explanation sheet. Also the reason I posed this question in the first place was to understand the definition of long absence. If I had 3-4 absences of 2-3 months each instead of two of 5 & 4 months each then would they be interested in my address back home? I am sure there are people who may take multiple vacations back home. In each of those cases are they expected to provide all address information for every trip? From the form it seems that anything less than 6 months is considered a temporary absence. Would the information on the form be any different if I had kept the apartment in US?

[knowledgeable]

Dicey

Your situation is dicey. Yes anything less than 6 months is temporary absence. However, do understand that for a working person any leave of more than 1 month is not considered "vacation". That leave may be due to specific reasons like pregnancy, disability etc.

Now if you've been out of the country for a long period for multiple times, there's no harm in giving that information. Unless you've got something to hide, don't.

Put that address on a separate sheet of paper as that was NOT your permanent address which is still in the US. You don't want to make it appear that you had a permanent address outside the country however you do want to give that information to them too.

Hope this makes sense to you.

Good luck.

[insameboat]

I want to be honest

I appreciate the quick turnaround time.

My in-out records will make my long absences evident. However as you have stated, I was concerned that providing local address in answer to question on residence and employment should not be construed as that being my residence. In other cases it could be the company in US asking one to go to another office outside US for 2-3 months. In that case it is long absence and not vacation. Should such a person provide the address outside US for that time period?

[rocky]

Exactly in same situation

I am exactly in same situation and have already applied for my citizenship.

I was working outside the US for one year and in the section where it asks for where you have lived during the past 5 years, I provided the addresses where I lived in the exact sequence i.e. chronologically (date-wise) , also providing the addresses where I lived when I came back to the US for the short trips. So it went something like:

1. My address in US where I was living for 4 years before I went abroad
2. My address abroad
3. My address in US where I lived on my first trip back
4. My address abroad (which was the same 2)
5. My address in US where I lived on my second trip back
6. My address abroad (which was again the same 2)
7. My current address in the US

Although it adds up to a lot of lines, this is the truth and it is easier to talk about it during the interview.

[insameboat]

Thanks...

Rocky,
I appreciate the input. So is your process still on are is it done?

[rocky]

In progress

I am still awaiting my fp date

[insameboat]

Rocky,
Please keep this thread updated as and when you reach next step i.e. receive FP letter, complete FP etc.

Thanks.

[insameboat]

Rocky,
Did you work when you were back home? Did you provide those employment details on the form?

[rocky]

Yes

Yes, I did work outside the US for one year and I provided those details on my application.