confusedgirl

Hi,
I'm a green card holder and have been in the USA for about 8 months. I'm thinking of going back to school in the UK for a couple of years. I know about re-entry permits but I don't think I'd need one as I intend to spend 3-4 months a year in the US. The US would still be my home and I'd visit whenever I had vacation time from school but I'm still a bit worried about it.
Do you think I'll be ok with immigration doing this or would it be better to apply for a re-entry permit? Thanks for any help

Noorah101

It's far better to apply for the re-entry permit.

How did you obtain your green card? Via marriage, work...? Is your green card a 2-year one, or a 10-year one?

Rene

dbj1000

Re-entry permit. At least your question has a nice, simple answer!

confusedgirl

I got it through family, it's a 10 year

dbj1000

Not that it really matters. Your safest option is a re-entry permit. Why risk being judged to have abandoned your Permanent Residency while you're back in the UK?

Noorah101

I agree with dbj. I was asking mostly to see if this thread needed to be moved to the Marriage-based forum, which it does not.

Rene

confusedgirl

Do you know if getting the re-entry permit would affect a naturalisation application in the future....also if going to school is a good enough reason to be granted the permit...
thanks for your help btw

JAJ

Yes it could do so. Firstly, a re-entry permit only keeps open the window to return a little longer. It's not enough if you are planning to be away for years.

Second, even if you keep your PR, you may break the residence clock for naturalization.

Why not go to an American school?

ian-mstm

Getting or not getting the permit is largely irrelevant when it comes to naturalization. What is important is whether you are outside the US for more than 6 months... that will affect your timeline for naturalization. Take a look at the Guide.


Yes... but you must be very clear with the terminology. You are *not* visiting the US... you *live* here!

Ian

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Apply for that re-entry permit -- you will be on record as to WHY you will be spending so much time outside of the US. Coming back every so often is NOT conclusive evidence of maintaining residence.

BTW, going to school abroad for a specified program of study is one of the classic scenarios in which there is NOT abandonment by spending extensive periods of time outside of the US.

There seems to be a persistent MYTH that coming back periodically before being out a year is enough to maintain residence. It is NOT. The lead case on this is called Matter of Kane. I realize it was issued only 32 years ago -- but the word does not seem to have gotten out to most people about the case.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

You are conflating three different things. Lawful Permanent Residence is a STATUS -- the re-entry permit tends to protect the status.

For naturalization, there is a combination of LPR status AND physical presence. One must have a continuity of PRESENCE in the US before filing for naturalization. That continuity is presumptively broken by any absence in excess of six months and CONCLUSIVELY broken by an absence of a year [the time between 6 months and a year is fuzzy. Some CIS offices ignore the six-months and others apply it. My gut feeling is that absence for school will not invoke the six-months, but I am NOT making a certain comment].

So, generally speaking, your absences will not cause a break in continuity.

In addition to continuity, you must have spent at least 50% of time in the U.S. to qualify.

A final comment, a subtle point often missed -- if there is a break in continuity without a loss of status, one enters the country with 364 days already on the physical presence clock. E.g. you can apply for naturalization 4 years 1 day after return.

Please note that on the "90-day early filing" I am of the belief that it applies in this situation, but in my experience CIS believes it does NOT. Same thing on the 50% rule. Inasmuch as any delay in filing is shorter than the processing time, this is something that escapes litigation.