Immigrant related Frequently Asked Questions

I just got my green card and now I have to go back to my country to take care of some family and businesses matter. How long can I stay without getting in trouble?

In order to obtain US citizenship, you must be physically present in the United States for one half of the five or three year (spouses of US Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents) time period (30 months of the five years or 18 months of the 3 years). A person filing an early petition may file it three months before the physical presence requirement is met.
You must also have resided continuously within the U.S. from the time of the application until the time of admission as a citizen. There is no longer a requirement that a person intend to reside in the U.S. after acquiring citizenship.

Factors to determine abandonment of residence:
Not terminating employment in the U.S.
Presence of immediate family in the U.S.
Continuing to have full access to the U.S. home
Not obtaining employment abroad

You must not be absent from the U.S. for a continuous period of more than one year during the periods for which continuous residence is required

Exceptions:

* Absences for 6 months or less do not cause a break in continuous residence.
* Absence for more than 6 months but less than one year establishes a rebuttable presumption 
  against compliance. The burden is on the alien to show that the continuous residence 
  requirement has been met. Also, the alien's intent (proven by objective evidence) is 
  determinative.
* military service abroad
* employees working abroad (who receive approval preserving their residency)
* religious workers (who receive approval preserving their residency)
* international groups of which the U.S. is a member (who receive approval preserving residency)
* spouses of US Citizens working abroad if the corporation' s nationality is more than 50% U.S. 
  (who receive approval preserving residency)
  If a person is found to have broken continuous residency, they may reapply 4 years and 1 day 
  after they have returned to the U.S. to resume residency.

An application to preserve residence for naturalization is made on INS Form N-470. It is generally available only to aliens who have at least one-year physical presence in the U.S. as a LPR. It must be filed before the person has spent one-year abroad. If an application to preserve residency is approved, then the absence from the U.S. will not prevent the person from naturalizing on residency grounds. However, the person must meet all the other requirements, including the physical presence within the state for three months.