Published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on February 6, 2015
Q & A 1. 2. 3. 4.
Q&A 1.
My Wife is Applying for USA Citizenship and Meets All the Requirements Except Continuous Residency
We were out of the country for 7 1/2 months last year. That was our only absence from the USA in the past 3 years. We own our home and paid all of our domestic & foreign taxes & expenses from our USA income. We have maintained our residence during the last 3 years in Las Vegas. She does not work either in the USA or in China. Due to family problems last year we were forced to stay in China for an extra month and a half beyond our original plans. How can we explain our 7 1/2 foreign absence to the USCIS?
Mr. Lee answers:
You can explain your extra month and a half in China at the interview for naturalization. Being out of the country for 7 1/2 months does not make you ineligible for citizenship – a naturalization examiner generally wants to know that the applicant is residing in the States and has good reason for being out of the country for six months and more if such occurred. The presumption of abandonment of residence after a trip of over six months is usually able to be overcome by a reasonable explanation.
Q&A 2.
How Long Can a Permanent Resident be Out of the Country in Any Given Year?
Mr. Lee answers:
A permanent resident is allowed at the outermost to be out of the country for one day less than one year on the basis of the green card alone. If the permanent resident applies for and receives a reentry permit, he or she is allowed at the outermost to be outside the US on any one trip up to but not including two years.
Q&A 3.
Will I Have to Leave Out of State to do the 10-year Punishment?
Or can I ask for forgiveness in the U.S. without leaving? I'm married to a U.S. citizen and enter the U.S. as an immigrant without a visa but I got approved by DACA. With a baby on the way, will immigration allow me to do my 10 year punishment here?
Mr. Lee answers:
There is the possibility with DACA beneficiaries that you may solve the problem of illegal entry through applying for and obtaining an advance parole to leave the country for emergent, business, or schooling reasons. Upon return, you may be able to put in an application for adjustment of status along with a waiver of the 10 year bar for having been in the US illegally for over one year. Another alternative is the Obama administration program that allows someone in your situation who is married to a US citizen to apply for the I-601A program under which the application for waiver can be submitted in the US following I-130 petition for alien relative approval. Under the program, you would be allowed to stay in the country during the time that the waiver application is adjudicated. If approved, you would finish your green card case by traveling to the American consulate or embassy in your home country for a regular immigrant visa interview.
Q&A 4.
If Someone Who Has Voluntary Deportation Doesn’t Leave, Will Immigration Look for Them?
Mr. Lee answers:
Although there is no guarantee that ICE will not look for people who have violated orders of voluntary departure, there are presently over 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country and it is difficult for ICE to target everyone who has violated an order of voluntary departure. In most cases, such violators are caught by ICE through other encounters such as the commission of crimes, misdemeanors, offenses, or somebody complaining.
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