Physical Presence and Continuous Residence Requirement of a Permanent Resident for Naturalization
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An immigrant in the US who has received a permanent resident status is given the opportunity to apply for naturalization in order to become a US citizen. Any person who is not born in the US may become a US citizen by going through the naturalization process. The naturalization process speaks of many requirements but this article will focus on the topic most permanent resident misinterpret. As a result they become ineligible to apply for naturalization.
According to the USCIS official website, if the permanent resident is at least 18 years old, he is required 5 years time as a permanent resident without leaving the US for trips of 6 months or longer. In addition, he is required 30 months physical residence in the US. All of these conditions are mixed up by a lot of permanent residents. Let’s take one condition at a time.
“A permanent resident who has lived 5 years time in the US is eligible for US citizenship without leaving the US for trips of 6 months or longer.”
1. The permanent resident has the option of physically staying for straight 5 years in the US. Meaning if he chooses not to leave the US for 5 years, he may do so. Or
2. This may also mean that the permanent resident has lived in the US in 5 years time including trips not more than 6 months.
a) If he is outside the US for longer than 6 months, he disrupts his continuous residence. He will have to prove that he has not abandoned his permanent resident status by providing the necessary evidence before an immigration officer. This is also true even for those who have a re-entry permit.
b) There are certain types of applicants as mentioned on the USCIS site which are not covered by this continuous residence policy like in the case of members of the US Armed Forces serving outside the US.
“Physical presence of 30 months in the US”
A permanent resident is required to have 30 months physical presence in the US. This means that although he is allowed to leave the US (under the valid number of days), he must still complete 30 months of physically residing in the US during the 5 years of his permanent residency status. This is the guideline he should follow in order to complete his time as a permanent resident and be eligible to apply for US citizenship.
A common example why a permanent resident breaks his physical presence is when he stays outside the US for or less than 6 months with only an interval of say, 2 months and do this same pattern over and over. When his 5th year as a permanent resident comes and he applies for naturalization, he will be required to submit documents of previous trips traveled outside the US. If his physical presence falls short of 30 months, he becomes ineligible for naturalization.
So a continuous residence shows a permanent resident has not abandoned the US for a long period of time. Physical presence, on the other hand, means the actual number of days a permanent resident has physically lived in the US. Knowing these requirements, a permanent resident will maintain his status of being eligible to apply for naturalization
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