Worked outside US as a PR, apply for naturalization or wait?

[heemo]

Hello, I got my Greencard thru work sponsorship in Jan 2012 then took a lucrative job overseas (not government or military related) from Nov 2013 till Aug 2015 before moving back to US. It was intended to be a temporary job to save for down payment on a house, and I always maintained ties to US (resident tax filing, active bank account + transfers, furniture and cars in storage, mailing address...). During the job I never spent more than 6 months at a time outside the US (came back for short visits every less than 6 months), but my physical address during those 21 months was overseas. I have lived and worked in the US since my return in Aug 2015.

Now it's time to apply for naturalization, but one attorney told me the evidence I have of maintaining residence might not suffice and I might risk revocation of Greencard for abandonment of PR. Can the GC really be revoked almost 3 years after moving back to US?

I don't want to wait till 2020 to apply, especially with all the chatter about immigration reform and uncertainty, but also don't want to risk losing PR. I'm wondering whether it's best to send the N-400 now and deal with any RFEs later, send it with some evidence of maintained residence (e.g. tax transcripts) upfront, or if the risk is real wait till 5 years have passed since my return to the US.

Please advise or share relevant experience.

[abumiqdad]

Hello, I got my Greencard thru work sponsorship in Jan 2012 then took a lucrative job overseas (not government or military related) from Nov 2013 till Aug 2015 before moving back to US. It was intended to be a temporary job to save for down payment on a house, and I always maintained ties to US (resident tax filing, active bank account + transfers, furniture and cars in storage, mailing address...). During the job I never spent more than 6 months at a time outside the US (came back for short visits every less than 6 months), but my physical address during those 21 months was overseas. I have lived and worked in the US since my return in Aug 2015.

Now it's time to apply for naturalization, but one attorney told me the evidence I have of maintaining residence might not suffice and I might risk revocation of Greencard for abandonment of PR. Can the GC really be revoked almost 3 years after moving back to US?

I don't want to wait till 2020 to apply, especially with all the chatter about immigration reform and uncertainty, but also don't want to risk losing PR. I'm wondering whether it's best to send the N-400 now and deal with any RFEs later, send it with some evidence of maintained residence (e.g. tax transcripts) upfront, or if the risk is real wait till 5 years have passed since my return to the US.

Please advise or share relevant experience.

If you have been let it at Port of Entry with your documents (I 551 card/stamp), and have been living in the USA since, working and paying tax, i do not see how they can then say "oh wait, you left the country for quite some time before, so your status as LPR should have been revoked."

That would be very odd.

[NettieL]

............Now it's time to apply for naturalization, but one attorney told me the evidence I have of maintaining residence might not suffice and I might risk revocation of Greencard for abandonment of PR. Can the GC really be revoked almost 3 years after moving back to US?..............

Listen to the attorney. You have in fact abandoned your Green Card Status by leaving the country for another job. Did you pay US taxes on that income? Things to think about. While having a job is admirable it is frowned upon if you leave the US to work in another country while you are (especially in this case) sponsored through employment to have the privilege of working in the US. The Green Card is a Permanent Resident permit not something to keep in your back pocket for when you need it again one day. Unless you were working for the US employer abroad and did all the paper work to get that done, I would strongly advise to follow legal advice. You may have to explain yourself at a future interview anyway so better be prepared.

[heemo]

Listen to the attorney. You have in fact abandoned your Green Card Status by leaving the country for another job. Did you pay US taxes on that income? Things to think about. While having a job is admirable it is frowned upon if you leave the US to work in another country while you are (especially in this case) sponsored through employment to have the privilege of working in the US. The Green Card is a Permanent Resident permit not something to keep in your back pocket for when you need it again one day. Unless you were working for the US employer abroad and did all the paper work to get that done, I would strongly advise to follow legal advice. You may have to explain yourself at a future interview anyway so better be prepared.

Thanks for the response! We did not PAY taxes because we did not owe any (our foreign income was within tax exemption limits), but we did FILE taxes as residents while overseas.

The main reason I actually took that job was because my US sponsor had lost a major client and did not have good positions for me anymore, and I looked for months at local companies for something comparable with no luck. I have a job search email trail prior to my taking the overseas job.

So to clarify, are you proposing I delay applying till 2020, or applying now and simply mentally preparing for an RFE? My main concern is how real the possibility of retroactive GC revocation is. Are you aware of one that happened 3 years after resettling in the US? Also, are you an attorney?

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If you have been let it at Port of Entry with your documents (I 551 card/stamp), and have been living in the USA since, working and paying tax, i do not see how they can then say "oh wait, you left the country for quite some time before, so your status as LPR should have been revoked."

That would be very odd.

Thank you! I agree, the logic sniff test says quitting the overseas job and returning to the US should be enough indication to the intent not to abandon PR, but you never know how the officer might see it or decide to interpret it, so want to be extra cautious and see if such revocation has in fact happened before.

[suziq38]

I would listen to my lawyer and not risk losing my GC. I would wait until he/she says is a good time to apply. I would not want to alert USCIS of the fact that I was out of the country for so long.
Good luck.

[abumiqdad]

I would listen to my lawyer and not risk losing my GC. I would wait until he/she says is a good time to apply. I would not want to alert USCIS of the fact that I was out of the country for so long.
Good luck.

If it turns out to be an issue - USCIS can still argue that even after 7-9 years staying as LPR in the USA (after the long duration being out), that period of being out of the USA is still causing OP's LPR status to be revoked (and should have been revoked back then), hence naturalization cannot happen, and it was a mistake to allow OP to enter USA again on LPR status.

So not sure if they can do something like that.

Maybe get a second opinion?