Revoking GC after N-400 application for previous "abandonment of status" possible?

[heemo]

Hello, I appreciate any educated answers or input, especially if thru personal experience.

I got Greencard in Jan 2012 and worked overseas 2014-2015 but have returned to US and been working here since Aug 2015. My overseas job was purely to save some money to use in US. I always filed taxes as resident, transferred money back to US account each month, and kept cars and furniture in storage. I never spent more than 6 months at a time outside (took short trips back), and I never had trouble or secondary questioning at US airports while living overseas.

Now it's time to apply for citizenship, but some are cautioning that, since I technically lived (physical presence) more than a year overseas for the job, the N-400 background check might consider that abandonment of status and cause revocation of Greencard, even three years after my return. Is a retroactive revocation of Greencard really possible (i.e. there are recent real cases), or am I just being paranoid?

Are the chances of asking for RFE to prove maintained residence high in this case, and if they don't satisfy USCIS, would the worst case scenario be delaying my application till 5 years have passed since my return, or is there a real chance they would revoke the Greencard?

Thanks!

[krypton9591]

Hello, I appreciate any educated answers or input, especially if thru personal experience.

I got Greencard in Jan 2012 and worked overseas 2014-2015 but have returned to US and been working here since Aug 2015. My overseas job was purely to save some money to use in US. I always filed taxes as resident, transferred money back to US account each month, and kept cars and furniture in storage. I never spent more than 6 months at a time outside (took short trips back), and I never had trouble or secondary questioning at US airports while living overseas.

Now it's time to apply for citizenship, but some are cautioning that, since I technically lived (physical presence) more than a year overseas for the job, the N-400 background check might consider that abandonment of status and cause revocation of Greencard, even three years after my return. Is a retroactive revocation of Greencard really possible (i.e. there are recent real cases), or am I just being paranoid?

Are the chances of asking for RFE to prove maintained residence high in this case, and if they don't satisfy USCIS, would the worst case scenario be delaying my application till 5 years have passed since my return, or is there a real chance they would revoke the Greencard?

Thanks!

those are all very real and very possible possibilities.

[001kja]

Hello, I appreciate any educated answers or input, especially if thru personal experience.

I got Greencard in Jan 2012 and worked overseas 2014-2015 but have returned to US and been working here since Aug 2015. My overseas job was purely to save some money to use in US. I always filed taxes as resident, transferred money back to US account each month, and kept cars and furniture in storage. I never spent more than 6 months at a time outside (took short trips back), and I never had trouble or secondary questioning at US airports while living overseas.

Now it's time to apply for citizenship, but some are cautioning that, since I technically lived (physical presence) more than a year overseas for the job, the N-400 background check might consider that abandonment of status and cause revocation of Greencard, even three years after my return. Is a retroactive revocation of Greencard really possible (i.e. there are recent real cases), or am I just being paranoid?

Are the chances of asking for RFE to prove maintained residence high in this case, and if they don't satisfy USCIS, would the worst case scenario be delaying my application till 5 years have passed since my return, or is there a real chance they would revoke the Greencard?

Thanks!

Some things you need to be aware of before I can give you my thoughts on your situation:
1) denial of N400 does NOT necessarily put your LPR (Legal Permanent Resident) status in jeopardy. Qualifications for naturalization ≠ Qualifications for retaining green card

2) they don't "delay" N400 applications if you don't meet the requirements. Those apps are denied/rejected.

3) revocation of the LPR status must be decided by a judge in the immigration court.

4) your understanding of the word "retroactive" is wrong. Immigration and Nationality Act was passed decades ago.

5) if you indeed violated the terms of your LPR status and they want your LPR status revoked, it wouldn't matter how long ago you violated the terms of the LPR status.


Your N400 application has a chance of getting denied. NOT saying it definitely will be denied.
Approval is very much possible. Your trips did not automatically break the continuity of your residence.
Denial is also possible, because the IO retains the right to decide whether or not an applicant's frequent short trips (less than 6 months) break the continuous residence rule.
If I were in your situation, I would wait and apply for naturalization in 2020, but the decision is all yours, of course.

However, if your N400 is denied, will the USCIS go so far as to taking your case to the immigration court to try to have your LPR status revoked?
While it is possible, I would say it is highly unlikely, given that none of your trips technically lasted more than 6 months and that there were only 2-3 such trips.

tl;dr: I would say your green card is safe. If your naturalization application is denied, apply again later. Better yet, don't apply now and do it in 2020 to avoid paying the app fees twice.

[heemo]

Some things you need to be aware of before I can give you my thoughts on your situation:
1) denial of N400 does NOT necessarily put your LPR (Legal Permanent Resident) status in jeopardy. Qualifications for naturalization ≠ Qualifications for retaining green card

2) they don't "delay" N400 applications if you don't meet the requirements. Those apps are denied/rejected.

3) revocation of the LPR status must be decided by a judge in the immigration court.

4) your understanding of the word "retroactive" is wrong. Immigration and Nationality Act was passed decades ago.

5) if you indeed violated the terms of your LPR status and they want your LPR status revoked, it wouldn't matter how long ago you violated the terms of the LPR status.


Your N400 application has a chance of getting denied. NOT saying it definitely will be denied.
Approval is very much possible. Your trips did not automatically break the continuity of your residence.
Denial is also possible, because the IO retains the right to decide whether or not an applicant's frequent short trips (less than 6 months) break the continuous residence rule.
If I were in your situation, I would wait and apply for naturalization in 2020, but the decision is all yours, of course.

However, if your N400 is denied, will the USCIS go so far as to taking your case to the immigration court to try to have your LPR status revoked?
While it is possible, I would say it is highly unlikely, given that none of your trips technically lasted more than 6 months and that there were only 2-3 such trips.

tl;dr: I would say your green card is safe. If your naturalization application is denied, apply again later. Better yet, don't apply now and do it in 2020 to avoid paying the app fees twice.

Thanks a lot for the thorough response. Very helpful insight! Allow me to probe a little further:

Waiting till 2020 might be too risky, especially with the current political climate (I'm a citizen of a country affected by the latest travel ban), so I'm inclined to take the chance and apply now. Would you think proactively supplementing the N-400 with a memo and/or evidence of maintained residence is a good idea, or would that only make the issue top of mind when it might otherwise be overlooked? And if you think it helps, what evidence would you send (tax transcript, bank deposits, job contracts...)?

Not sure if it helps, but when filling the physical residence part of N-400 online I received a pop-up saying I might have broken residence and will be allowed to proceed with application but made aware of possibility of future RFE. I stopped and exited the form then.

Also, are you an attorney/paralegal?

[001kja]

Thanks a lot for the thorough response. Very helpful insight! Allow me to probe a little further:

Waiting till 2020 might be too risky, especially with the current political climate (I'm a citizen of a country affected by the latest travel ban), so I'm inclined to take the chance and apply now. Would you think proactively supplementing the N-400 with a memo and/or evidence of maintained residence is a good idea, or would that only make the issue top of mind when it might otherwise be overlooked? And if you think it helps, what evidence would you send (tax transcript, bank deposits, job contracts...)?

Not sure if it helps, but when filling the physical residence part of N-400 online I received a pop-up saying I might have broken residence and will be allowed to proceed with application but made aware of possibility of future RFE. I stopped and exited the form then.

Also, are you an attorney/paralegal?

I'm neither.

Tax returns, bank statements, a car title, etc. certainly will help but the more helpful evidence would be documents proving that:
1) you had maintained your physical domicile in the US while you were abroad, like the deed to your house or the lease agreement
2) you had maintained your job in the US while you were abroad
3) you had had immediate family members residing in the US while you were abroad


In my opinion, I don't think submitting them along with the N400 is necessary. I would just bring them with me to the interview and show them when it seems like they're needed.

Since all three (or four?) of your trips are less than 6 months, the IO probably wouldn't be so eager to deny your application.
There's a chance that they might not even ask you to provide any evidence.

I said there is a chance of denial but I don't think it's a highly probable outcome.
The main reason I suggested waiting until 2020 is that IF it is denied, you have to reapply in 2020 anyway and end up paying $1500 on the app fees.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Hello, I appreciate any educated answers or input, especially if thru personal experience.

I got Greencard in Jan 2012 and worked overseas 2014-2015 but have returned to US and been working here since Aug 2015. My overseas job was purely to save some money to use in US. I always filed taxes as resident, transferred money back to US account each month, and kept cars and furniture in storage. I never spent more than 6 months at a time outside (took short trips back), and I never had trouble or secondary questioning at US airports while living overseas.

Now it's time to apply for citizenship, but some are cautioning that, since I technically lived (physical presence) more than a year overseas for the job, the N-400 background check might consider that abandonment of status and cause revocation of Greencard, even three years after my return. Is a retroactive revocation of Greencard really possible (i.e. there are recent real cases), or am I just being paranoid?

Are the chances of asking for RFE to prove maintained residence high in this case, and if they don't satisfy USCIS, would the worst case scenario be delaying my application till 5 years have passed since my return, or is there a real chance they would revoke the Greencard?

Thanks!

You might find this link useful. https://cliniclegal.org/sites/defaul...R%20Status.pdf "How Permanent is Permanent Residence?: Abandonment of LPR Status"
As you will read on that document, only a judge has the power to make a finding of abandonment. No one else. A CPB agent needed to have given you a Notice To Appear at a port of entry. That never happened. You never signed anything surrendering your green card. Every time you went through a port of entry, your green card was "validated". You could argue that because your LPR status
There is a difference between not meeting the continuous presence requirement and abandoning your LPR status. The USCIS system is giving you that alert because it's following an algorithm. You were never even given a warning at any port of entry, and can prove it. You may request all your records from CBP.
Sure, be prepared. According to what you have described, it does not sound to me like you jeopardized your LPR status.

All the best.