HOW TO PRESERVE US RESIDENCY
HOW TO PRESERVE US RESIDENCY DURING EXTENDED ABSENCES WITH A RE-ENTRY PERMIT I am regularly asked by my clients who are LPR’s (Lawful Permanent Residents) , how their residency status would be affected if they had to leave the US for a year or longer due to their employment, family or health issues and what they would need to do to protect their permanent residency status. This article will discuss those issues and recommendations to best protect permanent residency status. First of all, being a lawful permanent resident means you have to physically reside in the USA. You are allowed to travel outside of the US, but need to be aware that residency can be jeopardized in certain situations for absences for six months or longer. An extended absence from the US for a period of greater than six months but less than a year creates a “rebuttable presumption” that you are intending to abandon your US residency. This means that you will need to rebut this presumption by providing evidence that you are maintaining a physical US residence, paying your taxes, and additional documentation to show that you have not abandoned your US residence. Also, your US permanent residency may be considered abandoned for absences shorter than one year if you take up residence in another country.