Is there a rule that American citizens cannot leave the country for more than six months?

American immigration law clearly stipulates that to become an American resident (green card), you must have the intention of treating the United States as a writer. As for what this intention really means, the law does not clearly stipulate. On the contrary, court cases provide a lot of valuable guidance. When considering the intention to call America home, the length of residence is one factor, but not the only one. Other factors can be considered, including whether you have a job, investment, bank deposit, house (residence) and family members in the United States. The judge will combine all factors to confirm this intention.

In addition, the law does give several clear time points. Let's discuss them one by one.

1. 1 year

According to the US immigration law, a person holding a green card who has left the United States for more than one year without applying for a re-entry permit is regarded as giving up his intention to make the United States his home. In this case, the customs can directly confiscate the green card of the green card holder. However, green card holders can also prove that they have not lost their intention. For example, green card holders cannot return to the United States due to objective reasons such as illness or criminal behavior.

2. Two years.

Green card holders who need to leave the United States for a long time (more than one year) can apply for re-entry permit before leaving. Green card holders with re-entry permits can leave the United States for up to two years at a time.

3. Six months

Usually, green card holders simply enter the customs when they enter the United States, and there is no question of whether the customs approves entry, because they can legally enter the United States. This is different from other people who enter the US Customs with various visas. They all need customs permission to enter the country.

However, according to American immigration law, if a green card holder leaves the country for more than six months at a time, he must go through the customs formalities before entering the country. In this procedure, the customs has the right to judge whether the green card holder has lost his residence intention and thus lost his green card according to the residence intention standard. Therefore, if the green card holder leaves the country for more than six months at a time, the customs has certain discretion to cancel the green card of the green card holder.

4. Three months

There is no law in the immigration law that stipulates that green card holders are not allowed to enter the country for three months. This is a long-standing fake news.

Two. Time requirement for maintaining green card

As can be seen from the above analysis, the fundamental condition for maintaining a green card is to have the intention of being the master of the United States.

In the process of maintaining this intention, the stay time is not the only decisive factor. Considering the clear legal risks brought by leaving the country for six months at a time or 1 year, in practice, we will inform the green card holders that the time to leave the United States at a time should not exceed six months. Within six months, except for other special circumstances such as crime, it is actually the inherent right of green card holders to enter the United States. Customs can only take more questions and suggest that green card holders voluntarily give up their green cards (I-407 is recommended for green card holders to voluntarily give up their green cards).

For green card holders who travel frequently, they must clearly indicate their intention to live in the United States as their home. If the customs knows that the green card holder has no intention to live during questioning, it can cancel the green card, because in the final analysis, intention is the basis for maintaining the green card.

It should be reminded that under the existing laws and regulations, although it is technically safe to leave the country for no more than six months at a time, I still want to emphasize that the fundamental purpose of maintaining a green card at any time is to have the intention of taking the United States as home, rather than being in that country at any time or most of the time. In addition to time, there are many factors related to intention, and green card holders need to make appropriate overall arrangements.