Migrants in the United States who wish to apply for citizenship must meet several requirements, one of the most important being that they must remain in the country for five years before applying.

It is known as Continuous Residence that applicants prove their physical presence in the United States because if they leave for six months or more than a year, they risk losing the green card benefits.

This applies to the application for naturalization, which, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the person concerned receives after admission to lawful permanent resident (LPR).

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The length of stay of a foreigner in a particular place, measured from the time the foreigner first settles in that place. Photo: Istock

You must stay in the country for at least five years before submitting your naturalization application and stay in a house during that period.

“The residence in question is equal to the domicile or de facto main residence of that alien, irrespective of the alien’s purpose, and the duration of the residence of an alien at a particular place, measured from the time when the alien establishes his residence for the first time in that place,” USCIS reports on its website.

What are the interruptions in Continuous Residence?

There are two ways continuity of residence can be broken, the first is from six months to a year and the second is when the year of absence in the United States is exceeded.

The applicant must demonstrate that he meets the continuous residence requirement.

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What is the six month rule to process citizenship?

The so-called six-month rule for the Green Card has to do with an absence of “more than 6 months (more than 180 days) but less than 1 year (less than 365 days) during the period for which Continuous Residence is required.

For USCIS, any absence that occurs during the legal period before the naturalization application is filed is considered an absence, as is absence after presentation and until the citizenship process is completed.

“Continuous Residence” means that the applicant has resided in the United States for the required amount of time. Photo: media photos

“The length of the period of absence from the United States is the determining factor in determining whether the applicant is suspected to have interrupted the continuity of their residence,” explains USCIS.

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In case of suspected interruption of the continuity of residence, the applicant can provide evidence in his statement of defense and documentation. These are some examples:

If the interruption of residence is proven, the applicant must set a new period to qualify for naturalization.