By Kim Kiel Thompson
Your company has a temporary position in the Sydney, Australia office and it has been difficult to find the perfect person for the assignment.
During the selection process, you discover that your top candidate is a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) and that a long stay outside the U.S. could affect his LPR status and his eligibility for U.S. naturalization. He asks that, if selected, you take the necessary steps to ensure he does not lose his LPR status or his eligibility for U.S. citizenship.
The company’s immigration lawyer advises you that a LPR who remains outside the U.S. for more than one year could be considered to have relinquished his LPR status and an absence of six-to-12 months could break his continuous residence for naturalization. You expect the assignment to last up to two years and determine that the following steps are necessary to protect the candidate while he is overseas:
A break in the continuity of residence requires the LPR to reset the five (or three) year clock once he returns to the United States. Absences under six months do not break the continuity. Absences of six-to-twelve months will not break the continuity if the LPR has a reasonable explanation, e.g., employment overseas for a U.S. employer.
An absence of more than one uninterrupted year will break the chain unless the LPR files an application to preserve the continuity of residence. The LPR may file this application if he:
You agree to file the necessary applications for the LPR and also advise him to discuss with immigration counsel the additional things he must do to maintain LPR status while overseas (e.g., filing U.S. tax returns as a resident of the U.S. and maintaining other ties with the U.S., including ownership of property, bank accounts, driver’s license).
Now you are ready to secure the necessary visa for the LPR to work and reside in Australia and make any other arrangements necessary to get him on his way to his overseas assignment.
This was originally published on Fisher & Phillips Cross Border Employer blog.