Can You Apply For Residency After Living in the USA for 10 Years? (2024)

FAQs

Can You Apply For Residency After Living in the USA for 10 Years? ›

You can get a Green Card after being in the US for 10 years legally if you qualify for one of the Green Card categories and complete the application process successfully; however, it generally does not take 10 years to become a Green Card holder.

The 10-year law can be used as a defense to stop deportation and possibly grant a person permanent resident status if they met certain qualifications. These include being a good moral character, show extreme hardship and have been in the United States for at least 10 years.

Show you have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the five years immediately before the date you file Form N-400; Show you have lived for at least three months in a state or USCIS district having jurisdiction over your place of residence.

Remaining outside the United States for more than one year may result in a loss of Lawful Permanent Resident status.

Determine your eligibility to become a U.S. citizen. In general, you may qualify for naturalization if you are at least 18 years old and have been a permanent resident for at least 5 years (or 3 years if you are married to a U.S. citizen) and meet all other eligibility requirements.

In general, an H-1B Work Visa holder can apply for adjustment of status to become a permanent resident Green Card holder during their sixth year of living in the USA as a temporary legal resident (while their H-1B Work Visa is still valid).

There are exceptions to this rule. Those who have overstayed by 6 months or more and depart the U.S. who are not subject to the bar include minors, asylees, family unity protection pursuant to section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990, battered women and children, and trafficking victims.

These include crimes of "moral turpitude," multiple crimes, and specified crimes such as drug trafficking, prostitution, commercialized vice, money laundering, severe violations of religious freedoms as an official working within a foreign government, and fraud.

' Therefore, one of the fastest ways to get a Green Card is by falling under the statutory description of immediate family members. For example, this would include marriage to a U.S. citizen or by being petitioned by your adult (21 years or older, U.S. citizen child).

A. Continuous Residence Requirement

An applicant for naturalization under the general provision must have resided continuously in the United States after his or her lawful permanent resident (LPR) admission for at least 5 years prior to filing the naturalization application and up to the time of naturalization.

How to maintain US residency while living abroad? ›

Even if you have a green card, you cannot maintain your permanent resident status if you live outside the United States indefinitely and return only for visits. Extended absences will eventually lead port-of-entry staff to question whether you have abandoned your permanent residence.

At this time, no penalties exist if a naturalized U.S. citizen simply goes to live in another country, even on a permanent basis. This is a distinct benefit of U.S. citizenship, since green card holders can have their status taken away for "abandoning" their U.S. residence.

The rule is concerned with maintaining continuous residence in the United States, and it's essential to ensure that you do not spend more than 180 days in total outside of the country in any given calendar year to preserve your green card status.

Will someone become a U.S. citizen if I marry them? Marriage to a U.S. citizen does not automatically grant someone U.S. citizenship. However, marriage to a U.S. citizen can be a pathway to immigration benefits, such as obtaining a green card.

A person permanently barred from obtaining US citizenship is inadmissible. This category of people primarily includes people who got out of military service based on their alienage, and people who left the US to avoid the draft.

The bill removes this entry cutoff date and opens up the program to eligible individuals who have resided in the United States for at least seven years. Existing requirements (e.g., the individual must not be inadmissible or deportable due to certain grounds related to crime or terrorism) continue to apply.

The 10-year bar exists, regardless of whether you get a new passport from a new country. Rather, the only way that you're going to be able to overcome the 10-year bar or even the three-year bar is you're going to have to ask for a waiver. Typically that's based on hardship to US citizen relative.

You can get a Green Card after being in the US for 10 years legally if you qualify for one of the Green Card categories and complete the application process successfully; however, it generally does not take 10 years to become a Green Card holder.

Liabilities of Being a Sponsor

The sponsor is also responsible for supporting the immigrant for 10 years or until the immigrant becomes a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident. If the immigrant gets divorced, the sponsor is still responsible for supporting them financially.