Rulebook / Residence & citizenship / United States
US green card — absence
- Day threshold
- 179 days
- Window
- Rolling 365 days
- Direction
- Ceiling — stay at or below
- Counts
- Days outside United States
- Authority
- USCIS
US green card — absence caps your time outside United States at 179 days in any rolling 365-day period. The statute attaches its consequence at 180 days or more, so 179 is the last safe count. An absence of a year or more is treated as abandonment; six months or more invites questioning at the border. This counter is a conservative 180-day warning over a rolling year and is not the statutory test.
Who it applies to
This matters most if you are:
- A permanent resident who travels often and must protect the status they already hold.
- An applicant counting physical presence toward residence or a passport.
- Anyone who will have to evidence their days to an immigration authority at renewal or application.
The rule — and why it exists
Longest trip outside the US. At most 179 days outside United States in any rolling 365-day period — written as <=179 AWAY / 365.
Why it exists: residence and citizenship are granted to people who actually live in the country. Presence requirements and absence caps are how that is measured rather than asserted.
Counting the days
- On any given day, look back over the 365 days ending on that day (that day included).
- Count every day you were physically outside United States in that span. Partial days count as full days.
- The total must stay at or below 179. Repeat for every day — there is no reset date.
- A day only stops counting once it is more than 365 days old. Leaving and returning changes nothing.
- A day with no record might have been a qualifying day abroad, so the calculator reports unknown days separately and treats the total as a floor, never a guess.
The free calculator below counts this rule with the same engine the Dwelltime app ships.
Check it with the free tool
Examples
Example 1 — 118 days recorded abroad in the last 365 days
Stays: France 2026-01-01 → 2026-04-28. Checked on 2026-12-31.
Result: Longest trip outside the US: 61 of 179 days left (118 used in United States).
Example 2 — 199 days recorded abroad in the last 365 days
Stays: France 2026-01-01 → 2026-07-18. Checked on 2026-12-31.
Result: Longest trip outside the US: over the limit — 199 of 179 days, first exceeded 2026-06-29.
Exceptions & edge cases
- Absences with permission. Some regimes disregard absences approved in advance or forced by illness; record them and check the source.
- Continuity vs. totals. Some rules require both a total and no single absence over a limit; both must hold.
- Evidence. Authorities may ask for stamps, boarding passes or statements — keep the source of every day.
Common misconceptions
- "Under 179 days means I'm safe." False — other tests can apply, and the count is only one input.
- "It resets when I leave." No. Days age out one at a time, 365 days after they happened.
- "Arrival day doesn't count." Any part of a day inside is a day inside.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 179-day count per calendar year or rolling?
Rolling 365 days. The window rolls forward one day at a time.
Do arrival and departure days count?
Yes — any part of a day counts as a day.
Where does this rule come from?
USCIS: Maintaining Permanent Residence. The link is verified on every build; if it stops resolving the build fails.
This rule is tracked in 
Dwelltime
- Counts your days for this rule from the trips you record
- Shows the last safe day, or the days still needed, before you book
- Explains every counted day and every uncounted one
- Runs alongside your other visa, tax and residency rules
Sources
Related rules
- 🇺🇸US Visa Waiver (ESTA)Ninety days per admission, and the period cannot be extended while in the United States.
<=90 / VISIT - 🇺🇸US Substantial PresenceThis counter is the current year only. The real test weights the two prior years at one third and one sixth — use SubstantialPresenceRule for the full calculation.
<=182 / YEAR - 🇺🇸US FEIE physical presence330 full days abroad in any 12 consecutive months. Days in transit over international waters do not count as days abroad.
>=330 AWAY / 365 - 🇺🇸US naturalization presenceAt least half of the five-year statutory period — 913 days. A single absence of six months or more can also break continuity of residence, which this counter does not track.
>=913 / 1826 - 🇺🇸New York statutory residenceStatutory residence needs both a permanent home in New York and more than 183 days there. Days recorded only as "United States", with no state, are not counted — they are reported as unknown rather than guessed.
<=183 / YEAR - 🇺🇸New Jersey statutory residenceStatutory residence needs both a permanent home in New Jersey and more than 183 days there. Days recorded only as "United States", with no state, are not counted — they are reported as unknown rather than guessed.
<=183 / YEAR - 🇺🇸Massachusetts statutory residenceStatutory residence needs both a permanent home in Massachusetts and more than 183 days there. Days recorded only as "United States", with no state, are not counted — they are reported as unknown rather than guessed.
<=183 / YEAR - 🇺🇸Connecticut statutory residenceStatutory residence needs both a permanent home in Connecticut and more than 183 days there. Days recorded only as "United States", with no state, are not counted — they are reported as unknown rather than guessed.
<=183 / YEAR
All 38 rules for United States →
For information only. This page is a plain-English summary of publicly available rules, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on your personal circumstances — always confirm with the official source above and a qualified professional before acting.