system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
When is a good time to take a year off?

I am in the dissertation phase of my doctoral studies. Ultimately, I want to build a career in academia in the United States after I gain my PhD. However, due to family and visa reasons, I need to live outside of the United States for a year.

It is very unlikely I can do a job in academia (postdoc, adjunct, etc.) during this time due to visa and language reasons although I hope to get some sort of job to earn some money.

My question is, do you think it is better to take this year off before I complete my PhD, essentially taking 6 instead of 5 years to graduate, or to take the year off immediately after I graduate?

I cannot take the year off any later than immediately after I graduate, again for visa reasons. In other words I have to start the year off by May 2019.
gpt
Maybe this is a field thing, but would you really need to take a year off of writing your dissertation (add a year to your plan) to take a leave of absence for a year?

If no, the least disruptive plan would be to take a year off while you are writing up the dissertation and return to finish it (which will help you apply for jobs). And if your family reasons are sufficiently compelling, you could get a leave of absence that pauses the clock for your expected time-to-degree, so you take an extra year but not according to your registration.

Separately, if your visa is to the US, you might struggle to take a year off after you graduate if you intend on returning to the US to seek academic employment.