Traveled 1 yr 11 months on RP. Naturalization Eligibility Question.

AnyTimeNow

Registered Users (C)
Hello there.

I am a permanent resident since 2004. Following are my last 5 year travel dates:

05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011 :: 716 (had reentry permit)
05/27/2011 - 09/28/2011 :: 125
10/13/2011 - 01/19/2012 :: 99

03/02/2012 - 08/23/2012 :: 175
09/10/2012 - 12/11/2012 :: 93

02/08/2013 - 03/22/2013 :: 43
11/24/2013 - 12/01/2013 :: 08

01/30/2014 - 02/26/2014 :: 28
11/11/2014 - 12/09/2014 :: 29

03/02/2015 - 03/10/2015 :: 09
05/08/2015 - 05/11/2015 :: 04
11/04/2015 - 11/18/2015 :: 15

Question 1: Can I file for naturalization today (Nov 2015) under 4yr+1day rule?

Question 2: if yes, then in n400 form, in last 5 year travel dates section, should I start from the actual 2009 leave date, or the 5 years back from today's date? i.e. should the first entry be:
05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011 :: 716 days
OR
11/26/2010 - 05/05/2011 :: 162 days

Thanks for answering my questions.
 
Hello there.

I am a permanent resident since 2004. Following are my last 5 year travel dates:

05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011 :: 716 (had reentry permit)
05/27/2011 - 09/28/2011 :: 125
10/13/2011 - 01/19/2012 :: 99

03/02/2012 - 08/23/2012 :: 175
09/10/2012 - 12/11/2012 :: 93

02/08/2013 - 03/22/2013 :: 43
11/24/2013 - 12/01/2013 :: 08

01/30/2014 - 02/26/2014 :: 28
11/11/2014 - 12/09/2014 :: 29

03/02/2015 - 03/10/2015 :: 09
05/08/2015 - 05/11/2015 :: 04
11/04/2015 - 11/18/2015 :: 15

Question 1: Can I file for naturalization today (Nov 2015) under 4yr+1day rule?

Question 2: if yes, then in n400 form, in last 5 year travel dates section, should I start from the actual 2009 leave date, or the 5 years back from today's date? i.e. should the first entry be:
05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011 :: 716 days
OR
11/26/2010 - 05/05/2011 :: 162 days

Thanks for answering my questions.

Possibly the following online calculator will be of help:

http://www.immihelp.com/us-citizenship-eligibility-calculator/
 
Hello EURO2014. Thanks for the eligibility calculator link.

Are you the programmer of the calculator? The calculator gives different answers based on how you give the first trip out dates.

When I give actual dates of absence, i.e. 05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011, it tells me that I am not eligible. I guess the reason is that it assumes that all of these 716 days of absence are within the eligibility calculation period. Does USCIS also calculate that way? The actual days of absence out of that trip within the eligibility calculation period are actually just 162, and total absence in the eligibility calculation period is actually 26 months.

So I guess the questions are:

1) If the start date of the 5 year eligibility calculation period falls during a long absence (1 yr +), then are the total days of that absence counted towards the days of absence in the eligibility calculation period, or just the days of absence after the start date of the eligibility calculation period?

2) In this case how do you write the dates properly in the n400 form to come out eligible under the 4yr+1day rule?


Thank you.
 
Hello EURO2014. Thanks for the eligibility calculator link.

Are you the programmer of the calculator? The calculator gives different answers based on how you give the first trip out dates.

When I give actual dates of absence, i.e. 05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011, it tells me that I am not eligible. I guess the reason is that it assumes that all of these 716 days of absence are within the eligibility calculation period. Does USCIS also calculate that way? The actual days of absence out of that trip within the eligibility calculation period are actually just 162, and total absence in the eligibility calculation period is actually 26 months.

So I guess the questions are:

1) If the start date of the 5 year eligibility calculation period falls during a long absence (1 yr +), then are the total days of that absence counted towards the days of absence in the eligibility calculation period, or just the days of absence after the start date of the eligibility calculation period?

2) In this case how do you write the dates properly in the n400 form to come out eligible under the 4yr+1day rule?


Thank you.
Thank you for your message. We are in the same situation as you are, i.e. LPR with intention to apply for US citizenship after obligatory waiting period and found the calculator to be helpful and accurate for our situation. In your earlier message you had mentioned "05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011 :: 716 (had reentry permit)", i.e. had calculated the 716 days absence with reentry permit, hence I would presume that the information the calculator provides is based on applicable USCIS method. May be someone else on the forum with additional insight can chip in and provide additional input for your specific case? Otherwise you may want to verify with legal counsel, to be found under www.uscis.gov/avoidscams or be calling USCIS at 1-800-375-5283. Good luck!
 
You actual absence was 05/20/2009 - 05/05/2011, so that's what you should put. Yes, part of that is outside of 5 years, but they will figure that out. If you put "11/26/2010 - 05/05/2011" that gives the false impression that you left on 11/26/2010, and you don't want to give misleading information. Also, the 4 year + 1 day rule applies for absences of more than 1 year, but it is disputed whether it applies to absences of between 6 months and 1 year, so making it seem as if your absence was 162 days causes problems with that too.
 
Thanks everyone for replies earlier. I finally filled in May 2016 after waiting for the long trip >180 days to move out of the last 5 years window.

Question: If they still deny my application based on my frequent trips, do they do it at the interview by first giving me a chance to explain the nature of the trips, or can they do it just by going through the application. I had total 13 trips and 648 days out of USA in last 5 years, all trips < 180 days.

Thank you.
 
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