180 days rule for Continued residence

Jackolantern said:
Lucky you. I've also dealt with them for more than a decade and I've been harassed on more than one occasion (at the embassy and at the port of entry). One of my brothers was also harassed recently ... after two decades of traveling in and out of the US and never overstaying (never spending more than a few weeks per year, except when he had a J visa some years ago), they really grilled him at the embassy in his latest application for a tourist visa and he had to fight like a dog with every point he could think of and every document and paper he had on him. At the end of it they only gave him a 1-year visa instead of the 5- or 10-year visas that he got in the past.

Do you happen to be a white European or Canadian? I'm not.
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Embassy is not USCIS. You had bad experience with other structure.
 
I've been sent to secondary inspection, and later was verbally harassed (threatened with being sent back to the UK) while trying to get an H1B stamped. Not the same agency as USCIS, but definitely the same mentality.
 
Jackolantern said:
Lucky you. I've also dealt with them for more than a decade and I've been harassed on more than one occasion (at the embassy and at the port of entry). One of my brothers was also harassed recently ... after two decades of traveling in and out of the US and never overstaying (never spending more than a few weeks per year, except when he had a J visa some years ago), they really grilled him at the embassy in his latest application for a tourist visa and he had to fight like a dog with every point he could think of and every document and paper he had on him. At the end of it they only gave him a 1-year visa instead of the 5- or 10-year visas that he got in the past.

Do you happen to be a white European or Canadian? I'm not.
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I sympathize with these harassment episodes but I'm sure they are exceptions, not the norm.

I'm from India but I don't understand why that is relevant.
 
immigrateful said:
Also I do not think there are too many officers who are incompetent for anyone to get lucky. They know exactly what they are doing and the organization as a whole is generally disposed to making the life of an immigrant easier by helping him/her become a citizen rather than finding minor flaws with the applications.
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Not necessarily. There are plenty of reports of IOs nitpicking on nonsense such as minor traffic tickets and demanding proof of payment, despite it clearly states in the Guide that no proof is needed for minor violations.
 
Vorpal said:
Not necessarily. There are plenty of reports of IOs nitpicking on nonsense such as minor traffic tickets and demanding proof of payment, despite it clearly states in the Guide that no proof is needed for minor violations.
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Sure. The USCIS is far from being a perfectly run organization and the media reports its flaws from time to time. Personally, I've never had any of these experiences in more than a decade that I've interacted with them.

On the day of my interview, I also noticed that 100% of the other people before me (about 6-7) were in and out in 10-15 minutes with a big and content smile on their face.

I have a feeling that the amount of USCIS-bashing that goes on here is disproportionate.
 
immigrateful said:
I have a feeling that the amount of USCIS-bashing that goes on here is disproportionate.
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I agree with the fact that most applications do get approved. However, keep in mind that the majority of this forum's members are experiencing some sort of a problem with the USCIS, henceforth the bashing. Speaking from personal experience, I've been waiting for over 9 months (all background checks cleared), and still no interview in sight. Meanwhile, applicants from my DO with PDs as late as April 2008 are already receiving interviews. I've already been to 2 InfoPass appointments and spoke to IOs over the phone countless times, and no one can answer why this is going on or when I'll have my interview. You have to admit that something is seriously flawed there. Take a look at the NYC thread, there are a few others with a similar issue. It's hard to think highly of the USCIS when there's no apparent standard to which they adhere.
 
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Out of country for more than 180 days...

My mom got her green card Feb 2003, but was out of country for almost 1 year - she returned in Feb 2004.

We don't have extensive papers that prove she was trying to maintain residence - she obviously has no tax returns/permanent home/driver license etc..

My question:

Should we wait until Nov 2008 (3 months before Feb 2009 - 5 years to reqquirement), or should we go ahead and file now?

What happens if we file now and they deem that my mom broke the continuous residency requirement? If we apply now, the odds are that the interview process will not be till Feb 2009. At that time, even if they deem that my mom broke continuous residency requirement, she would be eligible.

What I don't want is they saying that we have to apply again...and pay another 675...
 
vcpat said:
Continued residence requirement for citizenship application states that one should not take "trips no longer than 180 days".
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From where did you exactly quote this statement?

There is no reference that USCIS count 6 months as 180 days, as it not necessary equal to only 180 days – since 6 months might be up to 183 days.

That is why they use 6 months term in N-400 form and in naturalization law rather then 180 days.
 
bearblue said:
What happens if we file now and they deem that my mom broke the continuous residency requirement? If we apply now, the odds are that the interview process will not be till Feb 2009. At that time, even if they deem that my mom broke continuous residency requirement, she would be eligible.
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Applicants need to meet the residence requirement when they file the N-400, when they interview, and when they take the oath. So even if satisfying the requirement as of the interview time, denial is still possible for insufficient residence as of the filing date.
What I don't want is they saying that we have to apply again...and pay another 675...
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Either that, or you would have to appeal which is also expensive. November is only 4 months away, so is it worth the risk of losing the money in order to gain 4 months? If she applies now she probably won't get processed fast enough to vote this year anyway.
 
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Sounds like what you are suggesting is wait for 4 montgs...

The reason to apply now is not voting related - Mom wants to travel out of the country again as soon as per citizenship is done...If we wait, we delay her travel. She doesn't want to go now and come back in November...

Anyone else with experience in this ? - I mean my mom is definitely not "ineligible" now - her eligibility is borderline, since she was out of country for more than 6, but less than 12 months. I heard one of the criteria in such a case is whether the rest of family was in US - all her sons were in US while she was out....

As long they don't ask us to apply afresh, i would prefer to apply now. So let's say that they interview in January - if they say that they will approve in Feb, I am okay with that...but to have to reapply in Jan would be bad...
 
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