3 days cruise trip to Bahamas after interview considered outside of US or not? I am confused...
- Thread starter Jalma
- Start date
Check "YES" and bring your passports, just to be on the safe side. Unless you were right on the cusp of breaking your physical presence requirement, a three day trip is not an issue at all, nor will it delay your oath.
Triple Citizen
Registered Users (C)
I don't think Bahamas is considered as US territory. It's an independent island country used to be under England before.
While leaving, immigration did not stamp anything on the passport. They only scanned Green card while going and coming back from Bahamas. The number of days we were out does not affect the physical presence requirement. I guess answering "YES" should not be a big deal. Right?
While leaving, immigration did not stamp anything on the passport. They only scanned Green card while going and coming back from Bahamas. The number of days we were out does not affect the physical presence requirement. I guess answering "YES" should not be a big deal. Right?
Triple Citizen
Registered Users (C)
You have no choice but to answer "Yes". You should not be considering whether it will be a big deal or not. That is my point.
Don't base your decision to disclose on whether or not they stamped your passport. You visited a foreign country, so you would need to disclose it.
Triple Citizen
Registered Users (C)
As long as these three days do not tilt the balance of your "days-in to days-out" count, there is nothing to worry about.
A three day trip is irrelevant to physical presence requirement as it must only be met until time of applying. Also, a three day trip isn't sufficient to tilt continuous residency requirement.
Bobsmyth said after interview or even perhap after filing N400, physical presence requirement is not an issue anymore.
Continuous residency is an issue but 3 days trip will never get anyone's attention.
So it is perfectly OK that before interview the OP stay N+1 days in USA and N days outside USA and with this 3 day trip in Bahama he now staing M+1 days outside USA
and M Days in USA.
Triple Citizen
Registered Users (C)
True. I was just covering the worst case scenario of running into an incompetent USCIS employee (with the authorirty to pull people of out of the oath ceremony) being present at the OP's oath.
sanjoseaug20
Registered Users (C)
Correct. And when you stand in the line to enter the oath ceremony, someone will check all these YES/NO questions and ask more questions to satisfy him/her-self. If they think the issue is big enough, they pull the person out for further discussion. 3 days - I do not think they are going to even blink, but you must report it.
Triple Citizen
Registered Users (C)
i got a really bad look from the IO today on this issue. 
She found a stamp among the stamps on my passport
that i hadnt disclosed.
I explained to her was a trip to the Bahamas on a one day cruise
thinking they only wanted those trips that were over 24 hours
...i think we went for a day from florida
chilled out and came back same day.
She added it to the list and said it needed to be listed among all trips
but wrote one day next to it...
She found a stamp among the stamps on my passport
that i hadnt disclosed.
I explained to her was a trip to the Bahamas on a one day cruise
thinking they only wanted those trips that were over 24 hours
...i think we went for a day from florida
chilled out and came back same day.
She added it to the list and said it needed to be listed among all trips
but wrote one day next to it...
sanjoseaug20
Registered Users (C)
i got a really bad look from the IO today on this issue.
She found a stamp among the stamps on my passport
that i hadnt disclosed.
I explained to her was a trip to the Bahamas on a one day cruise
thinking they only wanted those trips that were over 24 hours
...i think we went for a day from florida
chilled out and came back same day.
She added it to the list and said it needed to be listed among all trips
but wrote one day next to it...
Don't mind the bad look since you PASSED. Congratulations!!
If the trip was under 24 hours,(like a one cruise that leaves Florida at 10:00am, arrives in Bahamas at 2:00pm, then returns to Florida by 10:30pm) it doesn't need to be disclosed per N-400 instructions. Same thing goes for same trips to Mexico or Canada. If your trip was under 24 hours and IO insisted it must be disclosed, the IO didn't know what she was talking about.i got a really bad look from the IO today on this issue.
She found a stamp among the stamps on my passport
that i hadnt disclosed.
I explained to her was a trip to the Bahamas on a one day cruise
thinking they only wanted those trips that were over 24 hours
...i think we went for a day from florida
chilled out and came back same day.
She added it to the list and said it needed to be listed among all trips
but wrote one day next to it...
cafeconleche
Registered Users (C)
On that note, may I ask if, say, I entere Canada around 3pm on a Saturday and re-enter the US around the same time the next day, would I need to disclose that trip on my application? I know that the days would count as spent in the US since they would be partial days in the US.