3 months stay in current state rule

C

cooldude12345

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

Per my understanding, before I file N400, I need to be staying in my current state for atleast last 3 months. Is that a physical stay requirement?

The reason I'm asking is:
Currently, I'm out of USA and planned to be back on May 1st.
On July 1st, I will be eligible to file N400 (90 days prior to GC date of 5 years)

As there is only difference of 60 days between May1st and July 1st, am I still fulfilling the 3_month_stay_in_state residency requirement? or I am breaking it and I should wait till August 1st to file N400?

Any pointers is helpful.

Thanks,
A
 
oops! missed to mention that..

I am out of USA right now for visiting parents for last 3-4 months. On May 1st (the day I reach USA), i will be out of USA for 175 days.
 
cooldude12345 said:
oops! missed to mention that..

I am out of USA right now for visiting parents for last 3-4 months. On May 1st (the day I reach USA), i will be out of USA for 175 days.
Click to expand...

The 90 days state/district residency requirement is a residency rather than physical presence requirement. What matters is where your primary residence/place of abode was in the 3 months prior to filing; it is OK to have short absences from the state/district or even from the U.S. during that 3 month period. However, as with the 5 year continuous residency requirement, the 90 days state/district residency requirement is to a significant degree subjective. Much will depend on the judgement of the IO conduction your naturalization interview and the IO will have wide discretion in deciding if the 5 year continuous residency and the 3 months state district residency requirement are met.

In the case of a fairly extended absence that overlaps the 90 day period prior to filing, much will depend on the specific nature of your trip and on factors such as whether you owned/rented a house/apartment in the sate/district during that period, if you still had a job back in the U.S., what the source of your income was, if you had other members of your immediate family (such as spouse/children) back in the U.S. living at your house/apartment, etc. Your post does not provide enough info about such details, but with an absence of 175 days you are certainly in a risky zone.
Moreover, such a long absence, depending on other factors, may also put in question your 5 year continuous residency requirement. You should remember that trips abroad below 6 months in duration can still be viewed as having broken continuous residency, depending on circumstances.
 
Thanks for prompt reply..

- I do own a house (which I've rented because of the bad economy and have moved to stay with cousins in same suburb/county.)
- I was out of country because of sick parents with no dependents to take their care
- I am in USA for last 8 years and during last 5 years, I had only 3 outside USA visits so far:
1) 120 days long visit during 3rd year
2) 175 days long visit during 5th year
3) 60 days long visit during 1st year.
- My husband (he is a US citizen for almost a year now) also joined me abroad after his employment was terminated in USA.
- We have paid taxes every year without any delays and have no questionable history.

Does above scenerio put me in risk zone? What can be done on my end? Once I return on May 1st, I am going to find a job.
 
If you have already satisfied the 3 month residence requirement and then you travel abroad for months and return to the same state/district after traveling, you still would have satisfied the requirement. You are not required to physically be in the US for any portion of the 3 month period right before applying.
 
cooldude12345 said:
Thanks for prompt reply..

- I do own a house (which I've rented because of the bad economy and have moved to stay with cousins in same suburb/county.)
- I was out of country because of sick parents with no dependents to take their care
- I am in USA for last 8 years and during last 5 years, I had only 3 outside USA visits so far:
1) 120 days long visit during 3rd year
2) 175 days long visit during 5th year
3) 60 days long visit during 1st year.
- My husband (he is a US citizen for almost a year now) also joined me abroad after his employment was terminated in USA.
- We have paid taxes every year without any delays and have no questionable history.

Does above scenerio put me in risk zone? What can be done on my end? Once I return on May 1st, I am going to find a job.
Click to expand...

Like I said, the matters related to continuous residency are rather subjective and a great deal will depend on the particular IO conducting your interview. However, in my personal opinion, your current trip (which, as you say, will be 175 days long) definitely puts you at risk in terms of satisfying the continuous residency requirement.

The fact that you own a house does not help very much in this case since you have rented it out and do not live there. Neither you nor your spouse currently have a job in the U.S. and, moreover, your spouse is abroad with you. I imagine that your arrangement regarding living with your cousins is informal and that you do not/did not have a formal lease and things like utility bills in your name at their address.
So during this trip abroad, other than the house which you rented out and which you do not use as your residence, you do not really have significant ties to the U.S.
Moreover, the reason for your trip - taking care of sick parents - is essentially open-ended rather than strictly temporary in nature (compared to, say, a temporary job assignment abroad with a fixed termination date).

In terms of what you can do, well, you can come back earlier, making this trip shorter. Or at least schedule a short trip back to the U.S. before May 1. The latter is not really a sure-fire way of dealing with the problem, since two absences from the U.S. stacked close together may still be viewed by the IO as a single trip, but still it is something.
 
cooldude12345 said:
oops! missed to mention that..

I am out of USA right now for visiting parents for last 3-4 months. On May 1st (the day I reach USA), i will be out of USA for 175 days.
Click to expand...

The long trip ( just under the 6 month threshold) may cause the IO to question your residency ties since your husband accompanied you on the trip, you were no longer employed in the US and you rented out your US house.
 
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