"4 years and 1 day" rule?

S

siri2001

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I got my GC in Jan 2003 but was temporality out of US for more than a year. I came back to US with the reentry permit in April 2006.

My understanding is that for the case like mine, the 5 years requirement is reset but I can file for Citizenship after 4 years and 1 day (in April 2010) after the last entry date to US. Is this correct?


If yes, what is the normal processing time to actually get the citizenship? (I'm in LA)
 
My understanding is that for the case like mine, the 5 years requirement is reset but I can file for Citizenship after 4 years and 1 day (in April 2010) after the last entry date to US. Is this correct?
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You can file 3 months (or 90 days) before that.

If yes, what is the normal processing time to actually get the citizenship? (I'm in LA)
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Roughly 6 months to a year. But the processing time changes overtime.
 
The 90 day rule cannot be used when applying under 4 years + 1 day.
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Why is that? I do not see any evidency of this in the law.
It can only be used for 5 year regular or 3 year marriage based applications
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I guess this case is exactly 5 years regular. That is why the 90 days rule could be used.
 
The 90 day rule is written exclusively for 3 and 5 year based cases . There's plenty of evidence online that the 90 day rule can't be used when filing for 4 years +1 day.
 
The 90 day rule is written exclusively for 3 and 5 year based cases .
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Agreed. INA 316 is 5 year based case and INA 319 is 3 year based case. Other sections of INA (like INA 329, through US Army) exclude 90 days rule. So, this is definitely an INA 316 case, 5 year based case.

There's plenty of evidence online that the 90 day rule can't be used when filing for 4 years +1 day.
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I disagree. Please provide some.
 
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raevsky said:
Agreed. INA 316 is 5 year based case and INA 319 is 3 year based case. Other sections of INA (like INA 329, through US Army) exclude 90 days rule. So, this is definitely an INA 316 case, 5 year based case.

I disagree. Please provide some.
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...the earliest possible naturalization filing would be four years and a day from reentry. (This rule cannot be combined with the 90-day rule mentioned above).


ref:
http://www.murthy.com/pr_thngs.html
 
Yes. Now I am convinced. Thanks

8 CFR 316.5(c)(1)(ii)

(ii) For period in excess of one (1) year. Unless an applicant applies for benefits in accordance with § 316.5(d) , absences from the United States for a continuous period of one (1) year or more during the period for which continuous residence is required under § 316.2(a)(3) and (a)(5) shall disrupt the continuity of the applicant's residence. An applicant described in this paragraph who must satisfy a five-year statutory residence period may file an application for naturalization four years and one day following the date of the applicant's return to the United States to resume permanent residence. An applicant described in this paragraph who must satisfy a three-year statutory residence period may file an application for naturalization two years and one day following the date of the applicant's return to the United States to resume permanent residence. (Amended 9/24/93; 58 FR 49913)
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Citizenship- 4 yr 1 day rule

Siri2001,
I am a permanant resident since last 10 years and recently applied for citizenship after two re-entry permits and calculating the 4 years one day rule. I want to alert you not to add another 90 days advantage because this is applicable to only freshly completed 5 yrs and 3 yrs without any extra time spent outside USA. Besides one of my colleague and his wife applied based on one re-entry permit and 4 yrs and one day to which they also added (actually subtracted, technically) this 90 days. This was a big mistake as they got rejected and lost all their time and money. Now they have applied again and waiting to be called for interview. Hope atleast they will get this time around.
Relavant to the above situation is adding up some time spent outside USA ie 364 days prior to 4 yrs and 1 day, thus making it total five years. I have read somewhere that during this time (364 days)outside USA, if one is taking into consideration, then the person is not supposed to take employment outside USA. Now I was already working and going to take voluntary retirement from the organization I was working in my home country, before moving to USA permanantly. I could not have left the job just like that. Moving to another country takes planning and if someone in mid career has to do that, there is every likelihood that the person will be working in the country of origin.- which is what my situation was. However there is no mention of this in the guide. So if anyone know for sure if this is true, can they give some reference?
 
RSRK said:
Siri2001,
I am a permanant resident since last 10 years and recently applied for citizenship after two re-entry permits and calculating the 4 years one day rule. I want to alert you not to add another 90 days advantage because this is applicable to only freshly completed 5 yrs and 3 yrs without any extra time spent outside USA. Besides one of my colleague and his wife applied based on one re-entry permit and 4 yrs and one day to which they also added (actually subtracted, technically) this 90 days. This was a big mistake as they got rejected and lost all their time and money. Now they have applied again and waiting to be called for interview. Hope atleast they will get this time around.
Relavant to the above situation is adding up some time spent outside USA ie 364 days prior to 4 yrs and 1 day, thus making it total five years. I have read somewhere that during this time (364 days)outside USA, if one is taking into consideration, then the person is not supposed to take employment outside USA. Now I was already working and going to take voluntary retirement from the organization I was working in my home country, before moving to USA permanantly. I could not have left the job just like that. Moving to another country takes planning and if someone in mid career has to do that, there is every likelihood that the person will be working in the country of origin.- which is what my situation was. However there is no mention of this in the guide. So if anyone know for sure if this is true, can they give some reference?
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You mean you got your green card, then spent a short time in the US, then went back to work at your same old job outside the US for a few years?

If that is the case, you probably would fall into the situation where they would say you did not begin to establish US residence until the end of your long stays in your original country. The 4 year + 1 day rule is for people who established residence and then broke it, which would not apply to you, so you would have to wait the full 5 years after you started actually living in the US. There was a similar case a few months ago on this board where the person left the US about 2 months after green card approval, and the IO said the years of residence should be counted starting when she returned to the US after the long overseas trip, because the end of that trip is when she really started US residence.
 
RSRK said:
I have read somewhere that during this time (364 days)outside USA, if one is taking into consideration, then the person is not supposed to take employment outside USA. Now I was already working and going to take voluntary retirement from the organization I was working in my home country, before moving to USA permanantly. I could not have left the job just like that. Moving to another country takes planning and if someone in mid career has to do that, there is every likelihood that the person will be working in the country of origin.- which is what my situation was. However there is no mention of this in the guide. So if anyone know for sure if this is true, can they give some reference?
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So you are saying you are a permanent resident, but returned to your country of origin to work?
 
Yes between 1998 to 2004 I went back and forth to India on two re-entry permits and now, since september 2004 I am maintaining residence in USA. Calculating 4 yrs one day after my last entry in USA in Sep 2004 uptil Sep 2008, I have applied for citizenship to which I have received the receipt so far and hoping to get FP notice in next few weeks.
My question was regarding the employment during 364 days spent outside USA previous to establishing my residence in US since Sep 2004, which can be added on to this time as per page 22 on guide to naturalization.
 
RSRK said:
Yes between 1998 to 2004 I went back and forth to India on two re-entry permits and now, since september 2004 I am maintaining residence in USA. Calculating 4 yrs one day after my last entry in USA in Sep 2004 uptil Sep 2008, I have applied for citizenship to which I have received the receipt so far and hoping to get FP notice in next few weeks.
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So you already applied. In the interview if they say you need 5 years after your Sep 2004 entry, ask for a "continuation" of your case with another interview in Sep 2009 or later. The other poster who ran into this issue (I haven't been able to locate the thread) got a continuation, rather than having to suffer a denial and reapply all over again.
 
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In the last 10 yrs of my LPR status I took two re-entry permits, the second ending October 2004. I returned to US before its expiry on 25th Sep 2004 and since then maintaining my continous residence as well as physical presence requirement , ie: I never went out of USA for more than 180 days and have about 36 months of stay within USA. All I am counting is 364 days out of my 2nd re-entry permit time outside USA and adding this to 4 yrs and one day till 27th Sep 2008 as per page 22 in the guide to naturalization. Do I still have to have 5 yrs after my return to US on 25th Sep 2004?
 
RSRK said:
In the last 10 yrs of my LPR status I took two re-entry permits, the second ending October 2004. I returned to US before its expiry on 25th Sep 2004 and since then maintaining my continous residence as well as physical presence requirement , ie: I never went out of USA for more than 180 days and have about 36 months of stay within USA. All I am counting is 364 days out of my 2nd re-entry permit time outside USA and adding this to 4 yrs and one day till 27th Sep 2008 as per page 22 in the guide to naturalization. Do I still have to have 5 yrs after my return to US on 25th Sep 2004?
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How much time did you spend in the US before going away on those reentry permits? If they deem that your residence actually started when you came back from the reentry permit, due to insufficient presence in the US before your long trips, they won't look back at anything before Sep 2004 ... and thus would count the 5 years starting in Sep 2004 and ending in Sep 2009.

You already applied, the money is gone, all you can do now is go to the interview and see what happens.
 
Sorry for digging this old thread.

If you want to apply for citizenship you have to be present in the U.S. for at least 1/2 of the statutory period time. In case of 5 years (60 months) the half is 30 months.

How is it in case of 4 years and 1 day rule? Do you need to fulfill 2,5 years or 2 years and 1 day?
 
Hannah7 said:
Sorry for digging this old thread.

If you want to apply for citizenship you have to be present in the U.S. for at least 1/2 of the statutory period time. In case of 5 years (60 months) the half is 30 months.

How is it in case of 4 years and 1 day rule? Do you need to fulfill 2,5 years or 2 years and 1 day?
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Same 30 months total (913 days) within the past 5 years. So if you spent the first year of the 5 year window outside the US, those 30 months of required presence will have to be bunched into the other 4 years and a day.
 
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