90 day eligibility rule

arjun12

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,

I have a question. I am eligble for applying US citizenship in March 1st week 2012 (90 days before completing 5 years of permanent residency).

I am planning to move to India in Dec for good as I am getting a good job offer. My family will stay back for another 6-7 months until kids complete the school year.

Question - Can I go to India and come back in March & apply for citizenship and then again go back? Or do I need to physically be present in US for 90 days just before citizenship application?

Pls advise
 
You don't need to be physically present in the US for 90 days before filing. You need to maintain your primary residence in the same state/district for 3 months before applying, and continue to reside primarily in the US through the entire citizenship process until the oath, in order to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. Your plan to permanently relocate to India and start working there before completing the process will almost surely result in denial for breaking continuous residence.
 
Hi but I have seen lots of cases where indians came to US for citizenship application, go back to India and come back for oath etc.

You don't need to be physically present in the US for 90 days before filing. You need to maintain your primary residence in the same state/district for 3 months before applying, and continue to reside primarily in the US through the entire citizenship process until the oath, in order to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. Your plan to permanently relocate to India and start working there before completing the process will almost surely result in denial for breaking continuous residence.
 
Hi but I have seen lots of cases where indians came to US for citizenship application, go back to India and come back for oath etc.

Probably one or more of the following happened with them:

- They weren't spending very much time in India during the process so their trips looked like short vacations rather than a full relocation
- They weren't working in India during the process, or they were working for a US company and had an approved N-470
- They were lucky to face a very lenient officer, or
- They simply lied about the length or number of trips and got away with it.

You can't count on being as lucky as they were.
 
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