Applying for citizenship while out of the country

I

I_joined_2011

New Member
Hi,

(there are a few posts with situations similar to mine but all are a little different so I thought I would post mine just to be sure...) I got my green card about 10 years ago. Have lived in the US continuously for about 20 years, with visits to my family back home for 1 or 2 months every year, but I have never left the US for more than 3 months consecutively, and satisfies the physical presence requirement by a large margin (stayed in the US for about 50 of the last 60 months).

I am taking a job abroad starting in about 2-3 months that it will be for ~2 years. I will be going back to the US every 6 months or so for maybe a week-ish during this time.

Can I apply for citizenship now (preferred) or should I apply for the re-entry permit? I have friends who I can forward mails to and notify me about INS mails. I imagine I should be able to get the FP done before I leave.

In my new job I also should be flexible enough for to fly back for the interview, but it might not be possible at all times. If that's the case, can I request a specific interview date or at least postponement?

Btw, I live in the San Francisco bay area.

Thank you in advance. Please let me know if I miss out any info.
 
Working and living abroad, and returning to US every 6 months for a week will put your continuous residency and US residency ties into question.
Even with an approved N-470, applying from abroad will lead to a denial since you must be residing in the US during the naturalization process.
 
I_joined_2011 said:
I am taking a job abroad starting in about 2-3 months that it will be for ~2 years. I will be going back to the US every 6 months or so for maybe a week-ish during this time.
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The worst time to working abroad or traveling extensively is during the naturalization process. It creates the impression that you've already relocated abroad permanently, and now you're just applying for citizenship because it's your last chance. Without an approved N-470, your naturalization application will be practically doomed. But if you apply for the N-470 now it might not get approved before the interview.

If you want citizenship you need to delay that job until you complete the naturalization process. Are you eligible to apply right now? if yes, delaying the job until December/January should give you enough time to naturalize before you start working abroad, assuming you don't encounter significant delays.
 
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Bobsmyth said:
Even with an approved N-470, applying from abroad will lead to a denial since you must be residing in the US during the naturalization process.
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That's not true. Having an approved N-470 is effectively the equivalent of residing in the US for continuous residence for naturalization purposes. IIRC, there was a poster from a year or two ago who was still working abroad with an N-470 during the process and got approved.
 
Jackolantern said:
That's not true. Having an approved N-470 is effectively the equivalent of residing in the US for continuous residence for naturalization purposes. IIRC, there was a poster from a year or two ago who was still working abroad with an N-470 during the process and got approved.
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Did that poster actually file from abroad? It's one thing to have an approved N-470, file from US and then begin work abroad, and another to be already relocated overseas with a N-470 and apply from abroad.
 
Without any US residency ties, filing from abroad would be too risky. The purpose of the N-470 is to cover continuous residency requirement, not district area requirement. Under what district area do you suggest an applicant who moves abroad with an approved N-470 file?
 
I am still in the US, and will be for 2-3 months. I can probably delay for a little more time, but it's unlikely that I can stay for the 6 (or more) months that is likely to take for the whole naturalization process.

so can I apply for N-470, and then when it gets approved, file N-400?
 
Your chances would be better if you had an N-470 in hand when you applied from abroad. Your chances would be even better if you could delay the start of your overseas employment until after the oath.

Do you and your employer qualify for the N-470? Are you aware of the requirements?
 
Bobsmyth said:
Without any US residency ties, filing from abroad would be too risky. The purpose of the N-470 is to cover continuous residency requirement, not district area requirement. Under what district area do you suggest an applicant who moves abroad with an approved N-470 file?
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The district to which the applicant is maintaining ties while abroad. Like the poster I mentioned from a couple years ago who continued to maintain DL, bank accounts, file taxes etc. all tied to a particular US addres.
 
I applied while I was studying abroad. It was fine. I just used my relative's address. Not a overseas one. I came back on holiday in Dec and filed. Then back in Feb for FP, in April for interview and May for oath. I had my relatives forward me the mail so I was on top of everything.

But I did have to be flexible and drop everything and fly down for the FP, the interview and the oath. If you think you may not be able to do all that, then have a re-think.

The thing is, because I was studying and not working, perhaps I was not under much scrutiny. Since in your case, you are actually working abroad, questions may arise. But are you working for a US company? I believe that makes a difference, right?
 
Do applicants not confirm prior to the oath that they have resided for 90 days or more prior to the oath in the district in which they are being sworn?
 
It was my understanding that you need to be 90 days in the district before you file and you need to reside in the district until the oath. So that would be more likely in the range of plus/minus 8 months total residency in the district. Although you can transfer a case AFTER filing, but I would not recommend it.
 
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