applying for n-470

[dhsplease]

I am working for a bulge bracket investment firm in the US. I recently got conditions removed from my green card and have been in the US for a total of 371 days now as an LPR.
My company is looking to transfer me to Hong Kong for another position there.
I wanted apply for n-470 and wanted to understand what my chances are to get it? Has anyone ever been rejected? If you satisfy the one year residency condition, are you almost always approved? How long does the whole process take?

Thanks a lot in advance

 

[Jackolantern]

I am working for a bulge bracket investment firm in the US. I recently got conditions removed from my green card and have been in the US for a total of 371 days now as an LPR.

Inside the US for only 371 days, despite having a green card for more than 2 years? You almost surely don't qualify for the N-470, which requires 12 consecutive months inside the US as an LPR, without a single day outside the US in those 12 months.

If you satisfy the one year residency condition, are you almost always approved?

No, because it depends on whether the employer meets the relevant criteria for being a US corporation, international organization, etc.

How long does the whole process take?

A few months.

 

[dhsplease]

i think i might have confused you. I got my GC in Jan 2009 (with conditions). The conditions were removed in Sep 2010 (waiver). I was in the US from Jan 2009 to Aug 2009 (8 months), then i went to my home country to 3 weeks and came back on Sept 15th 2009, Since then i have been in the US without a single day outside the country. That is 12 consecutive months right?

I work for Morgan Stanley which is a top 3 investment bank. I would be working in their Hong Kong office.

 

[Jackolantern]

OK, so you meant 371 days since your last entry, not 371 days overall as a LPR.

Note that some companies that you think are US corporations really are not as far as USCIS is concerned, because they're owned by a person or group in London or Dubai or Cayman or something.

Find out if others working for your employer have gotten an N-470 approved in recent years. If they got the N-470, that means your employer meets the criteria*, so yours should be approved easily.


*assuming the company didn't have a significant ownership change or restructuring since those approvals that would affect N-470 eligibility

 

[dhsplease]

thanks
that's what i have been trying to do. Once i get the n-470, there is another requirement for 2.5 years in the US. So if i leave the US after 2 years of residency here, then stay in HK for 3 years, then come back here for 6 months - i should be able to apply for citizenship right? I am guessing the whole citizenship process takes about another 4-5 months so i am looking at a year total.
Does that sound about right?

 

[Jackolantern]

It's 2.5 years total (913 days) of physical presence as an LPR within the last 5 years before submitting the N-400 application.

Once i get the n-470, there is another requirement for 2.5 years in the US. So if i leave the US after 2 years of residency here, then stay in HK for 3 years, then come back here for 6 months - i should be able to apply for citizenship right?

No. It looks like the timing of your absences and presence would not create 2.5 years of presence within the 5 year lookback window. Work out the scenario on paper and you'll see what I mean. You'll end up having to stay in the US for over 2 years after that 3-year absence.

Remember you also need a reentry permit to preserve your green card while in you're in HK for such a long time. The permit only lasts 2 years at a time (in practice, 2 years + 3 to 6 months, because it expires 2 years after the approval date), so if you're going to be there for 3 years you'll probably need a second permit after the first one expires.