Applying from outside the country: physical presence and residency requirement

[nj13]

Hi,

I am currently on a long term assignment outside US. I will be eligible to apply for US citizenship on Feb 21, 2013 (based on 5 years - 90 days rule, my GC date is 5/22/2008). According to my calculations, I will have 920-odd days of physical presence in the US on that date because I started my assignment outside the US approx 28 months after my green card date. I have an approved N-470, re-entry permit and have maintained an address in WA state throughout.

1. I will mail my application on the 21st and hope that USCIS considers it filed in the next couple of days. What does the filing date really mean? The date USCIS receives it? Or the day they accept it after payment clears, etc.

2. How does physical presence work? I have very little surplus days of physical presence. Since I will be outside the US during the application process I will stop meeting physical presence requirement by the time of the interview. Will my application still be valid?

3. I use a friend's address as my address in the state. Any issues with that may affect residency in the state? I do have a valid DL from WA state.

Thanks!
nj13

 

[nwctzn]

You have really a border-line case since you have to be in the US for at least 913 days.

The officer will do a calculation at the time of your interview which includes your time outside the US after you have submitted the N-400; i.e., at the interview you need to inform the officer about the time out of the US since the N-400 submission. Then, as far as I know, you must meet the physical presence requirement at the time of the oath ceremony. So the USCIS will calculate if you meet the presence requirement for the last 5 years up to the oath ceremony.

So given your current assignment it looks like it will be tough to meet that requirement.

Other than that, most people who leave with a re-entry permit apply once they are back in the country for at least 4 years and 1 day.

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[Jackolantern]

You have really a border-line case since you have to be in the US for at least 913 days.

The officer will do a calculation at the time of your interview which includes your time outside the US after you have submitted the N-400; i.e., at the interview you need to inform the officer about the time out of the US since the N-400 submission. Then, as far as I know, you must meet the physical presence requirement at the time of the oath ceremony. So the USCIS will calculate if you meet the presence requirement for the last 5 years up to the oath ceremony.

Physical presence is only counted as of the filing date. Time spent inside or outside the US after the filing date don't affect the physical presence calculation.

Continuous residence is required all the way until the oath date, but with a valid N-470 there should be no problem with that.

According to my calculations, I will have 920-odd days of physical presence in the US on that date because I started my assignment outside the US approx 28 months after my green card date.

The potential problem here is that the interviewer may use a stricter interpretation when counting days in the US. You said you have 920 days inside the US in the past years ending with your anticipated filing date. Did you get that total by counting both the exit and entry dates of each trip as days inside the US? That's how the guide says the days should be counted, but there have been cases where the interviewer decided to count only one of the endpoints as a day inside the US, resulting in denial for borderline cases.

Your other problem is that the filing date is when USCIS receives the application, but when you're sending from overseas you can't be exactly sure when it will arrive. If it arrives later than you want, it eats away at your physical presence total; if it arrives before the 90-day mark, it will be denied for being too early. If possible, try to make a 1-week stay in the US between now and your filing date so you have some wiggle room.

 

[nwctzn]

Physical presence is only counted as of the filing date. Time spent inside or outside the US after the filing date don't affect the physical presence calculation.

You're right, thanks for pointing this out. I should have read this more carefully: http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-11261/0-0-0-30960/0-0-0-30975.html

"(4) Has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months of the five years preceding the date of filing the application;"