Can we apply from abroad?

J

jrao124

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

We have completed almost 4 years of green card. We are planning to wind up and go back to india soon. Is it possible for us to apply for citizenship from India when we complete 4 years and 9 months?
We are planning to get a re-entry permit before leaving.

Thanks
J Rao
 
Um,

I doubt you could meet the residency requirement when not living in the US, thus I would say - Nope
 
jrao124 said:
Hi,

We have completed almost 4 years of green card. We are planning to wind up and go back to india soon. Is it possible for us to apply for citizenship from India when we complete 4 years and 9 months?
We are planning to get a re-entry permit before leaving.

Thanks
J Rao
Click to expand...

Best get your citizenship completed first, otherwise you will be denied if the IO figures out you are no longer residing in the US.

Applying from abroad is definitely not possible. Making short return visits to the US is also highly risky. This topic is discussed on a regular basis - may I suggest you search through some of the prior posts.
 
Thank you all. I will check some other posts. I didn't find any on the first few pages hence thought I would start a new thread.

To answer some of your questions, we thought we just need 3.5 yrs of continuous stay ( we were told this by a lawyer). We were under the impression that after this period a broken stay is ok, then we can apply after we complete 4 yrs 9 mths.

Thanks again
J rao
 
I meant to post this the other day, but decided the question was already answered.

Why would any government give you citizenship when you not reside in that country?

The whole birth stuff left out. The is no compelling reason why ANY government would even remotely consider this.

So, unless you are here, the answer is NO (in most cases, military etc, what have you)
 
jrao124 said:
Thank you all. I will check some other posts. I didn't find any on the first few pages hence thought I would start a new thread.

To answer some of your questions, we thought we just need 3.5 yrs of continuous stay ( we were told this by a lawyer). We were under the impression that after this period a broken stay is ok, then we can apply after we complete 4 yrs 9 mths.

Thanks again
J rao
Click to expand...

If your lawyer suggested you can break residence and still get citizenship, I recommend you find a better lawyer.

Immigration law states you need to meet the following criteria for a 5yr N-400 application:
- 30 months accumulated physical presence
- 5 years continuous residence, with no single absence longer than 6 months unless covered by one of the limited exceptions.
- a minimum of 90 days legal residence in the district which you are applying

Although harder to point to explicitly in 8.CFR, there is also an expectation that an immigrant intends to reside indefinitely in the US during and after the naturalization process. This is typically what catches most people out - they think that by meeting the "no single absence longer than 6 months" rule, that they won't encounter any problems. Trouble is, if they have shown intent to abandon their residence (e.g. by moving abroad, or engaged in foreign employment) they almost certainly broke residence under the "intent" rules.

This is a complex topic. Proceed with caution and seek the best advice you can afford.
 
3 months residence

Don't you have to prove that you have remained within the jurisdiction of a Service Center for at least the last 3 months as part of your application?

How would you do that when you are living abroad? Which Service Center would you file? Choose the fastest??
 
rajeshsrinivasa said:
Don't you have to prove that you have remained within the jurisdiction of a Service Center for at least the last 3 months as part of your application?
Click to expand...

You have to show the IO your drivers license/state id at the beginning of your interview. Unless you have moved to a new address within the US, your official residence address remains the same as that shown on the license.

rajeshsrinivasa said:
How would you do that when you are living abroad? Which Service Center would you file? Choose the fastest??
Click to expand...

You can't file from abroad, but if you did, you'd send it to which ever SC is designated for your "current" US address. i.e. the location to where USCIS is going to be mailing your notices.
 
FYI, I got my citizenship a week ago. I applied from abroad with an approved N-470. My interview and oath were on the same day at the San Francisco USCIS office. Mine was an administrative oath in front of a USCIS official in his office.

Bottom line:

1. If you have an approved N-470, and have accumulated the required physical residence, you CAN apply from abroad.
2. When applying, you can submit fingerprints on the FBI FD-258 cards and save a trip to the US for biometrics. I did not do this myself as I was not aware this was possible.
3. The 90-day residence requirement is NOT for the 90 days immediately preceding the filing of the N-400. Basically, you should have resided in that district for that period at SOME time in the past.
4. USCIS takes the view that an approved N-470 preserved BOTH continuous residence in general AND residence in the last district you lived in before leaving the US.
 
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