Can you travel out of the country while your N400 is in process?

P

P Sinha

New Member
We need to go to India for a few months. I was wondering if you can leave the county while your N400 is pending.

I have applied for N400 in June, Check cashed, finger printing done. It appears that there is a serious wait for the interview (12-18 months).

In the meantime, we need to go to India for 3-4 months. Obviously if we get the interview in the meantime, we would rush back.

However I wanted to make sure it was OK to leave the country for that duration while I am waiting for the interview
 
As long as it doesn't break continous residency requirements you can take a trip outside the US while waiting for the N-400. So you'll have to take that into consideration if that time will go your total number of days requirement for the N-400. If you haven't taken many trips outside in the past and this is one of the only ones then yes there shouldn't be any issues as long as you're still maintaining residency in the US and can still show ties to the US.

And yes, getting someone to check your mail everyday for the notice is a must because you might not have much notice between the letter and the actual interview. Some people have actually gotten their letter a few days before the interview. So you do need to be ready to leave on a seconds notice if something like that happens...
 
warlord said:
And yes, getting someone to check your mail everyday for the notice is a must because you might not have much notice between the letter and the actual interview. Some people have actually gotten their letter a few days before the interview. So you do need to be ready to leave on a seconds notice if something like that happens...
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What about those who have not yet done fingerprinting but anticipate a long wait for the fingerprinting notice? I received my notice in mid November but there's no word of the fingerprinting yet. I need to be outside of the country for 3-4 weeks and I have a strong feeling that I will get my fingerprinting notice exactly during the period I am outside. I am counting on doing a walk-in later on.

Does anyone know if Oakland, CA or San Francisco, CA allow walk-ins?
 
Fingerprint is something that you can usually do later even if you missed the appointment. I think you should be fine for a 3 to 4 week trip.
 
warlord said:
If you haven't taken many trips outside in the past and this is one of the only ones then yes there shouldn't be any issues as long as you're still maintaining residency in the US and can still show ties to the US.
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Actually, the number of trips you take overseas has nothing to do with it as long as it does not break continuous residency.
 
sens said:
Can you please tell me the criteria/parameters for continuous residency?

Thanks!
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Basically, you must have lived in the country as a legal permanent resident for 30 months (2.5 years) in the 5 years that precede the time you apply for citizenship. In addition, during these 5 years you should not have taken any trip overseas that lasted more than 6 months.

For detailed info, please look at the instructions that come with the N-400 form, where details and exceptions are explained. Very straight-forward, you just need to read it.
 
suresh_colo said:
Basically, you must have lived in the country as a legal permanent resident for 30 months (2.5 years) in the 5 years that precede the time you apply for citizenship. In addition, during these 5 years you should not have taken any trip overseas that lasted more than 6 months.

For detailed info, please look at the instructions that come with the N-400 form, where details and exceptions are explained. Very straight-forward, you just need to read it.
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This is a hot topic and comes up on this forum quite frequently. It is quite straight forward if you take things at face value. However, people have posted experiences in which naturalization was denied if an applicant met the 2.5 years physical presence test but was trying to work around the rule by making short (1-2 week) trips back to the USA every six months.

An example scenario is you are a PR for a 3-4 years and didn't really spend too much time outside the USA. A serious personal situation comes up and you need to shuttle back and forth between the US and another country for the next 1-2 years. Do you meet the CR test? You should if you were never out of the country for more than 6 months but IOs are known to look at your ties to the USA such as owning a home, your family ties, etc.
 
immigrateful said:
This is a hot topic and comes up on this forum quite frequently. It is quite straight forward if you take things at face value. However, people have posted experiences in which naturalization was denied if an applicant met the 2.5 years physical presence test but was trying to work around the rule by making short (1-2 week) trips back to the USA every six months.

An example scenario is you are a PR for a 3-4 years and didn't really spend too much time outside the USA. A serious personal situation comes up and you need to shuttle back and forth between the US and another country for the next 1-2 years. Do you meet the CR test? You should if you were never out of the country for more than 6 months but IOs are known to look at your ties to the USA such as owning a home, your family ties, etc.
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Yes, agree 100% with you there. But I'm assuming people are doing the right thing and actually LIVE in this country. If they are trying to play the system then, yes, their application should be denied.
 
suresh_colo said:
Basically, you must have lived in the country as a legal permanent resident for 30 months (2.5 years) in the 5 years that precede the time you apply for citizenship. In addition, during these 5 years you should not have taken any trip overseas that lasted more than 6 months.
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But multiple trips of just a little less than 6 months each, with very short stays in the US in between, may be viewed as one big long trip. And the continuous residence requirement continues from the point of applying for citizenship until approval.
 
Jackolantern said:
But multiple trips of just a little less than 6 months each, with very short stays in the US in between, may be viewed as one big long trip. And the continuous residence requirement continues from the point of applying for citizenship until approval.
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Yes comming back for a brief stay abroad and then back abroad again will usually always show breaking continous residency. If they're found to be living and working then they could also risk loosing their PR status as well...
 
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