CitizenShip and Travel

C

cp-gc

Registered Users (C)
Hi:

I have completed 4 yrs on GC.
I would like to get my citizenship, I can only apply
after I have completed 4yrs 9 months.

I am planning to go back to my home country (India)
However I want to make sure I get my citizenship.

Will it be fine If I travel to US every 6 months till
I get my citizenship ?

Please let me know.
 
"... reside in the district you are applying in for at least the last 3 months before applying"

Maintain primary residence in the district where you are applying (with trips outside of the US okay, provided one maintains LPR status), or physically be in the district for the last 3 months (with no trips allowed)?
 
scarlethawk said:
"... reside in the district you are applying in for at least the last 3 months before applying"

Maintain primary residence in the district where you are applying (with trips outside of the US okay, provided one maintains LPR status), or physically be in the district for the last 3 months (with no trips allowed)?
Click to expand...

I think short trips are OK. By continuous residence they mean you need to establish a residense in the district and stay there. They do not bother actually if you wento Las Vegas and played your fortune there for one month. If you can show that you have residence there in the district - a la with driver lincense and utility bills etc, (NO they do NOT ask for those bills) you are fine. They do seem to check if you are in the district or not with their checking systems. And you know their checking systems are pretty good. It means that you cannot rent an apt in Chicago and work in Florida and try to get citizenship in Chicago.

Who can sit tight without moving a limb for 3 continuous months? And OTOH, if you travelled for more than 3 months from the district, they can say no. In short I would give the following criteria conditions.

1. Rent an apt and establish residence, do not work anywhere but keep checking this apt address and its mail regularly. You are FINE. You can even travel every day but have to keep coming back to see the mail here and of course pay the rent regularly :)

2. Rent an apt and move to India for one month (of the three). Should be probably fine. Mail conditions as above apply again.

3. Rent an apt and travel outside USA for more than 3 months. NOT allowed to apply yet.

In the end, what happens is that, when you apply for N400 and BEFORE YOU TAKE OATH, 5 FULL YEARS (60 months) must have elapsed without breaking the continuous residency requirements. It means those 60 months must have elapsed with the candidate staying in the USA without breaking the INS rules. As above some twists are possible BEFORE THE OATH but before the oath actually takes place, no exceptions for the 60 months rule.

My 2 cents.
 
6 months

So, what If I rent/own an house in the city where Im applying, but travel
outside US for less than 6 months, would that be fine ?

Thanks
 
cp-gc said:
So, what If I rent/own an house in the city where Im applying, but travel
outside US for less than 6 months, would that be fine ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Probably NOT. When you said "OUTSIDE USA", INS can track you down in less than a second. When I said OK, it is for travel inside USA. Out of the country travel is always easy for INS to track.

On an aside, how can you establish residency for 3 months when you travel for more than 3 months but less than 6 months :) It is funny question!
 
3 or 6

Pardon my ignorance on this matter.

I thought for citizenship one cannot leave the country for more than 6 months
at a time. (while on GC)

What is the 3 months rule? What is the 6 months rule.

Please help me clarify.

Thanks
 
Re: Travel and Citizenship

Hello JoeF / Gurus,

What if someone has 12 months for the eligibility and if he/she maintaining the residence/apt in US and leaves for/visits India for four months , come back for a month and then goes back for another 4 months and then comes back and stays continuously here..Will he/she have any issues to apply for citizenship..?

Meaning , let us say , the person has been residing continuously for four years after GC here then maintaining the residence/apt here , the person leaves for India visit for four months then comes back for one month to US , and then leaves for india for another four months and then comes back and start living here [ by that time he still will have 3 months continuous residence at US , just before eligibility]....Will there be any issues , by doing so.?

Please let me know..
-thank you,
Regards,
 
May be ..

CZPHope said:
Hello JoeF / Gurus,

What if someone has 12 months for the eligibility and if he/she maintaining the residence/apt in US and leaves for/visits India for four months , come back for a month and then goes back for another 4 months and then comes back and stays continuously here..Will he/she have any issues to apply for citizenship..?

Meaning , let us say , the person has been residing continuously for four years after GC here then maintaining the residence/apt here , the person leaves for India visit for four months then comes back for one month to US , and then leaves for india for another four months and then comes back and start living here [ by that time he still will have 3 months continuous residence at US , just before eligibility]....Will there be any issues , by doing so.?
Click to expand...

It "probably *may* work." Note the quotes and the "may" word. But when you go for interview, the officer can reject the application saying that you have not been living here. Given all the considerations of application procedures, an INS officer can hold you against the laws and say that your trend of going and coming to USA does not reflect you want to stay here and can reject the application. In my personal opinion, he can do that. Of course you can go to court and sue him but that only tightens the knot for you.

I really do not understand why you want to go back to India when you want apply for Citizenship. If it is temporary move, then it may be OK (and you have to convince the USCIS officer about those temp moves) but if you want to go back to India in future, there is really no need to apply for citizenship and go through all the pain of N400 processing. Also once you get your US Citizenship, staying in India cannot be more than 6 months at a time on visa, I think. PIO card is different and has different rules (I am not aware of those) and dual citizenship has its own catches. For example if you are held up in a country other than USA, a US consulate may reject your request for help since you are dual citizen. I heard someone saying that. You have to take the action once for all. If you want to stay in USA and anticipate living here, Citizenship is good but if you want to move back and forth, GC alone is fine. BTW a permanent resident card is for one who *wants to reside in USA permanently*. So if any of your actions or writings on the N400 give a direct or indirect message to the interviewing officer, he can put a note on the N400 during interview or earlier and reject the application. Again to ask why and wherefore you have to go through courts and all that. I personally do not like that idea. Also getting USC helps you in sponsoring your immediate relatives - kids, wife and so on.

Make sure that you get proper advice because I am not a lawyer and all these are my guesses - as good as anyone's. In the end, it is you who have to take the chance and tell us back (if you think it would help others) what has happened to your case.

Good luck!
 
Going back to India

WouldBeCitizen,

I think you missed the point.

Even if you want to go back to India *permanently* it is very beneficial
to have US citizenship. About 5-8 million US citizens live outside the US !!

There are number of reasons.
* ease of travel
* maybe you dont like it back In India and want to come back
* SS benefits in the long term
* Want to kids to have US citizenship in case it helps them when they
grow up / want to come here
* etc etc

I know tons of people who are US citizens and have gone back, infact
they have been waiting to get US citizen before they went back.

Based on my research, reading the UCSIS docs, I think it is best to apply for N400 following all rules, *after* that if you want to travel, you will need to show proof of house etc, also dont travel more than 2-3 months at a time.

Thanks
 
Guide to Nat..

Joef,

Thanks for the reference, I read the whole document yesterday and now its much clearer. Now one question.

The doc says that you have to be 3 months in the district *BEFORE* you apply N400, It also says that you should not have travelled out of US for more than 6 months at one time.

Does it mean once I apply for N400, I can travel for a time less than 6 months outside the US ?

Thanks


JoeF said:
That is all explained in the "Guide to Naturalization", available on the USCIS website.
In short, there are more requirements than just the 6-months rule.
Click to expand...
 
citizenship requirements (3 months rule)

reply to gc-pc

Hi every one
thsnk you very much for this helpful forum
concerning the citizenship requirements and travel i think that the INS clearly defined the rule which are

-5 years green card
-30 months inside USA (2and half year)
-if you travel outside USA evry trip has to be less tan 6 months
-3 months resident in the state

In your case you have been 4 years in USA thats mean that the consition of 30 months inside USA is satisfied, if you leave you have to come back before 6 months and then leave again, but make sure that the addition of the whole periods of time outside dont exceed 30 months. (time outside will be grater than inside if you keep going and coming)


I have question for the 3 months residency in the state is that mean that you have to be physically present inside the USA or mean that you was resident in state and you have ID card of that state in another way this is an example

if some body is residing in New York and then travel ouside the US for 4 months, during this 4 months he still resident of New York right??
when he come back to the US can he apply for N400 if we suppose that he met all requirements of 6 months rules and 30 months rules.
or he has to wait another 3 months to apply??
what do you think

in another word is the 3 months state residency mean physically presence for 3 months in the state so of course in the US. or just mean that he is resident in paper,(have address and ID and bank accounts)
 
3 months rule

Hi JoeF

Thank you for ur reply

if they will decide that that u dont have 3 months residence in state, when they will hear that is it right after u send the N400
or you have to wait until the day of the interview which is 1 year after
 
my case

JoeF said:
Probably during the interview... There have been people posting here who got denied at the interview because they applied a couple days too early...
Click to expand...


Hi Joef

this is my case
green card 03/99
12/2001 left abroad to study ---come back 04/2002
left 05/2002-----------come back 10/2002
left 11/2002-----come back 02/2003
left 03/2003---- come back 07/2003
left 10/2003-----come back 03/2004
stayed in the US since that time

N400 application on May 2004, 2 months and 22 days after coming back

whole time outisde 24 months <30 months
no signle trip exceed 6 moths

i was resient in new york since i come in 1999

so what do you think???

for my view the state residency is not physical residence but it s that u had ID of that state. otherwise they would say physically presente in the united states for 3 months
 
Citizenship Req

Hi JoeF
THE LAW SAY BELLOW:
I dont understand those peoples if the law say you can go fortrips but come back before 6 months why they will deny citizenship if you go to study abraod and go and come back every 4 , 5 months???


(a) No person, except as otherwise provided in this title, shall be naturalized, unless such applicant, (1) immediately preceding the date of filing his application for naturalization has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five years and during the five years immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been physically present therein for periods totaling at least half of that time, and who has resided within the State or within the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed the application for at least three months, (2) has resided continuously within the United States from the date of the application up to the time of admission to citizenship, (3) during all the periods referred to in this subsection has been and still is a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.


(b) Absence from the United States of more than six months but less than one year during the period for which continuous residence is required for admission to citizenship, immediately preceding the date of filing the application for naturalization, or during the period between the date of filing the application and the date of any hearing under section 336(a), shall break the continuity of such residence, unless the applicant shall establish to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that he did not in fact abandon his residence in the United States during such period.
 
Hi JoeF

If the citizenship get denied when i can apply again.
is this case can affect the Green Card?
Thankx




my case is

green card 03/99
12/2001 left abroad to study ---come back 04/2002
left 05/2002-----------come back 10/2002
left 11/2002-----come back 02/2003
left 03/2003---- come back 07/2003
left 10/2003-----come back 03/2004
stayed in the US since that time

N400 application on May 2004, 2 months and 22 days after coming back
 
citizenship requirements

JoeF said:
Whenever you become eligible, i.e., whenever you fulfill all the requirements.
That really depends on what the reason for the denial was.
Click to expand...

Hi Joef
when u travel and u follow their rules thats mean you fulfill requirements.
if they are not happy of your stay abroad even if the period allowed abraod was respected. so how long i have to wait until they will be happy.

-is it after 1 or 2 years so the period spent abraod will be in the begining of the 5 years
-is it after 5 years

thanks joeF
 
citizenship/ travel

JoeF said:
Well, you are asking something that nobody other than the particular examiner can answer...
The ideal thing is of course to not travel at all. But in general, travel abroad for short vacation is never a problem. What can be a problem is extensive travel abroad.
Nobody will say anything if you spend your couple of weeks vacation abroad. It is a different thing if you spend several months abroad...
Click to expand...

Hi Joef, I remember before i went to study abraod, i went to immigration to ask them if i can go to study abroad without loosing my elligibility for citizenship.

i was waiting for my turn, then when turn arrived i went near the clerk, the officer said yieling what do you want, before i finish my explanation he interrupt me and said how long is your studies i said 2 years, he said u have to dont exceed 30 months. when i was trying to explain more he bring me the citizenship book and throw itand said read the book. then i left.

i asked them in the phone, they just read something from their papers and said 6 months and 30 months rules.

if they told me that time that i cannot have citizenship or at least that it s not sure i would no go to study abraod, but what they did is that they said yes and dont break the rules and now it seems that the answer is 50/ 50
 
FP SC, DO, Online case status

[QUOTE=JoeHi i ahve some questions about N400

1- Is the service center who schedule for finger print appointement or the district office for N400?

2-priority date = date that they receive N400 ??

3- in may the processing date for newyork was november 2003, in june was may 2003 and now may 2003, why it s going backward?

3- when the online case status for N400 will be available is right after application or after finger print or some other time?

thankx
 
djamel,

As far as I can see you have not broken your Continious Residence. Your 4 month trips are a bit more then what would be comfortable but its ok for you to take a chance with that. If you get a difficuilt adjudicator then he may cause problems , if not you may end up fine.
 
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