Citizenship Application Dilemma!

G

GC_TRAP

Registered Users (C)
I'm now ready to file my N-400 as I have crossed the 90 day mark before the 5 year anniversary. However, because of some recent professional circumstances, I have moved to another city B within the state of california. But I want to file for my citizenship from my old address of city A which is also the address listed with USCIS as well as where I receive all my mail.

I understand that I will have to drive a few hours to show up for fingerprinting and eventually interview and oath ceremony. I'm okay with all of those options. The dilemma I have is, does USCIS find out that I have physically moved to city B? If so, how can they find out, unless some officer is diligently pulling all kinds of data on me, esp. if in their records I show up as a resident of city A.

You may want to ask why I don't want to file from city B, the simple answer is that I don't want to wait three more months to become a resident of city B before I'm eligible to file.

Is it doable, are there any issues with this... I sometimes hear of people changing their district after filing application and getting their application moved to the new city...

Thoughts, suggestions are highly appreciated...
 
File using your true permanent address. If your permanent address is A but you're in B for a specific project on a temporary basis, it's legitimate to file using address A. Otherwise if your true and permanent address becomes B but you're still pretending like it's A, that's fraud.

Note that if you move to a new address within the same state, the 3 month residence clock doesn't reset. You're fine if you remain in the same state OR district (some districts cross into another state so in those cases you can change state without restarting the 3 month).
 
GC_TRAP said:
I'm now ready to file my N-400 as I have crossed the 90 day mark before the 5 year anniversary. However, because of some recent professional circumstances, I have moved to another city B within the state of california. But I want to file for my citizenship from my old address of city A which is also the address listed with USCIS as well as where I receive all my mail.

I understand that I will have to drive a few hours to show up for fingerprinting and eventually interview and oath ceremony. I'm okay with all of those options. The dilemma I have is, does USCIS find out that I have physically moved to city B? If so, how can they find out, unless some officer is diligently pulling all kinds of data on me, esp. if in their records I show up as a resident of city A.

You may want to ask why I don't want to file from city B, the simple answer is that I don't want to wait three more months to become a resident of city B before I'm eligible to file.

Is it doable, are there any issues with this... I sometimes hear of people changing their district after filing application and getting their application moved to the new city...

Thoughts, suggestions are highly appreciated...
Click to expand...

Do NOT Lie during naturalization!

Besides that, are you SURE that this is a REAL Issue? You have not provided enough information to get any input about the actual potential issue that frightens you.
 
To answer some of your questions!

Gentlemen,

Thanks for responding to my query. First of all, I want to state that my question is genuine and I'm not trying to hide anything except seek an honest reply to my question. I just have found a temporary contract in a different city in the same state and have started work. My permanent address is still the city where I have lived for the last 1 1/2 years.

Clearly, the new city or city B as mentioned earlier is not in the same district jurisdiction, in fact, it is a few hours drive away. So, the question now arises, can moving to a different city reset your clock to zero for the 3 month waiting period. Jack, I note your comment, can this information be verified from a reliable source such as the USCIS, and if so, how does one go about doing it.

BigJoe, no, I do not have any hidden agenda and I do not understand what you mean exactly. Please be more specific in your question so I can better answer it.

Goro, thanks for your response. I hope to get a more conclusive answer soon.
 
GC_TRAP said:
Gentlemen,

Thanks for responding to my query. First of all, I want to state that my question is genuine and I'm not trying to hide anything except seek an honest reply to my question. I just have found a temporary contract in a different city in the same state and have started work. My permanent address is still the city where I have lived for the last 1 1/2 years.

Clearly, the new city or city B as mentioned earlier is not in the same district jurisdiction, in fact, it is a few hours drive away. So, the question now arises, can moving to a different city reset your clock to zero for the 3 month waiting period. Jack, I note your comment, can this information be verified from a reliable source such as the USCIS, and if so, how does one go about doing it.

BigJoe, no, I do not have any hidden agenda and I do not understand what you mean exactly. Please be more specific in your question so I can better answer it.

Goro, thanks for your response. I hope to get a more conclusive answer soon.
Click to expand...

The law states that your jurisdictional clock does NOT start over if you move within the same State or Office Jurisdiction. Your in-state move is NOT actually the significant issue that you feared it was. See 8 CFR 316.2 (a)(5) .... has resided, as defined under §316.5, for at least three months in a State or Service district having jurisdiction over the applicant's actual place of residence;...."

In the alternative, a truly "temporary assignment" away from "home" (even abroad or out-of-state) does NOT change your residence for naturalization purposes. See AFM Chapter 73.4 (f) How to Determine Residence which instructs the Officer, in pertinent part:

"There are various instances in which the nature and type of employment that the applicant is engaged in may dictate his or her living arrangements. For example, an applicant may work and reside in one state during the weekdays, and go home to be with his or her family in another state on the weekends. Keeping in mind the definition of residence will help you to make the determination of residence in this type of case. In addition, it may be useful to compare the applicant’s employment address, the address of the claimed place of residence, and his or her family’s address for discrepancies that should be addressed during the examination. Finally, you may need to request documentary evidence to make a final determination."​

*****​

"The applicant’s present residence and not the present temporary abode will fix jurisdiction. An applicant who claims to reside in a hotel, a boarding house, or a rooming house should be further questioned to determine the circumstances involved in his or her living arrangements. In addition, you may need to question the applicant as to whether he or she rents or owns the premises that he or she claims to occupy. In most cases, the applicant may have innocently believed at the time of completing the application that his or her temporary residence would be considered as his or her actual residence to meet the jurisdiction requirement."​

YOU did not initially provide sufficient detail. When you leave out pertinent details, you MAY get incorrect information in response.

Many people post half-constructed questions. Some have ulterior motives but MOST simply fail to provide sufficient information to allow for a meaningful response. You were among the second group, insufficient information.
 
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GC_TRAP said:
Clearly, the new city or city B as mentioned earlier is not in the same district jurisdiction, in fact, it is a few hours drive away. So, the question now arises, can moving to a different city reset your clock to zero for the 3 month waiting period. Jack, I note your comment, can this information be verified from a reliable source such as the USCIS, and if so, how does one go about doing it.
Click to expand...

BigJoe quoted the relevant regulation. If you move to a different district but you're within the same state, it doesn't reset the 3 month clock. And if you move to a different state but you're still in the same service district, that also doesn't reset the 3 month clock. Stay in the same state OR district and you're OK.

And in your case it's a non-issue because you're still maintaining the same permanent address in A.
 
Thanks BigJoe and Jackolantern!

This was very useful information. Might I add what I have heard but not confirmed, that you could technically go to a different ASC in a different city but in the same state for fingerprinting if you happen to be outside of your primary residence area?

Anybody heard that?
 
GC_TRAP said:
This was very useful information. Might I add what I have heard but not confirmed, that you could technically go to a different ASC in a different city but in the same state for fingerprinting if you happen to be outside of your primary residence area?

Anybody heard that?
Click to expand...

Many folks have no problem going to a different ASC and/or to the correct ASC on a different date and/or time. MOST folks at the ASCs are agreeable about it.
 
Thanks BigJoe!

I have another quick question! Do you order the Account Transcript or Return Transcript from IRS? In my search on this forum, I've seen people suggesting one or the other...I would lean on the side of Account Transcript, can somebody confirm that?

Thanks again!
 
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