citizenship eligibility and > 6 month absence

[usc]

My wife got her Green Card in Dec 2000 - before we got married. For
various family reasons, she was outside the U.S. for more than 6 months and fewer than 12 months in each of 2001 and 2002. Since 2003 her absences from the U.S. have been as follows:

2003 - 5 days
2004 - 24 days
2005 - 45 days (departure in late July, return to U.S. around mid Sept)
2006 - 0 days

We got married in 2002 and live in the U.S.

For this question, let's assume there is a break in her continuous residency
for 2001 and 2002. She is to apply based on her own and not based on
our marriage (I became a U.S. citizen in 2004). Is this a good idea or
should she apply based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen?

Assuming she takes no more trips outside the U.S., when is she eligible
to apply for citizenship? Is it in Dec 2007 - 5 years after 2003 (the first
year from which continuous residency was not broken) or Dec 2009 (4 years
plus one day from last absence from U.S. - in 2005)?

If she takes a yearly trip of around a month per year from 2007 onwards,
same question - when is she eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship? Does the
4 years plus one day rule apply in this case and if so, after which absence?

 

[boatbod]

She will be eligible 4 years + 1 day from the day she returned from her last "broken residence" trip abroad in 2002.

Applying based on marriage has a requirement for 3 years marriage to a USC. Eligibility would be 3 years from date of your naturalization since marriage occurred prior to citizenship.

 

[Curie]

usc

in addition to BOATBOD 's reply.

Marriage based naturalization is............ ONLY if the person was married to a citizen (citizen on the day of the marriage), living with the citizen and is still continuing to live with the citizen untill the date of total naturalization process( oath date).

 

[neverthere]

further on Curie's comment

Marriage based naturalization is............ ONLY if the person was married to a citizen (citizen on the day of the marriage), living with the citizen and is still continuing to live with the citizen untill the date of total naturalization process( oath date).

Interesting... Am I interpreting this correctly? for a naturalized citizen to bring his fiancee to the US he/she must only marry after naturalization?

 

[boatbod]

If I were you I'd check the USCIS/CFR rules, because that not how I've been led to believe it works.

 

[C R S]

in addition to BOATBOD 's reply.

Marriage based naturalization is............ ONLY if the person was married to a citizen (citizen on the day of the marriage), living with the citizen and is still continuing to live with the citizen untill the date of total naturalization process( oath date).

There is no such requirement. In fact, the following sequence of events is fairly common:

1. X becomes a permanent resident.
2. X weds Y.
3. X gets naturalized.
4. Y becomes a permanent resident (immediate relative).
5. Y becomes a citizen (3-year rule).

 

[usc]

>She will be eligible 4 years + 1 day from the day she returned from her last >"broken residence" trip abroad in 2002.

Is this true even in the case of her taking yearly month-long trips outside of
the U.S. from 2007 onwards?

 

[Shribuy]

Yes.