Citizenship issues after extended overseas stay

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canon18

Registered Users (C)
I obtained my green card back in February 2002 and had been in US until early 2004 when my wife was assigned by her US company to do business development in China. I then spent a total of 2 years and 4 months there working for an European company.

We both applied for reentry permits before departure and she also had a N-470 approved which included me as the beneficiary for the purpose of preserving permanent residency. We moved back this May, and have resided in current state since August. My questions are:

1. Am I still eligible for applying for citizenship 90 days before the 5th anniversary of having green card? I would have accumulated 30 months of stay in US by coming January based on the assumption shown in question #2 below.
2. To meet the 30 months of physical presence requirement before applying for citizenship, will every 30 days be counted as one month? If not, how will the 30 months be calculated?
3. Where can I get the speeding tickets that occurred in three different states? Do I need to list all the parking tickets too?

Thanks ahead for your advice, gurus :)
 
Since you have derived benefit of your wife's N-470, I'd imagine you are eligible to apply for natz as soon as you meet the residency and physical presence requirements.

USCIS typically counts 1 month = 30 days, so your 30 month physical presence requirement really equates to 900 days. Also, you get credit for "partial" days (when you travel), so make sure to exclude those when you add up all the days you were out of the country.

Theoretically you only need to get speeding ticket documentation if your fines were >=$500 or if an arrest occurred. Probably your starting point is the local courthouse where the offense occurred. Parking tickets are not required.
 
More questions and supporting documents

Thanks a lot for your insight, Boatbod. While preparing the N400 application, I found a few more questions.

I maintained my driver’s license, personal car, bank account, credit cards and 401K accounts during my temporary absence overseas for the past two years. The Guide to Naturalization stated that, if an applicant has taken trips abroad that last for 6 months or more, he should send additional evidence (such as 5 year tax transcripts, rent payment and pay stubs) he continued to live, work, and/or keep ties to the United States.

I worked for an Europe company while overseas, declared my salary in the US tax return and filed Foreign Earned Income Exclusion as well. However, would make any sense to show my pay stub from a non-US company?

I have only been able to obtain the tax transcripts from IRS for the past 4 years starting 2002. Will that be an issue? Can I send USCIS an additional transcript once I file the 2006 return?

I discontinued the apartment lease prior to my departure, but did rent a storage space to put away furniture and household items. I guess it will be helpful to attach the monthly payment record for storage to indicate my intention to return, right?

Also, for the past few years I gave myself an English middle name to my co-workers and friends from the trouble of mis-pronouncing my official first name. Should I indicate this English name in the Question C of N400 application? Would that complicate the name check process?

If I request an official name change in the application, does anyone happen to know how long it will delay the final approval process?

I also plan to attach copies of my reentry permit, N 470 approval, passport pages showing exit/entry records. In your expert opinion, what ELSE documents should I include in my applications to further strengthen my case?

Thanks for sharing and hope you all have a prosperous new year ahead...
 
I certainly won't hurt to include the tax transcripts along with your application, but really the N-470 should be sufficient proof that your extended trip was temporary. When it comes time for interview, I'd definitely take everything else as backup docs, but I don't see a need to include them initially. Too much info might confuse the recipient and cause more questions to be asked than necessary.

Hard to say whether you need to declare your english nickname. Did you ever use it in legal/employment/govt documentation or only informally? If you never used it officially, I don't see why you'd either need or want to mention it.
 
Querying continuous residence issues experts here. I was in India working for Microsoft as a guest engineer from US for two years. Didn't have any trip outside over 6 months? But visit back to the US were short. Filed reentry permit maintained house, filed taxes etc etc. Did not file N-470
But, I have a quick different question since my interview is coming up soon. During the time i was in India my father had a bypass surgery , myself had kids wherein my wife had certain complications. I am in two minds whether to mention these medical issues. I think the positive thing is that they might show that visit was temporary and I was also held by these medical issues besides the job for the Us company. The negative is that they show strong links to India, since my wife and kids are still there. Although, they can deduce this from the application itself and not even sure if this is a negative. What is the opinion of experts here? Should I mention this when questioned about my long absence affecting continuous residence?
 
I expect you'll face some rigorous questioning, but it sounds like you have a reasonably strong case. Be honest, but there is no need to volunteer anything that isn't directly asked. i.e. if the subject of your wife's location comes up, you should tell the truth, otherwise I wouldn't mention it.
 
Similar case, no issues

canon18/Anami:

The bad news is that you have successfully navigated into one of the grey areas of the citizenship process.

The good news is that you have nothing to worry about.

My experience is similar to yours. Like you two, I accepted an international assignment from my US employer (still employed by them) but maintained my residence, bank accounts etc. in the US and filed federal and state taxes.

I believe that USCIS counts days, not months. I was asked "have you had any trips greater than 180 days". By this logic, 900 days or more is fine.

The interviewer did go through my passport page by page to verify that the travel information on my N400 was accurate (I was off by a few days, but it didn't matter)

The big difference in our cases is that I did not file a N470.

I was completely up front with the interviewer about why I spent time outside the US - IMHO, getting it out of the way helps clear the air a bit :)

canon18 - sorry, I don't have answers to all your questions, but I just wanted to share my experience in the hope that you will be relieved to know that you are not alone!

As you are so worried, I recommend that you get an attorney to look at your case - it is money well spent.
 
Dear Canon18,
I'm in the same situation as yours, ie took an oversea assignment for 2 years in China from my US employer (08.2004 to 07.2006). I filed my N470 at 2005 but still no response yet. Since I come back to US, I visited Boston office twice and was told that my file was misplaced and should be processed "soon". I talked to my lawyer who advised me to go ahead to submit my N400 on my own, with or without N470. The fact that I did not sell my house here and I came back to US every 6 months helps.

Your N470 approval is a big plus. Did you use a lawyer to file your N470? You mentioned that your employer is an European company, and you were sent to China, so how did they qualify you for N470? When I went to the Boston district office, the immigration officer even claimed that only US federal government employees qualify for N470, which was wrong in my opinion. But my N470 is still pending even my employer is 100% American public company.

Look forward to hearing from you again Canon18!
 
Thanks for sharing

Many thanks to folks out there sharing their experience...

Co1hz- actually it was my wife's US-registered company that sent her overseas and helped her file the N470 which had my name listed as her spouse. N470 instrution stated that an applicant may extend the benefit to his/her spouse who will lives together abroad. I don't know if a LPR spouse will automactially be covered under N470 or not though.

I was asking about sending additional supporting documents because the "document checklist" section of the Guide to Natlz specifically asked for this evidence to continue "to live, work and/or keep ties to the US" if an applicants has taken any 6 month or loger trip outside of US. Boatbod made a good point that volunteering too much info might prompt confusion and unnecessary questions, but I am still debating myself.

I talked to an immigration attorney in the area, but looks like he has never delt with such complicated cases before :)
 
canon18 said:
...I don't know if a LPR spouse will automactially be covered under N470 or not though.
Click to expand...

Yes. In fact thats the only type of spouse who'd be able to benefit from an N-470, since you have to already be an LPR holder to qualify for naturalization.

canon18 said:
I was asking about sending additional supporting documents because the "document checklist" section of the Guide to Natlz specifically asked for this evidence to continue "to live, work and/or keep ties to the US" if an applicants has taken any 6 month or loger trip outside of US. Boatbod made a good point that volunteering too much info might prompt confusion and unnecessary questions, but I am still debating myself.
Click to expand...

That and the main reason being an N-470 explicitly preserves residence while on a temporary overseas assignment, so why would you need to send anything additional.

canon18 said:
I talked to an immigration attorney in the area, but looks like he has never delt with such complicated cases before :)
Click to expand...

What you're really discovering here is that N-470 cases are few in number compared with those involving a reentry permit alone. We'll all be very interested to hear how your case proceeds!
 
To Canon18:
I agree with Boatbod. Your N470 should take care of your oversea stay, therefore you should be no different from any other applicants as if you still lived in the US. I'd think 90 days benefit still applies to you, but you also need to live in the state at least 3 months before applying, in case you just came back from China recently.

As for speeding tickets, this is clearly controversial. The general opinion, as I observed personally, is that if you have sufficient documentation for your paid tickets etc, go ahead to mention themon N400. Otherwise, no need to spend all the time & effort on this potentially insignificant issue. I do see anyone would be denied application simply because of speeding tickets.

Please keep us posted on your case. As Boatbod said, N470 is really rare and precious. I'm going to submit my N400 without it (still pending in Boston office).

By the way, where do you live?
 
Hi all the experts out there,

I've got one question about filing N400 Part 7(C) (List all the trips). I took a weekend trip to Vancouver, leaving on Saturday and returned next day. Shall I put "0" as the total days outside of US for that trip?

Thanks,
 
Putting 0 or 1 does not make any difference as long as you were not out of the country for >180 days in one trip., and less than 900 days in total in the past 5 years.

However, if that's the only trip you took abroad, why don't you list it and put 1 day, just to show your honesty for good moral character? :)
 
Yeah, I can put 1 for that trip. I was just trying to understand how the rule of partial day in US being treated as whole day is used. I've made quite a few trips in the past 5 years, so it could mean something for me to have a favorable interpretation. :)

BTW, when one is on oversea assignment and keeps his US house, can he claims that he still lives in US and just takes long business trips outside US? In Part 6(A) on N-400, it asks for the past history of residence with starting and ending dates. So I just wanna know how to fill out that part of the form.

Thanks,
 
Were you out of the country for more than 24 hours? If not, you shouldn't mention it. I believe your trip was technically 0 days (since you were in the US both days). However, I'd probably list it as 1 day - no sense confusing an IO with a number he never sees on an N-400.

I wouldn't list a residence as a "residence" unless it was a "permanent residence". I lived temporarily in two apartments (one for about 2 months while a house I was getting built was finished, the other about 6 weeks in a furnished apartment during a company paid relocation). In neither case did I ever get mail there - my permanent address was elsewhere. I don't think I listed either on my N-400.
 
Technically you were absent for 0 days for the purposes of totaling physical presence, since partial days always count in your favor. You still need to list the trip in Section 7C, even though it was so short.
 
For 485_forever - were you approved in that interview?

My case is similar to yours. Left the country on an assignment for a US country. Maintained house, car, everything really. Took family with me but we made short trips every 6 months.
No 470.

I was glad to read about your case.

Where did you interview? (which state/DO?)
How was the experience overall?
ANd were you approved there or did they ask for any more documentation?

thanks for your help.

Sammy
 
Application sent

Thanks everyone for your generous inputs.

I mailed out the application over the weekend. Will update you later on the progress my case...
 
I was granted Permanent Residence status (Green Card) in 1983. From 1983 to 2000 I spent much of my career overseas. Assignments varied from 2-5 years and did include periods of time when I was out of the USA for periods in excess of the critical six months. In ALL instances, I did apply for, and was granted, an I-327 (Permit to Re-enter the U.S.).

Until the last two assignments, I was unaware of the existence of the N-470 (to preserve accumulated continuous residence). However, in 1992 I did fill out the form, pay the check and submitted them. I never heard back, I was never told that this request had been granted or rejected. However, when I returned to the U.S. (permanently) in 2000, I wanted to check on the status. Our immigration lawyer checked with the Houston office INS guys who confirmed that "yes it was on file in somebody's desk". Not very reassuring. However, as it turns out, I did not need it as I have only just applied for my N-400 (naturalization) and I now have almost six years continuous presence.

So, I will conclude with two points. (1) My experience suggests that there may not be an "approval" process but it might be worth confirming that the application was received (2) remember, you will still need to meet your 50% continuous residence requirement AFTER you return.
 
canon18 said:
Thanks everyone for your generous inputs.

I mailed out the application over the weekend. Will update you later on the progress my case...
Click to expand...

Canon,
I am in the same boat and I sent my application too. Let us keep in touch and share experiences please!
 
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