Citizenship quesiton

S

sam35

New Member
Hello all,

I am permanent resident of USA from 11/10/2001. I want to apply for US Citizenship. I have been out of USA for total of 288 days in 2 trips. Firstly I went outside of USA on 11/26/2001 and came back on 08/20/2002. So I was out for more than 6 moths during that time. I had gone to finish my B.S. in Electrical Engineering.
Second time I went out on 12/31/2005 and came back on 01/22/2006. I think I have broken continuous residency
My question is that my 4 year & 9 moths are completed on 08/10/2006, so can I apply for US citizenship right now? or
Is there law stating that person who has broken continuous residency can apply for US citizenship after 4 years and one day after his or her return to US to resume residency? So may be in my case I can apply after 8/20/2006, as I had came back on 8/20/2002 to resume residency.

I would really appreciate if anybody can guide me about it.
 
Yes, you did break continuous residency unless you can convince a USCIS officer otherwise (which may be rather tricky). Here is a little something I've quoted several times recently from the USCIS adjudicator's handbook - note the comments re: 4yr + 1day.


(C) Absences of Between Six Months and One Year. Absences from the United States for continuous periods of between six (6) months and one (1) year during the periods for which continuous residence is required under 8 CFR 316.2(a)(3) and (a)(6) shall disrupt the continuity of such residence unless the applicant can establish otherwise to the satisfaction of USCIS. This finding remains valid even if the applicant did not apply for or otherwise request a nonresident classification for tax purposes, did not document an abandonment of lawful permanent resident status, and is still considered a lawful permanent resident under immigration laws.

If the applicant claims that he/she did not disrupt the continuity of residence you must ask additional questions about the absence and the nature of his/her claimed continuous residence in the United States. Some of the things that you should ask for are:

• Evidence that the applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States;

• Evidence that the applicant's immediate family remained in the United States;

• Evidence that the applicant retained full access to his or her United States abode; or

• Evidence that the applicant did not obtain employment while abroad. Also, this would normally include evidence of how he/she supported him/herself during the absence.

You should ask for other evidence if the items listed above do not cover the issue fully in a specific case.

If the applicant is unable to establish that he/she did not disrupt residence, he/she will be ineligible for naturalization. The applicant will be eligible to re-apply for naturalization, four years and one day (two years and one day if applying under section 319(a) of the Act) from the most recent date that he/she returned to the United States. See the letter from the Headquarters Office of Naturalization and Special Projects to Messr. Kiblan and Battles dated September 22, 1993, located in Appendix 74-13.
​

I would interpret that as meaning you are eligible to apply 366 days after 08/20/2002.
 
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citizenship qustion

I have question regarding US citizenship. If a person applies for US citizenship after residing for 5 years in US, but during that time he has gone out of US for more than 6 moths (9 months in this case), hence he got rejected by USCIS because of his disruption in continue residency.
Later on that person applies again for US citizenship after living for 5 years and 9 moths.
My question is that if person gets rejected once because of disruption in continuous residency then while applying second time does it takes delay than normal time because his file was already rejected once?

I would truly appreciate your guidance in this direction.
 
sam35 said:
I have question regarding US citizenship. If a person applies for US citizenship after residing for 5 years in US, but during that time he has gone out of US for more than 6 moths (9 months in this case), hence he got rejected by USCIS because of his disruption in continue residency.
Later on that person applies again for US citizenship after living for 5 years and 9 moths.
My question is that if person gets rejected once because of disruption in continuous residency then while applying second time does it takes delay than normal time because his file was already rejected once?

I would truly appreciate your guidance in this direction.
Click to expand...

there is no delay while applying second time...and u can apply after 4 yrs & 1 day from the date of POE(of the particular visit>6 months).
 
Query on Citizenship

I recieved my green card two year back (Aug 2004). I am applying to some schools in europe and if got selected would have to leave my current employer (in US) and go out of country for 10 months. I plan to return back after my studies and apply for citizenship when I am eligible.

I was wondering what could be the problems for leaving states for 10 to 12 months (definitely less than a year). Would my counter for 5 year be reset on entering back. I could fly every 3 months for a week during this away period, if that helps in maintaining continuity. Also my spouse plans to stay in US only during this period and I will keep my credit and bank accounts active during this period.

Would these things help in justifying continuity of stay. Any other idea or options I have if I plan to leave country for studies.

thanks in advance
 
continuous residency

I have a related question, so I thought I would post it here. After holding on to my GC for 1 year and 11 months, I took several trips back and forth. The schedule is something like this....

1 year 11 months after GC:

5 months outside of US
3 weeks in US
5 months outside of US
1 week in US
5 months outside of US
1 week in US
currently has been 2 months since my last visit to the US

My question is regarding - continuous residency. Will the 5 month breaks take away from my 2.5 years for fulfilling continuous residency ? Do my trips to the US count towards my accumulated time? For example, is it really that I have 2 years and 1 month of accumulated time? or since my stays are less than 5 months am I still considered to have been a resident during my absence - do I really have 3 years and 3 months of accumulated time?

It is really a different case so I am interested in hearing what you all have to say.

TIA
 
hero123 said:
I recieved my green card two year back (Aug 2004). I am applying to some schools in europe and if got selected would have to leave my current employer (in US) and go out of country for 10 months. I plan to return back after my studies and apply for citizenship when I am eligible.

I was wondering what could be the problems for leaving states for 10 to 12 months (definitely less than a year). Would my counter for 5 year be reset on entering back. I could fly every 3 months for a week during this away period, if that helps in maintaining continuity. Also my spouse plans to stay in US only during this period and I will keep my credit and bank accounts active during this period.

Would these things help in justifying continuity of stay. Any other idea or options I have if I plan to leave country for studies.

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Counter Reset?: maybe, maybe not.
- if you keep solid ties to the US (reentry permit, bank accounts, mortgage/rental agreement, vehicle, family staying behind, ...) you may be able to persuade USCIS that you did not break residency during your educational trip. I know this sounds a little wishy-washy, but it seems in these cases the interview outcome is largely dependent on the mood of the IO. Personally I think you'll be faced with a better than average change of success.
 
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