Citizenship question- urgent input needed

A

Aj_usa

Registered Users (C)
I need a very urgent information :

I got my Green Card in march 2003. I am here in US now. Inbetween, from jan 2007- aug 2008, I was in India. I did not take returning resident permit when I went since I had no idea that I will stay long, at that time and due to circumstances I had to extend. I had to apply for SB-1 Visa ,which we can apply after 1 year of stay outside according to rules . I came back with that . we still use the same green card.

My question is :- Am i eligible to apply for citizenship now or Do I have to wait another 4 yrs 9 months ?

Please provide inputs.

Thanks
 
Since your 2007-08 trip to India lasted more than a year, it definitely broke your continuous residency and the clock for satisfying the continuous residency requirement was reset to zero on the day of your return from India.
You are not eligible to file N-400 now (I am assuming that your N-400 would not be marriage-based).
However, you can take advantage of the 4 years plus one day rule. According to this rule the last year you spent abroad can be counted towards your five year continuous residency requirement. So you can file N-400 4 years and one day after the date of your return from India in Aug 2008. This would mean that you can apply for N-400 in Aug 2012.
 
howdy_howdy said:
By the way, what is " 4 years plus one day rule"?
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It is exactly what my post above says: in case there was a trip abroad that lasted more than 1 year, the last 364 days of that trip count towards satisfying the continuous residency requirement. So upon returning from such a trip, an applicant may file N-400 four years and one day after the return from that trip (assuming that after that return there were no further breaks in continuous residency). The rule is explained on page 23 of "A Guide to naturalization", http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf
 
So,now, I am eligible in 4 years and 1 day. Does it mean that I have to be in US continously again and not go out of US for 2-3 weeks also ?
 
No, you just have to wait 4 calendar years and 1 day. You can still travel, as long as you don't travel so much or so often that it jeopardizes your continuous residence or physical presence requirement.
 
Aj_usa said:
So,now, I am eligible in 4 years and 1 day. Does it mean that I have to be in US continously again and not go out of US for 2-3 weeks also ?
Click to expand...

No. Like Jackolantern said, it is OK to take make trips as long as they don't break continuous residency. A few trips of 2-3 weeks would certainly be OK.
 
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