Citizenship remarriage and 3 year rule

O

Ocko

New Member
My wife and me we live in California.

My wife got her green card through her former husband. They divorced 2.5 years after she got the first green card. She has now the permanent green card.

Instead of waiting 5 years to apply for citizenship she wants to use the 3 Year rule. She has now been married more than 3 years (albeit with 2 marriages)..

The question is can she use the 3 year rule or s that only for the same marriage she applied for the green card?
 
Using the 3 year rule doesn't have to be based on the same marriage through which the green card was obtained. It can be used even if the green card was obtained on a non-marriage basis.

However, the 3 year rule must be based on only the current marriage which exists at the time of applying for citizenship. Combining different marriages to total 3 years is not allowed.

So if she wants to use the 3 year rule, she has to wait until she's been married to you for 3 years. But by that time she'll be a permanent resident for more than 5 years, so it probably wouldn't make sense to use the 3 year rule anyway.
 
Idtoce inserted

Thank you for the answer, it cleared a lot for us.

The background for the question was, that we want to travel for about a year to Russia. We did so last year for about 3 month.

When we come back she is eligible to apply for citizenship after the 5 year rule. Will those travels affect her status and/or application?
 
Ocko said:
Thank you for the answer, it cleared a lot for us.

The background for the question was, that we want to travel for about a year to Russia. We did so last year for about 3 month.

When we come back she is eligible to apply for citizenship after the 5 year rule. Will those travels affect her status and/or application?
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The total duration of those travels in the 5 years can not be more than 2.5 years. No single travel can not be significantly long
(say more than 6 months). If these two condistioon are met, then travel will not affect anything.
 
If she goes abroad for a whole year, that will automatically break her continuous residence and delay her eligibility for naturalization until 4 years and 1 day after the end of the trip (or 2 years and 1 day if she's applying with the 3 year rule based on marriage to you). A trip that is less than a year but 6 months or longer may also break continuous residence and result in denial of citizenship, depending on the evidence presented and the discretion of the adjudicating officer.

She would also need a reentry permit to maintain her green card status for that year abroad.

Will your year in Russia be for your employment? If yes, and your employer is a US company, the US government, or one of certain recognized international organizations (e.g. UN, NATO), she might be eligible for expedited citizenship under Section 319(b).

I assume you're a US citizen. If not, disregard what I just wrote and please clarify your immigration status.
 
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