Denial of naturalization due to lack of contious residence

H

helphelp1234

New Member
Help please ASAP

here are my dates :

POE admitted 6, march 2010

travel dates:

09/17/2014 to 12/04/2014 77
03/12/2014 to 09/10/2014 181
09/17/2013 to 02/27 / 2014 162
03/18/2013 to 08/30/2013 164
02/26/2013 to 03/05/2013 6
07/23/2012 to 01/02/2013 162
05/24/2012 to 06/03/2012 9
03/28/2012 to 04/03/2012 5
12/19/2011 to 12/24/2011 4
02/22/ 2011 to 04/25/2011 61
03/25/2010 to 06/02/2010 68

I filed N400 on 8 dec 2015
finger printed feb, 2015
interview session 30 march 2015
rejection letter 21 april,
( i have been staying in USA since 12/04/2014 till now )
I accidentally had a 181 day trip not intended and i assumed 6 months rule would be ok 181 since some months are 31 days ,
for this specific trip and other extended one i denied
due to lack of continuity of my residence
which i didnt rent and had no job
but did not have job abroad either

when does the clock start for me ????
when i can re-apply ???
does the 4 years +1 applies to my case ???
if yes , due to lack of sufficient evidence that i couldnt back up my intentions at the of interview
should i wait longer so that 5 years preceding the re- application does not include the 181 day trip ?????
 
Could you elaborate on your
1) Interview experience (what questions were asked relating to your travel)
2) What evidence did you present to show that you did not break your ties (tax statements?)
3) What does the rejection letter say? Is the issue just that one trip over 180 days? Does the letter specify what you could do to appeal and reverse their decision?



helphelp1234 said:
Help please ASAP

here are my dates :

POE admitted 6, march 2010

travel dates:

09/17/2014 to 12/04/2014 77
03/12/2014 to 09/10/2014 181
09/17/2013 to 02/27 / 2014 162
03/18/2013 to 08/30/2013 164
02/26/2013 to 03/05/2013 6
07/23/2012 to 01/02/2013 162
05/24/2012 to 06/03/2012 9
03/28/2012 to 04/03/2012 5
12/19/2011 to 12/24/2011 4
02/22/ 2011 to 04/25/2011 61
03/25/2010 to 06/02/2010 68

I filed N400 on 8 dec 2015
finger printed feb, 2015
interview session 30 march 2015
rejection letter 21 april,
( i have been staying in USA since 12/04/2014 till now )
I accidentally had a 181 day trip not intended and i assumed 6 months rule would be ok 181 since some months are 31 days ,
for this specific trip and other extended one i denied
due to lack of continuity of my residence
which i didnt rent and had no job
but did not have job abroad either

when does the clock start for me ????
when i can re-apply ???
does the 4 years +1 applies to my case ???
if yes , due to lack of sufficient evidence that i couldnt back up my intentions at the of interview
should i wait longer so that 5 years preceding the re- application does not include the 181 day trip ?????
Click to expand...
 
It seems your broke the continuous residency requirements based on the last two trips in 2014. Without knowing anything about your application the last two trips are very suspicious (77 and 181 days respectively) to me and may have raised a red flag at the interview. I think trips longer than six months break the residency requirements and it is highly advisable to avoid unless it results in some kind of hardship. They have some leeway but it entirely rests on the judgment and interpretation of the IO.

FYI my friend's application in CA was delayed for three months because he couldn't remember the exact dates for his trips and there may have been a mismatch between his passport and the application form. I don't think be broke the residency requirements but he was asked to provide additional information and proof at the interview. It seems they are paying a lot of attention to trips taken outside the US so you must be prepared to answer all their questions!
 
choorysaab said:
Could you elaborate on your
1) Interview experience (what questions were asked relating to your travel)
2) What evidence did you present to show that you did not break your ties (tax statements?)
3) What does the rejection letter say? Is the issue just that one trip over 180 days? Does the letter specify what you could do to appeal and reverse their decision?
Click to expand...

hi ,
i would have the assumption that every thing would go smoothly ,
however it was tense and harsh , i think they would do psychology test to see how you would react,
basically , it is a one way questioning and they are looking for your holes and misses so they can reject you , BE CAREFUL !!!! be WELL PREPARED !!!

in my case, i didnt intend to stay 181 days i just have miscalculate it , thought that 6 months in that specific calendar month was 31 days each so i would be fine , but i made mistake , however there is no written rule for 180/days ,as there is rule on 6 months absences though
if i am wring please some one correct me , whether there is law on 180 day ???

i have lived and worked gone to school on those 3 years part but not for the last 2 years , I assumed that since i completed the whole 30 month physical presence i am on the safe side ,
people can travel too , we are not lock up !!!!

as far as questions , if i remember correctly , where did i lived for the parts that lived away , what was my work/job in the US ?? who has suported me and pay for expenses on those extended absences ?? if i were work abroad or not ,

i had tax returns , school enrollments , and tax return papers for that which the officer took!!!
i have maintained my bank account and had the papers IO never asked for and i never get the opportunity to present it ,
i started working ever since i got back 2015 and have rented a place and had all the paper needed to prove it , IO never ask for it , never get a chance to present it ,
basically all they ask is tax return and they will rule based on that , I am just now wondering what if some one is present the whole 5 years never been out the US but have never worked either
would the case be denied because of not filing taxes or no jobs ? or being a house wife ????


the rejection letter , says all about the trips outside US including the one 181 days and the several trip of 5month ,
also pointing out to my answers to questions , i am not eligible at this time due to the fact lack of continuous residency !!!!
interesting part was that , I several times write in that papers that i have been laid off and i was jobless , not working not in US not in abroad
IO stating in the rejection letter, i didnt answer the question that if i was working abroad or not ,
as far as i remember , i mentioned that i wasnt working and family member helped me and supported me the whole time, i wasnt working period ,
I didnt leave any questions un-answered !!!!!!!!!!!
 
there is no mismatch with my passport and the dates they had on files ,
it was just that i should have presented myself for the continuous residence if i had an abode , or work in US during my extended trips outside US<
if i had a immediate relative that lived in US when i was outside the US , which i had not , it was irrelevant to my case since my husband is still in line of embassy interview scheduling getting to USA
if i had that i might have changed my path !!!
but , i got denied ,
and yes the letter says if you can proof your residency you can appeal applying at form 336
 
As far as I can tell, the law itself only states six months. USCIS regulations contain the 180-day cutoff (actually it is 181 days). Your trip lasted 182 days according to my date calculator. Unfortunately this one extra day is enough to make your case difficult. Instead of them having to prove you broke residency, you have to prove that you did not. I think the most important factors in your favor would be tax returns, employment records, school records, and mortgage/lease documents.

USCIS regulations are here: http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter3.html
 
helphelp1234 said:
there is no mismatch with my passport and the dates they had on files ,
it was just that i should have presented myself for the continuous residence if i had an abode , or work in US during my extended trips outside US<
if i had a immediate relative that lived in US when i was outside the US , which i had not , it was irrelevant to my case since my husband is still in line of embassy interview scheduling getting to USA
if i had that i might have changed my path !!!
but , i got denied ,
and yes the letter says if you can proof your residency you can appeal applying at form 336
Click to expand...


You should consider appealing, and see if you can change their minds with more evidence to support your case. Many people have been able to prove the maintained continous residence even with trips >180 days. You will probably want a good lawyers to make the case for you. Have they asked for any specific documents to prove your residency?

The worst that can happen is that they will deny your appeal, and you may lose some money. From the dates you have given it would appear that would have to wait 4 years after your last long trip, which would be 09/10/2018. I am not sure how long appeals take, but I would assume not more than 6-8 months for a decision (going by how long some other applications take.
 
Harry Callahan said:
As far as I can tell, the law itself only states six months. USCIS regulations contain the 180-day cutoff (actually it is 181 days). Your trip lasted 182 days according to my date calculator. Unfortunately this one extra day is enough to make your case difficult. Instead of them having to prove you broke residency, you have to prove that you did not. I think the most important factors in your favor would be tax returns, employment records, school records, and mortgage/lease documents.


thanks
that was really helpful , i read the link ,
well as you see , it says 6 months /181 days , the travel dates that i posted is the one that the IO had on their files i assume they made calculations ,

i read on the citizenship guide aswell, , it stated that the half days that you are traveling is considered IN the USA so it doesnt make my specific trip 182 since, that half day that i was leaving the country is considered toward my credit IN the USA , however in the rejection letter IO pointed out this trip as being over the 6 months and under 1 year ,
but they also knew that it can be argued , and rebutted , so they also propose that the several 5 months trip OUT the US has been on file ,
that altogether made up that denial decision,
Click to expand...
 
choorysaab said:
You should consider appealing, and see if you can change their minds with more evidence to support your case. Many people have been able to prove the maintained continous residence even with trips >180 days. You will probably want a good lawyers to make the case for you. Have they asked for any specific documents to prove your residency?

The worst that can happen is that they will deny your appeal, and you may lose some money. From the dates you have given it would appear that would have to wait 4 years after your last long trip, which would be 09/10/2018. I am not sure how long appeals take, but I would assume not more than 6-8 months for a decision (going by how long some other applications take.
Click to expand...


they didnt ask for more evidence , they made decision just based on what i said on the interview day , and that piece of bloody paper , that IO printed out , for me to answer the questions ,
was more like a confession that i needed to take to kind of S-P-E-L-L-E- D that out loud that i havent lived in US and that was enough to make everything worse,

even with a good lawyer , i would loose anyway !!!
i don't got any hope and i don't see any good in doing it , just proving the government officer that they are wrong.
i do not have more evidence to proof that , all evidence that i had was the tax return , school registration of the 2010- end of 2012 , after that since i didn't own a residence or rent a place i could not prove residency , also have filed taxes 2013, 2014 as 0 income since i wasn't working in the USA , and my immediate relative (husband ) haven't been in the USA when i had my extended trips , i only kept my bank account , mailing address have been going to family member address,

with all these information if what you know of the other applicants, that i have a chance , please say so ,

still i am having appointment with lawyer in a few days to see what they say !!!!
 
I am sorry that you were denied, but let's face it you had a lot of red flags. Those five trips are definitely suspicious,

03/12/2014 to 09/10/2014 181
09/17/2013 to 02/27 / 2014 162
03/18/2013 to 08/30/2013 164
02/26/2013 to 03/05/2013 6
07/23/2012 to 01/02/2013 162

IOs also look for patterns, even if 162, 164 days are under 6 months, it just screams "I am living abroad, but hey I am coming back every 6 months to respect the 6-month rule." You could argue your case if it was one single 6-month trip, but you have 1 trip over 6 months and 3 trips just under and another trip that shows that you stayed in the US a little over a month, before leaving again for another 6 months. You left one trip on March 18, 2013 then came back 5 months later, stayed 2 weeks, then left for another 5 months and you repeated it again.

Honestly, if I were you I wouldn't waste my time and money. Again, there is a clear pattern in your travel "behavior." I had 2 long trips outside the US during my 5-year green card days, but they were separated by a year-long period so the IO didn't even questioned them. I understand that sometimes IOs can be a bit too strict, but in your case it was a home run, in my opinion.

What reason did you give for your absences? I read a story (either on this forum or elsewhere) about this guy who had a lot of long trips outside the US, but they were all work-related so he managed to get approved, but if on top of that your reason wasn't convincing, I can understand the decision.
 
We had a similar pattern of travel but flipped. We were mostly away from the US during the FIRST half of the statutory period, and entirely in the US during the second half. We also had no single trip longer than 170 days. We had no issues aside from a small delay in approval.
 
thank you every one for your comments !!!!!
I also think the same way, i stand little chance and dont want to argue , however choorysaab was saying i might have a chance!!!
 
Harry Callahan said:
We had a similar pattern of travel but flipped. We were mostly away from the US during the FIRST half of the statutory period, and entirely in the US during the second half. We also had no single trip longer than 170 days. We had no issues aside from a small delay in approval.
Click to expand...

How long ago was that ???? what did you present for first half of the statutory period ??? did you filed out a tax return ??? would you please share your experience so i know what to start collect???
 
if i want to show a letter of proof of residency from all previous address that i have leaved ,
do i need to ask the landlord to notarized it , or just a written statement and date and signed it would be ok ???
 
The M-477 document checklist says you should include 5 years of tax transcripts, mortgage or rent payments, and pay stubs. I'm not sure whether they would accept simply a statement.
 
well , the lease agreement would be considered a document too , right ???
since i didnt lease and apt i was subleased from a tenant and there was no written agreement , then a statment is better than nothing ,
but i have the rent payment chacks that i wrote to , or cashier's check that is was made out to the tenant with description saying its Ex: jan 2015 rent
is this ok ???
 
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