Eligibility to apply for citizenship

R

roysc

New Member
I got my GC approved on 4/9/2002. I lived in US until 3/15/2006 (more than four years of continuous stay) with short stay outside of US for 20 to 30 days during my India vacation. I left US to work for my US Company in India on 3/15/2006 and I am back in US from 7/9/2007 and joined back to my US Company. I have come to US once during Nov of 2006. Hence essentially, I was away for almost 8 months during the last 17 months. My question is that can I apply for my citizenship now, or do I need to live here another 5 years continuously before I can apply?

Please help me…
 
Since you were out of the US from Nov 2006 to July 2007, you might have broken the "continuous residence rule" of "no trips outside of the US of 6 months or longer". Please consult an immigration attorney on the implications of breaking the "continuous residence rule".

There is an exception for employees of US owned companies engaged in development of foreign trade for the US provided you fill a N-470 form prior to leaving for a foreign assignment.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/N-470.pdf
 
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Essentially, since you left the US on 3/15/2006 for an overseas assignment, and didn't return until 7/9/2007 (16 months), you broke continuous residence irrespective of any short visits you may have made to the US in the intervening period. Hopefully you had a reentry permit, otherwise questions could be raised as to the continued validity of your GC?

Presumably also, you were not in possession of an approved N-470?

I'd be very surprised if you case could be approved now - most likely you'll have to wait until 4yrs+1day from 7/9/2007 before you become eligible again.
 
Here is what I saw on the INS site. I got confused by reading the statements here...




· "has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant's continuity of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not abandon his or her residence during such period) has resided within a state or district for at least three months"

Yes, I took the re-entry permit.

Thanks
 
Unfortunately natz eligibility isn't as simple as reading each rule in isolation to determine whether you qualify. IOs look at your overall pattern of behavior and (by implication) their perception of your intent, and adjudicate the case as they see fit.

If I'm understanding your initial post correctly, you resided (and were also employed) outside of the US from 3/06 thru 7/07 (16 months) and made one short return visit to the US in 11/06. That puts your individual absences at 8 months and 8 months respectively, both of which are over the 6 month threshold for presumption of breaking continuous residence.

Having a single absence over the 6 month threshold puts the burden of proof on the applicant to demonstrate they did not break continuous residence. Having two trips back to back (essentially, one long trip) makes it pretty much impossible.

Since you held a reentry permit, there should be no problem with your LPR status. Its just a matter of how long you now have to wait to become eligible again.

Note: I'm not a lawyer, and my opinions are based upon the collective experience of myself and others who have contributed here. You may wish to seek professional advice and/or apply anyway - pretty much the only thing you risk by applying now is the application fee.
 
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