Eligibility to Apply for CitizenShip

[sudha_udatha]

I am confused to take a decision on applying for citizenship

Here are the details of my stay

Aug 2004 - I got Green Card.
Sep 2004 - Jan 2004 - 5 Months in India
Jun 2005 - Sep 2005 - 3 months in India
Sep 2005 - March 2006 - 5 months+ in India
MARCH 2006 I came back to USA and Stayed for a week and applied reentry permit and again went back to india
( When i am applying for that the reason was to Settle my property issues in India and come back to settle here)

- March 2006 - Jan -2007 - 11 Months In India.

21- Jan - 2007 to till Date i was in USA.

I never stayed continuously more than 1 year in India.

But in these 5 years i stayed total 24 months in India.

Will i be eligible to apply? if not when i will be eligible to apply.
I really really appreciate any help!

 

[baikal3]

I am confused to take a decision on applying for citizenship

Here are the details of my stay

Aug 2004 - I got Green Card.
Sep 2004 - Jan 2004 - 5 Months in India
Jun 2005 - Sep 2005 - 3 months in India
Sep 2005 - March 2006 - 5 months+ in India
MARCH 2006 I came back to USA and Stayed for a week and applied reentry permit and again went back to india
( When i am applying for that the reason was to Settle my property issues in India and come back to settle here)

- March 2006 - Jan -2007 - 11 Months In India.

21- Jan - 2007 to till Date i was in USA.

I never stayed continuously more than 1 year in India.

But in these 5 years i stayed total 24 months in India.

Will i be eligible to apply? if not when i will be eligible to apply.
I really really appreciate any help!

Any foreign trip longer than 6 months is presumed to break the continuous residency requirement for naturalization purposes and resets the 5-year clock. So you have to wait another 5 years from January 21, 2007 before applying.

 

[kruz_patz]

I am confused to take a decision on applying for citizenship

Here are the details of my stay

Aug 2004 - I got Green Card.
Sep 2004 - Jan 2004 - 5 Months in India
Jun 2005 - Sep 2005 - 3 months in India
Sep 2005 - March 2006 - 5 months+ in India
MARCH 2006 I came back to USA and Stayed for a week and applied reentry permit and again went back to india
( When i am applying for that the reason was to Settle my property issues in India and come back to settle here)

- March 2006 - Jan -2007 - 11 Months In India.

21- Jan - 2007 to till Date i was in USA.

I never stayed continuously more than 1 year in India.

But in these 5 years i stayed total 24 months in India.

Will i be eligible to apply? if not when i will be eligible to apply.
I really really appreciate any help!

There are two types of requirements, that you have to consider before you apply for citizenship.
1. Physical Presence
2. Continuous Residence

1. Physical Presence: You have to physically present in USA for 30 months. (If you are applying based on 5 year residency)

2. Continuous Residence: You have to stay continuously in USA. If you make a trip longer than 6 months, than your 5 year clock restarts. As well as, if you stay less than 2 year with re-entry permit, than 364 days will count towards 5 years.

In yourcase, I think you have to start your clock from 21st Jan, 2007 onwards till 5 years are completed.

 

[Bobsmyth]

Any foreign trip longer than 6 months is presumed to break the continuous residency requirement for naturalization purposes and resets the 5-year clock. So you have to wait another 5 years from January 21, 2007 before applying.

Any trip longer than 6 months but less than 12 months only presumes a break continuous residency, it's not an automatic.. The applicant is still given a chance to prove residency ties.
In the OP's case, if he/she has sufficient proof of US residency ties throughout all the trips, he/she is eligible to apply now.

 

[sreeleshk]

the OP will be eligible as she meets the physical presence criteria already, if she is able to prove that she hasnt abandoned residency, and kept ties here in america, its not a problem. other as she hasnt been outside the country beyond a year, her clock doesnt reset.....

if i were in the OP's shoes i would apply right away and start collecting all the proof needed to show my not severing ties with america while being in india

 

[baikal3]

Any trip longer than 6 months but less than 12 months only presumes a break continuous residency, it's not an automatic.. The applicant is still given a chance to prove residency ties.
In the OP's case, if he/she has sufficient proof of US residency ties throughout all the trips, he/she is eligible to apply now.

That's correct, of course, but, IMO, in the OP's case overcoming the presumption that continuous residency was broken will be a tall order.

The OP says that he stayed in India for 5+ months from Sept 2005 to March 2006, then came to the U.S. for just one week to apply for a reentry permit, then went back to India for 11 months, March 2006-Jan 2007, then "came back [to the U.S.] to settle here".

From the other posts I have read in this forum, it seems that it is pretty tough to overcome the presumption of a break in continuous residency at the interview, and the IO would generally want to see a proof that the applicant has maintained a house/apartment and/or had a job here, or both. Based on the OP's initial post it does not seem likely that he had either a job here or rented/owned an apartment/house while he was away, although it'd be good if the OP could comment on this directly.

I also vaguely remember reading some posts where, in cases of a very short (a few days) trip to the U.S. between two long foreign trips, the IO viewed those foreign trips as a single trip for continuous residency purposes, which might present an extra problem in the OP's case.

 

[sudha_udatha]

Hi All,

Thank you all for your valuable inputs,Is there a Number to find out wether i am eligible to apply for citizenship?

after reading different posts i am kind of getting confused wether to apply or not.

Actually i am desperately waiting for my citizenship

Thank you again for all the inputs.

 

[baikal3]

Hi All,

Thank you all for your valuable inputs,Is there a Number to find out wether i am eligible to apply for citizenship?

after reading different posts i am kind of getting confused wether to apply or not.

Actually i am desperately waiting for my citizenship so that i can apply green card for my parents.

Thank you again for all the inputs.

There is no such number. The actual determination is made at the interview by the immigration officer conducting the interview. As others have noted, you could be eligible if you manage to overcome the presumption that your 11 months trip did not break the continuous residency requirement.

If you are really hard pressed, you may as well apply now and see what happens. At worst, if your application is denied, you'll lose the application fee, but you will be able to re-apply later with no problem.
If you apply now, the main challenge for you will be to convince the IO at the interview that during your 11 month trip to India in 2006-07 you had maintained close ties to the U.S. (job, apartment/house, taxes, bank accounts, credit cards, etc) and that that trip was strictly temporary in nature.

 

[guju]

Hi All,
Actually i am desperately waiting for my citizenship so that i can apply green card for my parents.

There is no number to call. You can read the "guide to naturalization" or talk to a lawyer.

If you need to get citizenship urgently, then apply, the only risk is that you will be denied due to continuous residency requirements and loose $675. This will have no effect on your future eligibility to apply when you do meet the continuout residency.

I also believe that you will be eligible to apply 4 years and 1 day after you came back from your 11 month trip (not 5 years)

 

[sudha_udatha]

I do not have those kind of proofs like Job or house when i was not in USA.when i applied reentry permit the reason i mentioned in that was ' to sell off the property in India".will that help?

 

[baikal3]

I do not have those kind of proofs like Job or house when i was not in USA.when i applied reentry permit the reason i mentioned in that was ' to sell off the property in India".will that help?

Simply saying that you were in India to sell off your property is not likely to be sufficient. They'll want to see some positive evidence of your having maintained close ties to the U.S. during your absence (such as tax returns, mortgage/rental payments, bank and credit card statements etc).

 

[Jackolantern]

The 11 month trip by itself makes it tough to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. And then the 11 month trip was immediately after other long trips. I would be very surprised if this case is approved if applying before 2011. But it's not impossible, so it's worth a try if you can afford to lose the money.

 

[sreeleshk]

The OP says that he stayed in India for 5+ months from Sept 2005 to March 2006, then came to the U.S. for just one week to apply for a reentry permit, then went back to India for 11 months, March 2006-Jan 2007, then "came back [to the U.S.] to settle here".

doesnt the applicant have to be in USA to get the Re-Entry Permit ?
or can they apply and just leave the country even before its approved and delivered?