Hi there,
I, along with the rest of my immediate family (parents, younger siblings) received my GC in March of 2001. I was a university student in my home country at the time. I spent the 6 months immediately after receiving my GC in the US, then traveled back to my home country. I basically spent the majority of the next 5 years there, first finishing my degree and then working, only visiting my family in the US 2-3 times per year for 1-2 weeks at a time. On two occasions I spent more than 6 months (but less than a year) outside the US. I never applied for a re-entry permit and never had any trouble re-entering the country.
In September of 2006 I moved to the US for good and since then I have only left for short vacations, totaling 104 days outside the US during the past 5 years, so I don't have a problem meeting the continuous residency requirement within the 5-year look-back period. My question is, will my extended absences more than 5 years ago negatively impact my citizenship application? The n400 form requires me to list these absences in section 7C.
If it's relevant, the rest of my family have spent the last 13 years living in the US, with no extended absences, so my "family home" was always here.
Thanks in advance for your input.
I, along with the rest of my immediate family (parents, younger siblings) received my GC in March of 2001. I was a university student in my home country at the time. I spent the 6 months immediately after receiving my GC in the US, then traveled back to my home country. I basically spent the majority of the next 5 years there, first finishing my degree and then working, only visiting my family in the US 2-3 times per year for 1-2 weeks at a time. On two occasions I spent more than 6 months (but less than a year) outside the US. I never applied for a re-entry permit and never had any trouble re-entering the country.
In September of 2006 I moved to the US for good and since then I have only left for short vacations, totaling 104 days outside the US during the past 5 years, so I don't have a problem meeting the continuous residency requirement within the 5-year look-back period. My question is, will my extended absences more than 5 years ago negatively impact my citizenship application? The n400 form requires me to list these absences in section 7C.
If it's relevant, the rest of my family have spent the last 13 years living in the US, with no extended absences, so my "family home" was always here.
Thanks in advance for your input.