GC through marriage, when to apply citizenship?

P

pleasetellmewhy

Registered Users (C)
Hello All,

I have been married with the same u.s. citizen 5 years. However, I only have my GC for 2 years. Here is how the story -

I have applied GC once I got married. But it took almost 3 years to have my case to be approved. And USCIS released me a "permanent residence" instead of "temporary residence" since my marriage was almost 3 years by then.

My Question is

When should I apply u.s. citizenship, now or wait one more year?

Thank you advance!
 
YEAH,
i think that you are wasting your time waiting. You'll need to apply right away because you are elligible for the US citizenship.
 
Emma is completely wrong. If you're applying for naturalization via marriage to US citizen, you need to have 3 years as a legal resident NOT how many years you are married.
 
ok.....not sure where you all get your information from but EMMA you are absolutely correct he she is eligable for citizenship now.
nowhere in any regulation or immigration law does it state anything about having to be a permanent resident for 3 years. it only talk about being married for 3 years. If you have been married to a US CITIZEN and are a permament resident you are eligilbe to apply for citizenship.!!!!
see below straight from uscis.gov website

"Residency
An applicant must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. Lawfully admitted for permanent residence means having been legally accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws. Individuals who have been lawfully admitted as permanent residents will be asked to produce an I-551, Alien Registration Receipt Card, as proof of their status" ***

"Residence and Physical Presence

An applicant is eligible to file if, immediately preceding the filing of the application, he or she:

has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (see preceding section);
has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;
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

here is the SPOUSE EXEMPTION
"the applicant has been married to and living in a valid marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse for all three years;
the U.S. spouse has been a citizen for all three years and meets all physical presence and residence requirements; and
the applicant meets all other naturalization requirements see above and disregard the 5years requirement

hope this answers your question...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You need to be
"residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant" and
"married to a US Citizen spouse for three years"

both conditions have to be met together. The only way to reside as an immigrant is after you become a permanent resident. There is no other category for immigrant. All other visa categories (F1, H1) are considered to be non-immigrant.
 
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