Have we met the Continuous Residence Requirements for filing for citizenship n-400 form

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jigsawpuzzle

Registered Users (C)
Got greencard in Sept 2005 and we complete 5 years this year (2010). However, the entire family (husband, I and son) stayed outside the US for almost 1 year. My husband was accepted to Oxford for a 1 year Masters program so we left the US in Oct 2008 and returned in Sept 2009. We maintained our house here in the US and have returned to the same house. However, we both are contractors, therefore we quit our jobs before we left. My husband continued to work from our home in Oxford, UK until Dec 2008 for his job here in the US>

We filed taxes for those years (2008/2009) as a residence and maintained our house (rented it out for 1 year only) and then returned to it. Have we met the continuous residence requirements??

What supporting documents should we be sending/attaching to the n-400 application so as to ensure the application is not rejected.

Also, none of us worked at any time during our 11 months outside the US. We only went there for my husband's education.

Any help on this matter is appreciated.

Thanks
 
Renting out your US house does not equate to maintaining a primary abode in the US. Since you were out of the US for more than 6 months but less than 1 year you are presumed to have broken continuous residency unless you can prove otherwise. Can you show that you continued to pay mortgage and utilities in your name(s) on the house in US while you were in UK? If so, you have a goo chance of proving continuous residency wasn't broken.
 
We don't have a mortgage. The house is paid off. The utilities were transferred to the tenants's name. However, we did pay the taxes quarterly and the assessment for the house every month. Does that count ??
 
jigsawpuzzle said:
We don't have a mortgage. The house is paid off. The utilities were transferred to the tenants's name. However, we did pay the taxes quarterly and the assessment for the house every month. Does that count ??
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That can be tricky since you aren't maintaining the house as your own primary abode. The fact that you are renting it out and that utilities are in the tenants' name will go against you since it shows you aren't maintaining your house as your own residence.
 
Bobsmyth said:
That can be tricky since you aren't maintaining the house as your own primary abode. The fact that you are renting it out and that utilities are in the tenants' name will go against you since it shows you aren't maintaining your house as your own residence.
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While it won't count as "residence" because it was rented out, it still would count as an important asset that is left in the US (just like bank accounts, stocks, etc.), especially since they own it outright and they continued to pay the property taxes.
 
i have read number of posts where absence due to foreign study is viewed favorably by USCIS and is accepted as an excuse. Keep all records as student available with you for interview. You should be OK.
 
Jackolantern said:
While it won't count as "residence" because it was rented out, it still would count as an important asset that is left in the US (just like bank accounts, stocks, etc.), especially since they own it outright and they continued to pay the property taxes.
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True, but maintaining a primary abode is the strongest form of evidence of residence. Having US assets doesn't make up for that.
 
madh4 said:
i have read number of posts where absence due to foreign study is viewed favorably by USCIS and is accepted as an excuse. Keep all records as student available with you for interview. You should be OK.
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In the OP's case, the entire family relocated to UK due to husband's study. This is not the same as a single person going overseas to study and whose family remained in US or otherwise maintained a primary US abode (either via parents, or via rental/mortgage agreement).
Also, quitting their US jobs before leaving is another a sign that presumes breaking continuous residency.
 
jigsawpuzzle said:
What supporting documents should we be sending/attaching to the n-400 application so as to ensure the application is not rejected.
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You need supporting documents showing your ties to the US while abroad (continued ownership of your house and other assets, tax filings, etc.) and the nature of your trip, but don't send those with the application, bring them to the interview.
 
Jackolantern said:
You need supporting documents showing your ties to the US while abroad (continued ownership of your house and other assets, tax filings, etc.) and the nature of your trip, but don't send those with the application, bring them to the interview.
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As well as a letter/transcript from school showing it was for a 1 year master's program in order to show temporary nature of studies.
However, there's no magic number of supporting evidence that will guarantee success as each case is evaluated on an individual basis.
 
Yet another example of how rules are not for family. I find it completely normal that a family would want to be together in the same place if possible. Why separate? And renting-why is it so abnormal that one should rent out their house to gain extra income? Guess I have to get used to their line of thinking...



I wish you luck-here you are trying to improve your life/skills and now it may be held against you....
 
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