N-400 and time outside the country.

L

Lacklustre

New Member
I have been a GC holder since 1999, worked, paid taxes etc etc but divorced in 2008. I never really considered citizenship before but now think I may have to. Let me set the background.

After my divorce, I moved to the Upstate NY area because my employer is located in this area and I have many good friends in Canada. Over the last year or so i have been making frequent trips to Toronto, sometimes staying up to 3 weeks. I have become worried that this could put my Permanent Residency at risk so Citizenship is probably the safest route for me. I have a clean criminal record, pay taxes, own a home etc so I think i am in good stead with that but the time outside the country worries me because i have to document each and every visit. i didn't keep records of the dates i came and went and because it was a land border i have no stamps. Is there a way I can obtain this direct from the Immigration people? I don't want to be rejected because i missed a few dates or they didn't tie up with their records.

It irritates me because they obviously have this information so why bother making me dig it out, and if they don't, I could say anything lol

So, how have people handled this issue before?

Thanks

Sean
 
Lacklustre said:
It irritates me because they obviously have this information so why bother making me dig it out, and if they don't, I could say anything lol
Click to expand...

They don't have 100% of the exit/entry information for 100% of the people. There are significant gaps in their records, mostly in land/sea ports of entry.

So they rely on you to produce that information under the threat of punishment if you lie. Although they don't have 100% about everybody, you don't know how much they have about you. It could be 100%, 50%, or anything else. So you will be taking a big risk if you "say anything".

However, trips of 3 weeks aren't going to jeopardize your permanent residence, unless you're taking something like 15 trips like that and carrying on that patten for a year or more. And if you do apply for citizenship, you're probably not going to have a problem if you're not close to violating the conditional residence or physical presence requirements, and you attach a note explaining that your trip dates are approximate.
 
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