N-400: Out of the country for 20 months

M

msnr

New Member
Here's our situation:

We(my wife and I) got our Green cards: 10/24/2004. Our son had severe food allergies. Wanted to try alternative medicine in India. Wife and son left in December 2007. I joined them in April 2008 after getting a job there. Both of us got our re-entry permits before we left for India. We returned in Dec'09 and have been in the US since then. Both my wife and I visited the US every 6 months (within 180 days).

We had always intended to return back to the US. We maintained US bank accounts, retirement accounts, credit cards and had our car here. Applied for AR-11 form and gave my brother's address before we left. Both my brother's family and my sister-in-law's family live in Chicago. We have been filing taxes as a 'resident' and have reported the income in India.

1. What address should we specify in Part 6A, 6B of the N-400 application while we were in India?
2. Will applying for citizenship now jeopardize the Green card? Do you foresee any issues because we were out for a while(I was out for 20 months, my wife for 24 months) - RFE or intent to deny?
3. What additional documentation would help to mitigate RFE risk? Is it just a matter or responding with details to the RFE?
4. I had to travel to four countries when I was employed in India. Do I have to list all the countries ?
 
#1. Specify India address.
#2. I do not think your GC in jeopardy because you file N400. If it was, you would already know as you would have been stopped at re-entry.
#3. It is hard to say.
#4. Yes, you should list all countries you visited.
 
You definitely broke your continuity of residence for naturalization purposes. You took employment abroad which is an affirmative act to disrupt residence in the U.S. Since you had re-entry permits, you did not lose your greencards so, that it no longer an issue. However, you need to wait 4 years and one day after you returned to the U.S. to resume residing permanently in order to be eligible to file an N-400.
 
BigJoe5 said:
You definitely broke your continuity of residence for naturalization purposes. You took employment abroad which is an affirmative act to disrupt residence in the U.S. Since you had re-entry permits, you did not lose your greencards so, that it no longer an issue. However, you need to wait 4 years and one day after you returned to the U.S. to resume residing permanently in order to be eligible to file an N-400.
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Is BigJoe5's statement really true? It would make it a possibility if tax returns were not filed, and foreign income not reported in tax returns. In this case foreign income was reported. There is intent to reside in USA and does not prove abandonment.
 
cnagar said:
Is BigJoe5's statement really true? It would make it a possibility if tax returns were not filed, and foreign income not reported in tax returns. In this case foreign income was reported. There is intent to reside in USA and does not prove abandonment.
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Working and living in a foreign country without a N-470 disrupts continuous residence, regardless of it the income is reported or not.
 
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