Chawathe basically says that the ownership of the employing company will be assumed to be American if it is traded on a US stock market. (You wanted simple.)
Most Naturalization Officers are unfamiliar with the N-470 and it may slow them down just a tiny bit (they will have to grab their law books and look it up to make sure that they understand how it works).
The N-472 (N-470 Approval Notice) in your posession tells you the period covered, it serves to PREVENT a BREAK in continuous residence but does nothing regarding physical presence.
An N-470 Story.................
Mr. and Mrs. X and their two kids, Junior and Suzie, got greencards on Jan. 1, 2000, when they arrived in the U.S. after a very long flight from Taipei. Mr. X qualified for an employment-based visa and came for a great paying job.
They lived in U.S. for over two years, almost three years, [Mr. X met the precondition of having at least one continuous year of presence in the U.S. as an LPR] and he got an offer from his U.S. employer to start up the company's office in Hong Kong (he and his wife and kids are originally from Taiwan and can get by with the language and are glad that English is widely spoken in HK. Keeping up their English will be good for the kids when they return to San Diego after the HK assignment. They say OK to the employer.
The employee is expected to be abroad for 2 to 3 years or so. The LPR employee files an N-470 on Feb 1, 2003, stating the he will depart on June 1, 2003, and his wife and two children will follow to join him on July 1, 2003. The kids have to finish school and then he wants to be sure his kids get used to things before they start school in HK.
After a few frantic calls to, and an Infopass appointment, at the local USCIS office the N-470 gets adjudicated in time and Mr. X gets the N-472 Approval Notice on May 17, 2003.
The period covered begins June 1, 2003, and continues until completion of the assignment and return to the U.S. to resume residing here (and most likely return to work for the same employer---with a big fat bonus check and promotion). They also got re-entry permits but had already filed for those the very second he got the job offer. The N-470 was suggested by the employer's HR office. A big company like that had experience with this before--ALL BAD and vowed, NEVER AGAIN will we screw an LPR employee like that again.
Mr. X and his family returned to the U.S. on July 1, 2006, all went well and the new office is running great. Now Mr. and Mrs. X and their oldest child, who turned 18 in HK, are thinking about filing N-400's.
They had immigrated together and all four of them got greencards on Jan. 1, 2000. It is now July 2006. Well, they have had their greencards over five years. The greencards were protected by re-entry permits.
They can have all their forms filled out and checks prepared (the price went up while they were away--darn it) on August 1, 2006. Can they file now? NO!
Continuity of residence is not a problem, that is covered by the N-470. Not a problem. Greecard/LPR status is OK--not a problem, hey, they didn't get turned back at the port-of-entry. Why can't they file?
PHYSICAL PRESENCE: Counting back five years from August 1, 2006, brings us back to August 1, 2001.
Mr. X was in the U.S. on August 1, 2001, and departed to HK on June 1, 2003, therefore, 22 months before he left for HK count for physical presence. The whole family is sick of traveling and decides not to have any more foreign trips for the forseeable future, the farthest they are going is Disney World for several years. And Junior is going away to Harvard (smart kid).
--Mr. X returned to the U.S. on July 1, 2006. He needs 30 months of physical presence in order to file the N-400. Mr. X must wait 8 more months until the end of March 2007, to accumulate the required 30 months out of the five years (60 months) immediately preceeding the filing of the N-400. Mr. X plays it safe and decides he can file anytime after April. 1, 2007.
Mrs. X and the children left the U.S. one month after Mr. X so they have 23 months that count prior to leaving and could file before Mr. X after March 1, 2007, but decide to wait an additional month until after April 1, 2007.
Mr. and Mrs. X and Junior can ALL file together on or after April 2, 2007.
They got through their N-400 processing had no other issues (not even a parking ticket) and all got sworn in together on September 17, 2007. The X's younger child was 17 years old when mom and dad and older brother naturalized. They all have the same citizenship date. That's VERY fortunate for little Suzie because she is a problem child who got busted Halloween night for posession of alcohol by a minor and a DUI. There is no GMC requirement for Suzie's N-600 because she DERIVED USC by an action of law under INA 320.
After mom and dad, prove to ICE that Suzie derived USC when they naturalized, they proceed to file an N-600 for little Suzie and she gets her certificate of citizenship, just in time for Christmas.
And they all lived happily after.................. (except maybe Suzie, poor kid).
The End.
IF IT WERE ONLY THAT EASY.
