Need help - Citizenship for mother

H

hanimi

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

Good morning and I have a quick question - My mother is eligible for applying for Citizenship sometime during middle of Sept 2009. (She had her GC issued on Dec 09, 2004 and using 90 day prior rule). I am not sure I want to apply for her Citizenship as she plans to go to India during last week of October, 2009 (My dad expired recently in Chicago and she feels so lonely here and wants to spend some time with our family back home). She is planning to return in March/April 2010. I am not sure, and need your help and input if I can send her N-400 papers in September, 2009 and is it possible to have FP/interview done at Chennai or Hyderabad consulates? Or wait for her to come back to US and apply in March/April, 2010?

Please help me.

Regards
 
hanimi said:
Hello,

Good morning and I have a quick question - My mother is eligible for applying for Citizenship sometime during middle of Sept 2009. (She had her GC issued on Dec 09, 2004 and using 90 day prior rule). I am not sure I want to apply for her Citizenship as she plans to go to India during last week of October, 2009 (My dad expired recently in Chicago and she feels so lonely here and wants to spend some time with our family back home). She is planning to return in March/April 2010. I am not sure, and need your help and input if I can send her N-400 papers in September, 2009 and is it possible to have FP/interview done at Chennai or Hyderabad consulates? Or wait for her to come back to US and apply in March/April, 2010?

Please help me.

Regards
Click to expand...

Neither FP nor the naturalization interview can be done abroad, they both have to be done in the U.S. Also, you need to remember that if your mother's trip lasts 6 month or more, it will break her continuous residency and she would have to wait another five years before being eligible for naturalization.
 
Thanks for your response. My mother has plans to stay just little over 5 months and she will surely be back in less than 6 months. Earlier, She visited in 2006 and during that time also, it was about 5 months 10 days or so. Hope it satisfies "Continuous Residence" clause.

Thanks
 
hanimi said:
Thanks for your response. My mother has plans to stay just little over 5 months and she will surely be back in less than 6 months. Earlier, She visited in 2006 and during that time also, it was about 5 months 10 days or so. Hope it satisfies "Continuous Residence" clause.
Click to expand...
One 5-month trip is OK. But multiple 5-month trips close together could be a problem as far as continuous residence is concerned.
 
baikal3 said:
. Also, you need to remember that if your mother's trip lasts 6 month or more, it will break her continuous residency and she would have to wait another five years before being eligible for naturalization.
Click to expand...

A trip of more than 6 months but less than 12 months only presumes a break in continuous residency that can be overcome with additional proof. It's not an automatic break in continuous residency.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
hanimi said:
Hello,

Good morning and I have a quick question - My mother is eligible for applying for Citizenship sometime during middle of Sept 2009. (She had her GC issued on Dec 09, 2004 and using 90 day prior rule). I am not sure I want to apply for her Citizenship as she plans to go to India during last week of October, 2009 (My dad expired recently in Chicago and she feels so lonely here and wants to spend some time with our family back home). She is planning to return in March/April 2010. I am not sure, and need your help and input if I can send her N-400 papers in September, 2009 and is it possible to have FP/interview done at Chennai or Hyderabad consulates? Or wait for her to come back to US and apply in March/April, 2010?

Please help me.

Regards
Click to expand...
She'll have to return to US to do her FP, interview and oath if she applies before she leaves to India. She's better off waiting to file when she returns.
Does she have any long trips over 6 months in the last 5 years as a LPR?
 
She had trip in 2006 which was for about 5 months 10 days and planning now in Oct, 2009 and returning in March/April 2010 - about 5 months or so.

Thanks
 
hanimi said:
She had trip in 2006 which was for about 5 months 10 days and planning now in Oct, 2009 and returning in March/April 2010 - about 5 months or so.

Thanks
Click to expand...

That shouldn't be an issue since they were spaced apart far enough.
 
hanimi said:
She had trip in 2006 which was for about 5 months 10 days and planning now in Oct, 2009 and returning in March/April 2010 - about 5 months or so.

Thanks
Click to expand...

She should be fine, as there is 3 years gap between both the trips.
Also, try to gather as many supporting documents as possible to prove her continuous residency in US.
 
Thanks Guys for your input. So, it is better to wait and apply when she is back in March/April! Let me know your thoughts!

Regards
 
I agree, she should be fine as long as she comes back within 5 months :). However, You may want to consider the fact that she has waited nearly 5 long years on her green card and even one month extra delay could put her at risk of going out of the continuous time requirement and resetting the clock. For senior citizens we sometimes ignore this small fact and could prove important later.

I know this is a forum for just advising people with facts and not influence their personal decisions. But I wanted to be the Devil's Advocate here and advise you'll to weigh all the pros and cons.

In case of a friend of mine; his parents had waited 4+ long years after their GC without making a single trip back to their home country. For some sudden reason they had to rush back and could not come back for a long time ( I am not sure how much it was). Needless to say, they had to give up on their green cards and did not have the time nor inclination to start the whole process again. One of their son is now deciding (hate to use the word forced) to move back since the fathers health has started to deteriorate and I suppose parents cannot get adequate health coverage/treatment here in the US (had they stayed an extra year and taken citizenship at the time, I believe they would be eligible for Medicare/Medicaid etc.). Not exactly sure what though!

Since it is so close to your mom's application eligibility period, you/your mom should evaluate how urgent this trip is for your mom and then make a decision. Note that it typically only takes 4 months or so for the process. In a nutshell, if I were you I would use my head rather than heart. Sorry this post became a bit long and I did not mean to scare you. Hopefully did not confuse or make it more difficult for you (although I know I just did :confused:).
 
Thanks my friend for your suggestions. I will discuss with my mother and see how she takes it. Actually, she has been going through very rough time as my father passed away in June and we think, it will be nice for her to be with her siblings and other relatives. I guess, if she has to wait for her Citizenship, it may take about 6 ~ 7 months from now. (She is eligible to apply in Sept and may take 4 ~ 5 months from that period).

I am not sure, if she has to take the Citizenship test also? She is 71 years old and had been coming to US since 1999 and got her GC in 2004. If she has to take any tests, we need to coach her in all these questions etc. Please let me know!

Thanks
 
I understand she will need to pass both English and Civics tests. There is an exception but I believe she would have to be over a certain age (55 I believe, which she does qualify) and she would have to prove she was in the US for 15 years (which she does not qualify for based on what you've written).
 
hanimi said:
Thanks my friend for your suggestions. I will discuss with my mother and see how she takes it. Actually, she has been going through very rough time as my father passed away in June and we think, it will be nice for her to be with her siblings and other relatives. I guess, if she has to wait for her Citizenship, it may take about 6 ~ 7 months from now. (She is eligible to apply in Sept and may take 4 ~ 5 months from that period).

I am not sure, if she has to take the Citizenship test also? She is 71 years old and had been coming to US since 1999 and got her GC in 2004. If she has to take any tests, we need to coach her in all these questions etc. Please let me know!

Thanks
Click to expand...

I understand! Its difficult to even comprehend what she is going though at the moment. My condolences to her and your family.

I believe she may have to take both the Civics and English tests since the concessions are only for PR who are above a certain age (65 years for civics and 50/55 years for English) AND who have been PR for at least 20 years (15 years for age 55 and over for English). I could be wrong though.
 
hanimi said:
Thanks my friend for your suggestions. I will discuss with my mother and see how she takes it. Actually, she has been going through very rough time as my father passed away in June and we think, it will be nice for her to be with her siblings and other relatives. I guess, if she has to wait for her Citizenship, it may take about 6 ~ 7 months from now. (She is eligible to apply in Sept and may take 4 ~ 5 months from that period).

I am not sure, if she has to take the Citizenship test also? She is 71 years old and had been coming to US since 1999 and got her GC in 2004. If she has to take any tests, we need to coach her in all these questions etc. Please let me know!

Thanks
Click to expand...

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=ebf1bece24e7b110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Exemptions from English and Civics Requirements
Some applicants are exempt from the English requirements for naturalization based on their age and amount of time as a permanent resident. These applicants must still take the civics test.


You do not take the English test if you are
Lived as permanent resident in the United States for
You still take the

Age 50 or older
20 years
civics test in your language

Age 55 or older
15 years
civics test in your language

Age 65 or older
20 years
simplified civics test in your language
 
Just a suggestion

I will suggest you start the process and let her wait until she complete her fingerprint. That should take ~ 4 weeks or also. At that point she can go to India during her wait for the Interview Letter. This will allow her to visit India and her siblings/friends for ~ 2 months prior to her interview date. Fly her back ~ 1 weeks or so for the interview. After her oath ceremony, which will be ~ 4-6 weeks post her interview date. She can fly back to India and stay as long as she wishes.

She will appreciate the 2 months or so in India and it will go a long way in helping her in her grief

Just a suggestion....
 
Wouldn't it be better to invite one or some of her siblings to visit her here? That would help with her solitude and still allow her to apply for citizenship. Once she is a citizen she can go and visit the rest of her relatives in India.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top