Physical Presence/Citizenship illegibility

M

Mamy

New Member
Hi There,

I got my green card on September 25, 2005. I left the country on December 20, 2005 for a Study Abroad for 5 months and 25 days. I cameback to the U.S.A for five days and went back to Canada for another six months and seven days. Can anybody tell me if i still can apply for citizenship, please?
 
I think march 2010. make sure you have all documents showing ties with usa.
I am hoping that seven days after the six months will not get into trouble, because it breaks continuous residence.

Good luck.
 
Mamy said:
Hi There,

I got my green card on September 25, 2005. I left the country on December 20, 2005 for a Study Abroad for 5 months and 25 days. I cameback to the U.S.A for five days and went back to Canada for another six months and seven days. Can anybody tell me if i still can apply for citizenship, please?
Click to expand...

Can you sufficiently demonstrate US residency ties during both back to back trips?
 
Mamy said:
Hi There,

I got my green card on September 25, 2005. I left the country on December 20, 2005 for a Study Abroad for 5 months and 25 days. I cameback to the U.S.A for five days and went back to Canada for another six months and seven days. Can anybody tell me if i still can apply for citizenship, please?
Click to expand...

september 2011 You broke your continuous residency when was outside US for six months or more
 
Mamy said:
Hi There,

I got my green card on September 25, 2005. I left the country on December 20, 2005 for a Study Abroad for 5 months and 25 days. I cameback to the U.S.A for five days and went back to Canada for another six months and seven days. Can anybody tell me if i still can apply for citizenship, please?
Click to expand...

Sorry to say that your break your residency. USCIS will actually see how long you was outside for the full fiscal year, even you show ties to US.
I was in that case under the same circonstances (studies) with all documentations but it was tough, very though.
I advise you to wait until you cleared the 6 months 7 days. In other words you can apply on around 2012 with a piece of mind.
 
I can do that but i don't know if that is going to good enough to be granted citizenship. The problem is that i involuntary over stay in Canada because i was waiting for my passport to be released because it was ceased by the customs. Once it was released, i was given the name and phone number of the immigration officer who gave me back my passport. He said to me that if i never had a problem, to give me a call and he will write a letter for me explaining that they just wanted to check if i was legally staying in Canada which i was. I just hope that i won't be penalised for something that was not my fault. But anyway, thank you so much for your response. I will be looking forward to the next one since i have given you more info regarding my case
 
Mamy said:
I can do that but i don't know if that is going to good enough to be granted citizenship. The problem is that i involuntary over stay in Canada because i was waiting for my passport to be released because it was ceased by the customs. Once it was released, i was given the name and phone number of the immigration officer who gave me back my passport. He said to me that if i never had a problem, to give me a call and he will write a letter for me explaining that they just wanted to check if i was legally staying in Canada which i was. I just hope that i won't be penalised for something that was not my fault. But anyway, thank you so much for your response. I will be looking forward to the next one since i have given you more info regarding my case
Click to expand...

Even if you overstayed a Canadian visa in Canada, that should not have any effect on your U.S. naturalization application. However, it'd be quite difficult for you to prove that your trips to Canada did not break your continuous residency in the U.S. for naturalization purposes.
 
Mamy said:
I can do that but i don't know if that is going to good enough to be granted citizenship. The problem is that i involuntary over stay in Canada because i was waiting for my passport to be released because it was ceased by the customs. Once it was released, i was given the name and phone number of the immigration officer who gave me back my passport. He said to me that if i never had a problem, to give me a call and he will write a letter for me explaining that they just wanted to check if i was legally staying in Canada which i was. I just hope that i won't be penalised for something that was not my fault. But anyway, thank you so much for your response. I will be looking forward to the next one since i have given you more info regarding my case
Click to expand...

Your case will be straight forward in 2012, but before that it will be very difficult to demonstrate that you did not break US residency requirements.
In my case, I have tons of documents from school, my leases in US, my transcripts but guess, the IO said it will be tough that I did not break the residency.
 
sirus said:
Your case will be straight forward in 2012, but before that it will be very difficult to demonstrate that you did not break US residency requirements.
In my case, I have tons of documents from school, my leases in US, my transcripts but guess, the IO said it will be tough that I did not break the residency.
Click to expand...

And just to point out. The OP said comming back to the US for 5 days and leaving again. That 5 days means nothing to the INS, that will not perserve residency. Comming back for say 2 months and then going again will possibly demonstrate continous residency more, but short trips are meaningless to them as that just shows you are trying to skim the system...
 
Mamy said:
I can do that but i don't know if that is going to good enough to be granted citizenship. The problem is that i involuntary over stay in Canada because i was waiting for my passport to be released because it was ceased by the customs. Once it was released, i was given the name and phone number of the immigration officer who gave me back my passport.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that on the trip that was 6 months and 7 days, you originally attempted to return before 6 months but the Canadian authorities held your passport, leaving you stuck in Canada for more than 6 months? If that is the case and you have proof, I suppose that could be used to show that you didn't intend to stay for over 6 months. However, your problem is the 6 months trip was preceded by another trip of almost 6 months, with only 5 days in between. So even if they accept that you were involuntarily stuck in Canada, you still have that other trip weighing against you.

Your case is not a sure denial or sure approval. If you can afford to gamble the $675, apply in June 2010 and see what happens.
 
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sirus,

What do you mean the IO said you'd have trouble proving continuous residency? Did you apply for citizenship and get rejected? When did you apply, and how long did you spend outside the country, if I may ask?

Thanks.
 
As long as there is one chance of getting approved, I would say go for it. If you want to wait until 2012. it's your choice.
Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I really appreciate it. I am thinking about consulting a lawyer just to make sure. I will let you know how it goes as soon as i do.
 
Hey Sirus,

Could you please let me know about your case whenever you do apply for your citizenship? I will too. Thank you again for you reply.
 
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