Question about continous residency

[Hexane]

I have 2 questions:

1. Is that true that you have to be physically present in US 50% of the time from the moment of the application to the day you take the oath? I am talking specifically about physical presense.

2. Is there or was there any law saying that you cannot travel or work outside US for a certain time after taking the oath and getting a passport?

Thanks!

 

[equate]

1. 50% of last 5 years up to the oath date.
2. Yes. The law states that you must have the US passport to travel in and out of the US.

 

[boatbod]

I have 2 questions:

1. Is that true that you have to be physically present in US 50% of the time from the moment of the application to the day you take the oath? I am talking specifically about physical presense.

Sort of. The physical presence rule says you need to accumulate 30 months of presence during the 60 month (5yr) waiting period. Days when you travel either in or out of the US are credited towards the 900 required.

2. Is there or was there any law saying that you cannot travel or work outside US for a certain time after taking the oath and getting a passport?

Thanks!

No. The "1yr post citizenship" law was repealed several years back. (1998?) These days you can acquire your USC, pack your bags and never return... just don't forget to pay the IRS every year.

 

[Hexane]

Thank you. It is interesting that my lawyer told me that I need physical presense at least 50% of the time from the time of application to the time of approval.

 

[rogerkint]

sorta

Thank you. It is interesting that my lawyer told me that I need physical presense at least 50% of the time from the time of application to the time of approval.

You need to satisfy residency and physical presence requirements on the day of your interview (not day of application, that is why you are allowed to apply 9o days before you complete 5 years of residency). also, time between application to approval could be as much as a year (or more) - so in some sense your lawyer is right - if you packed your bags after applying for N-400 and came back for interview eight months later - there might be issues.

 

[Hexane]

No. That was not the case at all. I was continuously present in US until the day of my interview.

However, now I am studying abroad and if it is indeed true that I need 50% time physical presense from the application date that means I will have to get back before I finish my education, which is clrearly a problem.

If someone can point me to a legal section or a response by a qualified lawyer that states clearly that my physical presense is not required 50% of the time I would be very grateful.

 

[boatbod]

No. That was not the case at all. I was continuously present in US until the day of my interview.

However, now I am studying abroad and if it is indeed true that I need 50% time physical presense from the application date that means I will have to get back before I finish my education, which is clrearly a problem.

If someone can point me to a legal section or a response by a qualified lawyer that states clearly that my physical presense is not required 50% of the time I would be very grateful.

It seems to me, ou may face a potential problem with continuous residence, not physical presence. They are two distinct requirements, the former saying (somewhat simplified) that you must not be out of the country longer than 6 months at a time, while the latter says you have to accumulate 30 months presence over the past 5 years.

Usually most people living/studying/working outside the US encounter far more trouble with the continuous residence criteria than physical presence reqs. I urge you to investigate this matter more (search some of the older posts on the subject, talk to your lawyer etc) because it is far too easy to assume you are meeting the letter of the law and then run afoul of the IO's interpretaton of your intentions.

In case I haven't been clear enough - living outside of the US while applying for N-400 can be a very risky strategy.