Should I apply for Naturalization or wait 5 more years?

F

fchoi

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

The following is my situation, and I would like to know whether I should apply for Naturalization or wait 5 more years?

  • Green card approved on 4/20/2004
  • Did not work for company who sponsored greencard after receiving greencard, but have their employment letter for the job offer. (worked for them between 1998-2001, and they continued to sponsor greencard after I left)
  • Went to another country between June 2007 - Aug 2008 to work for a US company, but came back to the US every 5 months during that period (never been out of the US on trips longer than 6 months). I am still working for the same US company now that I'm back in the US. They can provide proof of employment.
  • I had a total of 7 trips outside of the US total of 485 days, but never been out longer than 6 months.
  • The rest of the days (besides that 485 days), I was in the US.

Could anyone please give me your advice? I read through the Naturalization guideline, and the "Do I qualify?" decision chart, and I found myself perfectly qualified. However, they could always challenge me for being outside for too long. Should I apply or wait for another 5 years.

Please give me your best opinion.

Regards,
Fchoi
 
fchoi said:
Hi,


Could anyone please give me your advice? I read through the Naturalization guideline, and the "Do I qualify?" decision chart, and I found myself perfectly qualified. However, they could always challenge me for being outside for too long. Should I apply or wait for another 5 years.

Please give me your best opinion.

Regards,
Fchoi
Click to expand...

I absolutely think you should apply now. You meet the continuous residence requirement
even maybe not by a great, great margin but still way above teh borderline. If USCIS cares about that they should change the rule tha requires 2/3 not 1/2 of time be spent in USA.

Even if they challenege you and they win, the worst case is to loose up tp 700 bucks and this chance is much smaller than a fatal car accident
on yoru way to the interview.

There is no need to wait 5 more years.
 
The time spent outside US working for a US company may come under scrutiny since it involved back and forth trips just under 6 months. During the time you were outside US, did you retain US residency ties by filing taxes all years as a LPR? Also, did you retain rental/mortgage payments in US while outside US? Did you have immediate family remain in US while you were outside US? Finally, is your US employer able to provide you with a letter stating this as a temporary assignment?
If you answered YES to most of these questions, then you shouldn't have an issue demonstrating continuous residence.
 
Bobsmyth said:
The time spent outside US working for a US company may come under scrutiny since it involved back and forth trips just under 6 months. During the time you were outside US, did you retain US residency ties by filing taxes all years as a LPR? .
Click to expand...

If this is an issue, then waiting 5 years will not solve it. on N-400, you need
to answer how many trips with total number of days outside USA during last 5years but you are reuqired to list all trips SINCE becoming a PR.

So even if the OP wait 5 more years, he wills till need to list all trips he is concerned about. They check if they meet continous resident in the past 5 years
but if they want to see if you ever abandoned residency, then there is no 5 year limit.
 
WBH said:
If this is an issue, then waiting 5 years will not solve it. on N-400, you needto answer how many trips with total number of days outside USA during last 5years but you are reuqired to list all trips SINCE becoming a PR.

So even if the OP wait 5 more years, he wills till need to list all trips he is concerned about. They check if they meet continous resident in the past 5 years but if they want to see if you ever abandoned residency, then there is no 5 year limit.
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An applicant must have 5 years of continuous residence at the time of filing and continue continuous residence up until oath time.
The reason they ask for all trips outside US since becoming a LPR is to check if you ever abandoned your LPR status and if you broke continuous residence requirement during the statutory period.
You're confusing abandonment of residency for determination of continuous residency versus abandonment of residency for LPR status purposes.
 
Plus, seriously - no one asked me to list all trips - that's just nuts.
I listed 5 years and that's it. (And that was an extended Excel list)

You guys want to peel an egg with a spoon - get real.
 
Another reason they ask you to list all trips is to verify consistency in what you declare vs what CBP database shows, with focus on the statutory period.
 
MartinAub said:
Plus, seriously - no one asked me to list all trips - that's just nuts.
Click to expand...

N-400 form Part 7 C: List below all the trips of 24 hours or more that you have taken outside of the United States SINCE becoming a lawful permanent resident. Begin with your most recen trips. If you need more space, use a separate sheet of paper.
 
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Yeah so what?

Don't always freak out about everything.

They "tell" you that once you apply - how many people keep records on this? At best this is "as good as I can remember" effort. There are people with 30 years of LPR.

Jesus
 
Thanks for all your advice. What about the potential challenge of that fact that I "Did not work for company who sponsored greencard after receiving greencard, but have their employment letter for the job offer. (worked for them between 1998-2001, and they continued to sponsor greencard after I left) "? Would this be a big issue.

Here's some additional information about ties to the US while I was away from the US:

1. I continue to file taxes all years
2. I continue to keep my house, pay my mortgage, kept my bank accounts, credit cards, ...etc
3. Did not have immediate family remain in US while I was outside of the US though.

Should I still apply? It seems like the worst case is that I would lose $700, like WBH said. I've read thru a lot of interview experience on this forum, and it seems like it is purely based on your luck. Some got it very easy, and some had it very tough.

It sounded like it may be worth a try.

Regards,
FChoi
 
fchoi said:
Thanks for all your advice. What about the potential challenge of that fact that I "Did not work for company who sponsored greencard after receiving greencard, but have their employment letter for the job offer. (worked for them between 1998-2001, and they continued to sponsor greencard after I left) "? Would this be a big issue.
Click to expand...

Did you work for your sponsor for at least 180 days after You filed I485
and then you work for another company with the same job description?
If so, should that be covered by AC 21?
 
I believe I did worked for the sponsor for at least 180 days ater I filed I485. I could probably dig up the record. However, I'm not sure what an "AC 21" is? Is that something I should dig up? Could you please explain, as I'm very new here.
 
fchoi said:
I believe I did worked for the sponsor for at least 180 days ater I filed I485. I could probably dig up the record. However, I'm not sure what an "AC 21" is? Is that something I should dig up? Could you please explain, as I'm very new here.
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American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21)


http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=d7cef1aebb9f3110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

http://immigrationroad.com/green-card/ac21-portability-change-jobs.php

AC21 Portability Requirements
The American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) permits an individual to seek new employment when the following conditions are met:

New employment must be the "same or similar" occupational classification;
Form I-140 has been approved, or is approvable when filed concurrently with I-485;
Form I-485 has been pending for at least 180 days.
Note that AC21 does NOT specify:

The new job must be in the same geographic location; or
The new job must pay the same or a higher salary; or
A new labor certification must be filed.
Important: USCIS has not published final regulations governing AC21. Service centers and field offices have been operating under the guidance of several interoffice memos. As a result, there are still some gray areas that need further clarification. More importantly, USCIS may change its interpretation of the law and take a more restrictive position in the future.
 
WBH said:
If this is an issue, then waiting 5 years will not solve it.
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Waiting 5 years is sufficient (and often more than sufficient) to overcome issues with continuous residence or physical presence, because those residence/presence requirements are based on the most recent 5 years.
 
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