taking employment outside of USA while in process of applying?

[Jackolantern]

based off of what's going on though, i don't think i need the n470- i think if i can get the employer to pay me (for the time being) in usd, then i should be finre....esp. since the rest of my life is here, and i'm theoretically only going there due to what happened at my present company and us being eaten up by the 'new' co...

Apply for it anyway. Remember that once you leave for more than 6 months, the presumption is that you have broken continuous residence and the burden is on you to prove otherwise. So it is good to have all the evidence you can get to support your position. And apply for a reentry permit if you'll be out for longer than a year.

Being paid in USD is really irrelevant, although it helps if the money is going directly into your US-based account.

 

[camp12]

Apply for it anyway. Remember that once you leave for more than 6 months, the presumption is that you have broken continuous residence and the burden is on you to prove otherwise. So it is good to have all the evidence you can get to support your position. And apply for a reentry permit if you'll be out for longer than a year.

Being paid in USD is really irrelevant, although it helps if the money is going directly into your US-based account.

based on timeline however, i expect the interview to come before 6 months is up....i'm thinking applying may only serve to complicate things, so i would only apply if my interview got screwed up and i had to be gone for longer...

 

[boatbod]

The key point to be aware of is that unless you can prove you are on a fixed term assignment (i.e. letter from employer), the IO may not believe that you are only intending to be absent for a few months, even if you haven't violated the 12 month rules.

Residency determination is based as much on IO perception of your intent (which is hard to measure) as it is based on cold hard facts of 0-6mth, 6-12mth and 12+month absences.

Consult a professional before you accept any overseas offer.

 

[Jackolantern]

based on timeline however, i expect the interview to come before 6 months is up....i'm thinking applying may only serve to complicate things, so i would only apply if my interview got screwed up and i had to be gone for longer...

IOs tend to get very suspicious of people who apply for naturalization and then go off on a several-month trip, coming back just in time for the interview with the expressed or apparent intent to leave again shortly after. If you have an approved N-470, the days outside the US working for the employer named on the N-470 would count as days within the US, so the IO can't hold the time spent working outside the US against you.

 

[ravi1985]

I applied in November Feb07. Then I went on a 3-week trip to India from Jan 22 to Feb 15, 2008. I did my fingerprinting upon my return in February. Again, I went to India from Mar 12 to Apr 14. I had my interview on Apr 16.

2 trips of 3 weeks and 4 weeks to India from application date to interview date.

The IO just asked me why I travelled. I said, 'on business - job-related'. That was it.

I would suggest that you continue the process, accept the overseas job posting and come back for the interview. If the interview takes longer than expected, and you are still overseas on the job-posting for 9 months, then apply for N-470 then.

 

[camp12]

I applied in November Feb07. Then I went on a 3-week trip to India from Jan 22 to Feb 15, 2008. I did my fingerprinting upon my return in February. Again, I went to India from Mar 12 to Apr 14. I had my interview on Apr 16.

2 trips of 3 weeks and 4 weeks to India from application date to interview date.

The IO just asked me why I travelled. I said, 'on business - job-related'. That was it.

I would suggest that you continue the process, accept the overseas job posting and come back for the interview. If the interview takes longer than expected, and you are still overseas on the job-posting for 9 months, then apply for N-470 then.

thanks for the input. thanks to everyone for the input- while i've noticed that this board likes to put a worst case scenario spin on many things (driving tickets for example), i (maybe foolishly) give uscis the benefit of the doubt. i'd expect that the io's should be able to tell by my manerisms, my american accent, the fact that i've been here since age 12 (i'm 28 now), and the fact that im 'americanized' should play into how much they scrutinize me and my 'travels'.

if asked why applying now? simple- i was in the middle of college at the time my parents applied and didn't bother with it- they asked me, and i said, i've no time....now that i'm older and have thought about it further, i've decided that the 'step' of applying was worth it.

i obviously would fill in a new sheet with my new employer and also update my 'times out of america' sheet, and hand it to him as we're going through the interview. i'll 'as a matter of fact-ly' mention that my company was downsized (it's in the news, can't miss it), and that the new employer asked me to post out to travel to hkg to train the guys there (somewhat true) for the time being (i'm sure i can swing my employer to paying me in usd for the next 6 mo's and also write a note saying that it will conclude in 6 months...all the meanwhile i have my LIFE here...(mort/bills/utils/parents/family/automobile/insurance)


regardless, thanks all for the info- i'm going to do this. speak with the employer, stipulate that this is what i need to go:

1. ability to travel back a week before interview date or even two weeks (and work from nyc office)

2. ability to pay me in USD for the time being
3. a letter stating that it's temporarily out in hkg, but my home office is in us (this may be hard to pull- and i'm assuming may not be needed?)
4. file a n470 if the interview date is too far away (which i'll know i assume a month after my FP- basically i'll have an il in either late may or june)


if all of the above are met, i don't realy see an issue?

 

[Jackolantern]

...the fact that i've been here since age 12 (i'm 28 now)...

I think if you were old enough to have navigated the green card process directly yourself, you would share some of the cynicism (towards USCIS) which is held by many members of this forum.

4. file a n470 if the interview date is too far away (which i'll know i assume a month after my FP- basically i'll have an il in either late may or june)

They give interview letters that fast in your area? Only one or two months after FP?

 

[camp12]

*shrug* i needed to replace my GC...submitted in february, finger printed 3 wks later, rec'd the card about another 3 wks.

as far as my area- looks like they had a backlog, but any recent ones seems to be in the 4-6 mo time frame from application to interview/oath....

 

[Jackolantern]

*shrug* i needed to replace my GC...submitted in february, finger printed 3 wks later, rec'd the card about another 3 wks.

Lucky you. Many others wait 3-6 months. Or more.

My first and only green card took almost 5 years. Do you know how long your first one took?

 

[camp12]

Lucky you. Many others wait 3-6 months. Or more.

My first and only green card took almost 5 years. Do you know how long your first one took?

believe my parents applied while we were in the uk. i came with them on holiday here in may time....then moved in september. dont' recall when the GC came, but it was within a year of being here...maybe as little as 6 months. don't really recall cause this was a LONG time ago...

 

[Jackolantern]

believe my parents applied while we were in the uk. i came with them on holiday here in may time....then moved in september. dont' recall when the GC came, but it was within a year of being here...maybe as little as 6 months. don't really recall cause this was a LONG time ago...

Well, I didn't really expect you to remember. Many on this forum got their green card after several years of battles of paperwork and visa renewals and hassles and expenditure, sometimes having their travels delayed or work interrupted because USCIS wouldn't process the renewals promptly enough. And after all of that, sometimes they get a green card with a wrongly spelled name or some other mistake, resulting in more months of waiting for a corrected card. So they have come to expect the worst from USCIS, unlike you who haven't experienced their evil/incompetent side.

 

[camp12]

So they have come to expect the worst from USCIS, unlike you who haven't experienced their evil/incompetent side.

let's hope i never have to see that side of them!

on the flip side- with all of the applications that uscis works through, i'd imagine the majority on this board are the ones who have issues and search for a forum to discuss ...so the demographic from reading here may be skewed...

just a thought!