Tricky Naturalization-Related Situation

S

Smiler007

New Member
Background: I got married to my wife, a US citizen, in April 2007. I got my conditional greencard on 2/10/08 (date on greencard). The conditional status was removed and I got a 10-year greencard on 2/10/10. Hence under the marriage rule, I can apply for Naturalization at the 3-year mark---actually 3 months prior to completion of 3 years, which is 11/10/10. I have all the paperwork, in terms of documents etc. to be able to apply.

Recently, my wife and I decided to live separately for the near future. However, we don't have anything on paper regd. living separately--No court Order etc. Ofcourse, due to this we don't have the same address and our son (from the marriage) lives with her. So my questions are:
1. Can I still apply under the 3 year rule, (especially since there is nothing on paper about our decision to live separately and I have all the docs needed)?
2a. If I can not, what are my options -- will I have to wait for 5 years before applying?
2b. If I have to wait for 5 years, do I need to be in the country for greater than 180 days each year, or do I have to be gone for less than 180 days at any given point for the next 2 years?

Your help and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
 
1. No. To pretend you are still living together would be fraud, and would subject you to denial or deportation if caught.

2a. Yes. Unless you join the military and qualify sooner based on your service.

2b. You'll have to meet the physical presence and continuous residence requirements over a 5-year period, instead of 3 years. So that's no more than 913 days outside the US in the past 5 years, and keep your trips under 6 months where possible, and avoid back-to-back series of trips (e.g. 4 trips of 5 months each with one week in between could cause trouble for you even though each individual trip is under 6 months).
 
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Thanks Jackolantern.

I had a follow-up question regarding my question 2b above.

Does the 5-year "clock" start from the date that my GC was first approved on? I lived in the US for almost a year without leaving, prior to that GC approval date -- so would those days count as well?

Thanks in advance.
 
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