When am I eligible for citizenship (four years and one day rule)?

2

2014hopeful

Registered Users (C)
Hello friends.

I'm looking for some advice. I'm trying to figure out when I can apply for US citizenship. Here's my timeline:

3 July 2014: arrived at LAX and became a US permanent resident (diversity visa).​
17 September 2014: left the US to pursue a master's degree and internships in Europe. I applied for and received a re-entry permit.​
30 June 2016: I returned to the US using my re-entry permit, where I settled and have been ever since (apart from a few vacations and business trips totalling no more than about 10 weeks).​

At all relevant times, I filed tax returns as a US resident. I also maintained a US driving license and had a US bank account while I was outside the US.

My question is: am I covered by the "four years and one day rule"? If so, by my calculations, I would be eligible to apply for citizenship on 1 July 2020 (i.e. four years and one day after I permanently came back to the US). Is that correct?

If the "four years and one day rule" does apply to me, is there any risk to invoking it? Would I be better off waiting until four years and nine months has elapsed to file my application?

Thanks in advance for any replies!
 
USCIS has recently clarified/updated the rules for when you can apply after an interruption of continuous residence. See this section of the USCIS Policy Manual for the case of an absence of more than 1 year. The wait can either be 4 years and 1 day or 4 years and 6 months depending on whether you have the same kind of evidence of ties to the US that would have allowed someone absent between 6 months and 1 year to overcome the presumption of breaking continuous residence. If you have such evidence, then it is 4 years and 1 day. If you don't, it is 4 years and 6 months.
 
The official guidelines say you need to be physically in the US for 30 months of the 5 years you hold permanent residency. I entered 09/2017 and am living here since 03/2020. So I am eligible for citizenship 09/2022 already right?
 
Wingpin said:
The official guidelines say you need to be physically in the US for 30 months of the 5 years you hold permanent residency. I entered 09/2017 and am living here since 03/2020. So I am eligible for citizenship 09/2022 already right?
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No, because you also need to meet the continuous residence requirement. You didn't tell us how long your absences were during the period of time from 09/2017 to 03/2020, but if you interrupted continuous residence, then you will need to wait until 4 years + 1 day or 4 years + 6 months (see my link above for which one applies) after your return.
 
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