When to apply for Citizenship?

[lyerram]

My mother became a LPR in Sept of 2005.Since then she has been out of county once for 23 months with a travel document .She came back in Sept of 2007 and has been visiting India every 7 months or so and stays there always for < 6 months.Her last entry was on July 2009 and she left for India on March of 2010.

When will she be eligible for applying for citizenship?
Will her current stay dates qualify as showing for continuous stay in US?

 

[Bobsmyth]

My mother became a LPR in Sept of 2005.Since then she has been out of county once for 23 months with a travel document .She came back in Sept of 2007 and has been visiting India every 7 months or so and stays there always for < 6 months.Her last entry was on July 2009 and she left for India on March of 2010.

When will she be eligible for applying for citizenship?
Will her current stay dates qualify as showing for continuous stay in US?

It depends on her travel pattern. Are the trips to India since 2007 back to back?

 

[Jackolantern]

My mother became a LPR in Sept of 2005.Since then she has been out of county once for 23 months with a travel document .

23 months continuously?

After returning in Sept. 2007, what % of the time has she been spending in the US?

 

[Jackolantern]

duplicate

 

[NovaCitizen]

i think she is eligible for 4 years+ 1 DAY RULE.......did she complete 27 months physical presence in USA ?

 

[Jackolantern]

i think she is eligible for 4 years+ 1 DAY RULE.......did she complete 27 months physical presence in USA ?

Why 27 months? 30 months is the physical presence requirement, and the 90-day headstart does not apply to physical presence.

 

[lyerram]

I will not say that she was in US continuously.

GC effective- August 2005
Date of first entry into US-August 2005
Left US-Oct 2005----with travel document
2nd entry unto US-sept 2007
Date left-Jan 2008
3rd entry- July 2008 (less than 6 months since exiting)
Date left- Feb 2009
4th entry- july 2009 .
Date left march 2010

I was thinking that even if we counted her continuous stay as from Sept 2007, she should have 30 months of stay in US and should be eligible for filing for citizenship as she finishes 5 yrs as LPR in August this year.
Is that correct?

 

[Jackolantern]

I was thinking that even if we counted her continuous stay as from Sept 2007, she should have 30 months of stay in US and should be eligible for filing for citizenship as she finishes 5 yrs as LPR in August this year.

She only has 19 months of physical presence since Sept. 2007. So she would fail the physical presence aspect if she applied this year.

And then continuous residence is another aspect of it. Any trip over 1 year automatically breaks continuous residence and restarts the green card eligibility clock. They only give a slight relief so you can apply in 4 years + 1 day after that year+ long trip, instead of having to wait the usual 5 years minus 90 days.

So the earliest she can apply would be 4 years + 1 day after her entry in Sept. 2007, which would be Sept/Oct 2011. That's if she can resolve two issues: (1) she needs to spend an additional 11 months in the US between now and then, and (2) she can prove ties to the US during the last year of that long trip that ended in 2007 (to take advantage of the 4y+1d rule they often make you have to prove ties during that time).

Given the short time she spent in the US between obtaining the GC and her departure in 2005 before that long trip, it is unlikely that she established strong enough ties to enable her success at (2). So a more realistic application date for her would be 5 years minus 90 days after her entry in Sept. 2007, which would be June/July 2012.