Wife preparing to file N-400, I am being transferred oversees

M

mbeavers1

Registered Users (C)
My wife was granted her GC (My daughter and I are US citizens) in 2007 and we have been living continuously in the US since Jan 1 2008. She has had her conditions removed and now meets the 3 year minimum to apply for her citizenship.

I work for an international company in the oil industry and am about to be transferred to another country. Naturally, I would like my family to join me, but I am worried about being able to still apply for the N-400. We currently do not own a home (or any property) in the US, but we have been filing taxes together for the last three years, all of our bank accounts are in the US, and we have own two vehicles in the US.

What process do we need to follow to ensure that the US does not see her as 'abandoning' her permanent residence? Can we file a N-470 even though she is a housewife and I am the employee that is being transferred? We are planning to file the N-400 in the next week or so, but the transfer will likely happen in the next 3 months.

I see the best scenario as:

1. File the N-400
2. Continue to maintain an house (rental house with contract)
3. Continue to pay bills
4. Ensure that she returns in less than 6 months

Any advice is appreciated.

Regards,

Matt
 
Although the benefits of a N-470 convey to the LPR spouse, as a US citizen you cannot file a N-470.
However, the provisions under 319(b) do allow spouses of US citizens stationed abroad working for the US government or certain US firms to apply for naturalization without needing to meet physical presence or continuous residency requirement.
If your company does not qualify under 319(b), then your best scenario would be the one you outlined, although the fact that she will be living with you outside of the US goes against her in having to prove continuous residence. In other words, simply continuing to pay rent, utilities on a US property and return every 6 months may not be sufficient to demonstrate continuous residency ties. It's up to the IO to decide whether the evidence presented will be sufficient to prove continuous residence.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/79520.pdf
 
Based on what I can find on 319(b), I am not sure my company would qualify. The company is Schlumberger, which is a publicly traded company but has no affiliation with the US gov't that I know of.

Since just paying rent, taxes, utilities, ect may not sufficient, it may be best for my wife and daughter just to remain behind for a few months until the oath ceremony is completed. I would rather not take the chance of messing things up and starting over from the beginning. As far as I can tell, there is no issue with her waiting until its over then leaving the next day. Is there anything that would prevent with this?

FYI...I have also consulted the immigration lawyer that my company provided for me when we got her GC about our situation. I am just trying to do my own homework as well so that I understand the whole process. :)
 
mbeavers1 said:
Based on what I can find on 319(b), I am not sure my company would qualify. The company is Schlumberger, which is a publicly traded company but has no affiliation with the US gov't that I know of.
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It is not necessary for a company to have any connection with the U.S. government in order to qualify for 319(b). It just has to be a U.S. company. That means either that it is more than 50% owned by U.S. citizens, or, alternatively, that it is incorporated in the U.S. and its stock is traded exclusively in the U.S.

See http://www.justice.gov/eoir/vll/intdec/vol25/3700.pdf for the recent relevant AAO decision on the issue.
 
Jackolantern said:
Yes, that would be the safest option.
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I assume that this does not preclude her from 'visiting' my location. She could come to my location for, say, one month or whatever she can get on a VISITOR visa and then return to the US for a period of time. Since no special visa was obtained (ie. multiple entry dependent visa), it would be reasonable to claim that US residence was maintained. Meanwhile, our personal belongings and household would remain intact in Kansas. Once the process is finished, we could then move everything with us.

NOTE: I am not trying to pull a fast one on the US gov't, just trying to see how much wiggle room there is.
 
If you're going to have your wife accompany you overseas and go for the 319(b) option, you have to be very sure that your company qualifies. Because if they don't, it might be late in the process when you find out the bad news, by which time your wife may have spent enough time abroad to jeopardize her naturalization via the 3-year option.
 
baikal3 said:
It is not necessary for a company to have any connection with the U.S. government in order to qualify for 319(b). It just has to be a U.S. company. That means either that it is more than 50% owned by U.S. citizens, or, alternatively, that it is incorporated in the U.S. and its stock is traded exclusively in the U.S.



I read briefly the link that you attached and it appears that proving that Schlumberger is a US owned company will be impossible due to the massive size and total number of shares. I think I will have to go another direction....Dang. Why can't things be simple ;)
Click to expand...
 
mbeavers1 said:
..it may be best for my wife and daughter just to remain behind for a few months until the oath ceremony is completed. I would rather not take the chance of messing things up and starting over from the beginning.
Click to expand...

If she applies now and otherwise meets all the eligibility requirements there's a good chance she could naturalize within 5 months based on current posted processing times.
 
mbeavers1 said:
I read briefly the link that you attached and it appears that proving that Schlumberger is a US owned company will be impossible due to the massive size and total number of shares. I think I will have to go another direction....Dang. Why can't things be simple ;)
Click to expand...

Did you miss the part about being exclusively traded on a US stock exchange? You don't have to prove anything about the owners if the company is incorporated in the US and exclusively traded on a US stock exchange.
 
Jackolantern said:
A small number of short trips to visit you abroad should not be a problem.
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Would a 'short trip' be defined as the period of time for which she could get one visitor visa? She is from the Philippines (but has a lot of family in Malaysia) and we will be transferring to either Malaysia or Indonesia. While traveling to either of these countries she can get a 1 month visa.

Will it affect anything that she made two trips to Malaysia (Dec 2, 2010 - Feb 4, 2011 and Feb 6, 2011 to Feb 23, 2011) in the last couple months? Other than these two trips, she has only taken one other trip outside of the US (also to Malaysia for 3 weeks) since we arrived in the US on Dec 30, 2007.
 
mbeavers1 said:
Would a 'short trip' be defined as the period of time for which she could get one visitor visa?
Click to expand...
Trips are based on length of time, not on type of visa obtained. For continuous residence purposes, short trips generally means those under 6 months or less separated by several weeks.
 
If a short trip is less than 6 months, it seems pretty easy due to the length of the process. We just delay all of our possessions leaving the US (furniture, clothes, and don't sell our cars), keep the house and mailing address, she stays and gets her biometrics (a month or two) done then comes, visits for a couple months (a month or two), and then returns for her interview and oath. We live near my parents who could get our mail and let us know when the appointments are (or use the email option).
 
mbeavers1 said:
If a short trip is less than 6 months, it seems pretty easy due to the length of the process. We just delay all of our possessions leaving the US (furniture, clothes, and don't sell our cars), keep the house and mailing address, she stays and gets her biometrics (a month or two) done then comes, visits for a couple months (a month or two), and then returns for her interview and oath. We live near my parents who could get our mail and let us know when the appointments are (or use the email option).
Click to expand...
Definitely doable if you decide to use that angle, eventhough there's the small chance of the IO giving her a hard time for visiting you (in fact living with you) so soon after applying. If she applies now, there's a good change she'll get her FP completed before she come to "visit" you.
 
mbeavers1 said:
If a short trip is less than 6 months, it seems pretty easy due to the length of the process.
Click to expand...

The key word is "generally". In her case, a 4- or 5-month trip could be problematic because your situation makes it apparent that her trips are the beginning of a long-term relocation, not a temporary vacation. Trips that span multiple months during the naturalization process are viewed with extra scrutiny, because it is common for extensive travel during the process to be pursuant to a permanent relocation. That could then result in delays and complications, if not actual denial, if the interviewer decides to make an issue of it.

To minimize the risk of such trouble, if I were her I'd limit the travel to 2 or 3 trips of 3 weeks each or less.
 
That's kind of what I am thinking. I am going to talk to an immigration attorney, but I think this is the way to go. We can always say its a temporary assignment, which it will be until all our possessions arrive. If the IO has an issue with my wife and child coming to visit me, then he needs to have his sense of family sorted out!

Everyone, I appreciate you giving me your advice on the situation. I feel a little better about it now that I know its manageable.
 
2 or 3 trips should be no problem. Especially since we will apply approximately 2 months (at a minimum) before heading overseas for the first time. I figure one trip (definitely not more than 2 cuz I would go broke!) for a month would probably be the reality.
 
mbeavers1 said:
That's kind of what I am thinking. I am going to talk to an immigration attorney, but I think this is the way to go. We can always say its a temporary assignment, which it will be until all our possessions arrive. If the IO has an issue with my wife and child coming to visit me, then he needs to have his sense of family sorted out!
Click to expand...

Ah, but it's his sense of family which may lead him to cause trouble for your wife! When a married applicant travels abroad a lot, one of the factors they look at is where the other spouse was during the periods of such travel.

If the other spouse was also overseas in the same country as the applicant, that is an indicator of weakening one's residential ties to the US and strengthening ties to the country where the spouse is/was. Whereas if the other spouse (you) remained inside the US, that is an indicator of maintaining ties to the US and is favorable for the applicant. They expect spouses to want to be together, so they see the location of the other spouse as one part of the evidence of ties to the US (or lack thereof).

If your wife takes a trip or two of multiple months, that may bring up the question of where her husband was during that time, which potentially leads to a big ball of wax about the length and purpose of your presence abroad, and ultimately she might still be fighting the case a year later with a lawyer.
 
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