Working abroad and applied for naturalization

Hi all,

I am going to be in a somewhat similar situation in a few months. I am a US permanent resident (thru employment) currently living and working in Sydney-Australia. I have an approved N-470 and re-entry permit.

What are my chances in getting approved if I send my application while living overseas. so basically, I would show up for FP, interview and oath.

I have over 2.5 years of physical presence and I have been using the same US address for bank accounts, taxes, driver's license, credit card bills,...etc

Thanks in advance.
 
You have to be a resident in the same district or state for at least 3 months before you apply. This doesn't mean you have to be physically present in the US when you apply, just that you have to be a resident. The IO may ask for residency proof at the interview in the form of rental /mortgage agreement, so be ready to have them available.
 
Bobsmyth said:
You have to be a resident in the same district or state for at least 3 months before you apply. This doesn't mean you have to be physically present in the US when you apply, just that you have to be a resident. The IO may ask for residency proof at the interview in the form of rental /mortgage agreement, so be ready to have them available.
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So the IO expects me to pay rent in two different places? what happens if I don't pay rent in the US?

what about filing tax return as a resident, US bank accounts, credit cards, being on US payroll... isn't enough proof?

Thanks!
 
Triple Citizen said:
Are you looking for people who used 319(b)?
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Sorry i am not familiar with 319(b) but I am guessing it's for expedited citizenship right? if so then no I am not in that situation.

I am simply a green card holder married to a non-green card holder with kids. I currently work in Australia. MY assignment is for 3 years. I want to know if I could send my N-400 while living abroad. My plan is to give the package to one of my friends during a visit to the US, and then they could mail it to USCIS when it's time. Then I would show up for fingerpriting, interview and finally oath without having to be in the US for a long time. My wife can't handle the kids by herself so I can't be away for a long time.

again, my continous residence is covered with an approved N-470 and I have a re-entry permit. Also, I have over 2.5 years of physical presence and I have lived within the same district for 8 years. So I think I have satisfied all requirements.

I would like to know what my chances are in getting approved.

Thanks!
 
Yes, that is proof as well but they may require to see proof that you haven't given up your actual US physical residence. Do you still have a current DL for the state you lived in? Have you continued to pay taxes every year (both federal and state)?
 
blkhawk said:
Sorry i am not familiar with 319(b) but I am guessing it's for expedited citizenship right? if so then no I am not in that situation.

I am simply a green card holder married to a non-green card holder with kids. I currently work in Australia. MY assignment is for 3 years. I want to know if I could send my N-400 while living abroad. My plan is to give the package to one of my friends during a visit to the US, and then they could mail it to USCIS when it's time. Then I would show up for fingerpriting, interview and finally oath without having to be in the US for a long time. My wife can't handle the kids by herself so I can't be away for a long time.

again, my continous residence is covered with an approved N-470 and I have a re-entry permit. Also, I have over 2.5 years of physical presence and I have lived within the same district for 8 years. So I think I have satisfied all requirements.

I would like to know what my chances are in getting approved.

Thanks!
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If you state your case exactly as above, then I don't see any reason why you would not get approved. Why do you think you will be denied?
 
Bobsmyth said:
Yes, that is proof as well but they may require to see proof that you haven't given up your actual US physical residence. Do you still have a current DL for the state you lived in? Have you continued to pay taxes every year (both federal and state)?
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yes I have a valid DL in Nevada and have continued to pay taxes every year. Note also that even though I have an approved N-470 and re-entry permit, I have been keeping my trips outside the US at less than 6 months.
 
vdostoi1 said:
If you state your case exactly as above, then I don't see any reason why you would not get approved. Why do you think you will be denied?
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well your words do provide some relief :) .. I am concerned about the 3-month residency requirement before applying. Do you think that rule is satisfied in my case?

Remember, I will only be in the USA for a short time (a week or so) for the FP, then another week for the interview and finally oath.

Thanks.
 
blkhawk said:
So the IO expects me to pay rent in two different places? what happens if I don't pay rent in the US? what about filing tax return as a resident, US bank accounts, credit cards, being on US payroll... isn't enough proof?
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You are expected to reside in the US. When in the US, what is your residence?
 
TheRealCanadian said:
You are expected to reside in the US. When in the US, what is your residence?
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When in the US, I stay at the last residence I lived at before moving overseas. My co-workers place. It's the same address I have been using for anything that requires a US address (taxes, bank accounts, credit cards, driver's license,...etc)
 
blkhawk said:
well your words do provide some relief :) .. I am concerned about the 3-month residency requirement before applying. Do you think that rule is satisfied in my case?

Remember, I will only be in the USA for a short time (a week or so) for the FP, then another week for the interview and finally oath.

Thanks.
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As long as you can demonstrate that you never gave up your US residence with the documents you have, I think you should be fine.
Current DL, state taxes, bank accounts are all proof of residence. My only concern is with IO asking you for proof that you continued to keep up your house/apartment while you were away in the form of a rental agreement, contract, utility bills in your name, etc..
 
Bobsmyth said:
As long as you can demonstrate that you never gave up your US residence with the documents you have, I think you should be fine.
Current DL, state taxes, bank accounts are all proof of residence. My only concern is with IO asking you for proof that you continued to keep up your house/apartment while you were away in the form of a rental agreement, contract, utility bills in your name, etc..
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Well I really hope the IO understands that it would be a total waste of money to pay rent for an apartment for 3 years only to be used during a short visit twice or three times a year.

USCIS approved my N-470 because they believed that I had a valid reason for being overseas. And for that same reason, I think I should be ok.

I still think it'd be extremely helpful to read a reply from someone that has experienced my case.

Thanks a lot Bobsmyth. you've been such a great help!
 
Read case 2 in this link as it applied to your circumstance:

http://www.immigration.com/ourservice/citizenshipcases.html

The key is to show that you never abandoned your state/district residency. A cover letter explaining the facts will help in that respect.
Just remember, the N-470 is for preservation of continuous residence, not for preservation of state/district residency requirement.

It would be a different story if you applied to a state/district in which you can't show any residency ties.
 
blkhawk said:
well your words do provide some relief :) .. I am concerned about the 3-month residency requirement before applying. Do you think that rule is satisfied in my case?

Remember, I will only be in the USA for a short time (a week or so) for the FP, then another week for the interview and finally oath.

Thanks.
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Keeping driver's license and paying bills and rents and etc would show the ties to the US that would allow you to keep the permanent resident stauts. This, however, does not warrant your citizenship application. The 90-day residency can be met fairly easily, but the ensuing physical presence requirement is the issue you have to take into account seriously.

If you "live" or "move" outside the district with which you originally filed, your application will be processed in the "new" district that has jurisdiction over your application. Since you are living outside US, then any US laws would have no jurisdiction over your case, which means your application can not be approved by the USCIS.

If you are "vacationing" overseas or in a new district, then you are still considered living in the district with which you filed the N400 application.
 
Bobsmyth said:
Read case 2 in this link as it applied to your circumstance:

http://www.immigration.com/ourservice/citizenshipcases.html

The key is to show that you never abandoned your state/district residency. A cover letter explaining the facts will help in that respect.
Just remember, the N-470 is for preservation of continuous residence, not for preservation of state/district residency requirement.

It would be a different story if you applied to a state/district in which you can't show any residency ties.
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Hey thanks for finding that case. Do you recommend that I hire an attorney rather than filing myself, just in case?
 
calvillager said:
Keeping driver's license and paying bills and rents and etc would show the ties to the US that would allow you to keep the permanent resident stauts.
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A re-entry permit allows you preserve LPR status when outside the country for longer periods. Keeping DL and paying bills doesn't. LPR status and state/district residency are two separate things.
calvillager said:
The 90-day residency can be met fairly easily, but the ensuing physical presence requirement is the issue you have to take into account seriously.
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The OP has indicated he has already at least 2.5 years of physical residence, so this isn't an issue. Physical residence requirement only needs to be met in statutory period up to the filing date, whereas continuous residency must be met up until oath. Since OP has an approved N-470, he has also covered the latter.
calvillager said:
If you "live" or "move" outside the district with which you originally filed, your application will be processed in the "new" district that has jurisdiction over your application. Since you are living outside US, then any US laws would have no jurisdiction over your case, which means your application can not be approved by the USCIS.
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In the case I previously pasted , the applicants moved outside US to work on assignment , applied for citizenship and were successfully approved. Living or moving outside the US in itself is not grounds for jurisdictional questionably. Proofing that you still hold sufficient residential ties to the district/state where you apply is the key in order to being successfully approved while applying outside the US on temporary work assignment with US company and N-470.
 
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blkhawk said:
Hey thanks for finding that case. Do you recommend that I hire an attorney rather than filing myself, just in case?
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It doesn't hurt having a lawyer at least review your case and draft a cover letter for you. It depends on how comfortable you are in explaining the circumstances and providing evidence to USCIS.
 
Bobsmyth said:
It doesn't hurt having a lawyer at least review your case and draft a cover letter for you. It depends on how comfortable you are in explaining the circumstances and providing evidence to USCIS.
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I have contacted an immigration attorney to review my case and provide a legal advice. I will post whatever info I get so others in my situation can benefit as well.

Thank you all for your input. much appreciated.
 
I am aware of the cases people were approved while living outside the US, as the link Bob has provided previously. The link tells you a successfully story, but what it doesn't reveal is the fineprints. In most situations (such as credit card applications), the fineprints are available for free, but, in that link, people have to pay (the consultation fee) to read it.

The immigration service denied that couple (in that link) for a good reason, that is stated in the application guidelines. When you are out of the origianl district where you filed, that district has no longer jurisdiction over your case. This is a no brainer. Continuos residency does not matter here any more, and what matters is the physical presence in order to have THE appropriate jurisdiction. Ask us a simple question, who has the jurisdiction over my case when I move out of that district where I filed? The answer is the "new" district where I move in. But who is my "new" district if I am making my living overseas?

This jurisdiction has some exceptions in such categories as military and stuetnts. If the applicatnts can not provide adequate evidence related to those exceptions, the application can not be approved due to the jurisdiction issue. I am assuming all posters in this thread are all regular folks doing regular business.
 
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