Working abroad and applied for naturalization

[Bobsmyth]

First, you cannot apply for naturalization while abroad. You must be a resident of the U.S. in order to apply for naturalization and apply from within the U.S.

You have to look at the context in which the lawyer is answering. Yes, he's correct that you cannot apply outside of US if you don't reside in US. However, there's nothing that says you can't apply from outside US if you have maintained state/district residency ties.

Resident and residency can mean many things, but can't always be used interchangeably.

Example:
Legal permanent resident
Continuous residency
State resident

 

[blkhawk]

First, you cannot apply for naturalization while abroad. You must be a resident of the U.S. in order to apply for naturalization and apply from within the U.S.

That's news to me. That's exactly what I have been trying to know. I have contacted my immigration attorney with the same question.

Your attorney doesn't mention the reason though. Did you ever ask him what part of the immigration law prohibits applying for naturalization while abroad?

 

[nick50]

Your attorney doesn't mention the reason though. Did you ever ask him what part of the immigration law prohibits applying for naturalization while abroad?

I don't have an attorney. This one is from Internet where you can ask a question for a small fee.

I also never saw this restriction formally stated. But if I apply from abroad there is one issue. When filling in the N-400 form, you need to specify dates when you were absent from the U.S. If I'm applying from abroad, my last range of dates will say something like this:

8.15.2009 - Now

which does not look good to me.

 

[Jackolantern]

If I'm applying from abroad, my last range of dates will say something like this:

8.15.2009 - Now

That can be updated at the interview to reflect the actual end date of the trip.

 

[warlord]

Example:
Legal permanent resident
Continuous residency
State resident

And always remember that Permanent Resident doesn't mean for life, it can easily be taken away or abandoned if you do not meet the conditions...

 

[blkhawk]

I had a chat with my company's immigration attorney and he got me confused about physical presence and how it's counted in order to determine eligibility for natz. I am hoping you guys can clarify.

The attorney said that even though I already have at least 2.5 years of physical presence in the US, I should continue to make sure I physically reside in the US for half of the time since I have become an LPR while my case is pending adjudication.

My understanding is that the physical presence requirement is for the 5 years with LPR status and it doesn't continue to apply past the eligibility day.

His statement didn't make much sense to me. Hopefully one of you immigration experts can explain.

Thanks in advance.

 

[McTavish]

It does apply, you need to remain eligible until oath, so even if you qualify at interview you could disqualify yourself with travel prior to oath.

 

[Jackolantern]

First, you cannot apply for naturalization while abroad. You must be a resident of the U.S. in order to apply for naturalization and apply from within the U.S.

Probably the phrase "apply for naturalization" as written by the attorney was referring to the application process as a whole, not just the initial act of submitting the N-400.

 

[blkhawk]

It does apply, you need to remain eligible until oath, so even if you qualify at interview you could disqualify yourself with travel prior to oath.

I thought this was for continuous residence only and not physical presence.

My understanding is that once an LPR has had at least 30 months of physical presence since becoming an LPR and has at least 5 years of continuous residence, they're eligible to apply for citizenship. Once an application for citizenship has been filed with USCIS, the physical presence requirement is already satisfied.

Does this LPR need to continue to satisfy physical presence requirement past the 5-year anniversary if the application was submitted 90 days prior?

 

[Bobsmyth]

5 year physical presence requirement is up until time you apply, whereas continual residence is up until oath. You are allowed to apply up to 90 days before you obtain 5 years of continual residence.

 

[blkhawk]

I just found a quote at http://www.immigrateusa.us/content/blogcategory/15/44/ that answers my question in my previous post.

"The statute requires that the applicant show that he or she has fulfilled the physical presence requirement in the United States during the applicable statutory period preceding filing for Naturalization, generally five years. There is no physical presence requirement after filing during the time that the Naturalization application is pending adjudication. However, as discussed earlier, the applicant must still maintain continuity of residence between filing of the application and the oath ceremony."