Part 7A

[UmmSqueakster 54]

All righty, we're at part 7, question A, How many total days did you spend outside the US in the last 5 years?

Since the husband has only been in the US since October 3, 2005, he's obviously spent a number of days outside the US in the last 5 years - 588 to be exact.

I'm a worry wart, so I'm just worrying that USCIS is going to see that number and automatically freak that it's such a large number. Will it be obvious to them that these 588 days were before he arrived in the US, especially since the husband hasn't left the US since he arrived, and he has no trips to write down in 7b and c?

Should we add an attachment that explains all this?

I know we're making this way more complicated then it has to be, but after more than 4 years of dealing with the USCIS, nothing surprises me in their interpretations of things.

[Stella08 0]

I read in this forum that you have to count the days spent outside of the last 3 years if your petition is marriage based. Makes sense to me. If you would have spent 2 years in the States before you even had a visa you would have had a massive overstay.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Mine was based on marriage (came in on a CR-1) and yes the form asks for 5 years, but I only put down the past three,and i was approved.

[NickD 203]

Mine was based on marriage (came in on a CR-1) and yes the form asks for 5 years, but I only put down the past three,and i was approved.

When you add up the number of days you were out of the country for longer than 24 hours since you became a LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT, that was the number my wife's IO wanted to see in that little box. Her IO changed that, wife said, that question didn't ask that, so who's fault is that? Never heard of anyone that was corrected by putting in the actual number of days they were out of the country for greater than 24 hours since becoming a LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT, but no telling what kind of hard a$$ IO you will get.

Since my wife had to renew her foreign passport, we had to bring both to her interview, and her IO actually checked all the dates, but we weren't even close to the maximum number of days you are permitted to be out of the country.

That question should be changed to the number of days you were out of the country for longer than 24 hours per trip since becoming a LPR. Maybe putting a question mark in the box with a pencil is the correct answer.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

My husband is an accountant and a bit obsessed with details, so he's created an additional sheet with tables and everything showing the number of days each year, prior to him arriving in the US and after his arrival. I pity the IO we get

I mean, the question is obviously aimed at people who apply for citizenship after 5 years as a LPR, but wouldn't it be nice if USCIS added something in the instructions for those of us who are applying sooner? But then, it's not their job to be nice, it's their job to be bureaucratic.

[motu 6]

I just crossed the five years and put three and used the last three years' numbers - will see what happens, if anything.

[NickD 203]

I just crossed the five years and put three and used the last three years' numbers - will see what happens, if anything.

Is it really three years if you apply 90 days before your 3rd year PRC anniversary? Shouldn't that be two years and 275 days, and maybe even 276 days if on a leap year? Wife was asked if she took any more trips since the time we sent in her application and her interview, she didn't, but wonder how they deal with that? At near the end of the form, where you do the first signature, have to assign a date the form was filled out, so that must be the date you work backwards from to count your trips.

Should dump that silly question for the number of days you were out of the country, not only ambiguous with the wrong time period, but in the wrong place, all they need is a total days under that table listing out your trips since becoming a LPR, but that takes the ability to know what you are asking for.

Wife also commented her IO read each line of her N-400, wife didn't have a copy of it in front of her, asking her name, address, and the rest of that stuff, could only comment, why in the hell did we fill out that N-400 in the first place? Ha, she asked her three times if she every committed a crime she was never caught or arrested for. But I gather the 5th amendment does not apply to LPR.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I just crossed the five years and put three and used the last three years' numbers - will see what happens, if anything.

that was exactly what i did, and all was good