Applying for citizenship while married but living separately

[Stella08 0]

Esimon. Living apart from your wife will not be a problem when you apply for Citizenship (See JERIII's post, part C "occupational demands"). However, you do need to provide an explanation and evidence. Please review the N-400 instructions and application There is a separate section for you to list your spouses address, simply provide her correct address in the other state in this spot. Next to her address write "please see explanation". In a short letter explain that you were separate due to occupational reasons as a result of a layoff, then list your evidence. Examples include chronologically listing items such as layoff notification, and unemployment records, perhaps dated e-mail communication about your wife's job interview & acceptance of the position, a copy of her lease (the date on the lease will show that she did not move until AFTER she had secured employment). And then I would include evidence of continuing relationship, cell phone records, e-mails. Also, ask JERIII for the source of the regulations he posted. You should include a copy of this directly behind you explanation. Assume its the adjusticators first day of work.

Best of luck, just be sure to send an explanation with evidence and make extra copies of everything for yourself.

Excellent post!

[NickD 203]

On reading these replies, glad I didn't have one job that kept me away from home 70% of the time flying all over the place when my wife applied for USC. But if I did have that job, was happily married, and all of our finances were joint, what would be the problem in her applying under the marriage three year privilege?

Neighbor is living like a bachelor, but with a seven year old daughter, his wife was sent to Iraq for 18 months, such is life. Is fraud involved when your job or military obligation forces you to be apart? Have a cousin that in an airline pilot, lucky to see his wife and kids two days a week, another drives truck cross country. Home for a couple of days over a two week period than gone again. Many of our jobs require family separation. This is reality, lucyrich already explained the law.

[esimon 0]

Thank you all for shedding a lot more light on this topic. I really appreciate it. At this point, I'm not sure whether to go through the hassle of USCIS interviews to prove that our marriage is genuine or wait two more years and apply by myself. I'm still giving it a serious thought and I will let everyone know on this boards of any updates on my decision and its outcomes.

As a side question: If I decide to apply and if USCIS decides to decline my citizenship application based on a lack of evidence to prove we are still together, Is there a possibility that they can use the same ruling to revoke my 10 year green card as well ?

Thanks again all.

[lucyrich 20]

As a side question: If I decide to apply and if USCIS decides to decline my citizenship application based on a lack of evidence to prove we are still together, Is there a possibility that they can use the same ruling to revoke my 10 year green card as well ?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: In order to revoke your green card, they'd have to either find that it should never have been issued in the first place, or that you've done something in the meantime (such as commit a crime or lie on an immigration form) to justify its revocation. It's not a crime to live apart from your spouse, nor is it an act that would make you inadmissible or justify revoking a green card. You could even get divorced with no effect on your green card.

You DO want to make sure they don't ever find you guilty of misrepresentation. If they think you lied on a past application, or if they think you're lying on a present or future application, that could eventually lead to deportation and loss of status. So for example if you lied on your N-400 and told them you had been living in the same household when in fact you hadn't, that could lead to very serious problems.

Also, if in the course of investigating your marriage for the purposes of the N-400, they happened to come across convincing evidence that showed your marriage had been for immigration purposes from the very beginning, they could revoke your green card. It would have to be enough evidence to outweigh the evidence they've already seen where they already judged your marriage to be bona fide, though. That's unlikely. And it would be a fairly long and involved process.

If you sent information on your N-400 application that seriously contradicts information you've sent them on a previous application, that might eventually lead to a finding of misrepresentation.

But if they simply found that your recent living arrangement doesn't satisfy the definition of "living in marital union with" for the purposes of INA 319(a), all that would happen is they would deny the N-400, and you'd have a chance to apply again when you had completed 5 years (less 90 days) as a permanent resident.

[queendlee 1]

Hey Muslimlady 37. Perhaps you haven't heard, but there is a RECESSION going on right now. Some couples are forced to live and work apart from each other to make ends meet.

The OP says his wife was LAID OFF. It doesn't sound like her first choice was to move away from him.

I am in complete agreement with you. I have been looking for a job since October and for about 4 of those months i found none in my State. If I got a job outside of our state, i would never expect my husband to quit his job to move and fight months to find another. As it is, people getting laid off at his company daily. My mom and step father lives in separate countries for that reason. They save their weekends and vacations times so they can be together, but until things recover this is just how it has to be for their careers and finances. And they are happier than many couples living together 24/7.

Esimon -So I think in these times, this would be considered a non-voluntary separation, and it's not like you don't make the effect to be together otherwise.

Edited May 19, 2009 by queendlee

[manty 0]

Hey Muslimlady 37. Perhaps you haven't heard, but there is a RECESSION going on right now. Some couples are forced to live and work apart from each other to make ends meet.

The OP says his wife was LAID OFF. It doesn't sound like her first choice was to move away from him.

Yes, of course there are instances where layoffs might force a temporary separation. But the OP has been living apart from his spouse for a year, and they don't even really need to. If the locations are two hours apart, then buying or renting a house in the middle of the two (and each having a 1 hour commute) is very reasonable. I'm not buying the "having to live apart for economic/career reasons" in the OP's case.

The OP seems to be living apart from his spouse for convenience reasons. If I was responsible for adjudicating the OP's case, I would find it very difficult to believe that the forced separation for an entire year because one spouse had to commute a couple of hours per day was a valid exception to the rule. That's commutable, particularly when considering that if they split the difference in distance, it would be a typical daily commute for millions of Americans.

Plus the fact that no jobs in the same city could be found in an entire year - there is no exception from the requirement that spouses live together for "being picky about employment". One spouse might just have to put his or her career on hold and suck it up for a while.

Things aren't really adding up. Something else is going on here.

[jsnearline 2]

What bothered me about muslimlady37's post is that she went after the OP for supposedly not having his priorities in order, ignoring the fact that was the OP's WIFE that was laid off and took a job out of state, not him. Sometimes these situations aren't as easy to resolve as they seem. If your spouse accepts a job out of state, but you own a home, it's not always easy to sell it or rent it out in this economy. If you are renting, it may not be possible to get out of your lease.

I turned down a chance to go back to DC and work because our apartment complex wouldn't let us out of our lease and it would have cost us almost as much money to break the lease as it will to finish it out. Add in the cost of moving and we couldn't afford it at the time. The alternative would have been to take the job and be separated from my wife and child until the lease ran out. Neither option appealed to me so I declined. Three months later, I still don't have work and my unemployment is running out. I can't help wondering if I should have taken the job and left my wife and baby in Colorado.

So, given my own experience, I'm willing to give the OP the benefit of the doubt.

Edited May 19, 2009 by jsnearline

[manty 0]

Jsnearline, you were faced with the tough choice of moving from Colorado to DC - that's a distance that isn't commutable, and it's understandable that family came first in your case. But the OP is living separate and apart from his spouse because of a two hour drive. Doesn't that strike anybody as extremely odd?

[NickD 203]

Jsnearline, you were faced with the tough choice of moving from Colorado to DC - that's a distance that isn't commutable, and it's understandable that family came first in your case. But the OP is living separate and apart from his spouse because of a two hour drive. Doesn't that strike anybody as extremely odd?

Doesn't strike me as being odd, a minimum of four hours driving on the road being exposed to some of the most harmful pollutants in the world, vehicle exhaust, and that four hours is a minimum, can be six or even eight hours with an accident. Already had co-workers killed coming to work or dying at the ripe old age of 35 years with strokes, cancer, or heart attacks, commuting at that distance or even less. Tempers also rise with a high divorce rate, then the extraordinary price of gasoline, was extremely high just a few months ago, but rapidly going up again. And the wear and tear on the vehicle, insurance cost, and if you are unable to repair your own vehicle, can really run up some steep credit card bills.

Then there is the nature of her job, salaried? Forget about an eight hour day with layoffs, expected to work a 12 or more hour day, that plus the driving time doesn't even give a person time to sleep further increasing the hazards of trying to earn a living with the long drive to and from work, and always during the rush hour.

Key questions are finances as far as the USCIS is concerned, still maintaining one household, is the wife just renting a sleeping space? They are spending all of their free time together, no matter how little it is. Should be disclosed to the IO during the interview, could be the IO is experiencing the same thing anbd would be very understanding, if not, try again.