Question on continuous presence....

[cali_girl 0]

I got here in the USA last January 5, 2005

then I traveled out of the country on May 2006- October 2006 ( 5 months )

then I traveled again out of the country on November 2006-April 2007 ( 5 months again).

In short, I had two trips out of the country that lasted 5 months each.

Now my 5 year residency will be on January 5, 2010.

1.Am I eligible to apply for citizenship now?

2.does my two trips out of the country affect my continuous residency?

Would love to hear your answers. thanks!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You should be fine. If your trips outside of the country were 6 months or longer you would have broken the continuous residency requirement. If you had several trips of extended time period you may not make the minimum presence requirement of 30 months over the last 5 years. Since you have done neither, you should meet both the continuous residency and the physical presence requirements for naturalization.

Here is a link to a table that helps you decide if you are or are not eligible for naturalization based upon specific circumstances - it is from the Guide to Naturalization booklet USCIS encourages all applicants to read: http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/chapter4.pdf

As long as you meet all of the requirements you are eligible to apply 90 days (not 3 months) before the 5th anniversary of your green card so you should be close.

Edited October 6, 2009 by Kathryn41

[warlord 73]

If you had several trips of extended time period you may not make the minimum presence requirement of 30 months over the last 5 years.

Not necissarly, the general thing is after 6 months you need to prove to the IO that you did not break residency. Before 6 months the IO would have to prove that you did. Many people have been fine being out longer then 6 months with enough documentation that they maintained their US home, bills, etc and were only temporarily overseas for 6 months or longer. Over a year it's pretty definatly a denial, but people can and have been fine after 6 months if they have the proper proof...

[lucyrich 20]

I got here in the USA last January 5, 2005

Now my 5 year residency will be on January 5, 2010.

1.Am I eligible to apply for citizenship now?

You've already had the answer on your two trips, but note that the starting date is not necessarily the date you "got here". The date that is important is the date you began lawful permanent resident status. That's the "resident since" date that's printed on your green card (unless somebody made an error).

If you arrived on an immigrant visa, the date you arrived at the US should be the date you gained lawful permanent resident status, but if you arrived on a different visa and adjusted status, the two dates will be different.