questions regarding out of country trips impact on n400 application

[In_AR_From_TX 0]

So here is my situation.

My wife is a CR 1 GC holder; we will be applying for removing her conditions in a couple of months when her 90 days countdown begins. My wife went back to Pakistan to visit her family last October and came back this feb. So my questions is regarding her N400 application. I know that we can apply for her to become a USC once she has been a permanent resident for 3 years (yes i am a usc) since she was out of the US for around 4 and half months does she have have to be present in the US for full three years before she can apply for naturalization?

Meaning her 3yr anniversary date is in September 2013,she entered the US on a 2yr GC in sep 2010, do we need to add another 4.5 months to September before she can apply for USC. Also how does the 90 day early filing for the n400 play into all this.

Thanks in advance.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So here is my situation.

My wife is a CR 1 GC holder; we will be applying for removing her conditions in a couple of months when her 90 days countdown begins. My wife went back to Pakistan to visit her family last October and came back this feb. So my questions is regarding her N400 application. I know that we can apply for her to become a USC once she has been a permanent resident for 3 years (yes i am a usc) since she was out of the US for around 4 and half months does she have have to be present in the US for full three years before she can apply for naturalization?

Meaning her 3yr anniversary date is in September 2013,she entered the US on a 2yr GC in sep 2010, do we need to add another 4.5 months to September before she can apply for USC. Also how does the 90 day early filing for the n400 play into all this.

Thanks in advance.

She must be present in the US for MORE THAN HALF the previous 3 years at the time of the application with no absences MORE THAN 6 months. She will report her absence of 4.5 months but it will not affect her ability to become a citizen UNLESS she has had several other extended absences and exceeds the 1.5 years total she is allowed to be absent.

Her new green card will have a date which says, basically, US Resident Since..... and this will be the date her first green card was issued. You can file the N-400 90 days BEFORE the three year anniversary of that date. If she has been a resident since June 1, 2009, you can file her N-400 90 days BEFORE June 1, 2012. Because March and May have 31 days that would mean you can file her N-400 on March 3, 2012 or anytime thereafter.

Edited April 15, 2012 by Gary and Alla

[In_AR_From_TX 0]

Gary and Alla, thanks for your response but I am still a little fuzzy.

So are you saying her 2 years as a conditional residence will not count towards the 3 years she needs to be a permanent residence before she can apply for naturalization?

also i know her trip wont impact her ability to apply for nautralization but what i am wondering does she need to make up the 4.5 months she was away? so her 3 yr anniversary date is september 2013 do we need to add the time she was away to the september 2013 date and then apply or can she apply as her anniversary date stands? actually with the 90 day early filing she can apply in june 2013 since her 3 yr gcard anniversary date is september 2013.

thanks

[nwctzn 55]

Gary and Alla, thanks for your response but I am still a little fuzzy.

So are you saying her 2 years as a conditional residence will not count towards the 3 years she needs to be a permanent residence before she can apply for naturalization?

also i know her trip wont impact her ability to apply for nautralization but what i am wondering does she need to make up the 4.5 months she was away? so her 3 yr anniversary date is september 2013 do we need to add the time she was away to the september 2013 date and then apply or can she apply as her anniversary date stands? actually with the 90 day early filing she can apply in june 2013 since her 3 yr gcard anniversary date is september 2013.

thanks

Your wife can travel during the 3 years, there is no problem with that and it does not add time to her eligibility to file for N-400 provided she follows the below outlined rules:

Your wife is a GC holder and on the GC there is a date marked as "Resident since" Say that date is MM/DD/YYYY.

That's the date her residency began. Now let's add 3 years to that date which results in MM/DD/YYVW. That's her 3rd year anniversary. She can apply 90 days prior to MM/DD/YYVW.

Now, to be eligible to apply 90 days prior to MM/DD/YYVW and regarding trips, she needs to make sure that a single trip does not exceed 6 months. This is to ensure that she meets the continuous residence requirement. And then, she also needs to make sure that in the 3 years, she is at least 18 months physically present in the US; that's the physical presence requirement.

So right now, your wife is fine and on track to apply 90 days prior to MM/DD/YYVW since her 4.5 month trip is less than 6 months. Hence, as long as in these 3 years she sticks to the two above requirements, she will be able to file on time.

Hope this clarifies your question(s).

Best of luck!

--

Edited April 16, 2012 by nwctzn

[rocks 494]

You can use this tool to help you determine the exact date to apply. USCIS Date Calculator

[nwctzn 55]

Just one more note: Yes, her conditional residency counts towards the 3 years. As I mentioned earlier, the "resident since date" on her GC is essential and that date starts with the conditional GC.