Confusion about travels abroad

[newlyweds2010 208]

I was reviewing the N-400 form and I saw that they want you to list all travels abroad in the prior five years. Does it make any sense when you file based on marriage to a USC? I will file next year, at which point I will have been in the US for 3.5 years. I obviously spent the remaining 1.5 year abroad, although I am not even sure this counts as TRAVELS abroad, rather I was LIVING abroad. What did other VJ members do? Your answers are very appreciated.

[JohnR! 5,495]

I was reviewing the N-400 form and I saw that they want you to list all travels abroad in the prior five years. Does it make any sense when you file based on marriage to a USC? I will file next year, at which point I will have been in the US for 3.5 years. I obviously spent the remaining 1.5 year abroad, although I am not even sure this counts as TRAVELS abroad, rather I was LIVING abroad. What did other VJ members do? Your answers are very appreciated.

If you are filing based on the 3-year rule you need to list your absences from the US during that period, instead of 5 years.

[newlyweds2010 208]

If you are filing based on the 3-year rule you need to list your absences from the US during that period, instead of 5 years.

That makes perfect sense, thank you. would that apply also to other questions regarding the past 5 years (employment, residence), or do you still have to go back 5 years?

[JohnR! 5,495]

That makes perfect sense, thank you. would that apply also to other questions regarding the past 5 years (employment, residence), or do you still have to go back 5 years?

Same thing here. If you want to be thorough list all the jobs you had since becoming a LPR, which in your case is about 3.5 years.

You don't need to list anything before that because the USCIS already has everything on file from the K-1 process... In fact, when you show up for your naturalization interview, the infamous and mysterious 'package' you brought in and surrendered at the POE will be there, right in front of the IO.

Edited September 26, 2012 by Gegel

[newlyweds2010 208]

Same thing here. If you want to be thorough list all the jobs you had since becoming a LPR, which in your case is about 3.5 years.

You don't need to list anything before that because the USCIS already has everything on file from the K-1 process... In fact, when you show up for your naturalization interview, the infamous and mysterious 'package' you brought in and surrendered at the POE will be there, right in front of the IO.

Again, that makes perfect sense, thank you. They should revise the form and the instructions, though, to make it clear that there is a distinction between who files under the 3-year vs. the 5-year rule. As it is right now, it would seem that everybody needs to list their information going back to the previous 5 years, regardless of what rule they follow.

Edited September 26, 2012 by newlyweds2010

[HeatDeath 430]

I'm doing up my N-400 now. I filled out jobs and residences for 5 years, since it was easy enough to figure out. [Actually, I don't think it made any difference - I lived at the same residence and had the same job for more than 1.5 years before I moved down here.]

For the days abroad question, I'm following something I read a number of people doing here, and filling in the numbers for three years, and on the form striking out the "five" in those two lines of text and writing in "three years - applying based on marriage". I think it should be fine - this allows the IO to easily determine what s/he really wants to know, which is have you exceeded either of the thresholds that affect your eligibility to apply.

It's important to remember that, fundamentally, the N-400 form is an act of communication between you and another human being - the IO. It's not like they validate them via computer or anything.

[warlord 73]

Yes as stated the instructions are written for the 5 year rule and not the 3. I even went as far as to put 5 years on my application and the IO said when looking at it that it was unnecessary and only needed to see the past 3 years. So yes you are fine to just put 3 years since your PR status began...

[NickD 203]

At the advice from my attorney, put around 414 days my wife was out of the country for the last five years, that is what they asked and that is what they got. Wasn't a problem for filling out that table, as I recall, was trips made outside of the USA lasting over 24 hours since becoming a LPR.

For filling out the rest of the stuff, residency, and employment, just copied and pasted all that information from her G-325a, I-485, and I-751 and updated it.

Using Adobe Acrobat Pro made it easy, would automatically reduce the font size for those long Latin American names and addresses.

The evidence required for the three year was like a combination of what we already sent in for the AOS and ROC. Since our ROC was delayed by the USCIS, we had to send updated information. Then again a couple of weeks later the same stuff again for the N-400. Talk about redundancy.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

They should revise the form? Sure!

What they really should do first is correct the citizenship test!

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/hey_wait_a_minute/2011/02/the_problem_with_question_36.html