What is the requirements for US citizenship after obtaining the immigration Visa

[shadyzee 7]

Hello all

me and my american wife are married since 8 years and have 6 years old Daughter , we are living outside of US since then.

yesterday i got my immigration visa and am seeking an answers for these questions please :-

1- how long do i need to live inside the state to be able to get the US passport ? heared i have to live for 18 months for the first 3 years after getting the green card but not sure if this is true.

2- Can my wife and daughter stays outside the state (since she have a good job here ) and i stay in the state for the period i have to serve in the state and then leave the state after this period finishs.

3- am planing to visit the state sometime in June for 2 weeks just to see where i may move , go back here and then go to the state for the period i have to be to be able to obtain the US passport. is that ?

Thanks alot

[NickD 203]

You have to be a lawful permanent resident first, then for marriage, at least three years after you get your green card. Have to be a US citizen first even before thinking about getting a US passport.

What stage are you in?

[warlord 73]

And yes you will have to be living in the US and residing there. You will also have to abide by all the laws of maintaining a certain number of days in the US as well for those 3 years based on marriage once you become a permanent resident. Once you qualify for citizenship then you are able to apply for a passport and then you may live outside of the US...

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Your US wife has to move to the USA before or at the same time as you.

After 3 years, if you still live in marital union with your US citizen wife, you can apply for citizenship.

[Shub 78]

The first step is to become a legal permanent resident (which means you get what is colloquially known as a green card). Once you have a green card, you are supposed to actually live in the USA. If you don't live in the US, you can lose your green card and then you have to start over from the beginning.

You must keep your green card for 3 years in order to be able to apply for US citizenship on the basis of your marriage to a US citizen.

There are a lot of other things to keep in mind, but that's it in a nutshell.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Shub

[shadyzee 7]

Thanks all

let me explain more , we are married since 8 years and still . i got my immigrant visa before 2 days , i was planing to go to the state sometime in June this year ( before the expiry of the visa ) and stay by myself for 1 year and a half , "18 months" as my wife want to keep her job here in Dubai , so the question is , if i stayed in the state for this period "18 months " sure i will be having the green card , and i left after that for the same period , so total will be 3 years , may i apply after that to the citizenship and the passport , keeping in my mind i will be still keeping my greencard after leaving by coming to the state every 6 months. hope this is clear by now.

[Shub 78]

You said you've obtained an immigrant visa. What type of visa is it and did you get it because you are married to a US citizen, or because of something else, e.g. a work visa?

It says next to your name on the left that you have obtained or have applied for an IR-1 visa. If so, that means you will automatically have a green card as soon as you enter the United States, you will not have to apply for Adjustment of Status like if you had a K-3 visa.

Now once you have a green card, you're not supposed to use it the way you said. A green card is a permanent resident card, not a come-and-go-as-you-please card. When you're a permanent resident, you're supposed to reside in the US, i.e. spend more time in the US than outside the US.

If you are outside of the US for more than 6 months, it will disrupt the continuous residence requirement when applying for citizenship. CBP and USCIS inspectors won't be fooled by you coming to the US for a few days every 6 months as that is not how it works. Coming into the US every 6 months will not reset the counter. The authorities will plainly see in their system your comings and goings.

At best they will question you, deny your citizenship application and tell you to apply again when you meet the requirements, at worst CBP will simply not let you back into the country because you failed to maintain your status, unless you can prove that you have ties to the USA and did in fact intend to maintain your residence. The burden of proof in this case is on you.

You may want to read http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter3.html to gain a better understanding of things.

In short, you can do what you said and try and come to the US every 6 months in an attempt to maintain your green card, but don't expect it to work. If you decide to come live in the US, then you should live here for three years and then apply for citizenship.

Honestly it sounds to me like you have the timing of things wrong and you wasted your time applying for an IR-1 visa at this time when your spouse is working in Dubai and intends to stay there indefinitely for her job. Stay with your family and when you're ready to move to the US as a family, do so, then wait until you meet the requirements to apply for citizenship, then do that, and you'll be good to go.

The way you portray things, you are setting yourself up for problems with US immigration authorities. If I see red flags in what you're saying, my guess is that USCIS will also see red flags.

[girimurthy 5]

Thanks all

let me explain more , we are married since 8 years and still . i got my immigrant visa before 2 days , i was planing to go to the state sometime in June this year ( before the expiry of the visa ) and stay by myself for 1 year and a half , "18 months" as my wife want to keep her job here in Dubai , so the question is , if i stayed in the state for this period "18 months " sure i will be having the green card , and i left after that for the same period , so total will be 3 years , may i apply after that to the citizenship and the passport , keeping in my mind i will be still keeping my greencard after leaving by coming to the state every 6 months. hope this is clear by now.

I agree with the last person. You will need much more than just staying in the US to get the citizenship. You need to show proof of residence for the past three years in the US. Tax Returns and not just yours but filing jointly with your wife. More proof of the marriage like lease in both names etc.

So as the previous person suggested I would say to just stay in Dubai and take this whole process if your whole family wants to come back to the US.