How to enter country for naturalization under 319(b) after having been abroad for more than 6 months?

[tin-jen 6]

Hi,

my husband and I are about to file for naturalization (for me) under 319(b). He is a contractor and we have been living in Germany since April 2014. We are using a lawyer to help us with this, since we want to be on the safe side.

I know, I am probably worried way too early, since we haven't even filed yet, but I am always very organised and want to be prepared for everything - so here's what's worrying me a lot right now:
If we file this month, it will be about 4-6 months until the interview date (provided everything goes smoothly) - which means, we are talking February-April for that. We left the US in April 2014, so I will have been out of the country for more than 6 months (possibly even more than 12 months) by the time of the interview.
Now, I know there is no way, I can do the interview here - like I said, my husband is a government contractor and not active duty military.
What do I tell the officer at POE? I am guessing he will be very suspicious if I get there with my GC after having resided in Germany for more than 6 (or even 12) months and no military travel orders to show.
Is the appointment letter for the naturalization interview enough to show him or am I trapped here now and won't be able to enter the country and will have to give up my GC and apply for a whole new visa once we are ready to go back????

Thanks!

[Caryh 5,206]

Staying out of the country so long is resetting your residency calendar to qualify for citizenship. Please review the residency requirement for citizenship. A lawyer can't help if you don't qualify because you're not living in the USA.

Staying out more than a year without a re-entry permit will get your green card pulled, which means starting over from scratch with a new visa. Even between 6 to 12 months this can happen if they question your maintained residency within the USA or you have repeated long periods out of the country.

oops sorry, I wasn't aware of the 319(b) method. Interesting, I'm going to need to read up more on this.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Caryh

[tin-jen 6]

Thanks I am aware of the rules! (But I understand your confusion )

I already know, I am eligible for naturalization under 319(b), so that part is not an issue. I even think we could do it ourselves, without the lawyer, but since that route is not very well known (as you just proved ) many people suggest using a lawyer for this.
My question was mostly directed toward people that have done it this way and applied from abroad!

[belinda63 3,038]

Your spouse should have some proof of his contract as a government contractor or should be able to obtain it. Maybe just an ID type card that you can copy. CPB might give you some grief if they are unaware of the company but a lot of them know (or maybe have a list) which companies do government contract work.

Caryh.....as a US government contractor on a US government contract overseas they are treated the same as active duty military...considered on US soil while doing work for the contractor.

[Boiler 45,493]

I have seen this route mentioned but perhaps not more than once in many years.

[tin-jen 6]

Thanks, belinda! Yes, we have his travel authorization letter (that also states me and is handled the same way as military orders most of the time - just not valid to protect my GC status while we're abroad, at least that's what we've been told so far!) and we both have ID cards for the military base here. I will obviously also have the interview appointment letter (or email?), so hoping that should be fine!
How do you know they have a list of the companies? Do you think my status might even be protected under that? So far everyone we asked (USCIS, 1 lawyer, the US Embassy in Germany (twice)) told us no, though....

[belinda63 3,038]

Usually a government contractor is treated the same as a military person. They are there for US government business on US government soil, so to speak. As to the list, more so just the person being familiar with the companies that do government contracts and knowing who they are. I would think his travel orders would suffice.

[tin-jen 6]

He's not a GS government contractor, though - he is a DoD government contractor. So sometimes we are treated like he was active military, sometimes not. So that's the problem. Like, for example, we were able to cancel our phones before we left, using his travel authorization as orders and they were fine skipping the cancellation fee as they normally would for active duty military. However, this did not work with a leased car and we had to pay the cancellation fee for that.

So, we are always kind of like an in-between status and no one ever knows how to treat is, which is why I am expecting problems at POE. (Which is also, why we need to go the 319(b) route, to be able to go back).

[joclep 0]

Hi tin-jen!

How's your application for naturalization thru 319(b)? What's the update? I am planning to apply too under 319(b) and I needed some advice. Thanks in advance..