Applying for Citizenship - living abroad?

[Dbkrantz 16]

Hey everyone,

I just received an offer for a fantastic job opportunity in the UK. My husband would be ready to follow me but really wants to get US citizenship before hand.

We've been here for about 2 years and a couple months and are in the process of removing conditions on his green card. Is there a way to apply for citizenship while living abroad?

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Deb

[aaron2020 11,651]

No.

He will lose his green card if he moves to live in the UK. Green card holders are required to live in the US in order to keep their green cards.Google maintaining legal permanent residency.

Edited December 7, 2015 by aaron2020

[Alaska2012 462]

Nope. Not only will he not get the citizenship he would lose his gc.

Is there any way that you can postpone the job start?

He could apply for the citizenship under the 3 year rule

[NexGen 8]

You probably need to do some more reasearch around this, but he could file as a 319(b) applicant which means he would be exempt from the continous and physical presence requirements. Your employment would need to meet one of the criteria below but I know of at least one case on VJ where the overseas employment was with a private American company and the applicant filed as a 319(b) with the help of an immigration lawyer. I don't remember the outcome of that particular case but you can easily find out from an immigration lawyer if this is even possible. Otherwise, he should probably delay joining you permanently until he has completed his naturalization. Depending on location it takes 4-7 months. Sometimes longer in certain cities.

• Government of the ​United States​ (including the ​U.S.​ armed forces)​;​

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•American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General​;​

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•American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the ​United States​, or a subsidiary thereof​;​

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•P​ublic international organization in which the ​United States​ participates by treaty or statut​e;​

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•A​uthorized to perform the ministerial or priestly functions of a religious denomination having a bona fide organization within the ​United States​; or​

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•E​ngaged solely as a missionary by a religious denomination or by an interdenominational mission organization having a bona fide organization within the United States​.​ ​

Edited December 8, 2015 by NexGen

[kovacs 20]

Question to consider. I am not sure of the correct answer:

Should he stay behind with the thought to apply under 3 year rule, would he still meet the "Have been living in marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse during such time" requirement?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Question to consider. I am not sure of the correct answer:

Should he stay behind with the thought to apply under 3 year rule, would he still meet the "Have been living in marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse during such time" requirement?

No. How are they going to meet the living together requirement by living apart? Living together means the same house. The few exceptions involves military deployments!or government overseas assignments.

http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartG-Chapter2.html

USCIS considers an applicant to ​​live in marital union​​ with his or her citizen spouse if the applicant and the citizen ​actually ​reside together​.​

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Edited December 8, 2015 by aaron2020

[kovacs 20]

I guess that settles that, then. Not a pleasant situation. All the options seem bad.