Am I eligible to apply under the 3 year rule?

[bluebird80 4]

Hi forum members,

I am a permanent resident through marriage to a US citizen, and I have had my residence for almost 4 years. I am currently living with my spouse and we have a child together.

However, during the first year of our marriage and my permanent residency I had to have an additional residence, because of my research. My spouse and I had met in grad school and dated for 3 years before getting married and applying for my GC, and when we applied for my GC we were living together already. But he graduated before me and got an academic job that was in a different town, 4 hours drive away. I still needed to be doing research for my PhD, and I had to physically be present near my school a lot during the school year for that reason. Hence I rented temp apartments for periods of 3-4 months (I did this twice, for each semester- until I was done with the research). Once the need to be physically present elsewhere for the research was no longer there, I have not kept a separate address from my spouse, and in fact I had moved with him to the west coast for his next academic job (and finished my PhD remotely). During the time I needed to be physically near my school for the research I was never away for more than 3-5 days at a time, and I would say I spent about 50% of my time with my spouse. I viewed the address with him as my main residence, and it is what I have reported on the AR11 forms. We were however transparent about this when we applied to remove the conditions on my GC a year later. As far as the ROC went there was no issue with the additional part time temporary addresses I had. However, I am wondering if this will be an issue when applying for citizenship under the 3 year rule. The immigration lawyer we consulted about this thought that it would, and that the temporary addresses contradicted the "living together" clause. His advice was initially to not include those in the application.

The thing is that we included them in the ROC application, and so I am a bit worried that if we do this it might be considered dishonest.

An alternative that me and my spouse had thought of is to wait about another month and apply then, since starting from next month it would have been exactly 3 years since I no longer had separate temporary addresses. Would this be an option, or would the temp addresses I had just bar me from applying under the 3 year rule and I would have to wait for 5 years? (Waiting for 5 years would mean I would have to wait an additional year).

There is some urgency in the citizenship application, since we have to move again in a few months (again, for my spousal next academic job), which would mean I would then have to wait another 6 months to be eligible to apply (since there is a requirement that you have lived in your current address for at least 6 months before applying). There is also a real need for the citizenship, since a lot of the jobs for which I am qualified/ would like to apply in the area that we are planning to move to are in government and require citizenship (making it harder for me to find work if I am not a citizen).

Thanks for any advice!

[TBoneTX 45,324]

*** Thread is moved from the US Citizenship main forum to the Case Progress subforum. ***

[bluebird80 4]

Anyone?

[Anh map 2,098]

If you've been a green card holder (and still married to your spouse) for 3 years then you are eligible to file for citizenship.

[JimmyHou 611]

Hi forum members,

I am a permanent resident through marriage to a US citizen, and I have had my residence for almost 4 years. I am currently living with my spouse and we have a child together.

However, during the first year of our marriage and my permanent residency I had to have an additional residence, because of my research. My spouse and I had met in grad school and dated for 3 years before getting married and applying for my GC, and when we applied for my GC we were living together already. But he graduated before me and got an academic job that was in a different town, 4 hours drive away. I still needed to be doing research for my PhD, and I had to physically be present near my school a lot during the school year for that reason. Hence I rented temp apartments for periods of 3-4 months (I did this twice, for each semester- until I was done with the research). Once the need to be physically present elsewhere for the research was no longer there, I have not kept a separate address from my spouse, and in fact I had moved with him to the west coast for his next academic job (and finished my PhD remotely). During the time I needed to be physically near my school for the research I was never away for more than 3-5 days at a time, and I would say I spent about 50% of my time with my spouse. I viewed the address with him as my main residence, and it is what I have reported on the AR11 forms. We were however transparent about this when we applied to remove the conditions on my GC a year later. As far as the ROC went there was no issue with the additional part time temporary addresses I had. However, I am wondering if this will be an issue when applying for citizenship under the 3 year rule. The immigration lawyer we consulted about this thought that it would, and that the temporary addresses contradicted the "living together" clause. His advice was initially to not include those in the application.

The thing is that we included them in the ROC application, and so I am a bit worried that if we do this it might be considered dishonest.

An alternative that me and my spouse had thought of is to wait about another month and apply then, since starting from next month it would have been exactly 3 years since I no longer had separate temporary addresses. Would this be an option, or would the temp addresses I had just bar me from applying under the 3 year rule and I would have to wait for 5 years? (Waiting for 5 years would mean I would have to wait an additional year).

There is some urgency in the citizenship application, since we have to move again in a few months (again, for my spousal next academic job), which would mean I would then have to wait another 6 months to be eligible to apply (since there is a requirement that you have lived in your current address for at least 6 months before applying). There is also a real need for the citizenship, since a lot of the jobs for which I am qualified/ would like to apply in the area that we are planning to move to are in government and require citizenship (making it harder for me to find work if I am not a citizen).

Thanks for any advice!

You are eligible as far as I can tell, but the year apart may cause issues. A December applicant was just denied for living away from their spouse. That's a different situation, but it depends on how the interviewer interprets the requirement that you live with your spouse in marital union for 3 years. A reasonable interpretation would be that you meet the requirement because you've been married for three years and you lived together most of that time. A stricter interpretation would focus on where you actually lived and could interpret your situation as falling short by a year. I would be surprised if you were denied, but it is a possibility. This is probably a glass-half full interpretation, but your case isn't as straight forward as most applicants, but you already know that and that's why you posted.

[bluebird80 4]

A stricter interpretation would focus on where you actually lived and could interpret your situation as falling short by a year.

Thank you for your reply!

What if we waited until we have lived together for 3 years (that would mean wait for one more month)? In this situation we would have been married for over 4 years, I would be a permanent resident for 4 years, AND we would have lived together for the last 3 years, under a strict interpretation. The only time one could argue we were not living together would be the first year after receiving the GC and the first year of our marriage, but that already would not be "during the last 3 years". Would that make sense?

[JimmyHou 611]

Thank you for your reply!

What if we waited until we have lived together for 3 years (that would mean wait for one more month)? In this situation we would have been married for over 4 years, I would be a permanent resident for 4 years, AND we would have lived together for the last 3 years, under a strict interpretation. The only time one could argue we were not living together would be the first year after receiving the GC and the first year of our marriage, but that already would not be "during the last 3 years". Would that make sense?

It makes sense to me... but I'm not an interviewer! :-)

If I were you, I'd go ahead and apply now, but USCIS isn't always consistent in how it reviews these things... I would expect a smooth process for you, but there are no guarantees.

[candybabe 46]

On ‎4‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 3:56 PM, bluebird80 said:

Thank you for your reply!

What if we waited until we have lived together for 3 years (that would mean wait for one more month)? In this situation we would have been married for over 4 years, I would be a permanent resident for 4 years, AND we would have lived together for the last 3 years, under a strict interpretation. The only time one could argue we were not living together would be the first year after receiving the GC and the first year of our marriage, but that already would not be "during the last 3 years". Would that make sense?

 

Edited April 5, 2017 by candybabe

[MyJourney 276]

you were married for 3 years, you have a child, your living apart was involuntary, and you lived the last 2 years together. i would say apply. if they refuse, you can always reapply on 5 year rule.

[Jamaican_Gooner 36]

On 4/13/2016 at 2:56 PM, bluebird80 said:

Thank you for your reply!

What if we waited until we have lived together for 3 years (that would mean wait for one more month)? In this situation we would have been married for over 4 years, I would be a permanent resident for 4 years, AND we would have lived together for the last 3 years, under a strict interpretation. The only time one could argue we were not living together would be the first year after receiving the GC and the first year of our marriage, but that already would not be "during the last 3 years". Would that make sense?

I would think waiting that extra month and documenting on a separate piece of paper why you had to have a separate residence. It makes sense to me. If you have your tax filings and other proof I think you should be good. I would also suggest that when you have your interview your spouse comes with you. He won't be interviewed but it should help. All the best