N400 filing and international travel

[swapdude 3]

Hi,

I am a US Citizen, and my wife is a permanent resident. She has completed the three years in the US, and we want to file for her citizenship. The only issue we have is, we have a planned international trip for 14 days in September. On the USCIS website, it states

"Reside continuously within the United States from the date of application for naturalization until the time of naturalization."

Does continuously here mean, no trips outside over six months?

Can we file now or should we complete the trip in September and file after?

Regards,

Neel

[aleful 1,905]

hi

she files now, a 14 day trip won't have any effect on her petition.

at the interview when they review the N400, she will update the officer about the trip

that is, if the interview occurs after the trip

[arken 4,197]

Reside continually means maintain your residence in the US continually equivalent to the continual residence requirement prior to the application. It doesn't mean you have to be physically present in the US all the time. You can definitely make short trips. You have to make sure you don't miss important appointments like fingerprinting and/or interview.

[lilsweetie 32]

taking a trip still means that you reside in the US - you have not emigrated from the US to another country by taking a trip. You should be fine

[akihon 129]

The 14 day trip will not affect your residency, since it's only a holiday trip. The concern you should have is filing for citizenship now and possibly missing certain appointments. There is no way to accurately predict when your appointments will land, as each case is unique.

[NexGen 8]

I took 3-week holiday overseas before filing for citizenship and had no issues during my interview. I was naturalized as USC in December 2015. Just make sure you include all trips abroad in your application and it should be fine. It's a your call to file before or after your holiday. Typically, within 21-30 days of filing, you will receive a letter from USCIS stating that they have received your application followed shortly by an appointment letter for biometrics testing.