Three-Month Residency Requirement (in State or Service District)​

[shahje 0]

I got green card in June 2014 and it is spouse base immigration (3 years residency required for neutralization)

I recently changed my driver license in California in May 2016. Earlier I was living/working in Texas.

I will complete my physical presence (i.e. 18 months duration) in US by June 2017 and then will file neutralization

Currently I am outside US for contract Job and will complete my physical presence by making trips from overseas. I will not break my continues residency (i.e. Will return to US within 6 month)

My spouse and kids are living in US even if I am in overseas for contract base job.

My questions are:

Question#1

What is meaning of “The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing”? Will I need to physical present immediately prior 3 months before filing my neutralization in California?

Question#2

My intention is I will come in US from overseas before one month of filing my neutralization case (i.e I will come in May 2017 and will file my case in June2017), will it be fine?

Question#3

I will file my tax return 2016 based on my job in overseas (Oct 2016- Dec2016). However earlier Jan2016-Sep2016, I was working in Texas. Will this tax return will harm my neutralization?

[shahje 0]

Appreciate VJ fellows reply

[ank 17]

I got green card in June 2014 and it is spouse base immigration (3 years residency required for neutralization)

I recently changed my driver license in California in May 2016. Earlier I was living/working in Texas.

I will complete my physical presence (i.e. 18 months duration) in US by June 2017 and then will file neutralization

Currently I am outside US for contract Job and will complete my physical presence by making trips from overseas. I will not break my continues residency (i.e. Will return to US within 6 month)

My spouse and kids are living in US even if I am in overseas for contract base job.

My questions are:

Question#1

What is meaning of “The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing”? Will I need to physical present immediately prior 3 months before filing my neutralization in California?

Question#2

My intention is I will come in US from overseas before one month of filing my neutralization case (i.e I will come in May 2017 and will file my case in June2017), will it be fine?

Question#3

I will file my tax return 2016 based on my job in overseas (Oct 2016- Dec2016). However earlier Jan2016-Sep2016, I was working in Texas. Will this tax return will harm my neutralization?

[JimmyHou 611]

I got green card in June 2014 and it is spouse base immigration (3 years residency required for neutralization)

I recently changed my driver license in California in May 2016. Earlier I was living/working in Texas.

I will complete my physical presence (i.e. 18 months duration) in US by June 2017 and then will file neutralization

Currently I am outside US for contract Job and will complete my physical presence by making trips from overseas. I will not break my continues residency (i.e. Will return to US within 6 month)

My spouse and kids are living in US even if I am in overseas for contract base job.

My questions are:

Question#1

What is meaning of “The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing”? Will I need to physical present immediately prior 3 months before filing my neutralization in California?

Question#2

My intention is I will come in US from overseas before one month of filing my neutralization case (i.e I will come in May 2017 and will file my case in June2017), will it be fine?

Question#3

I will file my tax return 2016 based on my job in overseas (Oct 2016- Dec2016). However earlier Jan2016-Sep2016, I was working in Texas. Will this tax return will harm my neutralization?

You don't have to be physically in the state for 3 months, but you have to have been a resident of the state for 3 months. So if you move from Texas to California in July, you can't apply in California until October. But if you've lived in California all year, but you take a vacation for a month, then come back and apply, you're fine.

Whether or not you'll have other problems depends on how long you've been away on your contract job.

Note that you may still have to prove that you did not break the continuous residence requirement. You have to show that you were living in the US and that any trips abroad were temporary. Making the trips under 6 months is not sufficient to demonstrate this, although it helps. The USCIS policy manual states that trips under 6 months may still break continuous residence depending on the circumstances. What they mean is that you can't come to the US every 5 months, spend a week here and then leave; that's not continuous residence, and it will reset your citizenship clock.

"An officer may also review whether an applicant with multiple absences of less than 6 months will be able to satisfy the continuous residence and physical presence requirements. In some cases, an applicant may not be able to establish that his or her principal actual dwelling place is in the United States or establish residence within the United States for the statutorily required period of time."

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter3.html

Another issue is that you need to be living with your spouse for 3 years to file under the 3 year rule. If you are working abroad, then you're not really living with her. This is subjective and up to the interviewer. The December 2015 Filers thread here on Visa Journey had two similar cases where spouses were living apart (both in the states) due to work. One applicant was approved and one was denied even though both were making regular visits. The applicant who was denied was told to reapply under the 5 year rule when eligible.

These aren't necessarily major concerns, but they could cause problems and you should be aware of these points.