Long term travel while N400 application pending or any other options for long distance relationship?

[ohman 5]

We applied for citizenship, and maybe our fault, but were very surprised at the wait times as well. We hauled off and moved overseas after the biometrics and came back for the interview. I just changed our address to that of a family member's to receive notifications. Everything worked for us, but every case is different.

[mrock27 4]

6 hours ago, ohman said:

We applied for citizenship, and maybe our fault, but were very surprised at the wait times as well. We hauled off and moved overseas after the biometrics and came back for the interview. I just changed our address to that of a family member's to receive notifications. Everything worked for us, but every case is different.

You are exactly the person I want to speak to! You received your citizenship already then? How long were you abroad before the interview, and how much notice did you have before the interview? Did they ask you anything about it at the interview?

Edited August 29, 2018 by mrock27

[ohman 5]

1 hour ago, mrock27 said:

You are exactly the person I want to speak to! You received your citizenship already then? How long were you abroad before the interview, and how much notice did you have before the interview? Did they ask you anything about it at the interview?

Yes, my wife got her citizenship. We were abroad for about four months prior to the interview. I think we had at least a month's notice, it might have been more like six weeks. I told my wife to just tell the truth, that we were over there taking care of her mom who was ill. I do not even think that came up in the interview. Her interview was ten minutes long. My wife came out smiling and there was a woman next to her crying, it was really something. People cited to us that it could very well be a big problem that we were there, but we just figured let's do it and see what happens, and it all worked. Every case is different though, so there is no telling unfortunately. The worst part was not getting really solid dates for anything. 

Edited August 29, 2018 by ohman

[ohman 5]

I just asked my wife about it. She said they asked her if she had been back to her home country, she told them yes, I was there for four months caring for my mother. That was essentially the end of the questioning about being overseas as far as i can tell. 

Edited August 29, 2018 by ohman

[mrock27 4]

2 hours ago, ohman said:

I just asked my wife about it. She said they asked her if she had been back to her home country, she told them yes, I was there for four months caring for my mother. That was essentially the end of the questioning about being overseas as far as i can tell. 

Got it. And I'm assuming you're a U.S. citizen? My case is a bit different since I'm a Japanese citizen married to a Swiss citizen, so I'm afraid that they won't see sufficient ties with the U.S., but who knows. Going to get my biometrics done now - hoping my estimated wait time changes after that.

 

Thanks so much for this very useful information. Not packing my bags just yet, but this is all good to know.

[ohman 5]

7 hours ago, mrock27 said:

Got it. And I'm assuming you're a U.S. citizen? My case is a bit different since I'm a Japanese citizen married to a Swiss citizen, so I'm afraid that they won't see sufficient ties with the U.S., but who knows. Going to get my biometrics done now - hoping my estimated wait time changes after that.

 

Thanks so much for this very useful information. Not packing my bags just yet, but this is all good to know.

Yes, I am a US citizen. Good luck with your decision. You will get varied opinions and reports no doubt, but my opinion is if you do in fact not stay out of the country longer than the maximum and you provide them a good, logical reason that you can back up with some paperwork, you should be fine. My wife literally got asked, supposedly this was after she'd already passed, "are you going back to your home country right away?", and she answered yes to that question and everything went very smooth for her. 

[mrock27 4]

On 8/29/2018 at 5:18 PM, ohman said:

Yes, I am a US citizen. Good luck with your decision. You will get varied opinions and reports no doubt, but my opinion is if you do in fact not stay out of the country longer than the maximum and you provide them a good, logical reason that you can back up with some paperwork, you should be fine. My wife literally got asked, supposedly this was after she'd already passed, "are you going back to your home country right away?", and she answered yes to that question and everything went very smooth for her. 

After my biometrics, they're telling me now 11 months. Phew! At least it's not 2 years. It might be worth sticking it out then.

[N400NYC 380]

@mrock27 - I am reading this story many months down the track and I see you are about to have the interview (June) - great! So presumably you decided to stay in the USA and did the back/forth with visiting your husband throughout the past 1 year? I am in a similar situation (but engaged, not married) and have all the same questions you had a year ago! Currently my estimated case completion time is 11 months (April 2020) and my plan is to continue visiting him every 2 months while I wait but the separation is torturous. It's made more painful by seeing other people (outside of NYC) get interviews and become citizens in 3 to 5 months. I feel totally stranded in limbo waiting for this process to end.

Edited May 26, 2019 by N400NYC

[N400NYC 380]

On 8/24/2018 at 4:52 PM, geowrian said:

It would fall under F2A at first, but can be upgraded to CR-1/IR-1 after naturalizing and sending evidence of US citizenship (copy of passport or naturalization certificate). This would reduce the wait for a visa down to processing timelines, instead of waiting for the PD to become current (~2-2.5 years from filing to interview down to ~12-16 months).

Rehashing this thread! As it's relevant to my situation. My case is a little different as I am engaged, not married. As a GC holder I cannot sponsor a fiance, only a spouse. If we got married (I'd then have to update my N400 application), would doing what you suggested buy us any time? That is, does the CR1/IR1 wait time clock only start once I become a citizen and the case is converted? I guess my question is, what is the value of of applying first as F2A (while I am waiting for citizenship) and then converting at the time I become a citizen?

 

I guess I would also worry that getting married while my N400 is pending would potentially add a layer of complexity I don't want to have to deal with if I don't have to! My original thinking was that it would just be so much easier and more straightforward to, in the following order:  (1) get citizenship (2) then get married (3) then sponsor my spouse 

[afrocraft 314]

On 8/27/2018 at 7:23 AM, Going through said:

I've seen it happen once here where the person's travel AFTER filing the N400 was so long that the total days abroad was then outside the maximum time allowed for physical presence, and their application was denied at the interview.  With that person, it was more a matter of their entire travel history over the past 5 years being close to the maximum number to begin with---so the last trip put their numbers just over by something like 12 days.  

I know this was a while ago, and you may not know the specifics of the case you're referring to, but isn't a denial on grounds of physical presence improbable in this case? You're probably thinking of continuous residence. Physical presence is only counted up until the application receipt date; see the USCIS manual on physical presence:

 

Quote

A. Physical Presence Requirement
An applicant for naturalization is generally required to have been physically present in the United States for at least half the time for which his or her continuous residence is required. Applicants for naturalization under INA 316(a) are required to demonstrate physical presence in the United States for at least 30 months (at least 913 days) before filing the application.

 

Physical presence refers to the number of days the applicant must physically be present in the United States during the statutory period up to the date of filing for naturalization. The continuous residence and physical presence requirements are interrelated but each must be satisfied for naturalization. 

Then see on continuous residence:

 

Quote

A. Continuous Residence Requirement
An applicant for naturalization under the general provision must have resided continuously in the United States after his or her lawful permanent resident (LPR) admission for at least five years prior to filing the naturalization application and up to the time of naturalization. An applicant must also establish that he or she has resided in the state or service district having jurisdiction over the application for three months prior to filing. [2] 

 

[Going through 5,671]

4 hours ago, afrocraft said:

I know this was a while ago, and you may not know the specifics of the case you're referring to, but isn't a denial on grounds of physical presence improbable in this case? You're probably thinking of continuous residence. Physical presence is only counted up until the application receipt date; see the USCIS manual on physical presence:

 

Then see on continuous residence:

 

 

It might have counted more towards the continuous residence in the IO's mind, probably?  But the physical and continuous residence requirements are also "interrelated" as outlined in the physical policy part you quoted...so one affected the other in that case, likely, as the travel abroad between filing and oath was for an extensive period.

[afrocraft 314]

1 hour ago, Going through said:

It might have counted more towards the continuous residence in the IO's mind, probably?  But the physical and continuous residence requirements are also "interrelated" as outlined in the physical policy part you quoted...so one affected the other in that case, likely, as the travel abroad between filing and oath was for an extensive period.

Lol, but naah. Once you've met the physical presence requirement by the date of application, you can't "un-meet" it later. This isn't some Back-to-the-Future time travel.

[Going through 5,671]

8 hours ago, afrocraft said:

Lol, but naah. Once you've met the physical presence requirement by the date of application, you can't "un-meet" it later. This isn't some Back-to-the-Future time travel.

I agree with you on that one.  I do think it was more of the OP of that other thread later not meeting the continuous presence which led to the denial...but I can only go on what the OP of that thread said happened at that time.

Edited May 26, 2019 by Going through

[mrock27 4]

On 5/26/2019 at 12:42 AM, N400NYC said:

@mrock27 - I am reading this story many months down the track and I see you are about to have the interview (June) - great! So presumably you decided to stay in the USA and did the back/forth with visiting your husband throughout the past 1 year? I am in a similar situation (but engaged, not married) and have all the same questions you had a year ago! Currently my estimated case completion time is 11 months (April 2020) and my plan is to continue visiting him every 2 months while I wait but the separation is torturous. It's made more painful by seeing other people (outside of NYC) get interviews and become citizens in 3 to 5 months. I feel totally stranded in limbo waiting for this process to end.

@N400NYC I did end up doing the back and forth for the past year. It was hard, but definitely doable. It was hard for me to see all these other applicants get their interviews so much faster than me too! Patience is key, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work out in the next few months. Let me know if you have any questions or if you just want to rant about your situation!

[N400NYC 380]

6 hours ago, mrock27 said:

@N400NYC I did end up doing the back and forth for the past year. It was hard, but definitely doable. It was hard for me to see all these other applicants get their interviews so much faster than me too! Patience is key, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work out in the next few months. Let me know if you have any questions or if you just want to rant about your situation!

Well, you're now my role model!! Hopefully 1 year from now I will look back and see that I survived all of this. I will send you a message!