N-400/INA319b - Ambiguity around definition of qualifying employment

[imbrad91 1]

Hi all,

 

I know that Expeditious Naturalization through INA319b when the US spouse is a civilian employed abroad is already quite a rare case, but I believe that we might meet the requirements but wanted to clear up some ambiguity that exists around the "Qualifying Employment Abroad" requirement and time of employment abroad - source: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-4; specifically referring to the following:

 

• 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
• Accordingly, the spouse of the U.S. citizen employed abroad may naturalize if his or her U.S. citizen’s qualifying employment abroad is scheduled to last for at least one year at the time of filing,

 

(POINT-1): In our case - my foreign spouse is currently living with me in Europe (she is a Korean citizen). I (US Citizen) am working for an American multi-national logistics company with it's main headquarters and registration in the US, listed on the New York Stock Exchange; and has been a component of the S&P500 for several decades. I don't want to say which company it is on a public forum, but it is one of those huge companies that every American immediately recognizes..and our operations serves nearly every country in the world minus a few 'no-go' countries.

 

I feel like this company would meet both of the requirements of the first bullet point above right? It is an American company, and our main operations is literally to move goods and services either within the US, or cross borders; so definitely should meet the requirements of developing foreign trade and commerce of the US. The issue is..how exactly do I prove it to the officers at USCIS in a N-400 application that my company meets this requirement. If one simply hears the name of my company; then they should ideally know it does. But do I need to provide proof via say..a 10-K (annual report)? Does someone in investor relations need to write a letter for me proving such? Of course, I assume I'll need my working contract as well.

 

(POINT-2): About the 'employment lasting for 1 year' requirement. In my case - I didn't get my job in the US directly and then move within the company to Europe. I finished graduate school in my spouse's home country, and applied directly to the company at their international headquarters in Europe and was hired directly here. Thus, I am not a W-2 employee, I have a local salary of the country I live in and my contract period is 'indefinite' (this means it is longer than 1 year in the country I work). My contract was also given to me by the local entity here in Europe, not the headquarters in the US (although - it is all owned by the US holding company anyways..)

 

Those of you who have any experience with the N-400 319(b) - do you feel that both of the points made above related to my situation satisfy the employment requirements from the USCIS website on this? I know 319(b) is pretty straightforward for military, other gov't employees, DoD contractors, etc; but not a lot of transparency around civilians employed for American firms. 

 

Of course - this is made with the assumption that we have her IR-1 in hand at time of application (I have significant evidence that domicile has been maintained in the US so shouldn't be a problem to get her green card), and that she meets the other requirements as well (pledges to re-join me abroad, pledges under good faith to return to the US with me after employment termination, etc).

Edited October 11, 2020 by imbrad91

[JFH 12,190]

*~*~*procedural question moved from “progress reports” to “process and procedures”*~*~*

[JFH 12,190]

*~*~*procedural question moved from “progress reports” to “process and procedures”*~*~*

 

But if you are applying to immigrate by filing the CR-1/IR-1 Visa then surely you are moving back to the US anyway and the overseas residency issue don’t come into play?

[imbrad91 1]

22 minutes ago, JFH said:

*~*~*procedural question moved from “progress reports” to “process and procedures”*~*~*

 

But if you are applying to immigrate by filing the CR-1/IR-1 Visa then surely you are moving back to the US anyway and the overseas residency issue don’t come into play?

Just to clarify - we did the i-130 before I even got hired, but then found this job in Europe while waiting for the i-130 to be approved, which was a better choice career wise. Now, we have our case 'frozen' at the NVC until we are ready to pull the trigger essentially. Thought having naturalization through this 319(b) path would make things much smoother for us if say my company decides to suddenly move me back to the US after a year or two for example; since she'd already be naturalized. Instead of having to just scramble her IR-1 application together and such last minute if I were to have to move.

 

Just one of the requirements for the naturalization through 319(b) is that you have LPR status at the time the officer examines you (from what I understand). We haven't finished her IR-1 yet because we don't want to cause any harm with residence requirements (get her passport stamped, but still working abroad...and having to wrap things up in Europe and go back to the US definitely together within 6 months).

 

The reason I wanted to inquire about this is because I read this post here where someone posted their experiences where they were stamped with an i-551 in their passport and got naturalized right soon after through 319b - since they entered at point of entry and became an LPR at that time, they met the requirement for LPR at time of examination. I felt that I'm possibly qualified to apply for this, but no where have I found any standards of what companies/roles meet the bullet points I listed in my original post.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by imbrad91

[xyz12345 260]

My take is that 1) your wife needs to be admitted first as an LPR  and  2) you are working for a US company in the US that is planning to transfer you overseas. Of course, I may be wrong.

[carmel34 3,626]

From page 12 of the N-400 instructions, regarding documents to accompany applications under the 319(b) category:

 

In addition, bring the following:
(1) Your U.S. citizen spouse’s travel orders which include your name as a spouse;

 

I researched the 319(b) citizenship process (for my LPR husband) and thoroughly studied chapter 4 of the USCIS Policy Manual last year when I was considering a job overseas with a US organization.  I agree with you that it is intended primarily for spouses of USCs who work for US government agencies or military, but ambiguously leaves the door open for other US companies and organizations.  When I saw the point above, it sounds like qualifying jobs under 319(b) are temporary assignments for a few years (traditional expat posting) where the US company/organization/military sends the USC to another country, with "travel orders" that name the USC and the spouse.  In your case, you started your employment in Europe, and it is ongoing, with no temporary posting or future return to the US, since you were never stationed in the US.  After doing my initial research, I decided not to pursue the overseas job.

 

The other complicating factor that is worth considering in your case is that 319(b) category applicants need to be an LPR at the time of filing the N-400 form, not at some future date such as the naturalization interview or (eventually) oath ceremony.  I personally wouldn't rely on one old case from 2015 that you posted as a firm guide for today's situation with USCIS which is quite different.  That said, you could always give your plan a try and see what happens.  But don't expect a one-day turnaround for a spousal visa holder to immigrate to the US on day one and leave the next day with a US passport and naturalization certificate.  The Fairfax/Washington DC USCIS office is recommended for 319(b) applications because they deal with so many US government agencies (CIA, DOS, DOD, etc.).  Maybe try to contact them directly to ask about your plan.

 

Another factor to consider is that N-400s are taking forever to process right now, much longer than back in 2015, up to two or more years for some USCIS offices.  So the "same day" turnaround from 2015 may not be realistic in 2020 or 2021 given the backlog of N-400s (675,000 currently according to USCIS data).  319(b) is supposedly an expedited category by default, but an expedited case in 2020 may not happen as fast as an expedited case 5 years ago.

 

We decided to stay in the US and wait for the three year rule to apply for my husband's citizenship the normal way.  Good luck, and let us know if you decide to try the 319(b) path and what happens, I hope it works out for you.

Edited October 11, 2020 by carmel34