Naturalization Eligibility & Green Card Expiration

[ambica65 6]

Hi All,

I am an Indian citizen (India Passport). I have 2 questions:

 

1. Ascertain if I am already eligible for Naturalization from Permanent Residency.

I became a Green Card holder in Sept 2012. After 1 year+ in USA, I left USA for less than 6 months and re-entered for 6-8 weeks (during which time I applied for Re-entry permit). My 2 year re-entry permit came in Oct 2014, (2 months after I had left the USA) and I entered back into the USA 1-2 days before expiry of the re-entry permit (in Oct 2016). I stayed in the USA for 5 months and left the USA again in 2017 March. This time I was out of the USA for less than a year and returned to the USA 1-2 days before the one year period in Feb end 2018. Since then, I stayed in the USA until Oct end 2021 and then left USA for 5 months and returned back to the USA again in first week of April 2022. [Attached a spreadsheet with all my days in and out of the USA. pls review]

 

2. My Permanent Residency expires in Sept 2022. Do I apply for renewal of Green Card or apply directly for Naturalization (if eligible now)? 

 

Thank you so much for your help! Please review the spreadsheet attached!

Edited July 6, 2022 by ambica65

[Mike E 11,739]

1. 2/27/2018 + 5 years  - 180 days = August 31, 2022, the earliest you can file without being required to overcome a presumption of breaking continuous 5 year residency 

 

2. Your permanent  residency doesn’t expire in September 2022. Your gc does.  A gc is an I-551. If you need a valid I-551 then file I-90 now.  
 

 

Edited July 7, 2022 by Mike E

[ambica65 6]

Wow thank you so much Mike, that was extremely helpful! 

 

1. My concern here was that if I wait until Sept 2022 to file for Naturalization, and I still have to file now to renew the 10 year GC  - would I then have to wait to receive the new GC to apply for Naturalization? I think I found the answer online, that I have to provide receipt of I-90 when I receive it, along with my Naturalization Application.

 

2. Lead-up question to that is: If I were to file my I-90 now, what is the timeline for receiving the receipt? Would I have to wait to receive that receipt before applying for Naturalization?

 

Thanks a ton once again, Cheers!

 

[Mike E 11,739]

1. Your expired gc + I-90 receipt is a valid I-551 for naturalization purposes. And in fact LPRs with no gc other  valid I-551 have naturalized. 
 

2. expect a receipt in under month and usually in under a week. You don’t have etc wait for your I-90 receipt to file N-400. 
 

Is there a reason you need a valid I-551 in October?

[ambica65 6]

Hey, thank you for that clarification - you've been such a massive help:) Cheers.

 

The only reason to want a valid I-551 is for tourism (visiting other countries). I read the processing time for GC renewal in my service center is 12.5 months currently if I apply now.

And anyways, if I apply for Naturalization in Sept 2022 - I probably cannot/should not travel outside the USA for the next 180 days atleast.

 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

In your case no need to wait 180 days to travel  after filing N-400. However,

 

* if on the day you travel you’ve been back N days (as of July 6, N is currently 50 days), your maximum absence should be N-1 days AND

 

* during the period after you file N-400 you need to be inside the USA for more days than outside USA 

 

You’ve traveled a lot in the past 5 years. Do you have 5 years of IRS tax transcripts?

Edited July 7, 2022 by Mike E

[ambica65 6]

You solved the whole puzzle for me in one go. Super grateful!

Yes, I filed my US return every year. 

 

Cheers, wishing you all the best Mike!

 

[Ontarkie 14,221]

~~Hijack post and related replies removed. Please keep questions for your own case in your existing thread~~

[ambica65 6]

Hi Mike! Hope you are doing very well

In case you are around or if anyone else can help answer this question, I am about to submit my N-400 online. One question remains pending : 

Have you EVER been a member of, involved in, or in any way associated with any organization, association, fund, foundation, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other location in the world?

How do I answer this? I get that this is probably a question of political nature. 

But do I also mention generic stuff like Ambassador of startup, member of Rotary club, Toastmasters Public speaking club, Mentor of Women in Tech & Young Entrepreneurs organizations, Volunteer Performing Arts coach at govt. school in India etc ? These are from the recent years. Since it states EVER - I would have to jog my memory hard for older associations eg. Secretary of Indian Student Association in College etc.

 

Thank you so much for your assistance! Cheers:)

 

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by ambica65

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

  Ambassador of startup,

What does that mean?

 

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

 

member of Rotary club,

yes 

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

 

Toastmasters Public

speaking club,

yes 

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

 

Mentor of Women in Tech & Young Entrepreneurs organizations,

yes. List each organization 

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

Volunteer Teacher at govt. school in India

no 

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

 These are from the recent years. Since it states EVER - I would have to jog my memory hard for older associations eg. Secretary of Indian Student Association in College etc.

yes 

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

 

[Lil bear 4,201]

3 minutes ago, ambica65 said:

Hi Mike! Hope you are doing very well

In case you are around or if anyone else can help answer this question, I am about to submit my N-400 online. One question remains pending : 

Have you EVER been a member of, involved in, or in any way associated with any organization, association, fund, foundation, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other location in the world?

How do I answer this? I get that this is probably a question of political nature. 

But do I also mention generic stuff like Ambassador of startup, member of Rotary club, Toastmasters Public speaking club, Mentor of Women in Tech & Young Entrepreneurs organizations, Volunteer Performing Arts coach at govt. school in India etc ? These are from the recent years. Since it states EVER - I would have to jog my memory hard for older associations eg. Secretary of Indian Student Association in College etc.

 

Thank you so much for your assistance! Cheers:)

 

 

Its the same question asked on your DS260 when you applied for your IV. Hopefully you declared all  these then  ? Because the answer is yes .. the question IS NOT qualified “political”.  Read and interpret literally 

[ambica65 6]

Just now, Mike E said:

What does that mean? - Brand Ambassador of a Startup company (Promoting & Advocating on social media , offline network)

 

yes 

yes 

yes. List each organization 

no 

yes 

 

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, ambica65 said:

Brand Ambassador of a Startup company (Promoting & Advocating on social media , offline network)

That’s a job not a membership of an organization. 

[ambica65 6]

Just now, Lil bear said:

Its the same question asked on your DS260 when you applied for your IV. Hopefully you declared all  these then  ? Because the answer is yes .. the question IS NOT qualified “political”.  Read and interpret literally 

Thank you Lil bear. I never filed DS260. Yes now I understand I need to treat the question literally and mention all generic associations.Thank you! 

Just now, Mike E said:

That’s a job not a membership of an organization. 

Okay Thanks very much Mike! 

[ambica65 6]

Also in Additional Evidence (particularly in my case - if you read the thread above from July 2022)

Any suggestion/recommendation on what kind of documents I could submit online for my N-400 application?