Carlos A

Hi everyone, I filed my I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence jointly with my spouse, as we are still married. However, the receipt notice I received does not mention that it was categorized as a joint petition. I’m a bit concerned that it may have been mistakenly processed as a solo or waiver filing. I checked my case status through my USCIS online portal, and everything shows as pending with nothing outstanding. I also have a pending N-400, Application for Naturalization that I filed based on the 3-year rule through marriage, so I’m expecting a combo interview. I called USCIS to ask about this, but I got mixed responses. One agent mentioned that since the I-751 is my petition, it is normal for the receipt to only reference me. However, I’m still unsure if this is correct or if my case may have been misclassified. Has anyone experienced something similar? I’d really appreciate any insights or advice! Thanks in advance!

My partner and I were laid off during 2023, and my partner had to make withdrawals from retirement accounts and other sources, leading to a complex tax situation with penalties. To safeguard my part from being affected by these penalties, we are considering filing taxes separately for the first time during our marriage, and possibly partner won't file this year but I want to properly do it each year as usual. Is filing joint taxes a crucial piece of evidence when applying for naturalization? Would it raise a red flag if our taxes for the last year are filed separately? Your feedback is highly valuable, and I appreciate it. Thank you so much!

Yes, that makes sense Verrou! The counting of the 180 days for green card holders starts anew on every year anniversary from the day you became a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR). So, if you became an LPR on a specific date, you can spend up to 180 days outside the U.S. from that date each year without jeopardizing your permanent resident status. Thank you for clarifying that point!

Hello everyone! I would appreciate some help to clarify the maximum number of days a green card holder can be outside the U.S. without jeopardizing their citizenship status. Let's take the year 2023 as an example: How many days can a green card holder spend abroad while maintaining their permanent resident status? I understand the limit is 180 days (6 months). My question is, do these 180 days count from January 1st to December 31st, 2023, in this example? And once the new year begins on January 1st, 2024, do the 180 days reset, starting from zero again? Additionally, I'm curious if the same rule applies to both green card holders with conditions and those whose conditions have been removed. Thank you for any insights or information you can provide!