Please help on naturalization eligibility

[sandeep123usa]

Hi,

I am a permanent resident since 2002, but stayed in US for very short durations due to my studies in India. In the last 5 years I made a trip in February 2009 to US for a week to maintain my status. I went back to India for about 7 months. Now I have been maintaining my continuous residency since August 2009. Will I be eligible to apply for citizenship now or when will I be eligible for that. When I looked at the Eligibility worksheet it was mentioned that I may be eligible to apply if my trip to other countries is not more than 1 year.

Please help :-)

Thanks in advance.

[cafeconleche]

You can try to argue that you didn't break continuous residence by only studying abroad, but it's up to the officer to decide whether or not to apply this. You can apply using the 4 years + 1 day rule now, but better yet, wait 5 years and apply at the end of the year.

[rayb]

Officer discretion plays a big part when reviewing compliance with the "continuous residency" requirement. If the original poster is willing to gamble with a $680 submittal fee, he is banking on an interviewer being caught in a tolerant mood.

--Ray B

You can try to argue that you didn't break continuous residence by only studying abroad, but it's up to the officer to decide whether or not to apply this. You can apply suing the 4 years + 1 day rule now, but better yet, wait 5 years and apply at the end of the year.

[cafeconleche]

I agree.