Continous stay criteria for citizenship

[rchaware]

Hello Friends,

I got my green card in June 2002 and I stayed in the US till Apr 2005 with one foreign trip in 2004 for less than a month. Then I moved to my home country in Apr 2005 and continued to visit US within 6 months. My stay in US during these trips was anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. Now as I completed 5 years after my GC, I would like to pursue for citizenship. During all this time I kept my bank accounts, investment accounts, 401K account, credit cards active in US. Also filed taxes every year as a residence.
To my best knowledge I kept all the conditions for citizenship application including criteria of physical stay and continous stay.
What are the chances of my application getting rejected based upon my last 2 years travel record?

Please advise.
Thanks.

[knowledgeable]

Read Naturalization Guide


Go through the excellent naturalization guide at https://www.immihelp.com/usa-citizen...aturalization/

This gives your exact details of your minimum stay required, number of days outside the country, minimum stay required in the same state / district etc.

Do not take the risk of applying prematurely, else you'll lose your money, your efforts gone wasted and may cause a stricter check on your next filing.


Good luck.

[rchaware]

Fullfill all conditions, may need to take a chance

Thanks for you reply.
I read this pdf many times and I think in my it will be matter of luck.
After GC, in last 5 years I made 6 trips abroad with days out of US in these trips as 177, 175, 173, 180, 17, 29 days. So I guess that dbesn't break continuous residence criteria.
Also my total stay in past 5 years in US is around 1075 days which is more than 30 months required for physical presence criteria.

I am going to be in the same state as my past residence in US for atleast 3 months before filing N-400.
Do you think hiring an attorney will make any difference?

Thanks.
Rajesh

[knowledgeable]

Attorney better - not necessary

Hiring an attorney is always better. Of course, you have to make sure you get the best one and not just anyone who has low fees.

On the other hand, go through the entire documentation at least three times and then get the same read by your better half.

This should help you file for your US citizenship on your own.

Lots of people I know file on their own w/o attorney and do quite well.

USCIS has made it very easy and simple.

Also, make sure your submitted photographs are precise and conform to the USCIS requirements. RITZ Camera, AAA will give you more accurate photos than trying to dabble on Adobe photo-shop.

Good luck.

[rchaware]

Thanks

I have already started preparing my application. As a precautionary measure, I was thinking of hiring an attorney as I made good no. of trips and I am barely satisfying all the conditions.

Thanks for your opinion.

[rocky]

Similar situation

Hi,

I am in a very similar situation as you and have just filed my application.

Can you let me know if you filed your application and how is it progressing? Did you hire an attorney?

Thanks!

[knowledgeable]

Number of days in the U.S.

The number of days you lived in the U.S. as well as the continuous stay as required is mandatory.

If you cannot show this then no attorney will be able to help you out unless you have an alternate approach where they can bypass these requirements for you.

Now, if you do qualify as per the required stay period and the total number of days as mentioned in the naturalization guide, then you're good to go.

Either case, do make sure you try to give your own personal check for the fee payment, even if you're going through an attorney.

Check ... re-check ... re-re-check all documentation for accuracy, typos etc. One small mistake will cause a lot of pain and aggravation for a long, long time.

Good luck.

[rchaware]

Keep posted

Rocky,
I am filing during first week of Sept. I am not hiring any attorney.

Keep me posted about your status.

Thanks.