Help on N-400 "Continuous Residence" question

[ajitiyer]

Hi,

I got my permanent residency in September of 2003 and am getting ready to file for citizenship. In 2008, I was deputed to work in my company's office in India and temporarily relocated there, but made trips back to the US during this time. I also filed Federal taxes in 2008, but did not file Virginia state tax as technically, I wasn't residing in Virginia in 2008. I am back in Virginia now.

I have a question on the "continuous residence" question on N-400 form that reads "Have you ever failed to file a Federal, state or local tax return because you considered yourself to be a "nonresident"? - I should answer "Yes" to this question as I did not file state taxes in 2008 as I did consider myself a nonresident. As mentioned above, I did file federal taxes though.

My question is: Will answering "Yes" to this question affect my US citizenship application? I plan to include IRS tax transcripts for the past 5 years along with my application to show I still had ties with the US, but am worried if not filing state taxes in 2008 will be held against me. Also, I am not sure if I legally could have filed state taxes even if I wanted to as I did not reside in any state in the US during that year as I lived and worked in India that whole year.

Please help!

-Ajit.

[helpwithh1]

Hi,

I got my permanent residency in September of 2003 and am getting ready to file for citizenship. In 2008, I was deputed to work in my company's office in India and temporarily relocated there, but made trips back to the US during this time. I also filed Federal taxes in 2008, but did not file Virginia state tax as technically, I wasn't residing in Virginia in 2008. I am back in Virginia now.

I have a question on the "continuous residence" question on N-400 form that reads "Have you ever failed to file a Federal, state or local tax return because you considered yourself to be a "nonresident"? - I should answer "Yes" to this question as I did not file state taxes in 2008 as I did consider myself a nonresident. As mentioned above, I did file federal taxes though.

My question is: Will answering "Yes" to this question affect my US citizenship application? I plan to include IRS tax transcripts for the past 5 years along with my application to show I still had ties with the US, but am worried if not filing state taxes in 2008 will be held against me. Also, I am not sure if I legally could have filed state taxes even if I wanted to as I did not reside in any state in the US during that year as I lived and worked in India that whole year.

Please help!

-Ajit.

Ajit,
If you have all the proof and reasons not to submit the tax and if it is legal, you should answer Yes and submit the proof.
Remember USCIS is trying to make sure that you are a law abiding person with good moral character to approve your application. So, If I were you, I would state the facts and provide proof and explanation

[ajitiyer]

Helpwithh1: Thank you so much for your response. I was thinking along the same lines too. I have requested for Tax transcripts from the IRS for the past 5 years and plan to include that with my citizenship application. These should show that I have complied with my tax obligations throughout, except for state taxes in 2008.

I wanted to confirm though that this wouldn't be a show-stopper.

Other than the tax transcripts, what else would you suggest I include along with my N-400 application? I cannot think of any other evidence/documentation to include, but definitely want to error on the side of caution.

Thanks again for your prompt response!

-Ajit.