Citizenship/Naturalization Question

[seotejas]

Hello All,

Hope all is well.

I have questions about my eligibility for US citizenship. Need your guidance/comments on if I am eligible for it???

Landing details:
·Immigrated (landed) to the USA based on family category (F3) the first time date: 29^th Nov 2010

Details of dates I was OUTSIDE of the USA since I immigrated:
·29-Mar-11 till 29-Feb-12 (337 days)
·18-Jun-12 till 8-Apr-14 (659 days. applied and got approved for TRAVEL DOCUMENT i-131)
·29-Nov-14 till 22-Apr-15 (144 days)
·20-Aug-15 till 4-Feb-16 (168 days)
·30-Sep-16 till 8-Feb-18 (496 days. Applied and got approved for TRAVEL DOCUMENT i-131)
·17-Jan-19 till 9-Feb-19 (26 days)
·12-Sept-19 till 14-Oct-19 (32 days)

Total # of days OUTSIDE of USA since I immigrated = 1862 days (61.21 months)
Total # of days OUTSIDE of USA since the past 5 years (since Jan 1st 2016) = 589 days (19.31 months)

Presently, I am in the USA and intend to stay and have no vacations/work outside of the USA planned.

Questions:
·Please help me understand and guide me if I am eligible for USA citizenship?
·Am I eligible to apply for Naturalization form N-400?
·If I am not eligible, when will I be eligible to apply (assuming I stay in the USA continuously and do not leave out of the country for more than a month)?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much.

[Donald_Trump]

seotejas You had an absence of more than 1 year in 2018 which automatically breaks the continuous residency requirement. So you will need to wait 4 years and 1 day since you came back before you can file.

You will become eligible to file in Feb of 2022 so another year to wait.

Source: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/...rt-d-chapter-3

2. Absence of 1 Year or More

An absence from the United States for a continuous period of 1 year or more (365 days or more) during the period for which continuous residence is required will automatically break the continuity of residence. This applies whether the absence takes place before or after the applicant files the naturalization application.

Unless an applicant has an approved Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes , USCIS must deny a naturalization application for failure to meet the continuous residence requirement if the applicant has been continuously absent for a period of 1 year or more during the statutory period. Form N-470 preserves residence for LPRs engaged in qualifying employment abroad with the U.S. government, private sector, or a religious organization.

Eligibility After Break in Residence

An applicant applying for naturalization under INA 316 which requires 5 years of continuous residence, must then wait at least 4 years and 1 day after returning to the United States (whenever 364 days or less of the absence remains within the statutory period), to have the requisite continuous residence to apply for naturalization. The statutory period preceding the filing of the application is calculated from the date of filing.

Once 4 years and 1 day have elapsed from the date of the applicant’s return to the United States, the period of absence from the United States that occurred within the past 5 years is now less than 1 year. Since the period of absence is still more than 6 months, an applicant for naturalization in these circumstances must also overcome the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence.

If the same applicant reapplies for naturalization at least 4 years and 6 months after reestablishing residence in the United States, he or she would not be subject to the presumption of a break in residence because the period of absence immediately preceding the application date is now less than 6 months.

Example

An applicant for naturalization under INA 316 departs the United States on January 1, 2010, and returns January 2, 2011. The applicant has been outside the United States for exactly 1 year (365 days) and has therefore broken the continuity of his or her residence in the United States. The applicant must wait until at least January 3, 2015, to apply for naturalization, when the 5-year statutory period immediately preceding the application will date back to January 3, 2010. At that time, although the applicant will have been absent from the United States for less than 1 year during the statutory period, the applicant will still have been absent from the United States for more than 6 months (180 days) during the statutory period and may be eligible for naturalization if he or she successfully rebuts the presumption that he or she has broken the continuity of her residence.

If the applicant cannot overcome the presumption of a break in the continuity of his or her residence, the applicant must wait until at least July 6, 2015, to apply for naturalization, when the 5-year statutory period immediately preceding the application will date back to July 6, 2010. During the 5-year period of July 6, 2010 to July 6, 2015, assuming the applicant did not make any additional trips outside the United States that would cause USCIS to presume a break in continuity of residence, the applicant was only absent from the United States between July 6, 2010 and January 2, 2011, a period that is not more than 6 months. Therefore, no presumption of a break in continuous residence applies.