Temporary residence outside of the US after applying for naturalization (N-400)

[upadas]

Hello,

I have been a Green Card holder for more than 7 years and applied for naturalization in Jan 2021. I have the following questions regarding my N-400 application, I will really appreciate an answer to my questions below, suggestions, or recommendation,s and the experiences of others on this topic.

Questions:
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* Do I need to continuously reside in the US for 90-days before applying N-400 application? I was out of the country in Nov 2020 for a month and applied for citizenship in Jan 2021. Does it mean my application will be denied?
* Does staying outside the country for less than 6 months (say 5 months ), impact my US citizenship application?
* I need to show traffic citations on the N-400 form, I have 3 of them from more than 5 years ago, and inadvertently did not list them on the application. I do not have the dates, other info on those tickets with me. Will I be able to file an amendment now?
* Is there a way or a portal to get all my traffic citations and violations from a single source?
* While being abroad, if I establish an address for communication, does it become a reason for denial for the application?
* I have a land lot in the US, I pay taxes on it every year. I do not own a home yet and I will have a US address for communication and to show residency. Does this become an obstacle to the application process?
* Do I need to show utility bills on my name to have continuous residency while being outside of the US temporarily?

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Applied for Citizenship/Naturalization (N-400): Jan 2021

Green Card Info:
* Resident since 8/14/2013
* Continuous residence for more than 7 years ( out of the country for about 3 months since the green card has been approved)
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[ShibuM]

* Do I need to continuously reside in the US for 90-days before applying N-400 application? I was out of the country in Nov 2020 for a month and applied for citizenship in Jan 2021. Does it mean my application will be denied?

No - you just need to have evidence ready like Utility Bill/Lease Agreements or Mortgage Payments to prove that 3 Months Residence is met. i.e. going out for vacation for a month during the last 3 months before applying should not be a problem

* Does staying outside the country for less than 6 months (say 5 months ), impact my US citizenship application?

No - my spouse was out for about 351 Days in the past 5 yrs. before she files based on the 4 yrs. 9 months rule but since none was more than 4-5 months, she did not have an issue and cleared the interview. Waiting for her oath date

* I need to show traffic citations on the N-400 form, I have 3 of them from more than 5 years ago, and inadvertently did not list them on the application. I do not have the dates, other info on those tickets with me. Will I be able to file an amendment now?

You cannot amend the application form once submitted but you can add additional Citation copies that you missed out. Again, you have a chance to add during your Interview. At times, they may put an RFE requesting data related to it before the Interview. So this is not an issue per se.


* Is there a way or a portal to get all my traffic citations and violations from a single source?

Unfortunately No. If you cannot get a copy of your citation, you can get the Evidence from your Credit Card payments showing that you have paid it. I have seen that as an acceptable evidence of Citation being closed.

* While being abroad, if I establish an address for communication, does it become a reason for denial for the application?

No - they are not bothered about where you stay after you have filed the application. In my case, I applied from Dallas where I stayed and then moved out of state (but not out of country). During interview I came back to Dallas to attend. As they did not have Oath that day, they asked me to come again for the Oath ceremony which normally happens on the same day, for out of state Oath takers (got this from the USCIS officer that took my interview)

* I have a land lot in the US, I pay taxes on it every year. I do not own a home yet and I will have a US address for communication and to show residency. Does this become an obstacle to the application process?

Not at all but you should show that you are residing in the US address mentioned to remove the element of doubt.

* Do I need to show utility bills on my name to have continuous residency while being outside of the US temporarily?

Yes, it is good having all of it handy during the interview because we do not know what they will ask

Hope this helps !!

Thanks,
Shibu

[Donald_Trump]

upadas For proof of citation payment, contact the court where you got the citation and paid the fine. They will have a record and are more than willing to send you a proof of payment. I had 3 citations from various places across US and all of them sent certified proof of payment (No cost to you). 1 of my citations was 7 years ago and I didn't even remember which court it was but I found out which court it was through DMV of that state and had reached out to them. Get proof ready for the interview. However, since you didn't mention it initially in the application, don't bring it up from your end. Minor traffic violations like speeding, running red light are civil violations and not criminal violations so they are not too bothered about those.