Please advice on citizenship eligibilty

[Fadijay]

Hello,

I have been a permanent resident since 1/5/2007. Time as permanent resident for 5 years completes in 1/5/2012 and technically i should be able to apply for naturalization 90 days before completing the 5 years (i.e somewhere in September 2011).

But due to receiving a scholarship for higher studies in one of the universities in the United Kingdom (UK) i left US in 9/5/2007 for higher studies. I was in the UK for 11 months and few days consecutively and got back to the US on 9/1/2008. (within 365 days or 1 year). Before i traveled outside US i obtained travel document (re-entry permit) in 9/2007 but I did not have to use re-entry permit as I entered US within 365 days.

Since 9/2008 i have been in US and i visited Sri Lanka once a year for a month each trip.

I Have met physical presence in the US for 30 months.

Will my continuous stay outside the US for 11 months (UK) is going to affect my naturalization in January 2012??

Thanking you in advance.

[cismasu]

It depends on the USCIS office that you go to, but from what I've heard, they like to deny anybody that has more than 180 consecutive days out on a trip in the past 5 years. Legally, it's 360 days, and if you make that claim, they should to give you the chance to prove that you haven't broken continuous residence, but I'm not sure what kind of evidence you'd require.
I guess you could try to naturalize in January, but if you returned on 9/1/2008, you should be able to apply on the 4 yr and 1 day rule on 9/2/2012