URGENT: N-400 application. Stayed outside US for 7 months; wife was not well

[paadoggi]

Greetings all,

I got my Green Card in Jan 29, 2007. I'm hoping to file for my citizenship (N-400) next week. It seems that I may have broken my continuous residence requirements since I was in Ghana from July 26, 2011 to February 20, 2012 (209 days). My only other travel outside was 2 years ago for 51 days.

• The reason why I was there for this long is because my wife whom I married (in August, 2011 while there) was sick for some time so I had to stay with her to support her. I really did not know anything about the 6> months plus situation until yesterday. By the way I also filed I-130 for her just 2 days ago.
• I moved back to the same address in the US. I actually live with my US citizen mother along with two brothers (both brother's are citizens; one qualified under the derivative rule. He was under 18 when mother became a citizen in 2004) in the same house. We have been at this address for almost 5 years now. I support her sometimes with bill payments but the house is actually in her name.

This is what I can get:
• Have driver’s license with same address.
• Could get some hospital bills etc from wife in Ghana (this will take about 2 weeks or so).
• I maintained my bank accounts (2 different banks). I used my account for transactions abroad when I overstayed my trip.
• I have been renting small unit storage since August, 2011. I have the payment history from August with my name on it.
• I have 3 years of IRS tax and then hopefully 2011 tax by interview time.
• I have some 401k history up till my employment ended but the account is still active with Fidelity even though nothing goes in.
My employer had to let me go in September after I overstayed my Vacation time. I was paid by employer up till September 12, 2011.

1. What will I need to prove that I NEVER intended to be in Ghana for this long? Please help!
2. Also, what should I include with my application besides green card copy and passport pictures?
3. Or should I wait for the 4 years, 1 day rule thing?

Thank you for your time and God bless!

[nwctzn]

Greetings all,

I got my Green Card in Jan 29, 2007. I'm hoping to file for my citizenship (N-400) next week. It seems that I may have broken my continuous residence requirements since I was in Ghana from July 26, 2011 to February 20, 2012 (209 days). My only other travel outside was 2 years ago for 51 days.

• The reason why I was there for this long is because my wife whom I married (in August, 2011 while there) was sick for some time so I had to stay with her to support her. I really did not know anything about the 6> months plus situation until yesterday. By the way I also filed I-130 for her just 2 days ago.
• I moved back to the same address in the US. I actually live with my US citizen mother along with two brothers (both brother's are citizens; one qualified under the derivative rule. He was under 18 when mother became a citizen in 2004) in the same house. We have been at this address for almost 5 years now. I support her sometimes with bill payments but the house is actually in her name.

This is what I can get:
• Have driver’s license with same address.
• Could get some hospital bills etc from wife in Ghana (this will take about 2 weeks or so).
• I maintained my bank accounts (2 different banks). I used my account for transactions abroad when I overstayed my trip.
• I have been renting small unit storage since August, 2011. I have the payment history from August with my name on it.
• I have 3 years of IRS tax and then hopefully 2011 tax by interview time.
• I have some 401k history up till my employment ended but the account is still active with Fidelity even though nothing goes in.
My employer had to let me go in September after I overstayed my Vacation time. I was paid by employer up till September 12, 2011.

1. What will I need to prove that I NEVER intended to be in Ghana for this long? Please help!
2. Also, what should I include with my application besides green card copy and passport pictures?
3. Or should I wait for the 4 years, 1 day rule thing?

Thank you for your time and God bless!

It looks like you can prove that you did not break your residency. Especially the bills and health records of your wife should be helpful to back-up your claim.

As for the application, I would submit the minimum:

1. N-400 form
2. Two passport-style pictures
3. Photocopy of front AND back of greencard
4. Check for fee
5. A letter explaining why you have that one trip longer than 6 months

After sending in the application, gather all documentation you mentioned regarding your residence in the US: lease/mortgage statements, credit card/bank statements, a letter from your ex-employer that you did not terminate employment prior or during your trip. And then most importantly, all the documents regarding hospital bills and health reports for your wife.

At this point, you do not have to send all these documents in but have them ready since they either will request these from you in a separate notice or they will want you to take these documents with you to the interview. Even if they do not ask specifically for these documents, have them ready for your interview and have them with you just in case the officer asks for them.

Best of luck!