dbark

I know this has been asked previously, but reading another thread I am still confused. My details are:

October 2003 arrived in US on K1 visa, married my USC husband
April 2006 received 10-yr green card

I have been reading the USCIS document "A Guide to Naturalization"

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf

and on page 18 - that is where my confusion lies. Do I need to wait until April 2009 to file? Or am I able to file now, as I have been married over 3 years and lived here since 2003 to a born US citizen? I am looking at the second category down from the top, where it states:

"If you are at least 18 years old and:
Are currently married to and living with a U.S. citizen;
and
Have been married to and living with that same U.S.
citizen for the past 3 years;
and
Your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for the past 3 years."

I also read the part on page 22 which states:

"If you are applying based on 5 years as a Permanent Resident or 3 years as a Permanent Resident married to a U.S. citizen, you
may file for naturalization up to 90 days before you meet the continuous residence requirement. For example, if you are applying
based on 3 years of continuous residence as a Permanent Resident married to a U.S. citizen, you can apply any time after you
have been a Permanent Resident in continuous residence for 3 years minus 90 days. You may send your application before you
have met the requirement for continuous residence only. Therefore, you must still have been married to and living with your U.S.
citizen spouse for 3 years before you may file your application. You must also meet all the other eligibility requirements when
you file your application with USCIS."

This seems to suggest I can apply now as I have met the requirement for continuous residence only, but I am still confused!

fatbrit

When did you receive your first ever green card?

Noorah101

You are eligible to file the N-400 beginning 90 days before the 3-year anniversary of the "resident since" date on your green card.

If your first green card was issued to you in April 2006, you'll be eligible 90 days before that date in April 2009.

Rene

dbark

April 2006 - the USCIS 'lost' my file in 2005, I was unable to travel etc, it was a mess, but finally received it in April 2006.

Rete

Hi dee ... been a while.

You received your green card in April 2006 so it would be three years less 90 days from the Since Date on your green card.

If I remember correctly you went straight to LPR status and didn't have conditions to be removed.

If that is correct, you are eligible sometime in January 2009

dbark

Oh, OK then - thanks. That is pretty annoying, as it was not my fault it took so long - we sent the AOS application in Nov 2003. Thanks anyway, I do find that table very confusing.

Noorah101

Everything is based on when you became a Permanent Resident. You became a PR in April 2006. The time before that doesn't count towards citizenship, only the time *after* you became a PR in 2006.

Rene

dbark

Hi Rete, hope all is well with you! Yes, I don't get on BE very often these days. Yes I did indeed go straight to LPR status. Thanks again, I have a year and a bit to wait then.

fatbrit

Definitely annoying! I sympathise.

dbark

Thanks! Such is life!

Rete

All is well here. Hubby is mending after his last physical scare and I'm amazed that he has only been in the US for 9 years and already has been a "guest" at the hospital twice while at my advanced age the only time I've seen the inside of a hospital is for elective surgery once in the last 15 years.

Hey, that year will go fast. Remember to file married (either joint or separately) on your taxes.

dbark

Glad he is doing well, hospital is never fun! Yes, we have been filing married joint since 2004. Thanks again for all the help.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Look at the date you were granted your CONDITIONAL card. [As a K-1, you were given conditional status no matter how long it takes to complete the adjustment]. Since you got your permanent card in April 2006, it would appear that your adjustment was completed around April 2004. It would seem that you have the three years already after admission to "permanent residence."

Noorah101

Mr.F,

If the only PR status she received was in April 2006 (via a 10-year card since she had been married over 2 years by the time AOS was approved), how are you figuring she's already been a PR for 3 years?

You lost me on this one.....

Rene

ian-mstm

Not necessarily. I entered the US in 1998 as a K-1 beneficiary and received my 10-year GC in 2001. Like the OP, I never had a 2-year conditional status. My adjustment took so long, Sheila and I were married almost 3 years before it was completed.

Ian