mdv

Hi there,

The Story.
I-551 Green Card holder for 19 years, occasionally leaving for a 2 week vacation to Europe.

July 2008 left USA to visit old parents in UK with wife and new grandson. Temp Job, Temp accom
Returning home to USA in May 2009 after 11 months visit.
I do not anticipate any problems getting back in as
a) I am within 365 days
b) I hold documentation showing my "ties to the USA" like House, Mortgage, 1040 Taxes, Property taxes, Bank accounts, House Insurances, SocialSecurity Statement, Sons Birth Cert, Marriage Cert, Driving License
c) My USC wife.

So here are my 2 questions.
Once back in the USA I wish to file the N-400 form, therefore given the above story
1) Have I broken or disrupted my "physical presence"/"continuous residency" requirements? based on the above.
2) Have I lost my 5 years prior to my UK trip?

Many thanks in advance

Ray

All here ...around page 23 ...

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

hobbes79

1. Yes

"What if I was outside the United States
between 6 and 12 months? If you leave
the United States for more than 6 months,
but less than 1 year, you have broken
or disrupted your continuous residence"

But...

"If you return within 2 years, some of your
time out of the country does count. In
fact, the last 364 days of your time out of
the country (1 year minus 1 day) counts
toward meeting your continuous residence
requirement."

2. Since you're married to a USC, the requirement is 3-years as far as I know, not 5. So you're looking at a wait of 2-years and 1-day before being eligible. And:

"you may file for naturalization up to 90 days before you meet the continuous residence requirement"

So you can file 90-days even before the 2-years and 1-day, though some lawyers on here don't recommend that since though you would be in the right, not all USCIS workers know that. So best to wait the extra 90-days generally.