beatle2102

First off, I do want to thank all of you on this board for providing so much help to others. I've enjoyed reading all of your posts, both the helpful ones and the snarky ones.
I'm not British, but this seems like the most knowledgeable forum, so I hope y'all don't mind me barging in here.

I've been living in the US since 1994 and I received my greencard in May 2002. I attended university in Australia from Feb 2003 to Nov 2006. Having read about other PR abandonment cases on BE, I'm a little concerned about establishing my ties to the US during the time I was in Australia.

With the exception of the first year I attended uni in Australia, I came back to NJ every 6 months (during the winter and summer breaks) for anywhere from three weeks to two months at a time. The first year, I was outside of the US from 31 December 2002 to late-November 2003. After uni ended (in Nov 2006), I returned to the US on 11 Dec 2006, and have been living and working here ever since.

During the time I was in Aus, I maintained my US bank account (which I have had since at least 1999 and still use), kept my NJ drivers license (although I currently hold a VA drivers license) used an American credit card (linked to and paid for by my parents). I have never worked in Australia; I was financially supported by my parents (who have lived in the US since 1994 and remained in NJ during the time I was in Aus). They claimed me as a dependent until early-2007. (Don't know if it's relevant, but they are naturalised US citizens since October 2008.)

I think it's fairly clear that my intent has always been to live in the States, but since the USCIS doesn't really care about my 'intent', I'm not sure how I go about proving this? Are they likely to even need me to prove it? Would evidence such as my drivers licence and bank records be something I provide, or does USCIS research this themselves during the naturalisation process? If I do need to send them paperwork, what exactly do I send? And do I send it along with the application, or is it better to wait until they ask for it? (Though ideally, I'd prefer to minimise any delays in becoming an American.)

-- As a side note, I'm not too worried about possibly having 're-set' the PR clock with my almost 12 month absence from the States in 2003. I've held off on applying for citizenship since I need to have been physically resident in the US for at least 50% of the five years prior to applying for citizenship, so I anticipate submitting my application in April 2009, which will (obviously) be more than 5 years since 2003. --

Help (or snark) is greatly appreciated!

JAJ

But has he even come close to abandoning his U.S. residence? His absence was temporary and he says he has been back for a couple of years, and he never let any absence exceed 12 months.

crg

I think he's fine. He's living and working here now, he was never out for more than a year. I don't see any basis for removal at all.

nettlebed

Yeah, it looks like I misread the original. Deleted my original post.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Don't use the 90 day advance filing rule. What makes you think that USCIS won't care about "intent" when adjudicating the N-400? I don't see anything really weird about your case. You may want to have a lawyer well versed in the law of abandonment to point USCIS in the right direction by an appropriate and understandable brief.

beatle2102

Admittedly, I'm not too worried about immigration bursting into my bedroom at 3am and forcibly removing me from the country (although I don't think I'd enjoy that very much), my greatest concern is proving to USCIS that I remained a US resident throughout my time in Australia so that I can start applying for citizenship in April 2009, rather than April 2012.
That said, your comment (and JAJ's) was very reassuring and much appreciated! Since US naturalisation seems very discretionary in some respects, it's hard to get a 'feel' for how concerned I need to be. So thank you!

beatle2102

While I don't wish to berate the USCIS too much, especially since I'm the one begging for US citizenship, my experience has been that they only care about intent when it comes to keeping you out of the country. I don't know if naturalisation applications are looked upon more favourably than visa renewals, or if things have changed since the late 90s, but we've had applications and forms returned for having a letter out of place or a single piece of documentation missing. Which is fair enough, but on an entry-level non-profit salary, I really don't have the money to fork out $700 several times to apply and re-apply for citizenship. I hoping to cover all my bases and make things as easy as possible for the USCIS.

As for the 90 advance filing rule, would it be best to delay my application until June or July of this year? I assume your recommendation is due to my lack of physical presence during the time I was at uni?

I guess my question ultimately is: do I full out the N-400 with the assumption that if anything more is needed, they'll come back and ask me? Would sending additional paperwork (bank account info, tax records) help my application, or would it be overkill and delay my application (and piss off the immigration officer who has to wade through my random paperwork)?

Noorah101

On the N-400, only answer the questions asked, only provide the backup it asks for. Bring further evidence in person to your interview in case the officer has questions.

Rene

Rete

Welcome to BE and your nationality or lack of British citizenship does not bar you from using our forums.

IMHO (and I am not an attorney) I would not worry overmuch about this. You have returned periodically for periods of time during the school breaks and have the perfect reason for being outside of the US during your absences. I doubt that USCIS will consider your residency abandoned. Now if you told us that you were living and working in Australia then it might be a different story. In fact, I'm not sure that your absence hinders the time allowance for naturalization. I recall that JerseyGirl's daughter lived and schooled in Canada for several years, coming and going into the US periodically as you did and she was able to naturalize without any difficulties whatsoever.

Bring school transcripts if you have them; flight itineraries, bank statements for those time periods that you were in Australia, etc.

Rete

Believe he is a she judging by the avatar.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I'm having trouble understanding your math. I don't see where the April 2012 date comes from. December 11, 2006 plus four years one day is December 12, 2010 by my calculations.

beatle2102

I hadn't realised the four years plus one day rule, so was figuring the earliest would then be December 2011 (Dec 2006 plus five years). The reference to April 2012 was just for effect.

Apologies for dragging this old thread up to the top of the list, but I do want to thank you for your help. Per Folinsky's advice to another poster ('CIS believes that the residence break or 50% rule eliminates the 90 "early filing" rule.'), it looks like I'll apply for naturalisation sometime in May 2009. 30 months from Dec 2006 is obviously not May 2009, but I'm hoping to count the times between 2003 and 2006 that I was back in the US towards the 50% physical residency requirement. (Can you tell I'm eager to become a US citizen?)

Anyway, thanks again for your help everyone! Greatly appreciated!

Jerseygirl

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