Robert Nicholson

Hi, when is a GC holder allowed to apply for citizenship and how does
time outside the US affect when they are able to apply for this?

NeedHelpNow

As for when you can apply: if you are married to a us citizen its 3 years after you get you Permanent residency. If you are not married to a us citizen I believe its 5 years.

As to how time outside the US: Ill leave that to the exparts

Rv2003

In California one can apply after living in the USA for 4 years and 9
months. If the stay outside US is longer than 6 months then you have to
explain that. Somethings (I am not sure what) do qualify for people to apply
earlier as well.

"Robert Nicholson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi, when is a GC holder allowed to apply for citizenship and how does
    > time outside the US affect when they are able to apply for this?

SundarV

The naturalization residency requirement says you have to maintain continuous residency of 5 years (3 years for marriage based). You can apply 90 days before the 5 years or 3 residency is achieved.

Continuous residency means that you have not stayed beyond 6 months in a calendar year. This many people interpret as going on trips that is less than 6 months. There are couple of caveats to it

(1) If you job requires you to travel out of the country for more than 6 months. You won't lose the continuous residency. But you have to show the proof that you maintained residency through house lease, tax records etc.

(2) Typically people say that you lose your Green Card if you stay outside US more than a year continuously. You do not maintain your green card by making 1 or 2 weeks trip every 6 months to US.

For example, if someone has been outside US for 7 months. The way I undertand the rules, they do not lose Green Card. But the continuous residecy gets broken.

Hope this helped.

Sundar
Std disclaimers apply

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

Excellent answers from the other posters. There are a number of exceptions
to the rules. The ultimate answer is the naturalization guide that legacy
INS published.

As for time outside the US: absences of more than six months can, and more
than one year will, restart the clock as if you had just received the GC
upon your return (except that the clock is shortened by 364 days, so you
only have to wait for 4 years and 1 day instead of 5 years).

On the other hand, depending on the reason why you are outside the US, it
is sometimes also possible to get naturalized immediately based on your
absence.

Again, get the INS naturalization guide (should be on the CIS Web site).

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:32:33 -0700, Robert Nicholson wrote:

    > Hi, when is a GC holder allowed to apply for citizenship and how does
    > time outside the US affect when they are able to apply for this?

--
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Robert Nicholson

When is the first time that you will know your 5 year clock has been reset?

"rv2003" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > In California one can apply after living in the USA for 4 years and 9
    > months. If the stay outside US is longer than 6 months then you have to
    > explain that. Somethings (I am not sure what) do qualify for people to apply
    > earlier as well.
    >
    > "Robert Nicholson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Hi, when is a GC holder allowed to apply for citizenship and how does
    > > time outside the US affect when they are able to apply for this?

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

You can know as soon as it happens, because the criteria are pretty
clearly outlined in the law and in the naturalization guide.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 16:51:42 -0700, Robert Nicholson wrote:

    > When is the first time that you will know your 5 year clock has been reset?
    >
    > "rv2003" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    >> In California one can apply after living in the USA for 4 years and 9
    >> months. If the stay outside US is longer than 6 months then you have to
    >> explain that. Somethings (I am not sure what) do qualify for people to apply
    >> earlier as well.
    >>
    >> "Robert Nicholson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected]...
    >> > Hi, when is a GC holder allowed to apply for citizenship and how does
    >> > time outside the US affect when they are able to apply for this?

--
Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I encourage
everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on usenet
newsgroups.

Please support H.R. 539, H.R. 832 and S. 1510. More information at
http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml

Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com (always under construction)

My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection. See
my Web site for information on how to contact me.

Now with new photos! Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my
new Web site http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.

Dave

"rv2003" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > In California one can apply after living in the USA for 4 years and 9
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    > months. If the stay outside US is longer than 6 months then you have to
    > explain that. Somethings (I am not sure what) do qualify for people to apply
    > earlier as well.
    >
Naturalization is a process that occurs at the federal level; it does
not matter which state you live in. As pointed out by other posters,
the time is 3 years for marriage based visas (with residency caveats
described in other posts).

Boaz Ben-Zvi

    > As for time outside the US: absences of more than six months can, and more
    > than one year will, restart the clock as if you had just received the GC
    > upon your return (except that the clock is shortened by 364 days, so you
    > only have to wait for 4 years and 1 day instead of 5 years).

I wonder: If someone gets a GC, then leaves the US the next day
and returns after six months, then by restarting the clock and using
the 364 day rule, he would be able to apply after only 4 1/2 years
on the GC !! I am yet to see someone try this .....

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 05:46:41 +0000, Boaz Ben-Zvi wrote:

    >> As for time outside the US: absences of more than six months can, and
    >> more than one year will, restart the clock as if you had just received
    >> the GC upon your return (except that the clock is shortened by 364
    >> days, so you only have to wait for 4 years and 1 day instead of 5
    >> years).
    >
    > I wonder: If someone gets a GC, then leaves the US the next day and
    > returns after six months, then by restarting the clock and using the 364
    > day rule, he would be able to apply after only 4 1/2 years on the GC !!
    > I am yet to see someone try this .....

I simplified the rule a little bit. There are multiple conditions that
need to be met. One is that the applicant must have held the GC for five
years.

Another is that the applicant must have been physically present for half
the preceding five years (even if he had a GC for twenty years, still only
the last five years count! So this is a separate independent term), and no
absence can be longer than one year.

The 364 day rule flows indirectly from all this: an absence of more than
one year resets the clock. But you are allowed an absence of up to 364
days. Thus the 364 days prior to your return do count towards the five
years.

There is one thing that is special in this case, though, and that's why
the 364 day rule is explicitly written into the law: you can only apply
after the full four years and a day have passed - not, as usual, 90 days
earlier.

--
Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I encourage
everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on usenet
newsgroups.

Please support H.R. 539, H.R. 832 and S. 1510. More information at
http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml

Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com (always under construction)

My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection. See
my Web site for information on how to contact me.

Now with new photos! Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my
new Web site http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.