Aquiring America Citizenship

[DeeKay004]

Hi All,


I have a challenge and will appreciate your advice and comment.

My cousin mum had been in US since 2015 with Green Card, however, before applying for her US Naturalisation he travelled she travelled out of US and stayed out for 11months. She has been back since 11 month afterward( in 2022) However she has tried to applied for her naturalisation but she was denied and was informed that she has to wait till 2022. However, she has not been out of US since then 2022 and she is over 70 years of age.

I will appreciate any advice that can help to resolve this if there is to resolve this without the need to wait that long .

[Ticktack]

Hi All,


I have a challenge and will appreciate your advice and comment.

My cousin mum had been in US since 2015 with Green Card, however, before applying for her US Naturalisation he travelled she travelled out of US and stayed out for 11months. She has been back since 11 month afterward( in 2022) However she has tried to applied for her naturalisation but she was denied and was informed that she has to wait till 2022 ??? You do realise that this is 2024!. However, she has not been out of US since then 2022 and she is over 70 years of age. At this age, does the US citizenship still change anything really?

I will appreciate any advice that can help to resolve this if there is to resolve this without the need to wait that long .

The immigration law states that if a Legal Permanent Resident is outside of the U.S. for 180 days in a row (but less than 1 year), without permission from the U.S. government, then it will be presumed that the person has lost or abandoned their residency, and therefore can no longer apply for U.S. Citizenship.

Did she get permission to leave the US for 11 months?

If you leave the U.S. for over six months but less than a year, have proof of your ties to America when you return. Staying outside the U.S. for over a year without a reentry permit can lead to losing your green card in most circumstances.

[DeeKay004]

Thank you for your response OP. My response to the question is provided below:

You do realise that this is 2024!.
I did realise this is 2024 I meant she only stayed out of the country for 11 Month and she has been back since 2022

At this age, does the US citizenship still change anything really?
it makes it easier for her to travel rather than applying visa and also the cost of Visa and the process (as well as renewing the Green card)

Did she get permission to leave the US for 11 months?
She did not request or seek any permission while leaving the country. but she was ill before travelling out of US.

If you leave the U.S. for over six months but less than a year, have proof of your ties to America when you return. Staying outside the U.S. for over a year without a re-entry permit can lead to losing your green card in most circumstances.
I am not sure of how she will prove the Ties but she has been leaving there since 2016 permanently and she has only travel out of the country 3ice(although she has children in other countries that are adult but she barely visit there). However what are the possible proof of ties that can be shown or evidence

[Ticktack]

She's not a prisoner in America, so she can travel at anytime. The only problem is that there are rules for travelling out of the US for over 180 days at a time. Her continous residence was broken when she left for that long. She should have applied in 2021.


Breaks in Continuous Residence
An applicant for naturalization has the burden of establishing that he or she has complied with the continuous residence requirement, if applicable. Generally, there are two ways outlined in the statute in which the continuity of residence can be broken:[9]

The applicant is absent from the United States for more than 6 months but less than 1 year; or

The applicant is absent from the United States for 1 year or more.

An officer may also review whether an applicant with multiple absences of less than 6 months each will be able to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. In some of these cases, an applicant may not be able to establish that his or her principal actual dwelling place is in the United States or establish residence within the United States for the statutorily required period of time.[10]

An LPR’s lengthy or frequent absences from the U.S. can also result in a denial of naturalization due to abandonment of permanent residence.

An applicant who has an approved Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes (Form N-470) maintains his or her continuous residence in the United States.[11]

1. Absence of More than 6 Months (but Less than 1 Year)
An absence of more than 6 months (more than 180 days) but less than 1 year (less than 365 days) during the period for which continuous residence is required (also called “the statutory period”) is presumed to break the continuity of such residence.[12] This includes any absence that takes place during the statutory period before the applicant files the naturalization application and any absence between the filing of the application and the applicant’s admission to citizenship.[13]

An applicant’s intent is not relevant in determining the location of his or her residence. The length of the period of absence from the United States is the defining factor in determining whether the applicant is presumed to have disrupted the continuity of his or her residence.

However, an applicant may overcome the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence by providing evidence to establish that the applicant did not disrupt the continuity of his or her residence. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, documentation that during the absence:[14]

The applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States or obtain employment while abroad;

The applicant’s immediate family members remained in the United States; and

The applicant retained full access to or continued to own or lease a home in the United States.

Eligibility After Break in Residence

An applicant who USCIS determines to have broken the continuity of residence must establish a new period of continuous residence in order to become eligible for naturalization.[15] The requisite duration of that period depends on the basis upon which the applicant seeks to naturalize.[16] In general, such an applicant may become eligible and may apply for naturalization at least 6 months before reaching the end of the pertinent statutory period.[17]

Example

An applicant who is subject to a 5-year statutory period for naturalization is absent from the United States for 8 months, returning on August 1, 2018. The applicant has been absent from the United States for more than 6 months (180 days) but less than 1 year (365 days). As such, the applicant must be able to rebut the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence in order to meet the continuous residence requirement for naturalization.

If the applicant is unable to rebut the presumption, he or she must wait until at least 6 months from reaching the 5-year anniversary of the newly established statutory period following the applicant’s return to the United States. In this example, the newly established statutory period began on August 1, 2018, when the applicant returned to the United States. Therefore, the earliest the applicant may re-apply for naturalization is February 1, 2023, which is at least 6 months from the 5-year anniversary of the pertinent statutory period.

[DeeKay004]

thank you for your response and support. The challenge will now be to prove she has a strong tie-due to the fact she is old and does not have or lease a house in US,

[Ticktack]

All that could have been avoided if she got the permission to travel with Form N-470.

You might want to get in touch with an immigration lawyer.

[Herkie]

Reading this thread is giving me a headache. My father immigrated to the US in 1949 (turned 21 on the boat over) and had a green card, his brother came also with the same sponsor, the Archbishop of Boston. From Ireland. My uncle took US citizenship later but my father never did. So, he was in the US on a green card from 1949 till he died in 2003.

Fortunately for me that meant I was a dual citizen in both the US and Ireland. But, my father could not leave the country at all for most of his adult life without losing his green card, even when his mother died in the late 1950's. He stayed until the rules changed in the late 1990's, 2000. And I remember this because he went back to Ireland for the first time to visit to family in 2001. The only reason I remember it was he returned to the states after that visit back to the old country on the night September 10 of 2001 just hours before the attack on the USA. Wow Dad could you pick a worse day to arrive in New York?

Immigration laws have become so absurdly complex that only Australia has more complex and expensive rules.

If you want to short circuit the wait and expense the easiest way is to marry an American. And now that marriage equality means you can marry a person of either gender you really have no excuse for not just marrying someone in order to get in. I know in Australia they charge about $10 thousand for a fiance visa and it takes years to get approval. In the US there is little if any cost and as long as you can answer basic questions about your new spouse it is rubber stamped.

[Ticktack]

In the US there is little if any cost and as long as you can answer basic questions about your new spouse it is rubber stamped.

It isn't exactly one size fits all in America. If you get married to someone, you could still spend the next 10 years waiting for approval.
Genuine relationships could take between 6 months to 1 year for Adjustment of Status (AOS). During this period, you can't work and you can't leave the USA.
Even when you get your AOS, if you haven't also applied for your advanced parole (AP) then you still can't leave the USA.
True that comparing the expenses for visas in the USA, it's relatively cheaper that many other countries.

Immigration Benefit Form(s) Current Fee (2025)
Naturalization (Citizenship) N-400 $760

K-1 Fiancé Visa I-129F $675

CR-1 / IR-1 Spousal Visa I-130 $675

Employment Authorization Document (EAD) I-765 $520

Advance Parole (AP) I-131 $630

Adjustment of Status (standalone) I-485 $1440

Adjustment of Status (Under 14) I-485 $950

Marriage Green Card (w/ relative petition, EAD, AP) I-485, I-130, I-765, I-131 $3005