(iv) Involuntary Separation . When an applicant and spouse live apart as a result of circumstances beyond their control (i.e.) service in the military or essential business or occupational demands, the resulting separation, even if prolonged, will not preclude naturalization under this part. See 8 CFR section 319.1(b )(2)(ii)(C ). It is essential to determine whether the decision resulting in the separation, was driven by a true economic need or simply driven by a comfort level that the couple prefers. If the decision made was not drive n by a true economic need or required military service, the applicant applying under this section may not qualify.


• Example of involuntary separation: A husband and wife met while working towards PhDs at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The USC husband accepted a tenure track position at Hamilton College in Rome, New York. The LPR wife was offered a Post-Doctorate Fellowship at the Smithsonian. The husband and wife had been living apart for most of the three years. She had telephone bills, copies of e-mails to each other, stubs from some airline tickets from vacations and school breaks, and credible testimony that her husband sometimes drove back and forth on three or four day weekends. The adjudicator approved this case at the time of the examination for having qualified the separation as an involuntary separation.

I can't see why... you need to demonstrate 3 years of marriage to a USC.... I am not aware of any requirement to demosntrate conjugal living arrangements

I am eligible to apply for naturalization 3 years after being a permanent resident here in US because I am married to a US citizen.
and my question, what if 6 mos or more of that 3 years you live in a separate house because of work? like i want to live closer to my work because right now we live in a country close to his work and i drive about an hour to get to work...and he doesn't want to move..would that affect my naturalization?