Hello :-)

I will find myself in a similar situation to Schatzi as soon as my CR1 is approved (it should be done by February 2008!) and was hoping for some guidance!

I am also a military spouse and we may move abroad with my husbands job as soon as October 2008. I basically want to apply for naturalisation ASAP after my residency is approved. But I am new at this and really have no idea what the rules are.

My questions are:
1)Do I have to wait the 2 years for my conditions to be lifted or can I apply as soon as my CR1 has been approved? If I can file right away when I arrive in the US, how do I go about this and any idea on how long it takes?

2)If we move abroad, I hear if you are out of the country for over one year your residency can be revoked. However this does not apply if your spouse works for the US government. What steps would I need to take to ensure my visa is not cancelled if we move aborad for my hubby's next posting and I have not yet become a citizen? (is there some sort of information page on what would need to be submitted to USCIS?)

And finally, how do I apply for naturlisation if we are abroad at the time?

Thanks!

1) LPR's married to a US citizen must meet 3 years residency requirement before can apply for naturalization or 9 months AFTER removing conditions on the conditional green card.

2) NOT for for living abroad with US Citizen serving in the military.

3) USCIS has offices overseas at many of the US consulates and Embassies, or you can mail the petition that has jurisdiction over US Domicile location.

You may want to read the naturalization brochure published by USCIS.

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

!You must do it before you leave the States, Mil spouses CAN NOT apply for and get naturalised whilst overseas. You can certainly file from Overseas, but it MUST be filed with USCIS office the closest to you, in terms of what State You use in the US for residency purposes. When you get called up for testing, you must return to the USA for this, and also wait stateside for your Naturalisation ceremony.

This was taken from the Guide to Naturalisation


If you are at least 18 years old and:
Are the spouse of a U.S. citizen who is one of the following:
• A member of the U.S. Armed Forces;
• An employee or an individual under contract to the U.S.
Government;
• An employee of an American institution of research
recognized by the Attorney General;
• An employee of an American-owned firm or corporation
engaged in the development of foreign trade and commerce
for the United States;
• An employee of a public international organization of which
the United States is a member by law or treaty; or
• A person who performs ministerial or priestly functions for a
religious denomination or an interdenominational
organization with a valid presence in the United States
and

You will be proceeding to join your spouse whose work
abroad under orders of the qualifying employer will
continue for at least 1 year after the date you will be
naturalized. Form N-400 should be filed prior to departing

You do not need to meet residency requirements!!

I have been living overseas in a Military base since March 2004. We were only married a month when we left to come overseas. Before we left, we applied for an expedited EAD, and Re-entry permit for myself, which were both approved same day. Also lodged AOS at the same time. The re-entry permit was used to ensure I got re-entry to the USA to attend my AOS interview. I went k-1!

That being said, you are going CR-1, and so should have your green card issued in plenty of time before you go overseas with your husband. That will allow you to come and go as you please. I travelled to the states and from Germany and the States many times after my Greencard was issued without a problem. I do carry a copy of my hubbys Military orders, everytime I travel to, to avoid any hassles.

You will have to Lift conditions though if you have been married less than 2 yrs, at the time your Greencard is issued.

I had to lift conditions, and managed to do all that from Germany.
I now have my 10yr green card, and have had no issues whatsoever.
I could of applied for Citizenship back in July, but haven't done so, becasue, I would need to go back to the USA for interview, and Ceremony, and I couldn't stay there for a long period of time, due to having school aged kids with me here in Germany.
So i am just wating to return to the States, next year.

We have been here for nearly 4 years now, and the option to file before you leave the country for Military spouses came out, around 8 months after I left the states, and about 2 months after I got my 2 year Green card.

Read the Guide to Naturalisation, it will tell you everything you need to know.

There have been several threads on here on the exact same subject. I actually pulled up the INA laws in some of them pertaining to all this. do a search, see what you can find!!

And lastly,..

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!!