Questions

[HeatDeath 430]

Hi,

Thank you for your information. If I apply for the reentry permit, wont that restart my clock? I can apply for citizenship 3 years after the green card.

If I apply for the reentry permit, I won't be able to apply for citizenship while i'm abroad right?

Applying for the reentry permit will not restart your clock.

Chapter 4 of the Guide To Naturalization explains this in detail. It's a little complex.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/chapter4.pdf

The upshot, as I understand it is: being outside the US for more then 18 months total out of your first 3 years as a PR pauses the clock on when you can apply for citizenship. You need 18 months of non-continuouse physical presence in the US before you can apply.

But, and this is the kicker, you also need 3 years as a PR without leaving the US for longer than 6 months.

So if you make many many small trips outside the US, none longer than 6 months, but totalling over 18 months, that will delay your eligibility for citizenship by however much longer than 18 months you were outside the US.

But, if you stay outside the US for more than 6 months on any given trip, that resets your eligibility clock, and you will have to wait another 3 years (without any trip outside the US lasting longer than 6 months) to be eligible for citizenship.

Many PRs planning to stay outside the US for extended periods of time think to make periodic trips back to the US to preserve their PR status. This won't work. Living abroad for an extended period of time and making short trips back will not preserve your PR status. You need a reentry permit for that.

However, coming back for a few weeks every 6 months looks like it will [probably] prevent your citizenship eligibility clock being reset.

As further detailed in chapter 4, you must have been living in the USCIS district in which your are applying for naturalization for at least 3 months before you are eligible for naturalization. So no, I don't think you can apply for US citizenship from abroad.