Citizenship filing when?

[manavv 0]

I am an US Citizen. My wife came to USA on GC on Sep-2011. We just got her GC renewal done ( As at the time of entry in US we were married for less then 2 years). My question is when she will be eligible to file for the citizenship.

Thanks

[Shub 78]

I am an US Citizen. My wife came to USA on GC on Sep-2011. We just got her GC renewal done ( As at the time of entry in US we were married for less then 2 years). My question is when she will be eligible to file for the citizenship.

Thanks

Look at the date next to "resident since" on her green card, add three years, subtract 90 days (not 3 months!) and you have your date. For example if the date on her green card is September 1st, 2011, her eligibility window to apply for naturalization opens after June 2nd, 2014.

One thing I'm not clear on is whether you are a natural-born US citizen or a naturalized one. For your wife to be eligible to apply for naturalization based on 3 years of residence and marriage to a US citizen, you must have been a US citizen for those three years. If you were previously a green card holder and she came to the USA before you became a naturalized citizen, she must wait for the third anniversary of your naturalization, not 3 years from when she became a permanent resident.

Finally, be mindful of the other requirements, chiefly physical presence and continuous residence. For the former, your wife must have spent more than a minimum of 18 months of the last 36 months (before the date of your application) in the US, and for the former, if she took any trips lasting more than 6 months, she will have to justify them and prove that she did not break residence.

Edited March 17, 2014 by Shub

[manavv 0]

Thanks Shub for the reply. I am naturalized US Citizen for past 6 years. I am in US all this time. She came to US when I am already naturalized US Citizen.

[Shub 78]

Thanks Shub for the reply. I am naturalized US Citizen for past 6 years. I am in US all this time. She came to US when I am already naturalized US Citizen.

Ok. To be clear, you can travel all you want, but she can't. If she's stayed in the US since she became a permanent resident, then she can apply 3 years minus 90 days from the "resident since" date on her green card.

I suggest you go to http://www.uscis.gov/n-400 and review the third link (document checklist, current fees, eligibility worksheet) -- the checklist is immensely helpful when assembling the documentation, and the eligibility worksheet will help you make sure you fit the basic requirements for naturalization!

[manavv 0]

Thanks Shub. I'll look at the link you suggested.