Places where you lived in the past 5 years

[alix 20]

Hi dear VJs,

I'm finally getting close to sending my paperwork for citizenship.

I was reviewing my application and will apply based on marriage. I have a question on the addresses you lived on the past 5 years. I spent some time in Singapore with my husband but never disclosed or communicated that to USCIS. On my application I treated a period of 7 months that I spent there as a trip. So my question is: should I put it as a place where I lived or not? We have the Singapore address on a couple of the tax returns, but not on the last 3.

Thanks in advance!

[alix 20]

So I was reviewing some other older posts and I saw that some people recommended not to disclose anything over 3 years when applying based on marriage. Would that be ok? The form clearly says to put the last 5 years.

[menina 50]

I think they are referring to people who are applying for citizenship after 3 years of marriage and being a green card holder. From your timeline it looks like you have had your green card for 7 years already, so you should fill out the forms according to the 5 year rule. I'm not sure what to do about your Singapore address, but 7 months seems more like living there than taking a trip. Did you maintain a residence in the US during that time?

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Listen, so many people ask this and honestly, if you put down the past 5 years, they might just going to say "Oh, well, 3 years is more than enough" however if you speculate left and right and just put down 3 years they might going to be like "we were asking for the past 5 years, why this person didn't get that. Denied". So, I would say better safe than sorry and just fill out the past 5 years. It won't hurt you, or will it? All the best!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

If you've had a GC for 7 years why bother applying based on 3 yr rule - you've sort of past that date? Its very straight forward and doesn;t require all the financial ties proof.

You should have communicated it to USCIS if you lived outside the US...but perhaps you considered it a vacation? That would be hard to prove if you filed US tax returns from that address because sounds sounds suspiciously permanent-ish.

You will have to list all trips outside the US in the last 5 yrs so it will come up if it was within that period. They care whether you took long trips or lived outside the US during the period that YOU said you were a US resident.

Honesty is always the best policy.

[Buckyball 22]

On my application I treated a period of 7 months

When was that exactly?

[alix 20]

That was literally 5 years ago (from June 2009 till March 2010)...at the time I had just received my 10-year GC and my husband didn't think I needed to apply for a Reentry Permit. He was working there and I was pregnant with our second child, we had no insurance here in the US so we decided to have our child there. I finally managed to convince him I needed a Reentry Permit but as soon as I got it, we decided to move back, which happened in July 2010. I have left the country only twice after that, for no more than 3 weeks each time, and the last time was 3 years ago.

[Buckyball 22]

I would say you can not file before March 2015 because you broke the continuous resident requirement with the trip >6 month

Edited May 21, 2014 by Buckyball

[alix 20]

According to this page on the USCIS website http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/article/attachments.pdf I am eligible, even after spending over 6 months abroad.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Just put in that address, for god's sake. Just be clear and honest, and then you won't get hurt. You lived there for 7 months, so put that in. It really won't hurt you, or the ink you'll use to jot that down. At least USCIS see you're being upfront and honest. All the best!

[Buckyball 22]

Page 21: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/article/M-476.pdf

[Little_My 464]

An absence of 6 to 12 months breaks the continuous residence, but it doesn't necessarily make the applicant ineligible for citizenship. As is explained in the guide, if you have been abroad for 6 months or more consecutively, you will have to provide additional documentation to prove that you maintained ties to the United States during that time and that you did not break continuous residence. The Document Checklist at the end of the Guide has examples of such documentation - it could be proof of filing taxes in the US while abroad (which you should have done in any case), maintaining an apartment/house here, maintaining bank accounts and credit cards, pay stubs, etc.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Little_My

[alix 20]

Thank you all for your input!