Leaving country for extended period after submitting N-400

[mejms 0]

I am an American citizen and my wife just submitted her N-400 for naturalization.  We haven't received confirmation of receipt yet from USCIS.  My wife has lived here continuously for 5 years.  She meets all eligibility criteria including continuous residence and physical presence to date.

 

We've had some sudden life changes and will be moving to her native Mexico in August and will live there for up to 2 years.  Should we just assume that we'll need to withdraw her N-400 application?  The N-400 states that continuous residence and physical presence must be met up until date that application is submitted and I haven't found anything explicit about being in the US while the application is processed.  She would come back for biometrics, interview, and oath ceremony.

 

My concern is that at some point (most likely, interview) her extended stay in Mexico would raise doubt about her intent to settle in the US and, therefore, really want to become a US citizen.  I'd like to think that her record of having lived here for 5 years and the fact that her husband and children are American citizens would outweigh the fact that she is not in the US, but that may just be wishful thinking.

 

Additionally, I think that we will need to apply for an I-131 for her re-entry permit so that we don't jeopardize losing her green card after setting up residence in Mexico.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on the possibility of naturalization still being possible even though she will not be in the US?  Or will we need to withdraw the application, file the I-131, and re-file the N-400 two years after our return to the US down the road?

[Roel 7,192]

Wouldn't it be easier to just wait until she has her citizenship before you move?

 

You won't have to bother with reentry permit or risk her loosing her green card and starting the process all over again.

[mejms 0]

Quote

Wouldn't it be easier to just wait until she has her citizenship before you move?

 

You won't have to bother with reentry permit or risk her loosing her green card and starting the process all over again.

 

If we could, we would.  I'm really not interested in complicating this,  but we've got to go in a couple months.  So I'm looking for who to manage the situation.  I don't think that we are risking her green card at all as long as we get the re-entry permit, but ideally we'd get her citizenship.  The most frustrating thing will be having to wait 2 years after we return for her to be able to refile the N-400.

[mejms 0]

If my wife gets a re-entry visa after submitting her N-400 application, could it be seen in a negative light in her interview?

[mejms 0]

Hi folks,

 

Trying to bump up this thread to see if anyone has thoughts/experience.

 

The question once again is: having met all residency and physical presence requirements for 5 year eligibility application, can my wife be outside of the country continuously for >6 months once her application has been submitted?

[Mithmeoi 29]

Will you be retaining the current residence you are at now while living abroad?  Is her name on it?  If so, then you can probably still file and be alright, and it will show she doesn't intend to move permanently. 

If not, I'd withdraw the app and file for the re-entry permit.

[mejms 0]

Thanks for responding!

 

Our home is in my name.  We will actually be selling our home in a couple months.

 

I think that there is still the requirement of demonstrating that the permanent resident did not intend to abandon residence for the purpose of the re-entry permit as well.  So if it's an issue for the naturalization, in theory it would be an issue for the re-entry permit too.

 

I'm not sure what my wife will be able to offer up to show that she did not want to abandon residence.  She won't have property in her name.  She will be leaving her job soon because she is pregnant.  We will spend some time back there so she can be with family during pregnancy.  She has a husband, two American children, and a third American child on the way, so I'd like to think that her immediate family is proof that she has no plans to abandon residence.  

[OnlyTheBrave 5]

If you have to leave because of a genuine emergency and need citizenship before you leave, you may apply for an expedited processing at your local field office. If you aren’t in Houston or Dallas, you may actually get it before you take off. 

[mejms 0]

We'll see how the timeline shapes up.  We received the letter for her biometrics appt a week ago.  Appt is next week.  I hope that we get the interview not too long after.  We'll see.

[bsp 32]

Which field office will be handling your wife's case? 

[mejms 0]

Boston

[bsp 32]

OK, while it's an admittedly small sample size here and on Trackitt the good news is Boston looks to be cycling through cases reasonably quickly at the moment with the average wait for an interview looking like 3-4 months for recent filers but of course individual factors may influence that.  Given it sounds like you'll still be here for another couple of months I don't think your wife will have too much of an issue as she'll only have been out of the country for a few months come interview time if the average timeline holds.  Where it may get a little tricky is if she is asked about her intended long-term place of residence while under oath as "mov[ing] to another country, intending to live there permanently" can result in PR being abandoned - she obviously doesn't want to lie as the consequences are severe if uncovered, so if there's any way to frame the move to Mexico as "temporary" I would including by keeping a few things alive in MA (insurance, cell phones etc) until everything is squared away. 

[mejms 0]

2 minutes ago, bsp said:

OK, while it's an admittedly small sample size here and on Trackitt the good news is Boston looks to be cycling through cases reasonably quickly at the moment with the average wait for an interview looking like 3-4 months for recent filers but of course individual factors may influence that.  Given it sounds like you'll still be here for another couple of months I don't think your wife will have too much of an issue as she'll only have been out of the country for a few months come interview time if the average timeline holds.  Where it may get a little tricky is if she is asked about her intended long-term place of residence while under oath as "mov[ing] to another country, intending to live there permanently" can result in PR being abandoned - she obviously doesn't want to lie as the consequences are severe if uncovered, so if there's any way to frame the move to Mexico as "temporary" I would including by keeping a few things alive in MA (insurance, cell phones etc) until everything is squared away. 

 

Yes, all of that makes sense.  Thank you for your insight.  I think that we will postpone/change our plans just to be on the safe side.  Her citizenship is a priority.

Edited June 22, 2018 by mejms

[CarlHamilton 252]

Read bullet point 6 under "General Eligilibility Requirements:" https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/naturalization-spouses-us-citizens

[mejms 0]

11 minutes ago, shomer said:

Read bullet point 6 under "General Eligilibility Requirements:" https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/naturalization-spouses-us-citizens

Thanks!