Am I eligible for 2 year and 1 day rule

[NewbieKZ 1]

Hi, I’m looking for some help here -:)

 

Here is my situation:

Married to a US citizen since 2006 in Houston, Tx. 
My 10 year green card will expire in 2020. 

We were living in China from 2007 to 2012, in Australia from 2012 to Dec 2016 due to my husband’s job. He was working for a US company during that time. Yes, i could have applied for naturalization while we were abroad based on 319b, but missed that opportunity. -:(. 
We moved back to Houston early Dec of 2016 and sent out my naturalization application on Feb 17, 2017. Since i did not find any information of continuous residency for living overseas with US citizen spouse who worked abroad then moved back to the States.... i just thought the time we spent overseas with my US citizen spouses could count toward the residency since we were qualified for the application under 319b. I had my naturalization interview this May during which i was told that the time i spent in the States might not be long enough for the qualification.. and i was told that they’d send me the decision. I have not received their decision yet as of today. I know i have little chance to get the positive answer from USCIS as i was told by the officer that my residency would start from the day we moved back to the states.

My questions are:

1. from when i can apply for naturalization again? I have taken a few trips abroad since last Jan as my father-in-law passed away in mid Jan 2017 and my mother-in-law decided to live in Thailand after one month trip to Houston last April. My inlaws are US citizens they moved back to Thailand for their retirement. 

2. If We fly back to US in the following months, did I break the continuous residency ( let’s count my residency from Dec 2016)? And can we use the 2 year and 1 day rule which means i would be eligible to apply from Dec 2018 if we could use the rule?
 

Here are my trips:
1, we moved back to Houston on Dec 7, 2016.
2. Trip to thailand: Jan 13 - Feb 3, 2017
3. Trip to Thailand & China: April 20 - May 31, 2017
4. Trip to Thailand & China: Jan 1 - May 23, 2018
5. Trip to Mexico: June 7 - 10, 2018
6. Trip to Thailand: June 19 - now

Our Thailand trips are for caring for my mother-in-law who’s 83 yr old and with limited mobility. We hope to find a long term solution for my mother-in-law then permanently back to US.

Thanks so much
Kristin

[ponyo_rocks 7]

You should be ok with the 2 yr 1 day rule, as long as you dont have any long trips > 6 months from now until Dec 8th and subsequently until your interview/oath. Do you have your residence/mortgage etc in the US during the 5 month period? You dont need it for a 5 month trip, but it only cements your case.

Edited July 12, 2018 by ponyo_rocks

[NewbieKZ 1]

2 hours ago, ponyo_rocks said:

You should be ok with the 2 yr 1 day rule, as long as you dont have any long trips > 6 months from now until Dec 8th and subsequently until your interview/oath. Do you have your residence/mortgage etc in the US during the 5 month period? You dont need it for a 5 month trip, but it only cements your case.

Thanks so much Ponyo for your reply. We do have our residence, bank accounts etc, no mortgage/loans. Just saw some other post regarding this 2 yr 1 day rule. It said we have to have a denied application then can use this 2 yr 1 day rule. Is it correct?  I have not received their decision yet from Uscis after my interview...

[ponyo_rocks 7]

Yes, the policy manual does say 2 yr 1 day is applicable after a denied application. However, I've see others apply 2 yr/4 yr 1 day after break in continuous residence in the first place, thus pre-emptively applying the remedy. Regardless, I'd wait to apply after you receive a decision on your pending application first. And then apply after Dec 8. Good luck!

[NewbieKZ 1]

3 hours ago, ponyo_rocks said:

Yes, the policy manual does say 2 yr 1 day is applicable after a denied application. However, I've see others apply 2 yr/4 yr 1 day after break in continuous residence in the first place, thus pre-emptively applying the remedy. Regardless, I'd wait to apply after you receive a decision on your pending application first. And then apply after Dec 8. Good luck!

Hi Rocky Ponyo, i’ll try to get back to US early and wait for the decision -:). Hopefully they can send me soon. Thanks again for the help 😊.By the way, I like your name... 

[NewbieKZ 1]

13 minutes ago, Kristinzh said:

Hi Rocky Ponyo, i’ll try to get back to US early and wait for the decision -:). Hopefully they can send me soon. Thanks again for the help 😊.By the way, I like your name... 

Sorry...More questions: 

1. for the 2 year one day rule, do we have to satisfy 18 months staying in US? 

2. For the trip longer than 6 months breaks the continuoucy, is that trip for one trip? In my case, first half of this year I stayed out of country 5months and 22 days, my second trip for this year  is going to be ~ 2 months, so total months out of country for this year will be >6 months..hope my these two trips don’t break continoucy -:(

[ponyo_rocks 7]

Yes, you still need to meet physical presence requirement. Physical presence and continuous residency are mutually exclusive requirements. Your two trips are different and do not technically break continuous residency, but expect to be asked about your 5+ month trip and take as much evidence as possible that it did not break your continuous residency.  Each trip must be under 6 months, but the manual does say that if you have multiple long trips under 6 months, it can be questioned or presumed to break CR.