Citizenship application denied

[Amadia 711]

Sorry to learn of you going thru this.

Like another member suggested, maybe posting your letter - omitting private/personal details, of course - we can tell what went wrong.

[Marcus73 0]

I think the process is totally flawed. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Citizenship & Naturalization Based Resources/A Guide to Naturalization/PDFs/M-480.pdf  This is a flowchart that tells you whether you are eligible to submit an application. Attachment A for the 3-year eligibility states: During the past three years, I have not been out of the country for 18 months or more. And question 5 of the main flowchart states: During the last five years (or the last three years if I qualify under Attachment A), I have not taken a trip out of the United States that lasted one year or more. If there was a problem with eligibility, why allowing someone to submit an application in the first instance? Why can't they use drop down menus when applying. You choose the most appropriate answer to your scenario and if deemed eligible, your application is successfully submitted prior to being processed (yes, I work in computer science and that's how my brain rolls). And when documents are required, a clear list of what documents are expected. I was totally left aghast when i was asked why my spouse was not with me? It wasn't written anywhere that he was expected to come. Anyway, my green card is valid until 2028, I'm ok until then. 

[Holt 73]

Guess the OP needs to reapply again. 

[Going through 5,668]

47 minutes ago, Marcus73 said:

I think the process is totally flawed. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Citizenship & Naturalization Based Resources/A Guide to Naturalization/PDFs/M-480.pdf  This is a flowchart that tells you whether you are eligible to submit an application. Attachment A for the 3-year eligibility states: During the past three years, I have not been out of the country for 18 months or more. And question 5 of the main flowchart states: During the last five years (or the last three years if I qualify under Attachment A), I have not taken a trip out of the United States that lasted one year or more. If there was a problem with eligibility, why allowing someone to submit an application in the first instance? Why can't they use drop down menus when applying. You choose the most appropriate answer to your scenario and if deemed eligible, your application is successfully submitted prior to being processed (yes, I work in computer science and that's how my brain rolls). And when documents are required, a clear list of what documents are expected. I was totally left aghast when i was asked why my spouse was not with me? It wasn't written anywhere that he was expected to come. Anyway, my green card is valid until 2028, I'm ok until then. 

As mentioned, physical presence is different than continuous residency.  You cannot focus on meeting the requirements for physical presence alone, you have to meet both.

 

Physical presence---you met the requirements.

Continuous residency----that was brought into scrutiny due to the trip lasting 180+ days.

 

Reapply at the end of this year, or the beginning of next year...just keep both separate requirements in mind.

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

50 minutes ago, Marcus73 said:

I think the process is totally flawed. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Citizenship & Naturalization Based Resources/A Guide to Naturalization/PDFs/M-480.pdf 

 

Well the process is not flawed. The worksheet may be. Anyhow, on page 2 there is an "*" that says: "Naturalization applicants may file their applications 90 days before they have satisfied the “continuous residence” requirement". Then had you googled "continuous residence", you would have known.  

52 minutes ago, Marcus73 said:

If there was a problem with eligibility, why allowing someone to submit an application in the first instance?

Because they don't know that, until an adjudicator has a chance to take a look at your case. 

 

53 minutes ago, Marcus73 said:

Why can't they use drop down menus when applying.

Because that would be too simple and make too much sense. That's not how immigration is supposed to work. It's supposed to be the most complicated convoluted thing ever. How else would the lawyers make their money. I am surprised that they won't make you fill in the form in pig Latin instead of English.

 

Anyway, you know the couple choices you have. The only other thing you can do is may be write USCIS a letter telling them to fix that worksheet, eh. 

[arken 4,197]

1 hour ago, Marcus73 said:

I think the process is totally flawed. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Citizenship & Naturalization Based Resources/A Guide to Naturalization/PDFs/M-480.pdf  This is a flowchart that tells you whether you are eligible to submit an application. Attachment A for the 3-year eligibility states: During the past three years, I have not been out of the country for 18 months or more. And question 5 of the main flowchart states: During the last five years (or the last three years if I qualify under Attachment A), I have not taken a trip out of the United States that lasted one year or more. If there was a problem with eligibility, why allowing someone to submit an application in the first instance? Why can't they use drop down menus when applying. You choose the most appropriate answer to your scenario and if deemed eligible, your application is successfully submitted prior to being processed (yes, I work in computer science and that's how my brain rolls). And when documents are required, a clear list of what documents are expected. I was totally left aghast when i was asked why my spouse was not with me? It wasn't written anywhere that he was expected to come. Anyway, my green card is valid until 2028, I'm ok until then. 

It appears they do have what you asked, did you read N400 instructions?

 

From N400 instructions , Page 12 (items to bring during the interview):

 

Trips Outside the United States. Bring evidence that you maintained your continuous residence in the United States if you have taken any trips outside the United States that lasted more than 6 months but less than 1 year. You may submit documentation which includes, but is not limited to, evidence that during the absence:
(1) You did not terminate your employment in the United States or work overseas; (2) Your immediate family remained in the United States; or
(3) You retained full access to your place of residence in the United States.
   Form N-400 Instructions 12/23/16 N Page 12 of 18
  For example:
(1) An IRS tax return transcript or an IRS-certified tax return listing tax information relevant to your absence for the last 5 years (or 3 years if you are applying on the basis of marriage to a U.S. citizen);
(2) Rent or mortgage payments and pay statements;
(3) Bank, credit card, and loan statements showing regular transactions;
(4) Proof of car registration and insurance;
(5) A photocopy of your passport showing entry and exit stamps; or
(6) Any other document that shows you have not abandoned your residence in the United States.

 

[geowrian 22,335]

2 hours ago, Marcus73 said:

If there was a problem with eligibility, why allowing someone to submit an application in the first instance? Why can't they use drop down menus when applying. You choose the most appropriate answer to your scenario and if deemed eligible, your application is successfully submitted prior to being processed (yes, I work in computer science and that's how my brain rolls).

Well for one, USCIS is very slow to adopt technology when it comes to flows.

 

But from a practical standpoint, continuous residency is not a black & white issue. It is a judgment call by the IO based upon the circumstances. Multiple trips of less than 6 months may or may not break it. A single trip over 6 months is presumed to break it, but evidence presented can sway this. A single trip over a year breaks it. And there are limited exceptions to these rules.

At the end of the day, it was your obligation to read and understand the requirements before applying. Now you know and can reapply when you qualify.

[Manc73 34]

I was absent for more than six months in 3 years and proved the reasons why. My wife was in the USA, we had family engagements to attend overseas, my mother died and I had trouble with the shipping company to get my household goods into the US. My son's graduated from school and one of my boys went into the armed forces.

At my interview, I brought the originals of every document and flight details. I was shocked when the officer pulled out a file with my submitted documents going back for some years. At first I was told she would need to ask a supervisor and a decision could not be made. They said I would get a letter in the post with a decision. Low and behold, less than 20 hours later I received an email of approval. I become a citizen in the following 5 weeks. The rest is history. For goodness sake make sure you can prove everything you tell the officer. I thought the officer at my interview was just trying to be to clever and a wise guy.

 

[Marcus73 0]

It shows that all these “requirements” can be bent depending on which officer handles our applications. Ultimately citizenship does not really provide me with tangible benefits I can’t do without, so I’ve decided I’ll stay on my green card for the next 8 years. If 6 days extra in 2015 was all that mattered, then it’s not worth the effort or the money to do that all over again. 

[geowrian 22,335]

Sounds like cutting your nose to spite your face, but it is a decision with pros & cons and only the individual can make the decision on what's best for them.

Virtually every immigration benefit process contains multiple elements of the officer's discretion (public charge, bona fide relationship, etc.). That's just the way it is.

[Manc73 34]

1 hour ago, Marcus73 said:

It shows that all these “requirements” can be bent depending on which officer handles our applications. Ultimately citizenship does not really provide me with tangible benefits I can’t do without, so I’ve decided I’ll stay on my green card for the next 8 years. If 6 days extra in 2015 was all that mattered, then it’s not worth the effort or the money to do that all over again. 

I wish you all the best whatever you decide to do. This citizenship application is no joke. If I was you I would not go down with a fight. It' is an opportunity of a lifetime and millions of people would love to be in your position.

Be mindful, 8 years is a long time and who knows what the immigration picture will look like in the future.

[Going through 5,668]

6 hours ago, Marcus73 said:

It shows that all these “requirements” can be bent depending on which officer handles our applications. Ultimately citizenship does not really provide me with tangible benefits I can’t do without, so I’ve decided I’ll stay on my green card for the next 8 years. If 6 days extra in 2015 was all that mattered, then it’s not worth the effort or the money to do that all over again. 

 

For me, the most tangible benefit of Naturalization was being able to travel outside the US and be able to spend as much time abroad as I wished with the guarantee of reentry without any issues.  I still have slight chills remembering the time I was put into secondary after spending only 60 days in my home country as a LPR.

 

Likely the fee for the N400 will raise again considerably over the next 8 years, and possibly some of the requirements may be altered in that time, so something to keep in mind considering the expense and effort behind it if you find both prohibitive now.

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

7 hours ago, Marcus73 said:

Ultimately citizenship does not really provide me with tangible benefits I can’t do without, so I’ve decided I’ll stay on my green card for the next 8 years

That is your decision. For some people, it's the ability to sponsor a loved one that is the greatest benefit. For someone else, it is the ability to spend as much time as you want outside of the US. For others, it's the right to vote. If you stay a LPR, be mindful of the conditions of keeping LPR status. 

[andy78 178]

It appears you did not provide the needed documentation related to your 186 day presence outside the US.  Read the N-400 instructions document before applying again to determine what you need to provide.

You may have been eligible to apply for citizenship, but you didn't provide the evidence applicable to your case, which are stated in the N-400 instructions document.