Continuous residence & Earliest day of eligibility

[Mos.Mo 0]

I got the green card through the DV visa on 3/28/2015 and left the US on 4/6/2015 and came back on 3/20/2016 to stay 11 days and left again on 3/31/2016 and came back on 8/26/2016. I settled down since then and had short vacations outside the US as follows:

 

2017 - spent 30 days outside the US

2018 - spent 21 days outside the US

2019 - spent 21 days outside the US

2020 - did not travel

 

Am i eligible to apply for the N400 application as of now and if not what is the earliest date? I think that the 4 years plus one day rule applies to me and the below also applies to me. Can anybody confirm this?

 

Eligibility After Break in Residence

An applicant who USCIS determines to have broken the continuity of residence must establish a new period of continuous residence in order to become eligible for naturalization.^[15] The requisite duration of that period depends on the basis upon which the applicant seeks to naturalize.^[16] In general, such an applicant may become eligible and may apply for naturalization at least 6 months before reaching the end of the pertinent statutory period.^[17]

Example

An applicant who is subject to a 5-year statutory period for naturalization is absent from the United States for 8 months, returning on August 1, 2018. The applicant has been absent from the United States for more than 6 months but less than 1 year. As such, the applicant must be able to rebut the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence in order to meet the continuous residence requirement for naturalization.

If the applicant is unable to rebut the presumption, he or she must wait until at least 6 months from reaching the 5-year anniversary of the newly established statutory period following the applicant’s return to the United States. In this example, the newly established statutory period began on August 1, 2018, when the applicant returned to the United States. Therefore, the earliest the applicant may re-apply for naturalization is February 1, 2023, which is at least 6 months from the 5-year anniversary of the pertinent statutory period.^[18]

[Amadia 711]

3 hours ago, Mos.Mo said:

left again on 3/31/2016 and came back on 8/26/2016. = 148 days outside US (less than 6 months)

If we were to use the date in bold, then this is your early filing calculation:

Earliest Accepted Filing Date:

12 / 31 / 2020

[Mos.Mo 0]

3 minutes ago, Amadia said:

If we were to use the date in bold, then this is your early filing calculation:

Earliest Accepted Filing Date:

12 / 31 / 2020

What about the 4 years and one day rule and when does the 6 months rule apply as per the mentioned example?

[Amadia 711]

1 hour ago, Mos.Mo said:

What about the 4 years and one day rule and when does the 6 months rule apply as per the mentioned example?

My suggestions:

1. Speak to an experienced immigration attorney

2. You can start filling the online N400 application and once you fill out the portion with your stays outside the US and the days calculate, it determines then if you are eligible to complete the application.

[Lil bear 3,831]

4 hours ago, Mos.Mo said:

I got the green card through the DV visa on 3/28/2015 and left the US on 4/6/2015 and came back on 3/20/2016 to stay 11 days and left again on 3/31/2016 and came back on 8/26/2016. I settled down since then and had short vacations outside the US as follows:

 

2017 - spent 30 days outside the US

2018 - spent 21 days outside the US

2019 - spent 21 days outside the US

2020 - did not travel

 

Am i eligible to apply for the N400 application as of now and if not what is the earliest date? I think that the 4 years plus one day rule applies to me and the below also applies to me. Can anybody confirm this?

 

Eligibility After Break in Residence

An applicant who USCIS determines to have broken the continuity of residence must establish a new period of continuous residence in order to become eligible for naturalization.^[15] The requisite duration of that period depends on the basis upon which the applicant seeks to naturalize.^[16] In general, such an applicant may become eligible and may apply for naturalization at least 6 months before reaching the end of the pertinent statutory period.^[17]

Example

An applicant who is subject to a 5-year statutory period for naturalization is absent from the United States for 8 months, returning on August 1, 2018. The applicant has been absent from the United States for more than 6 months but less than 1 year. As such, the applicant must be able to rebut the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence in order to meet the continuous residence requirement for naturalization.

If the applicant is unable to rebut the presumption, he or she must wait until at least 6 months from reaching the 5-year anniversary of the newly established statutory period following the applicant’s return to the United States. In this example, the newly established statutory period began on August 1, 2018, when the applicant returned to the United States. Therefore, the earliest the applicant may re-apply for naturalization is February 1, 2023, which is at least 6 months from the 5-year anniversary of the pertinent statutory period.^[18]

My reading of your dates makes me think that your 5 years of continuous residence starts on the day you returned from your longer absence .. 3/20/2016. as your absences after that date are never longer than 6 months. 
Your application window opens 90 days before 3/20/2021 

[millefleur 5,035]

**Moved from US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports to USC General Discussion**

[xyz12345 260]

you are eligible 90 days before 3/20/21 -- which would be 12/20/2020.

 

[Mos.Mo 0]

22 minutes ago, xyz12345 said:

you are eligible 90 days before 3/20/21 -- which would be 12/20/2020.

 

Any idea if the 4 years and 1 day rule applies to me? I am confused and got some contradicting answers. one says that i had to have at least one year of continuous residence before i break it in order for the rule to apply and the other says that the rule applies to me and i am good to apply 4 years and 1 day from 3/20/2016. 

[xyz12345 260]

6 hours ago, Mos.Mo said:

Any idea if the 4 years and 1 day rule applies to me? I am confused and got some contradicting answers. one says that i had to have at least one year of continuous residence before i break it in order for the rule to apply and the other says that the rule applies to me and i am good to apply 4 years and 1 day from 3/20/2016. 

i don't think it applies to you. if you have been out of the US 1 year or longer, you can apply for citizenship after 4 years and 1 day BUT check bold in 2nd paragraph below. You still have to prove that you didn't break continuous residence by being out of the US for a period between 6 months and 1 year.

 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3

Quote

Eligibility after Break in Residence

An applicant applying for naturalization under INA 316 , which requires 5 years of continuous residence, must then wait at least 4 years and 1 day after returning to the United States, to have the requisite continuous residence to apply for naturalization.^[21] The statutory period preceding the filing of the application is calculated from the date of filing.

 

Once 4 years and 1 day have elapsed from the date of the applicant’s return to the United States, the period of absence from the United States that occurred within the past 5 years is now less than 1 year. Since the period of absence is still more than 6 months, an applicant for naturalization in these circumstances must also overcome the presumption of a break in the continuity of residence.^[22]