Parents abroad stay longer than 6 months due to covid

[Seattle2021 10]

Hello all

 

So my parents in past 5 years been out of country to meet family 3-4 months a year except the last one. They were abroad visiting and were planning to return in april 2020 but couldnt due to covid (as their initial flight got canceled). I contacted USCIS helpline and told them that my parents are older than 65 and hence i dont want them to unnecessary travel if possible. They acked that there will be some exception due to covid but they should return ASAP and before 1 year. which they eventually did but it was 9 months before things started flying back here 

I wonder if someone has applied with same situation. i dont think anyone would have gone through last stages, as people affected by it would have applied end of 2020. I have gone ahead and applied as they had bank account and home here that they maintained along with health insurance.

So far we got their biometric reuse letter but still far away from getting interview call. no RFEs yet. I attached flight cancelation details but i didnt see any official exception language on any N400 related FAQs. 

Does anyone know when people normally get rejected for being outside longer than 6 months or not having enough time in USA (i made sure i applied 5 years and 6 months since their GC to be safe). Is it sometime in between or they reject on interview day?

 

thought i ask here if anyone knows. thanks. Their case center will be Seattle

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

as long as they entered the country back, there should be no issues here if they met the residency requirement 

[Seattle2021 10]

7 minutes ago, igoyougoduke said:

as long as they entered the country back, there should be no issues here if they met the residency requirement 

thats the whole question as due to covid they stayed longer than 6 months out hence in normal cases it breaks the residency requirement. But was told there will be covid related exceptions and hence asking if anyone else in same boat or gone through it

[aaron2020 11,651]

If your parents were outside the US for more than 6 months and less than 1 year, then they are presumed to have broken their continuous residence.  This presumption can be rebutted by them maintaining their residence, health insurance, etc. in addition to their attempts to return home to the US.  Under a Biden administration, they probably have enough to be able to rebut the presumption.

 

If they were outside the US for more than one year, then they are considered to have broken their continuous residence.  Don't know how COVID would play into this.  Don't know if the adjudicator has any discretion.  

[Seattle2021 10]

7 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

If your parents were outside the US for more than 6 months and less than 1 year, then they are presumed to have broken their continuous residence.  This presumption can be rebutted by them maintaining their residence, health insurance, etc. in addition to their attempts to return home to the US.  Under a Biden administration, they probably have enough to be able to rebut the presumption.

 

If they were outside the US for more than one year, then they are considered to have broken their continuous residence.  Don't know how COVID would play into this.  Don't know if the adjudicator has any discretion.  

thanks. Hope so too. they had bank account, home (paid rent while away), insurance medical and car/home, paid taxes.

[arken 4,197]

12 minutes ago, Seattle2021 said:

thats the whole question as due to covid they stayed longer than 6 months out hence in normal cases it breaks the residency requirement. But was told there will be covid related exceptions and hence asking if anyone else in same boat or gone through it

Even in normal cases, it doesn't necessarily break the continuous residency, it is only presumed to break that which one may be able to overcome by showing how they've maintained the residency. In your parents case, if they provide copies of utility bills, tax returns, proof of home ownership, bank statements n such for those months, they should be good imo.

[Seattle2021 10]

4 hours ago, arken said:

Even in normal cases, it doesn't necessarily break the continuous residency, it is only presumed to break that which one may be able to overcome by showing how they've maintained the residency. In your parents case, if they provide copies of utility bills, tax returns, proof of home ownership, bank statements n such for those months, they should be good imo.

thanks. feel better. now time to wait.

[Bd1981 2]

On 4/21/2021 at 3:49 PM, Seattle2021 said:

Hello all

 

So my parents in past 5 years been out of country to meet family 3-4 months a year except the last one. They were abroad visiting and were planning to return in april 2020 but couldnt due to covid (as their initial flight got canceled). I contacted USCIS helpline and told them that my parents are older than 65 and hence i dont want them to unnecessary travel if possible. They acked that there will be some exception due to covid but they should return ASAP and before 1 year. which they eventually did but it was 9 months before things started flying back here 

I wonder if someone has applied with same situation. i dont think anyone would have gone through last stages, as people affected by it would have applied end of 2020. I have gone ahead and applied as they had bank account and home here that they maintained along with health insurance.

So far we got their biometric reuse letter but still far away from getting interview call. no RFEs yet. I attached flight cancelation details but i didnt see any official exception language on any N400 related FAQs. 

Does anyone know when people normally get rejected for being outside longer than 6 months or not having enough time in USA (i made sure i applied 5 years and 6 months since their GC to be safe). Is it sometime in between or they reject on interview day?

 

thought i ask here if anyone knows. thanks. Their case center will be Seattle

Hello , I am in the same boat. My wife and I left the country at the end of 2019 to meet family members and had return ticket to come back within 4 months. But , due to Covid the trip lasted up to 9 months. We received GC 6 years ago ( my daughter sponsored for me). We applied for citizenship in January 2021 from Seattle . Still waiting for biometric interview letter/ reuse letter. May I know when you applied for your parents? Thanks 

[Seattle2021 10]

2 hours ago, Bd1981 said:

Hello , I am in the same boat. My wife and I left the country at the end of 2019 to meet family members and had return ticket to come back within 4 months. But , due to Covid the trip lasted up to 9 months. We received GC 6 years ago ( my daughter sponsored for me). We applied for citizenship in January 2021 from Seattle . Still waiting for biometric interview letter/ reuse letter. May I know when you applied for your parents? Thanks 

Applied Jan 20, 2021

[Bd1981 2]

9 hours ago, Seattle2021 said:

Applied Jan 20, 2021

Thanks for your response. Would you mind to share - if your parents ever needed to provide fingerprint to USCIS before applying  for n400? Since our first entry in US was as a green card holder ( family based), we never  needed to provide finger print at USCIS office ( even though we provided fingerprint in airport multiple times during international travel). I am trying to guess if that’s the reason for my not receiving reuse letter ( and will need to appear at USCIS office for fingerprint). Thanks 

[Seattle2021 10]

1 hour ago, Bd1981 said:

Thanks for your response. Would you mind to share - if your parents ever needed to provide fingerprint to USCIS before applying  for n400? Since our first entry in US was as a green card holder ( family based), we never  needed to provide finger print at USCIS office ( even though we provided fingerprint in airport multiple times during international travel). I am trying to guess if that’s the reason for my not receiving reuse letter ( and will need to appear at USCIS office for fingerprint). Thanks 

Yeah they gave fingerprints for their green card application here at USCIS 6 years back.. they applied here while on visitor visa. And got their reuse fingerprint notice

[Bd1981 2]

7 hours ago, Seattle2021 said:

Yeah they gave fingerprints for their green card application here at USCIS 6 years back.. they applied here while on visitor visa. And got their reuse fingerprint notice

That make sense. Thanks for the reply