n400 for mom & +6months absence

[john_2015 0]

Hello, 

My mom is planning to apply for her citizenship next year by Sept, she is 65 year old now and she had her greencard for 18 years!

she left the US for 8months during first half of 2018 as she got sick overseas so we want to not include that trip and start clean by counting from Sept2018 to sept2023.

My question can she take advantage of the early filing and apply by June2023?

she had the green card for 18 years so we dont wanna risk the USCIS agents including the time she was out of country for more than 6 months in the application

 

Thank you!

[Crazy Cat 39,317]

Chapter 3 - Continuous Residence | USCIS

C. Breaks in Continuous Residence

An applicant for naturalization has the burden of establishing that he or she has complied with the continuous residence requirement, if applicable. Generally, there are two ways outlined in the statute in which the continuity of residence can be broken:^[9]

• The applicant is absent from the United States for more than 6 months but less than 1 year; or

• The applicant is absent from the United States for 1 year or more.

An officer may also review whether an applicant with multiple absences of less than 6 months each will be able to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. In some of these cases, an applicant may not be able to establish that his or her principal actual dwelling place is in the United States or establish residence within the United States for the statutorily required period of time.^[10]

[Mike E 11,723]

14 hours ago, john_2015 said:

My question can she take advantage of the early filing and apply by June2023?

Legally she can file 5 years less 180 days from when she returned from the 8 month  absence. 
 

However that is an unacceptable risk imho. Any mention of this this as absence raises unnecessary scrutiny. I would file 5 years plus a day from I returned from an 8 month absence. 

[john_2015 0]

i didnt know about the 4.5 year option, where can i read more about it? 

on the plus side, all her kids/Grandkids are in the US so that should be positive from a ties perspective