Citizenship continuous stay question

[JMan525]

Hello all,

My wife was in US from 2010 to 2014 meeting the 3 year continuous stay requirement for LPRs married to US Citizen spouse. Then, from 2014 to 2016 she spent totally 20 months out of country (longest trip was 10 months) and she did have a re entry permit during this time. Since 2016 August she has been back in US and she has always returned to US with no issues. Can she apply for citizenship based off her 2010 to 2014 continuous stay?

Thanks,
J

[newacct]

It must be continuous residence for the most recent 3 years. For an absence of between 6 months and 1 year, it is possible to overcome the presumption that it interrupted continuous residence with strong evidence of ties to the US during that time. Whether she can show this is hard to say.

[suziq38]

Continuous stay

It also depends on why she was out of the country for so long, and where she lived during that time. The immigration officer may also ask her if she owns property in another country or has had a job there.
Bottom line, it is the immigration officers' decision.
They want to make sure that she truly wants to be an American citizen. It may look doubtful to them if she was away from the U.S. for more than 6 months.
I guess it doesn't hurt to try other than lose the fees.

I would probably wait until there has been 3 years of a more normal time outside of the U.S. on her traveling history.

JMOH, but I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. If you really are in a hurry, then go see a lawyer and ask.