filing N400 after 4yrs9months, even though have not stayed in usa for 30 months.

[okccanary]

haha if what you took from my responses was that I was on your side then i don't know what to say..

The problem with this process is that the officer has alot of power and say in the decision. They can make the application process extremely easy or very difficult based solely on their own opinion. During my GC process I filed way less and provided the bare minimum of evidence compared to some people who submitted full folders of evidence but they were the ones who received an RFE or a stressful interview compared to me where I didn't. It is for that reason why I will never say you have a 0% chance or a 100% chance. Likewise, at the end of the day its up to the individual whether they want to apply or not. I can tell you that you will very likely be denied but i'm never going to tell someone not to apply.

Another problem with this process is that it truly is a case by case for timelines.

Here was mine. N400 - applied 8/31/2021, Interview - 1/27/2022. Oath Ceremony - 2/14/2022

The gap between Interview and Ceremony can literally be anything. Ive seen people have same day Oath Ceremonies to others still waiting months and months later.

For how long the passport takes after the ceremony, it really is dependent on how much you are willing to pay. I did not pay anything extra. I applied 2/17/2022 and received it on 3/24/2022. I've seen people who pay the expedited service and that has taken anywhere between 2-5 weeks. The most expensive option is doing the emergency option (my sister in law has done this one) where you are able to get a passport printed within a day if you have international travel in 3 days time. This can be extremely expensive as the interview/printing office could be in another state so not only do you have to pay a lot more for the passport you also might need to pay for last minute air travel and lodgings to actually get to the office where its done.

I am not an Indian citizen but i believe that as soon as you take the Oath you will forfeit your Indian Citizenship. I am not sure of the process of either surrendering your passport or nationality but i'm sure someone else will be able to help you here.

Unfortunately as soon as you take the oath and become a US Citizen, you will have to get a US passport in order to travel internationally. You must leave and return on the US passport. Despite having a valid British passport, I would have been unable to leave or enter the US until I got my US passport. Therefore as soon as you get your passport you can travel overseas.

There is no way in knowing if they can definitely get their passports by then as the timeline for interview and ceremony really is a case by case basis. However, when I went for my interview the officer asked me if i had any international travel plans and said they would base my oath date on that. During the whole application process you are able to travel as you normally would on your existing GC and passport. It is only when you have taken the Oath that a US Passport would then be required

[auditorpnine]

yeah, i have abandoned the urge to 'roll the dice'.

ok, would they still include my stay in usa for the period 2018 till now (13 months stay)
(just to refresh, i was out-of-usa for 16 months - albeit with a reentry permit)
or
would my counter be set to 0 and my citizenship will now be considered only in 2027. (assuming i comply with all the mandates).

2023 till 2027
-is residence lease a must. (what if i reside with my inlaws in their house - with nil rent)
-is employment a must.
-filing taxes a must. (what if my income in non-taxable)

[okccanary]

Ok I first want to say I am not a lawyer or an expert but I can give you my opinion.

I believe your counter was reset back to 0 after your 16 months exit outside. The reentry permit does nothing except show that you were intending to come back and continue your life in the US. So I would apply 4 years and 6 months after you came back. You will need to make sure you maintain both continuous residence and physical presence requirements during this 4 year and 6 month period! Otherwise, counter will continually be reset.

As for your other questions, first of all, if I was an officer, I would see multiple red flags about whether or not this person life was truly based in the US. Therefore you will need to provide plenty of evidence to show that you are truly living here in order to negate those red flags!

1. There is nothing wrong about living with your in-laws but you would need to show that you were truly living at the address. E.g your driving license having that address. Your bank accounts registered to that address, having and paying for bills at this address, using Informed Delivery to show that you are receiving daily/weekly mail arriving at that house addressed to you.
2. Employment is not a must but will greatly improve the point that your life is based in the US. Especially if you are young, otherwise the officer might be wondering how you are supporting your life in America (Especially if neither you or your partner are filing tax returns!)
3. I'm intrigued by what you mean by your income being non-taxable?? Is this due to not earning enough to be taxed? Likewise are you doing joint tax returns with your wife and therefore has your name on it as well? As a GC holder/US Citizen all worldwide income is taxable. For example I have a rental property in the UK that I have to declare the income on every year when filing taxes. Likewise if my wife and I decided to go to the UK and live and work there for a few years and I kept my citizenship, I would still have to pay taxes to the US on my income despite working for a UK company and living there. So I would double check with an accountant to make sure your income is truly non-taxable as otherwise this could have serious issues when filing for your citizenship.
Likewise, when doing both my GC and and my Citizenship, I needed to provide my last 3-5 (can not remember) years of tax returns as part of the application. Therefore make sure you are jointly filing your taxes with your wife or start filing them for yourself so there is a concrete paper trail of you living in the US. I am not sure what you would need to do if you have never filed your taxes as an individual or jointly with your wife.

Honestly, if you had a skeptical officer there are plenty of red flags with your case about whether or not your life is truly based in the US. You will need to make a conscious effort to provide plenty of evidence that shows this is truly the case. For most people, I heartedly recommend doing this process by themselves if they have a easy straightforward case. With yours, I don't for the following reasons: you are continually out of the country, you don't have a residence in your own name, you are not employed and you are not filing taxes. There could be many logical reasons why this is the case for you. However, if this was me, I would not want to be doing this journey without professional help with the application and the interview process. If an officer was just having a quick glance and there was no real evidence explaining why this was the case, I could easily see them denying your application and maybe having further ramifications with your GC.

As previously stated I am no expert or lawyer and this is solely my own opinion.

[icklary]

Even chatgpt has confirmed this. They were quite clear in their response, which was ZERO CHANCE.