Applying for Naturalization

[hardikorama]

Firstly, I am sorry if this has been previously asked/answered. As my query is quite specific, I was not sure how to search for it. Nevertheless, I'd be happy to be directed to a relevant discussion.

I received my green-card in July of 2007 via my aunt who sponsored my dad. I was under 21 at that time and thus I was eligible for the GC. I flew to the US in the same month and applied for re-entry permit. I got the permit till 2010 and so I visited US again in feb 2010 for a few days. Finally, I revisited in feb 2011 and I am here since then.

So my longest stay in the US will be 1 year in feb 2012 and my GC will be 5 years old in July 2012. I wanted to know when can I apply for naturalization given my circumstances? I have heard that my GC needs to be 5 years old and I need to stay in US for 36 months w/o a gap of more than 6 months. Also, does the re-entry period count towards my stay in the country?

Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to put forth as much info as possible.

[nwctzn]

Firstly, I am sorry if this has been previously asked/answered. As my query is quite specific, I was not sure how to search for it. Nevertheless, I'd be happy to be directed to a relevant discussion.

I received my green-card in July of 2007 via my aunt who sponsored my dad. I was under 21 at that time and thus I was eligible for the GC. I flew to the US in the same month and applied for re-entry permit. I got the permit till 2010 and so I visited US again in feb 2010 for a few days. Finally, I revisited in feb 2011 and I am here since then.

So my longest stay in the US will be 1 year in feb 2012 and my GC will be 5 years old in July 2012. I wanted to know when can I apply for naturalization given my circumstances? I have heard that my GC needs to be 5 years old and I need to stay in US for 36 months w/o a gap of more than 6 months. Also, does the re-entry period count towards my stay in the country?

Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to put forth as much info as possible.

As far as I know your re-entry period does not count as time spent in the US and your continuous residence clock re-started basically in Feb 2011 since before that you were absent for extended periods of time. Assuming you entered on Feb XX, 2011, you should be eligible to apply 90 days prior to Feb XX, 2016 (assuming that you do not take single trips longer than 6 months and be physically present in the US for at least 30 months out of the 5 years between Feb XX, 2011 and Feb XX, 2016). I am not an immigration lawyer and this is only my personal opinion. So you should double-check with an immigration lawyer to be absolutely sure.

[kevinkallis]

Being away from the US for a year or more will result in disrupting your continuous residence even if you possess a re-entry Permit. When you are in a foreign country for a year or longer, though you can return to the US as a permanent resident with a Re-entry Permit, the amount of time you spent in the US before you left the country will not be considered or count toward your time in continuous residence. If you get back to the US within two years, a part of the time you spent in the foreign country will count. The last 364 days of your time spent abroad (one year minus one day) adds towards meeting the continuous residence requirement.