3. Ask Visalaw.com

In our Ask Visalaw.com section of the SIB attorney Ari Sauer answers immigration law questions sent in by our readers. If you enjoy reading this section, we encourage you to visit Ari’s blog, The Immigration Answer Man, where he provides more answers to your immigration questions. You can also follow The Immigration Answer Man on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have a question on immigration matters, write Ask-visalaw@visalaw.com. We can't answer every question, but if you ask a short question that can be answered concisely, we'll consider it for publication. Remember, these questions are only intended to provide general information. You should consult with your own attorney before acting on information you see here.

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1) Question:

I have had a green card since 2000. I have not been living in the U.S. for the past couple years. Am I still eligible to apply for citizenship?

Answer:

There are several requirements that must be met before a permanent resident is eligible to be naturalized as a U.S. citizen. These include a) being a permanent resident for at least 5 years (3 years if filing as the spouse of a U.S. citizen); b) continuously maintaining permanent residence in the U.S. during that period; c) being physically present in the U.S. for at least half of that time; d) having good moral character during that 5 year period; e) having the ability to speak, read and write English; and f) being able to pass the civics exam.

If a permanent resident takes a trip outside the U.S. that lasts longer than 6 months, USCIS can question whether the person continued to maintain their permanent residence during that period. The applicant will have the opportunity to show that they maintained their permanent residence in the U.S. during the trip. If the permanent resident takes a trip outside the U.S. that lasts longer than a year, USCIS will consider this to have caused a break in the person’s continuous residence. In order to be eligible for naturalization the person must show that they have maintained their continuous residence in the U.S. for at least four years and a day from the date they returned to the U.S. from that trip (2 years and a day for those applying as the spouse of a U.S. citizen). So if you have been abroad continuously for more than one year you have not been maintaining you continuous residence and if you have made trips longer than 6 months, then you would have to show that you have been maintaining your U.S. residence, which is hard to do if you have been abroad for the past couple years.

Also, if you have been abroad for the past couple years it is possible that you have been abroad more than 50% of the last 5 years, which would make ineligible to naturalize at this time even if you never made any trips longer than six months during that time.

There are some exceptions to these rules, though, so you should consult with an immigration law attorney to determine what it would take to make you eligible for naturalization.

2) Question:

I have been told that I can legally change my name as part of the application for naturalization. Is it difficult to do this and will this make my naturalization application take longer?

Answer:

Yes, as part of the naturalization application you can change your name to anything you wish. For example, if you have a long name or a name that is tough for people in the U.S. to pronounce, you can legally change your name to a nickname or to an anglicized version of your name. The process is simple. On the form there is a section that asks if you want to change your name. You just answer yes and provide the new name you want. At the interview, there will be a couple extra pages for the applicant to sign, but this doesn’t add much time to the interview.

However in some jurisdictions, asking for a name change can cause some delay in getting the citizenship. This is because some naturalization swearing-in ceremonies are administrative, meaning they are performed by USCIS with the permission of the U.S. Court, and some are judicial, meaning they are performed by a U.S. Judge. An applicant for a name change must have a judicial swearing in ceremony, as the USCIS does not have the authority to legally change a name in an administrative swearing-in ceremony. Therefore if you are applying in a jurisdiction where the swearing-in ceremonies are mostly administrative, you will have to wait to be scheduled in the next judicial swearing-in ceremony. You can determine what the practice is in your jurisdiction by asking an immigration law attorney or by visiting USCIS with an Infopass appointment.