i want to apply for US citizenship. I have green card since October
31, 2001. So I am eligible to apply after July 31, 2006, that is, 3
months before the 5 years residency is completed. I came back to USA
(from a 5 month trip to another country) on July 16. So am I eligible
to apply for citizenship beginning of August ? I am a "continuous"
resident of California all along (since no trips exceed 6 months), but
do I have to be physically present in California for last 3 months
before application (which I have not been yet, as I just returned from
5 month trip outside USA on July 16, 2006) ?

---

Request for Question Clarification by keystroke-ga on 02 Aug 2006 03:39 PDT

I feel this could answer your question perfectly.

Let me know if you find your information here.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/index.htm

--Keystroke-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by keystroke-ga on 02 Aug 2006 03:43 PDT

The basic outline is as follows

"Generally speaking, to qualify for citizenship, you must:

         1. Be a lawful permanent U.S. resident;
         2. Be 18 years of age or older;
         3. Be a permanent resident for not less than five years. (If
a person obtained permanent residence through marriage to a U.S.
citizen, they may be eligible for naturalization in three years if the
couple has been married for 3 years, if the spouse was a citizen
during that entire period, and if the couple are still living in
marital unity);
         4. Have resided for not less than three months in the state
where the petition was filed;
         5. Be physically present in the United States for at least
one half of the five years (or one half of three if spouse is a
citizen), with no absences longer than six months;
         6. Have resided continuously within the United States from
the date the petition was filed to the time of admission to
citizenship;
         7. Have been a person of good moral character for the five
years of residence;
         8. Have an elementary level of reading and writing English.
(Exceptions to this rule exist for persons over fifty, in the US for
20 years or more as a permanent resident; and for persons over 55 , in
the US for 15 years as a permanent resident); and
         9. Have a basic knowledge of the fundamentals of U.S.
government and history. (This requirement can be waived for people
over 65 and have been permanent resident for 20 years.)"

After reading this I believe you are able to apply. I would wait for
someone else to confirm this though or speak to your local consulate
directly.

--Keystroke-ga

Hi mtview,

Sorry, no, you must reside within your filing district for at least
three months "immediately preceding the date of filing", therefore you
won't be able to file until October.

INA: ACT 316 - REQUIERMENTS AS TO RESIDENCE, GOOD MORAL CHARACTER,
ATTACHMENT TO THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION, AND FAVORABLE
DISPOSITION TO THE UNITED STATES
Sec. 316. [8 U.S.C. 1427]
"(a) No person, except as otherwise provided in this title, shall be
naturalized, unless such applicant, (1) immediately preceding the date
of filing his application for naturalization has resided continuously,
after being lawfully admitted for permanent residence, within the
United States for at least five years and during the five years
immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been
physically present therein for periods totaling at least half of that
time, and who has resided within the State or within the district of
the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed the
application for at least three months, (2) has resided continuously
within the United States from the date of the application up to the
time of admission to citizenship, (3) during all the periods referred
to in this subsection has been and still is a person of good moral
character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the
United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of
the United States."
http://www.uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/inserts/slb/slb-1/slb-20/slb-9578?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm

SUMMARY
General Naturalization Requirements: Residence and Physical Presence:
An applicant is eligible to file if, immediately preceding the filing
of the application, he or she:
 * has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (see preceding section);
 * has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the
U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from
the United States of more than one year;
 * has been physically present in the United States for at least 30
months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six
months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant's continuity
of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not
abandon his or her residence during such period)
 * has resided within a state or district for at least three months
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/general.htm

ELIGIBILITY WORKSHEET
What is the purpose of this worksheet?
"The Eligibility Worksheet will help you decide if you are eligible to
apply for naturalization."
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/wsinstruct.htm

Don't forget, in addition to the 6 month rule (continuous residence),
you also have to be present in the U.S. for at least 30 months within
the five years (60 months) (physical residence), so add up all of
those short trips.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please post a
clarification request and wait for me to respond before closing/rating
my answer.

Thank you,
hummer

---

Request for Answer Clarification by mtview-ga on 02 Aug 2006 11:09 PDT

I carefully read Section 316. Part (1) is the relevant part in my case.

"immediately preceding the date of filing his application for
naturalization has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted
for permanent residence, within the United States for at least five
years and during the five years immediately preceding the date of
filing his application has been physically present therein for periods
totaling at least half of that time,"

Two clauses in the above quote, each guarded by its own "immediately preceding"
phrase.
I am covered for each clause.
- I have continuous 5 year residence as no trip > 6 months.
- Physically present half the time - also true in my case.

Now the interesting part:

"and who has resided within the State or within the district of the Service in t
he United States in which the applicant filed the application for at least three
 months"

In this 3rd clause, there is no "immediately preceding" phrase. Even
though I made a 5 month trip out of country, I have continuously
resided in this state/district, and I have resided physically for much
more than 3 months in this state. I think it's guarding against case
where I come back on July 16, and despite being California resident
all along, go to Florida and apply there in August. In which case, I
would be ineligible, since I haven't resided in Florida for the
minimal 3 months, and so I can't file from Florida at this point. If I
stayed in Florida for 3 months now, I could apply from Florida then,
as the first 2 clauses are for USA and the 3rd clause for the
state/district.

Please clarify if my reasoning is wrong. The key point is "immediately preceding
" is not present in the 3rd clause. Yes, I am a continuous resident of this stat
e/district for much more than the last 3 months, and I have physically resided i
n this state/district for at least 3 months. This last "who has resided" is ambi
guous, it doesn't say physically or continuously, and is not preceded by "immedi
ately preceding".

---

Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 02 Aug 2006 12:00 PDT

Hi mtview,

Yes, you must live in the district for the three months prior to
filing. However, you may still be able to file early, see (e) in the
following section, "However, in a case where the applicant files the
application early pursuant to section 334(a), and the 3 month period
to establish jurisdiction falls within the required period of
continuous residence, the determination as to jurisdiction will be
based on the applicant?s actual place of residence 3 months
immediately before the examination on the application."

73.4 Jurisdiction. 
(a) Introduction. To establish eligibility for naturalization, most
applicants must file their application for naturalization with the
State or Service District that has jurisdiction over his or her place
of residence. In addition, most applicants must have continuously
resided in the State or Service District for three months prior to
filing the application. However, there are a few special classes of
aliens who are exempt from this requirement.
(d) Burden of Proof of Establishing Residence. The applicant has the
burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that he or
she meets all of the requirements for naturalization, including that
the applicant resided in the State or Service District having
jurisdiction over the applicant?s place of residence for at least
three months prior to filing the application.
(e) Applications Filed under Section 334(a) of the Act. Section 334(a)
of the Act allows an applicant to file his or her application 3 months
before he or she has completed the continuous residence time period.
The applicant must still establish that he or she has resided for 3
months immediately preceding the filing of the application in the
State or Service District having jurisdiction over the applicant?s
actual place of residence. However, in a case where the applicant
files the application early pursuant to section 334(a), and the 3
month period to establish jurisdiction falls within the required
period of continuous residence, the determination as to jurisdiction
will be based on the applicant?s actual place of residence 3 months
immediately before the examination on the application.
http://www.uscis.gov/lpbin/lpext.dll/inserts/afm_redacted/afm-95-redacted-494-1/afm-95-redacted-12999/afm-95-redacted-13192?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm#afm-95-redacted-chapter-32-73-46-4

Regards,
hummer

Thanks a lot hummer for clarifying in great detail. I think I will
apply now, based on your feedback.

Does resided mean "physically lived at"?  Or can it just mean
"maintaining a residence"?  This could be the clincher.

Hi nelson,

It's "resided within the State or within the district". I think
"within" is the clincher.

Thanks for posting,
hummer

yes, I do think "within the state" is a clincher in the sense it means
"physical presence", but it doesn't have "immediately preceding" in
this clause. More like, a token physical presence of 3 months in the
state / district of filing, be it whenever. They are not insisting the
exact of these 3 months.

I meant exact timing of these 3 months.

Dear mtview,

You are welcome and thank you for bringing that little quirk about 3
months before the exam to my attention.  Yes, it sounds like you
should be all set - just do the math when you make the appointment for
the exam.  Good luck, I know it's been a long road.

Sincerely, hummer