Q: Citizenship for a green card holder who was out of the state for 2 years
My question is about applying for my wife’s citizenship.
I became a citizen in 2011. My wife got her green card in 2011 too. She stayed in the state for a year, then she left the state for 2 years for personal reasons. She came back in Feb 2015. She came through the airport immigration with now question asked. Since then she did not leave the state. We always lived together, and we have three kids under 10 years; two were born in the state. Now that I want to apply for her citizenships I found that that I can apply N-400 based on 5 years or 3 years. Also, someone told me that when I apply for her citizenship, and because of the previous stay of over 2 years there is a likelihood that the immigration not just they will be denying her citizenships, but they may even go after her green card. Please advise on what is the best way to proceed. Apply the 5 years or 3 years option or not apply. Is it really possible that they will go after her green card? I appreciate your advice
A: The issue here is that she left the country for a long period of time so that she may be considered to have abandoned her permanent residency. You are encouraged to work with an attorney. She will generally be eligible to apply based on three years if she received her green card based on marriage to US citizen.
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