Getting U.S. Ctizenship

[rhour]

I can't figure out if my wife needs to wait the 5 years or 3 years to apply for U.S. citizenship. If I was married to her for two years before she immigrated she would have received Pemanent Resident Status without the 2 year condition. Does this factor in to the requirements to apply for citizenship?

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

I can't figure out if my wife needs to wait the 5 years or 3 years to apply for U.S. citizenship. If I was married to her for two years before she immigrated she would have received Pemanent Resident Status without the 2 year condition. Does this factor in to the requirements to apply for citizenship?

196075[/snapback]

See the following...

 

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

[tywy_99]

3 years from the temp. I-551 stamp in the passport we were told.

[Trigg]

Yup. UCIS told us it was three years from the date of the green card (date of aproval).

[lele]

Note one more requirement to apply for citizenship:

 

Abandonment of Chinese Citizenship. This means, your SO can not go back to China without a visa, ever again. They can not open a business in China ever again, without a visa. It also means that you can never apply for a Chinese Green Card, and they only can, so long as their parents are still alive.