Q & A August 1, 2004
Q & A 1. 2.
Q&A 1.
Submit application 90 days before five years of residency
Dear Mr. Lee:
I am 71 years old this year. I have been to the United States three
times and have lived here during these time frames: from Dec. 23,
1995 to Oct. 23, 1996, from Oct. 23, 1998 to Sept. 3, 2001, and
from Feb. 22, 2002 to present. I am still in the U.S.
My daughter (an U.S. citizen) has applied for my green card, and
I received on of January 17, 2001. Until now, I have had my green
card for more than three years and the total time I spent living
in the U.S has exceeded 31 months.
- Until how much longer (living in the U.S.) before I will be
able to apply my U.S. citizenship?
- I have heard that, in order to become an U.S. citizen, one
must be able to speak, read and write basic English language and
pass the exam. Because of my age and severe illness (high blood
pressure for years, currently having encephalemia and heart disease),
and with very slow mind, I have lost my ability to study English
and can not pass the English exam required. I am wondering based
on my current physical and mental ability and with doctor’s
letter to certify my condition, is it possible to have the required
English examination waived and still become a citizen.
- Regarding the proof of my physical condition, can I submit
many records of diagnostics done on me issued from Chinese hospitals,
which having been verified by doctors’ written note, and
notarized and stamped?
Xie,
Florida
Dear reader:
1. A permanent resident who obtained immigrant status like you
must wait five years to apply for citizenship. However, the law
does provide that you can put in an application 90 days before the
five-year mark. Looking at your particular situation, you received
your permanent residence (according to your letter) on January 17,
2001. Time for naturalization purposes begins to be counted from
that day. You are allowed to apply five years from that date, January
17, 2006, and the law further allows you to put in an application
90 days before that date. As of January 17, 2006, you must have
acquired at least 30 months of physical residence in the U.S. with
no absence being one year or more in length. Absences of six months
and more will raise questions to an immigration examiner as to whether
you have maintained your residence for naturalization purposes,
but may be explained if there are good reasons. Thus far, you have
accumulated approximately 9 months from January 2001 to September
2001 and 26 months from February 2002 to April 2004. So you have
already satisfied the physical residence requirement by this time.
2. The immigration law allows exemptions from naturalization testing
in English and/or history/government for individuals with disabilities.
Such an exemption is sought through form N-648 for individuals who
can demonstrate that they suffer from a medically determinable disability
or impairment or a combination of impairments that result in functioning
so impaired that it prevents them from learning or demonstrating
knowledge in English and/or U.S. history and government. Old age
does not qualify as a sole basis for the exemption. U.S. registered
medical and osteopathic doctors and clinical psychologists can complete
the form N-648 giving full and complete descriptions of an individual's
diagnosis; a thorough explanation of how the condition impairs the
functioning of the individual so severely that he/she is unable
to learn or demonstrate knowledge of English and/or U.S. history
and government; and his or her conclusions as to whether the individual
is able to learn or demonstrate knowledge of English and/or U.S.
government and history. In looking over your complaints, high blood
pressure and a slow mind would not appear to be good reasons for
a medical exemption. However, a combination of high blood pressure,
sclerosis of the brain and heart disease may be a valid reason if
related to the capacity to learn and if so certified by the appropriate
medical professional.
3. Your medical records in China may be added in support of the
diagnosis by a the U.S. licensed medical professional to support
your exemption request but cannot substitute for the opinion of
the U.S. registered medical professional.
Q&A 2.
U.S.C.I.S. requests an interview does not mean there is
a problem with your case
Dear Mr. Lee,
My political asylum case was filed in 1995, and was granted in
1997. I submitted the I-485 permanent residence application in 7/1998,
and received a letter from the Nebraska Service Center in 4/2003,
informing that my case was sent to the local office in New York.
Questions:
- Why was it that my case was transferred to the CIS’ local
office? Is there any problem?
- It is normal, how much longer will my case be processed by
the local New York office?
- After I become a permanent resident, can I visit other countries,
including China, with a reentry permit only, since my China-issued
passport has been expired, and China Consulate didn? allow me
to renew it?
Zhang
New York
Dear reader:
1. your case has most likely been transferred to the CIS local
office in New York in order for you to be interviewed. Having an
interview does not mean that there is a problem with your case,
and there are many reasons for which persons can be asked to interview
including the difficulty of obtaining good fingerprints. We have
even had a case in which the parents were waived of the interview
requirement while their five year old child was scheduled for interview.
2. cases which are transferred for interview in New York usually
have to wait 9-12 months for an interview.
3. an integral part of an asylum adjustment case is still having
a fear of being persecuted upon return to the home country. If an
immigration examiner is not convinced that the fear remains, he/she
may deny the adjustment of status application. After an individual
obtains permanent residence through asylum, it would be difficult
for the government to take away the residence status unless it was
able to prove that the permanent residence should not have been
granted in the first place. Inasmuch as circumstances change over
time, an individual might be able to explain that he/she still had
the fear on the date of the interview, but the circumstances changed
since then. In your situation, it is certainly advisable to use
a reentry permit to travel rather than a passport from the country
of persecution.
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