Questions for the Filipinos on how to be US citizen ?
Could you clear this up to me please coz I'm really confuse now... I asked this question coz I would like to visit my friends in the Philippines but someone told me that it's wiser to be a US citizen first before I go abroad, and he told me that by having a US citizenship you must stay here for 5 years straight without living the country... Is that really true ? Thanks in advance and mabuhay po kayo !
Answer:
yes you have to stay here for 5 years to be a U.S citizen but it does'nt mean you can't go back home... "in 1 year" if you stayed here for 10 month's january to october and go back there in the philippines for 2 months. the 2 months will be deducted on how long you've stayed ( in the u.s). that's what i heard. the department of immigration knows when you go in and out of the country...
You can leave for short visits if you are a greencard holder. But, you will probably want to get an I-94 at the Point of Entry. Most of the time they don't mind giving you one. It's just an arrival/departure record. Make sure you have it signed off on your way out of and back into the country that way you have documentation that you were only gone a short amount of time.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocumen...
Pg 93 of that brochure is about maintaining your permanent residence. Any amount of time you spend away can count against the five years you must spend in the USA to apply for citizenship. If you spend longer then 6 months away, you can possibly lose your greencard. Any longer then a year away and you definitely lose your greencard. I wouldn't gamble with a long time away at this point in your immigration. Document everything!
when i married my asawa i was told she had to be in the US for five years or if she left and went back to the Philippines it would prolong her time in becoming a US citizen..my friend who married a Thai women had the same problem..and she had to go back to Thailand for a funneral..her dad..and she has been in this country (US) just before 911..one week before Sept. of 2001 and she still is not a US citizen..
but check with the authorities..maybe an immigration lawyer will answer your question..but what you said sound right...good luck Pinoy
by the way..my wife became a US citizen five years..almost to the day...
It is not true. You can visit PI each year. I havent not because I am tago ng tago.
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