I got my green card through marriage to a US citizen and want to naturalize under the 3-year rule. If I take one trip abroad lasting 7 months, does that break the continuous residence requirement, and if it creates only a rebuttable presumption, what specific evidence rebuts it? Also, does the 3-year clock require the marital union to still exist at the time of the oath, not just at filing?
Your 7-month trip creates a presumption that you broke your continuous residence, but you can overcome it with specific evidence. For your marriage, you only need to live together until you file, but the legal marriage itself must last until your oath.
You do not have to start your three years over just because of the trip. As long as you can show you kept your ties to the United States while you were away, you can still move forward.
Because your trip lasted more than six months but less than one year, the agency presumes it breaks your {"term": "continuous-residence", "text": "continuous residence"}. This is not an automatic denial. It is a rebuttable presumption, meaning you have the right to prove you did not abandon your life in the United States.
To overcome this presumption, you must provide documentation showing you kept your ties here. The agency specifically accepts evidence that you did not terminate your US employment or get a job abroad, that your immediate family members stayed in the United States, and that you retained full access to or continued to own or lease a home here.
Your marriage requirements split into two parts: living together and staying legally married.
The rule requires you to live in {"term": "marital-union", "text": "marital union"} with your citizen spouse for the three years right before you file your application. The agency only requires you to live together up until the time of filing.
However, your legally valid marriage must continue until you take the Oath of Allegiance. If your marriage ends in divorce or your spouse passes away before your oath, you lose your eligibility under the 3-year rule.
