Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Because the law says that the period of residency must be uninterrupted until a permanent resident becomes a citizen. If you stayed longer than 6 months abroad, it could have broken continuity of the residence required by law.

The naturalization process is considered completed when an applicant takes an Oath.

I can't tell more based on the limited facts you provided on this forum. How long did you stay abroad? What do you men by "my visa �permeation� expired? Did you actually obtain a new immigrant visa or were allowed to reenter as a returning resident? Did you ask to reschedule your oath ceremony? Was your N-400 denied?

If you�d like to schedule a confidential telephone or email legal consultation, need advice or help, please let me know and I�d be glad to help you. Contact email address: Attorney [@] law-visa-usa.com or LubaSmal [@] yahoo.com . I offer legal consultations and can assist in matters of the U.S. federal immigration law to clients from all 50 States and internationally.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information purposes only and should not be considered a legal advice; it doesn�t create an attorney-client relationship. If you would like to request a follow-up confidential advice on your specific situation and regarding U.S.A. immigration-related issues, we can offer a paid consultation by telephone or email to clients from all States and globally. Please visit our website http://www.law-visa-usa.com/contact_us.html for more details.

It sounds like you were gone from the U.S. for more than a year. In that case, to return to the U.S. you need a Special Immigrant Visa which it sounds like you got. From the next entry you must begin counting your time in the U.S. again and be here at least half the time 93 or 5 years) going forward. You can apply three months early. Residence is broken after a year or more departure under the law and it requires you count the time again. Rather than giving the visa to you, they could also have taken the green card away believing you intended to give it up at the time you departed. So, while not preferable, it could have been worse.

The above is informational and not case specific advice to rely on. For that, you'd need to enter into an attorney/client relationship with me and we'd have a contract to be clear regarding the services I'd provide and our responsibilities to each other.

For further information, feel free to contact me offline at [email protected] or 818 609 1953. You can also find me at http://www.yardum-hunter.com.

Sincerely,

Alice Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law

Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization