Guestbook Entry for Dr. Rajesh Gomatam, United States
Name
Dr. Rajesh Gomatam
Country
United States
State
Pennsylvania
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Interview Experience
Hi, everyone. Here is my today's interview experiences. My interview was scheduled at 8:10am. I was about 35 mins earlier before my interview time. It was early but there were still a lot of people waiting for their interview in the naturaliztion waiting room. I waited for about 45 mins to get called by my IO. He's nice guy with not too much talk and mostly focus on his work. I followed him to enter his office and he got me sweared. He's very professional and doing thing pretty fast. He checked my green card and passports. Then he asked all the questions in the N-400 form.
Citizenship and Naturalization
Recording for July 25, 2024 Conference Call with Rajiv S. Khanna
Citizenship and Naturalization
Nonimmigrant Visas
FAQs: Naturalization eligibility for recent extended absences over six months and less than one year from the U.S. || H-1B Grace Period Related Issues
Naturalization eligibility for recently extended absences over six months and less than one year from the U.S.
Question details
My father is a green card holder (five years, three months now). He has spent 33 months in the US in the last five years and for 6 months every calendar year. The issue is that on two of his most recent trips, he was out of the US for nine months, six weeks, and 11 days.
He has always been retired and has not held a job in the US or abroad. His daughter and family continued to stay in the US during these trips. He does not own a house in the US but stays with his daughter and her family and continues to have access to that residence during these trips. He does own property in India and has continued to hold that same property over the last five years. His trips abroad were to visit his other children.
What are the rough chances of "rebutting the presumption of break of continuous presence", if he applies for naturalization, despite these two trips of 9 months and 6 months two weeks ? Would you recommend going through a lawyer ?
Regarding the 9-month absence that is being questioned, if he doesn't own a house but still has access to the residence, it should be acceptable as long as there's a valid explanation for his absence of more than six months. This situation has occurred before. For example, if he couldn't return due to reasons like COVID-19, health issues, or similar circumstances, as long as these reasons are clearly explained, it should be acceptable.
FAQ Transcript
Regarding the 9-month absence being questioned, if he doesn't own a house but still has access to the residence, it should be acceptable if there's a valid explanation for his absence of more than six months. This situation has occurred before. For example, if he couldn't return due to reasons like COVID-19, health issues, or similar circumstances, it should be acceptable if these reasons are clearly explained.
I should say that I have the highest respect for Mr. Khanna both professionally and personally. I got my EB1 GC (1 year total start-to-finish) some time ago through Mr. Khanna's firm. Worth every penny and I still recommend to all my friends. This is my true feeling. As a matter of fact, I intend to apply for naturalization soon and I had a few questions concerning the same. I just wrote an email to him. Soon he responded back and he proactively gave me a appointment to speak to him at no cost. He was very kind in clarifying all my question in a friendly manner and suggested that I could apply for the same myself. Who in this day-and-age would dispense free advice knowing tha they are not going to gain anything from it monetarily. To this end, I have great respect for him. Even during my GC process, he was very very helpful and gave the right advice during all the twists-and-turns. I know that many of us are not millionaires, at least staring our lives as non-immigrats in this country. In that regard, while applying for my GC, his services fees were appropriate and the extreme value that he provides. I know that because I inquired with quite a few attorneys at that point in time and was shocked by the extremely outrageous service fee that they demanded. Furthermore, I know for a fact the immense help he provides indirectly through this forums and free conference calls to the public (not only his clients). I use his forums heavily to do my deligent research related to immigration. Furthermore, he has the website dedicated only for his clients where he was very much accessible via personal chat sessions and enabling people to share a wealth on knowledgebase. I know that there are other forums and none can compare to the one at immigration.com. Finally, I would like to conclude by saying that when it comes to immigration, Mr. Khanna is the man.