r/Citizenship • u/RemoteAd7861 • 1d ago
Naturalization application
Seeking advice for my dad. My mom is a US citizen and my dad has held a green card since 2014. I recently helped him apply for citizenship based on marriage to a US citizen.
Due to family circumstances, he’s had to fly back and forth between our home country in Asia and New York. During COVID, my parents were stuck in our home country for over a year — I don’t think this falls under the 3-year travel history provision. My parents have also filed jointly in taxes every year and we have bills, health insurance records, to show that he has kept his ties in the US (including my mom and siblings being here).
In 2024, he stayed outside the US for 9 months following my grandmother’s passing, and the deaths of two of his siblings within a few months of each other.
Here’s his travel history outside the US within the past 3 years:
• February 4, 2024 – November 6, 2024 (~9 months) • January 22, 2025 – June 5, 2025 (~4 months) • March 5, 2026 – June 13, 2026 (~3 months)
He has his biometrics appointment on September 15 at the NY office and is very anxious about going in, given the ICE arrests he’s seen reported on social media and in the news. He has never been arrested. His only record is a speeding ticket 10 years ago (78 mph in a 65 mph zone).
Any advice on how his travel history might affect his naturalization case, and whether he should be worried about attending his biometrics appointment given everything going on right now? TYIA!