We are very close to my wife being able to file for naturalization. If we do so, will they throw her 10 year green card out the window? Anyone know if there is any adverse effect otherwise? Maybe a confirmation letter extending her out another year? If anyone know, please post. If not, Ill take a shot at the naturalization forum.

From my understanding, filing for citizenship will force them to make a decision on your I-751 as that needs to be finalized before citizenship can be granted, Their focus seems to be on citizenship applications right now, probably trying to get as many eligible future voters approved before the election. Just my opinion but I suspect all other applications will go slowly until the election as they focus their resources in this area and then speed up when the pressure to approve citizenship applications is over. If you are planning on filing for citizenship then certainly go ahead and do so when she becomes eligible. It should speed things up for you. Good luck.

Kathryn, thanks so much for the reply. It does sounds pretty logical. I was just worried that, in typical USCIS fashion, they would get my N-400 and promptly heave my I-751 into the trash bin. I wish there was some sort of way to actually verify that putting the N-400 in does actually boost your I-751 processing. Be it in a USCIS memo or on a USCIS webpage somewhere.

Great point about stacking up the voters for the 2008 elections, I had not even considered that but its totally in line with what we have come to expect. Thanks again for the input!

Apparrently the process is that when they transfer your N-400 to the district office for processing, they then also transfer your I-751 file.

At your interview the officer then processes both at the same time.

This is what I've also read. My husband has applied for his citizenship, and does not have his 10 year card yet.

By district office you mean local state office of the USCIS? For us this would be Helena, Montana? As opposed to Nebraska Service Center? I guess this would make sense. I can only hope the local folks would be more responsive, maybe.

yes if that the office close to you then this is what the local office means, we are in South east michigan and our local office is Detroit Michigan.

goodluck.....

Filing the N-400 has no affect on the processing of a I-751. It is only if the I-751 has still not been adjudicated by the time that the N-400 has wound its way independently to the desk of the CIS interviewer that CIS will be forced to adjudicate the I-751.

Oh well. I guess we are at the point where it cant hurt to file the N-400. Processing times for Nebraska I-751 are reported to be as long as 18 months, maybe even more. Since we are already at 12 month, and we could possibly be made to wait a further 6 months, we might as well put that time to good use. I do look forward to the day my wife gets her passport...this way we can go anywhere we want, for as long as we want.

Thanks for all the input, folks.

The time line goes by your local office though, not Nebraska. So it might not be 18 months. I know Cleveland (my local office) is around 7-8 months.

I still don't understand some of you guys here pushing ahead with this N-400.Nobody says that you should not apply for citizenship but don't you want to see yourself done with one application before you jump with another one ?
I don't know whose idea was that filling an N-400 will expedite your status here in US . Just a waist of money at least for now when USCIS is totally screwed-up !!!!

You are correct that you don't have to apply for N-400 now. But, if somebody already made up their mind to be US Citizen and they are now eligible to apply, why do they have to wait? I don't see anything wrong w/ applying now even though their I-751 hasn't been approved yet. Whether you apply for N-400 now or later, you will have to pay anyway (might have to pay more if they decided to jack up the fee again ). Just my $0.02.

I will answer from my own personal perspective. First, having a green card limits travel to a large degree. And for my wife and I, its all about freedom to travel. As I said before, my wife would like to attend a college right across the border in Alberta, Canada. She has access to military spouse educational benefits, but Canada will not give her a study permit without the legal right to stay or return to America during and after her schooling. That aside, we would like to take 6 months off in Ukraine, or check out the job market in Japan or even Germany. I am a disabled veteran, we have no children yet, and 14 years in the military gave me a nomadic urge. My wife, having spent her whole life in one town, is likewise inclined to see the world.

That being said, we have to take into account the actions and behavior of the USCIS. The USCIS could, and would, gleefully strip my wife of her green card and deport her over the slightest of mistakes. This in light of the USCIS being utterly unable to keep to even the simplest of timelines, answer queries honestly, demonstrate consistency, or treat citizens with anything remotely resembling respect or compassion.

Thus, the USCIS has defined itself as a tyrant of the worst sort. I am used to this, as I spent years wrestling the Department of Veterans Affairs over my pension. If having my wife apply for naturalization gives her a passport and the ability to travel abroad, once and for all, then were going for it. I have reviewed the N-400 form, and it looks pretty simple. Chances are, our I-751 will take 18 months to process. Why not put the extra 6 months to good use?

Given the choice between the two, and the timeframe being virtually identical, we choose the passport over the green card. Sure, the cost is an extra $700, but if after paying you never have to deal with USCIS again, its a bargain.

My husband already made up his mind to apply to be a citizen a few years ago, so naturally he applied as soon as he could. It has nothing to do with the I-751 in our case, and I never implied that it did. It makes no difference if he already has his PR card or not. And that is his right, so I think you should stop bashing people's choices. No one expects it to speed up the I-751 process, nor do I think it will make it more difficult (from examples out of Cleveland on our own boards).

"bashing people's choices"
Well...I'm not ,but when you see the mess caused by I-751 don't you want to wait a bit and get done with it then filling N-400 .You will be checking two forums but ...be it your way

I also check forums to help others out, just like you do. So I will still log in when we are done. And no, we'd rather not wait a bit, but get it done as soon as we can. It's really not that hard to understand. It's like how you can't understand why people don't get upset about the I-751. Well I can't understand why people question applying for the N-400 when they are allowed to (if they want to at all).

Not to bust any stones, but has anyone been over to the N-400 forum? I have, and I don't see any of the hand wringing, screaming, and people running around with their hair on fire like I do here in this forum. Myself included, of course.

Perhaps thats the attitude USCIS wants to foster? Marginalize I-751s to force everyone into N-400? They get two piles of cash from us, plus more potential cannon fodder. For the USCIS its a win/win scenario. The only losers are us!

Anyhow, we can apply for N-400 in a few weeks, and we will do so. If for no other reason then Nebraska loses our file to the local office. I have found the locals to be semi-kinda-sorta reasonable and almost competent so far. Nebraska on the other hand, they should all be fired and trained monkey shipped in to replace them. The monkeys could not possibly do any worse then the current crop of "pay-us-to-ruin-your-life" clowns.

FINALLY ...somebody sees the reality!

Exactly, which is why it isn't a big deal to me to "check two forums". Good luck!

The N-400 section seems pretty quiet, actually. Mostly administrative questions. The form itself seems pretty straightforward as well. The main hurdle is the $700 filing. But if paying that money helps me rid my life of Nebraska, I'm all for it.

I will be applying for citizenship asap (summer 08) for several reasons:

- I want to be able to vote, since political decisions affect my life, and the only way to vote is to be a citizen
- travel is easier
- I am fortunate that Canadians can have dual citizenship
- No greencard to renew in 10 years no more USCIS