I-751 + Citizenship!

[alborosie8090 17]

Hi all!

 

Trying to get "back in the game" - it has been a nice break but my husband and I will be applying for his "removal of conditions" in May as his two year expires in August. My how time flies. Trying to get all organized and ready to go for that. We're excited but of course I'm stressed and hoping everything goes smoothly.  

 

From my understanding and research thus far, it sounds as though this should hopefully be a seamless process. A couple questions:

 

1) After filing, it sounds like we will hopefully get a one year extension while we wait for them to make a decision. I'm curious, does it generally take that long? I've been digging around trying to find the latest updates and timeline, but it has been awhile since I've used this forum and I'm kind of confused on the timing. If you point me to any relevant threads I can look over those as well. 

 

2) We will be applying for my husband to have U.S. Citizenship. From what I've gathered we can apply after he has been a permanent resident for 3 years since it is through marriage. Since I-485 was approved August 2, 2016 for him, does that mean we can apply for citizenship come August 2, 2019 (so file 90 days prior)? If so, can we apply for that before we've had approval on a 10 year green card if that has not yet occurred? I'm hoping it is approved prior to then but, you never know, and am curious what others have done in these instances since we know we want to go the citizenship route. My gut would tell me we have to wait for the 10 year to be processed, but back to question above, what if that takes longer than than window we can also approve for citizenship? 

 

Thanks all for your help. This is always very emotional and difficult for me as I have a lot of anxiety around waiting for approval again. I feel fortunate to have a community of support like this!

[njblue 51]

Hi. Yes after you filed you will receive a letter that extends tour green card for one year from the date of expiration, based on actual processing times if you file with Vermont center it’s an one year wait approximately but if you file with California center is taking about 14 to 16 months it can change but that’s how it’s now .
You can file your naturalization 90 days prior your 3 years anniversary of your recidence , I did myself just apply for naturalization while my I-751 still pending Good luck !!

[YecaCruz 374]

buenos dias, mis vecinos ticos!

 

Yes the ROC has been taking over a year. Cali is going at a snail's pace so hopefully you aren't filing with the CSC for ROC. Go to any of the 2017 i751 threads and you'll see people still waiting for interviews and stuff.

 

Yes you can apply for citizenship even if ROC isn't done. They would end up approving it at the citizenship interview.

If you have travel plans and the letter itself has expired, you will need to get a passport stamp.

 

We plan on having to do just that. Applying for husband's citizenship as soon as we get 2018 taxes done next year (hopefully the end of Jan like this year) whether the ROC is done or not. If citizenship is your ultimate goal don't let the ROC wait times worry you.

Edited March 16, 2018 by YecaCruz

[alborosie8090 17]

Hi you guys thanks a million for the quick response. Y muchas gracias mae YecaCruz

 

We are, unfortunately, having to file at CSC as we are in Colorado. Ugh! Guess we will see how that goes.

 

Thanks for clarifying on being able to file for citizenship if ROC is still pending. Hoping things might turn around this year for that but yes, citizenship and being free of all this stress is definitely our ultimate goal.

 

Thanks again. 

[starspace1 2]

Sadly it does appear to take a long time to get the removal of conditions. We filed for that on 5/30/17, got fingerprints 7/6/17, then got the I-797c letter saying the green card was extended for another year, but have heard absolutely nothing since then. We decided to apply for naturalization while waiting (you definitely can do that). The estimated case completion time when we applied for naturalization online states "May 2019" 🙄Since the one year green card extension ends in a few months (6/11/18), I've read that we need to make an InfoPass appointment to get an I-551 stamp in the meantime. So you should probably read about that process too (I need to do more research).

 

Removal of conditions process was straightforward - make sure you start to gather all your tax transcripts and travel history for the N-400 filing though, that one is more intense, but you can do it online!

[starspace1 2]

Oh, and one more thing, make SURE that if he travels outside the US while you're waiting on the removal of conditions, that he brings the *original* I-797c (one year extension letter) along with the green card. They will not even let him board the plane to come back to the US without it, because the green card will still say the old expiration date on it. That letter says "keep for your records" when it should really say "keep with your green card otherwise any official will think it's expired" ... ugh.

[alborosie8090 17]

On 3/16/2018 at 9:53 AM, starspace1 said:

Oh, and one more thing, make SURE that if he travels outside the US while you're waiting on the removal of conditions, that he brings the *original* I-797c (one year extension letter) along with the green card. They will not even let him board the plane to come back to the US without it, because the green card will still say the old expiration date on it. That letter says "keep for your records" when it should really say "keep with your green card otherwise any official will think it's expired" ... ugh.

 

Thanks you guys. And thanks a million for this advice because we plan on going to Costa Rica to visit family and friends at some point later this year, and it sounds like it would be a nightmare if we didn't ensure to bring that form!