N-400 3 MONTHS RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

[abc321 0]

I am eligible to apply for Naturalization. l live in SC for 4 years but want to move to NC. Both states are in the same USCIS 
district, if l want to apply from NC, do i need to wait for 3 months?

 

This is the information l found it on USCIS website : 

 

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing. 

 

 

 

[ilyak 79]

6 hours ago, abc321 said:

Both states are in the same USCIS district

This is incorrect. NC has 2 USCIS field offices, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham. SC also has 2 USCIS field offices, Charleston and Greer. You must reside within one office's jurisdiction for 3 months before applying. I do not believe there is currently a USCIS field office that services locations in both NC and SC.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices

Edited May 17, 2018 by ilyak
added link

[abc321 0]

3 hours ago, ilyak said:

This is incorrect. NC has 2 USCIS field offices, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham. SC also has 2 USCIS field offices, Charleston and Greer. You must reside within one office's jurisdiction for 3 months before applying. I do not believe there is currently a USCIS field office that services locations in both NC and SC.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices

 

it doesn't say USCIS field office it says :

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence.

 

Here is the link for USCIS district map : 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/domestic_map.pdf

 

Please correct me if i am missing something.  

[CTgal18 157]

55 minutes ago, abc321 said:

it doesn't say USCIS field office it says :

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence.

 

Here is the link for USCIS district map : 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/domestic_map.pdf

 

Please correct me if i am missing something.  

A.  Three-Month Residency Requirement (in State or Service District)

 

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing. 

 

The term “state” includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The term “service district” is defined as the geographical area over which a USCIS office has jurisdiction.

 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter6.html

 

So, yes you will have to wait three months after moving because the North Carolina offices have separate areas of jurisdiction than the South Carolina offices. 

Edited May 18, 2018 by CTgal18

[ilyak 79]

2 hours ago, abc321 said:

it doesn't say USCIS field office it says :

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence.

 

Here is the link for USCIS district map : 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/nativedocuments/domestic_map.pdf

 

Please correct me if i am missing something.  

My response was based on the information provided to me by a tier 2 officer whom I posed the same question to last fall while preparing to move from VT to upstate NY (note that the offices of jurisdiction for both of those are within one district on the map you linked to, #2). He told me that the rule was originally implemented to make it harder for people to try pick the field office that would be responsible for their interview. The map you linked to represents the administrative division of field offices into governing districts. It is internal to the USCIS and shows which district office oversees each field office, not who handles your N-400. You can read more about how the USCIS is organized here: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/field-operations-directorate 

 

In short: it is the field office responsible for your place of residence that has jurisdiction over your future case, so if you choose to file after you move, you will have to wait for 3 months.

[abc321 0]

2 minutes ago, ilyak said:

My response was based on the information provided to me by a tier 2 officer whom I posed the same question to last fall while preparing to move from VT to upstate NY (note that the offices of jurisdiction for both of those are within one district on the map you linked to, #2). He told me that the rule was originally implemented to make it harder for people to try pick the field office that would be responsible for their interview. The map you linked to represents the administrative division of field offices into governing districts. It is internal to the USCIS and shows which district office oversees each field office, not who handles your N-400. You can read more about how the USCIS is organized here: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/field-operations-directorate 

 

In short: it is the field office responsible for your place of residence that has jurisdiction over your future case, so if you choose to file after you move, you will have to wait for 3 months.

l got it now, thanks