US Residence - 319b (Non-military)

[choir001 0]

Hi there,

I am hoping someone here that has filed for 319b expedited naturalization and who is not in the military can help me.

The question I have is with regards to having a US residence. My DH and I sold our house prior to leaving the US, due to the financial market and not wishing to lose even more money, but my attorney seems to think that we will have an issue since we do not have a current US residence. Our US mail is forwarded to us by my DH's company, so we only have a PO Box in the US or our actual address in China.

Anyone else filed without a US residence? I can see why having a US residence would help my application, but will the lack of having one harm us?

Thanks,

Kim C

[v333k 59]

Hi,

I am not familiar with the 319b path, but you need to show at all times ties to the US. Although this doesn't apply to you, but there is a clause in the continuous residence rule that states if a LPR traveled outside the US more than 6 months, then they are required to provide evidence to show that ties to the US still existed. Basically, they want you to keep paying taxes and continue to file for taxes.

But again, I am not familiar with the 319b path and I am not sure if it will matter in your case....

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

As long as you file your taxes in the US and have so since becoming a LPR, you should be fine. If you file from abroad under 319b, you will have to be fingerprinted and interviewed at a US embassy. Not sure about the oath ceremony though. Hopefully others will chime in.

[newlyweds 0]

regarding the test taking and oath taking, i asked the uscis military hotline about it, they said, you can just request for which place you can get interviewed but you just need to state that on the cover letter

[Juliya.Moore 0]

Hi there,

I am hoping someone here that has filed for 319b expedited naturalization and who is not in the military can help me.

The question I have is with regards to having a US residence. My DH and I sold our house prior to leaving the US, due to the financial market and not wishing to lose even more money, but my attorney seems to think that we will have an issue since we do not have a current US residence. Our US mail is forwarded to us by my DH's company, so we only have a PO Box in the US or our actual address in China.

Anyone else filed without a US residence? I can see why having a US residence would help my application, but will the lack of having one harm us?

Thanks,

Kim C

In part 4.A provide your physical address which is China's address, In part 4.B provide your US POBox address and you shouldn't have a problem.

[N&Z 0]

Hi Kim C

I have the same problem as you... I'm about to send my application, under the same conditions, but I dont know if I should list on "Home Address" my address overseas or an address in the states (by the way Im also in China). From what I have read on this forum some people think their application was rejected because they listed their overseas address... but Im not certain what is the right way to go... I know it has been a while since you posted your question... what did you decide to do?

You could list a family member's address... what address does USCIS have from you?

If you are still around please let me know what is the status of your application, if you sent it yet.

Also, what did you do about fingerprints? did you have them taken in China? the people from USCIS office at the US embassy in beijing refuse to take mine because they say I need a request from USCIS in the states that asks for fingerprints to be taken overseas... how did you figure that one out?

Hope to hear from you,

Nat

Hi there,

I am hoping someone here that has filed for 319b expedited naturalization and who is not in the military can help me.

The question I have is with regards to having a US residence. My DH and I sold our house prior to leaving the US, due to the financial market and not wishing to lose even more money, but my attorney seems to think that we will have an issue since we do not have a current US residence. Our US mail is forwarded to us by my DH's company, so we only have a PO Box in the US or our actual address in China.

Anyone else filed without a US residence? I can see why having a US residence would help my application, but will the lack of having one harm us?

Thanks,

Kim C

[Captain Oates 910]

we were living in the uk when we filed for my GC

2 weeks from the end they raised the question of domicile and wanted to fail us

luckily she had filed state taxes in wisconsin and that, and only that cracked the case.

We still spent hours on the phone to supervisors with faxes flying back and forth.

she couldnt file in the uk as she was under 2 years resident

only us domiciled can be a sponsor

[Juliya.Moore 0]

Delete

Edited August 26, 2010 by Juliya.Moore

[choir001 0]

Hi Nat,

It has been a while since my original post, but honestly I am not that much further forward. I have an immigration attorney working on my application and I literally just couriered the signed application back late last week. I am hoping my attorney files the application in the next week.

Having said that in answer to your question, we used our China address as our primary address (part 4.a), then my attorney's office address as the mailing address (part 4.b).

With reference to the fingerprints, I had them processed in Beijing at the consulate. It was a nightmare, since I could not get them done here in Shanghai and really couldn't get any help from anyone at USCIS. Anyway, they finally agreed to make an appointment, I went to Beijing, got fingerprinted and they gave me the fingerprint cards back in a signed, sealed envelope to mail in with my application. I wish I had a name of someone there that could help you, but they seem to enjoy the anonymity and no one gave me their name. To add insult to injury, the officer that took my prints said 'why didn't you do this in Shanghai?' She was quite surprised that I had to travel to Beijing just to do it.

Where in China are you? We are living in Shanghai and I have requested Fairfax, VA for my interview and oath.

Good luck and please keep in touch, it sounds like we are on a similar timeframe.

Kim C

Hi Kim C

I have the same problem as you... I'm about to send my application, under the same conditions, but I dont know if I should list on "Home Address" my address overseas or an address in the states (by the way Im also in China). From what I have read on this forum some people think their application was rejected because they listed their overseas address... but Im not certain what is the right way to go... I know it has been a while since you posted your question... what did you decide to do?

You could list a family member's address... what address does USCIS have from you?

If you are still around please let me know what is the status of your application, if you sent it yet.

Also, what did you do about fingerprints? did you have them taken in China? the people from USCIS office at the US embassy in beijing refuse to take mine because they say I need a request from USCIS in the states that asks for fingerprints to be taken overseas... how did you figure that one out?

Hope to hear from you,

Nat

[N&Z 0]

Hi Kim,

Thank you for your reply.

I also plan to request Fairfax, VA for my interview and oath, I have all my paperwork ready to be sent, except for the prints.

I'm in Beijing... literally 10 minutes away from the US embassy, but you know how that embassy works, it's not like you can drop by and as them a question, you can only go in by appointment and I cannot get one. I have called twice, emailed four times and they still refuse to take my fingerprints! According to the last person I talked to they only take fingerprints for people who are in the military..... I get a different answer every time in contact them, and as with you, they also refuse to give out their names. And they don't tell me what to do either, mail the application without the fingerprints, send the biometrics fee or not, and I would hate to have to go to the States for fingerprints and then again for an interview. (I'm about to start school and it would be very hard for me to do so).

How did you manage to have them agree to take your fingerprints? are you in China because of the military or something related to it? or are you applying based on employement with a US company?

I really appreciate you wishing to help me, and I'm sorry you had to make a tip all the way to Beijing just for fingerprints and then find out you could have done it in Shanghai... everything is so confusing when it comes to immigration!

Let me ask you another question, on the application, when they asked for the dates of time spent outside the US, what did you put down as the first date of return to US? did you list that day's date or simply typed "still in china" or something like that?

Good luck to you too, please keep in touch and let me know how things go, I will do the same.

Nat

Hi Nat,

It has been a while since my original post, but honestly I am not that much further forward. I have an immigration attorney working on my application and I literally just couriered the signed application back late last week. I am hoping my attorney files the application in the next week.

Having said that in answer to your question, we used our China address as our primary address (part 4.a), then my attorney's office address as the mailing address (part 4.b).

With reference to the fingerprints, I had them processed in Beijing at the consulate. It was a nightmare, since I could not get them done here in Shanghai and really couldn't get any help from anyone at USCIS. Anyway, they finally agreed to make an appointment, I went to Beijing, got fingerprinted and they gave me the fingerprint cards back in a signed, sealed envelope to mail in with my application. I wish I had a name of someone there that could help you, but they seem to enjoy the anonymity and no one gave me their name. To add insult to injury, the officer that took my prints said 'why didn't you do this in Shanghai?' She was quite surprised that I had to travel to Beijing just to do it.

Where in China are you? We are living in Shanghai and I have requested Fairfax, VA for my interview and oath.

Good luck and please keep in touch, it sounds like we are on a similar timeframe.

Kim C

[choir001 0]

Hey Nat,

Urgh! I feel your pain. Don't give up.

I am not sure what email address you are using, but this is the one I used ("CIS, DHS Beijing" <dhsbeijing-cis@dhs.gov>). I believe it is actually Homeland Security rather than the regular ACS email. Although, having visited them I know the office is one office, they just don't seem to communicate to each other.

In answer to your question, I am not here through the military. My husband works for General Motors (private sector US company), so don't accept the 'we only do military fingerprints' line. They did mine and I am not military.

I would tell you they insisted I send a scanned version of my DH's employment letter to prove we were eligible to apply under 319b, before they would agree to give me an appointment. As for the application, on one of the USCIS forms (I seem to think it is the guide notes on N400), it says that if you send in fingerprint cards, you do not need to pay for the biometrics. However, my attorney suggested we send a check for the full amount to everything. We wrote two checks and hope they will not cash the biometrics check unless they really need to (I know they will and of course they won't issue a refund - lol). Anyway, yes, I sent the fingerprint cards (2 sets of originals) and the fee for biometrics too.

The dates for outside the US were left as 08/01/2008 until 08/25/2010 (which was a couple of days after I signed the application). Obviously, that 08/25/2008 is not when I returned but this was what my attorney has done in the past, so I trusted her experience. I would also note that I had to list all my trips outside of China during that period (08/01/08 - 08/25/10), even though I did not return to the US. My attorney seemed to believe that even though the dates were already accounted for, I need to account for my exit stamps in my passport separately.

Good luck and please let me know if you have any other questions. I figure you and I are in this thing together, so we need to stick together. :-)

Kim

.

Hi Kim,

Thank you for your reply.

I also plan to request Fairfax, VA for my interview and oath, I have all my paperwork ready to be sent, except for the prints.

I'm in Beijing... literally 10 minutes away from the US embassy, but you know how that embassy works, it's not like you can drop by and as them a question, you can only go in by appointment and I cannot get one. I have called twice, emailed four times and they still refuse to take my fingerprints! According to the last person I talked to they only take fingerprints for people who are in the military..... I get a different answer every time in contact them, and as with you, they also refuse to give out their names. And they don't tell me what to do either, mail the application without the fingerprints, send the biometrics fee or not, and I would hate to have to go to the States for fingerprints and then again for an interview. (I'm about to start school and it would be very hard for me to do so).

How did you manage to have them agree to take your fingerprints? are you in China because of the military or something related to it? or are you applying based on employement with a US company?

I really appreciate you wishing to help me, and I'm sorry you had to make a tip all the way to Beijing just for fingerprints and then find out you could have done it in Shanghai... everything is so confusing when it comes to immigration!

Let me ask you another question, on the application, when they asked for the dates of time spent outside the US, what did you put down as the first date of return to US? did you list that day's date or simply typed "still in china" or something like that?

Good luck to you too, please keep in touch and let me know how things go, I will do the same.

Nat

[N&Z 0]

Hi Kim!

Last month I was finally able to have the embassy take my fingerprints... thanks for suggesting to be persistent with them! So I sent the application in and just recieved the letter notice that they got my paperwork.

How is your process going? You sent your application earlier than me... anything aside the reciept notification letter?

I hope everything is going well, keep in touch!!!

Nat

Hey Nat,

Urgh! I feel your pain. Don't give up.

I am not sure what email address you are using, but this is the one I used ("CIS, DHS Beijing" <dhsbeijing-cis@dhs.gov>). I believe it is actually Homeland Security rather than the regular ACS email. Although, having visited them I know the office is one office, they just don't seem to communicate to each other.

In answer to your question, I am not here through the military. My husband works for General Motors (private sector US company), so don't accept the 'we only do military fingerprints' line. They did mine and I am not military.

I would tell you they insisted I send a scanned version of my DH's employment letter to prove we were eligible to apply under 319b, before they would agree to give me an appointment. As for the application, on one of the USCIS forms (I seem to think it is the guide notes on N400), it says that if you send in fingerprint cards, you do not need to pay for the biometrics. However, my attorney suggested we send a check for the full amount to everything. We wrote two checks and hope they will not cash the biometrics check unless they really need to (I know they will and of course they won't issue a refund - lol). Anyway, yes, I sent the fingerprint cards (2 sets of originals) and the fee for biometrics too.

The dates for outside the US were left as 08/01/2008 until 08/25/2010 (which was a couple of days after I signed the application). Obviously, that 08/25/2008 is not when I returned but this was what my attorney has done in the past, so I trusted her experience. I would also note that I had to list all my trips outside of China during that period (08/01/08 - 08/25/10), even though I did not return to the US. My attorney seemed to believe that even though the dates were already accounted for, I need to account for my exit stamps in my passport separately.

Good luck and please let me know if you have any other questions. I figure you and I are in this thing together, so we need to stick together. :-)

Kim

.

[choir001 0]

Hey Nat,

Good to hear from you and great to hear you managed to get into Beijing to get your fp's taken.

As for me, I am still waiting to hear from my attorney. Supposedly, my application was sent in on Sept 3, but I haven't heard anything since. I checked today and my check was cashed on Sept 22, so that is something.

When did you send in yours and how long until you received confirmation of receipt?

Just trying to figure out how quick things are moving. I am hoping to hear from my attorney today, I sent her an email yesterday asking for any news, so will post here once I get a response.

I think it is funny we both checked in today, maybe its a sign that something is happening over there in USCIS world.... I saw a lady before us who applied Aug 14 had her interview scheduled for oct 28, however she is rescheduling due to an accident.

Best wishes,

Kim C

Hi Kim!

Last month I was finally able to have the embassy take my fingerprints... thanks for suggesting to be persistent with them! So I sent the application in and just recieved the letter notice that they got my paperwork.

How is your process going? You sent your application earlier than me... anything aside the reciept notification letter?

I hope everything is going well, keep in touch!!!

Nat

[N&Z 0]

Hi Kim!

I think I sent the application to the US September 16, or a day or two earlier, then it was at my parents for a couple of days and they sent it off for me, so I dont know the exact date in which it was sent, but must have been around September 20th.

The letter I got is form I-797C (Notice of Action) and was issued September 29, it got to my address in the US a little over a week after that.

Did you check with your attorney to see if she got yours yet? Maybe she got it and just didn't mention it because you do not need to send anything else. The letter doesn't say much, just that they have recieved your documents and lists whatever additional documents you need to send, if any.

And in my case it was the same as with you, the check cleared before I had heard from them, so I'm sure your notice is either there or on its way.

I saw online that processing times for the Washington DC office were about 6 months, so what you tell me abouth the lady who applied before us makes me more optimistic! It would be wonderful if it was only 3 months or so. The only thing that somewhat concerns me is that I checked the status of my case on the USCIS website with the application number and it says that my case cannot be found at this time, so... I don't know!

Let me know when you hear back from your attorney, I hope you hear news soon.

Keep me updated,

Natalia

[choir001 0]

Hey Natalia,

Have you checked your online status recently? I just checked mine today and it is showing as in Initial Review as of Nov 4th.

I am interested to see where you are too, since we may end up in VA together.

When I called them a few weeks ago, they said it would take 6-8 weeks from receipt for my fingerprint cards for the clearance to be approved, so I guess the timing in correct so far. I just wish I could get an idea of when the appointment might be. My kids are due to be off school from Dec 16 to Jan 8, so it would be ideal if the appointment could fall so we could be in the US for their whole vacation. Knowing my luck, the appointment will be after Jan 1 and they will end up missing more school or we will have to keep the trip short. Poor things are desperate to visit the US again and have been waiting since the summer. I would hate to short change them.

Anyway, check you status and let me know.

Kim