Starting Naturalization Application Today - any advice?

[skatetrash 0]

After being in US on various visas and eventually a green card I'm finally applying for naturalization and am terrified of screwing up the process or getting so frustrated I give up completely. Any practical advice on what to do/not to do or just stay sane during the process will be much appreciated.

[Inky 1,110]

After being in US on various visas and eventually a green card I'm finally applying for naturalization and am terrified of screwing up the process or getting so frustrated I give up completely. Any practical advice on what to do/not to do or just stay sane during the process will be much appreciated.

Study but don't just study the answers to the questions, study why it is the answer. Learn some of the history if you haven't already. It will help during the testing. As well as remove the " omg I don't understand this but I need to remember the answers" issue.

[Precious 2]

I can tell you that the Naturalization process for me was the easiest one so far, in terms of gathering the paper work. Don't fret, just go through the N-400 form slowly.

If you have copies of your previous forms submitted for your green-card process, make sure you put down the same answers for the standard questions. In other words, just be consistent, same answers, same documents previously submitted and always tell the truth.

The only thing I found it tiresome was to get the dates on my passport when I travelled abroad for summer vacations during the period of my legal residence, calculating the days I was out of the country to put down on the form. :wacko:

Being organized also helps.

The documents you will need are almost the same ones, original and copies: marriage certificate, if previously divorced, proof of termination - divorce decrees, passports, and very important, taxes filed. I called the IRS and ordered some transcripts and they came in 4 days in the mail. That was very helpful, because the officer in my interview asked to see those, and he kept them.

I had some utility bills to prove residence, 2 reports of joined bank accounts, car and health insurance cards.

Mind you, the officer didn't ask to see any of these, but I had them ready if he needed. The only thing he wanted to see was my taxes

So, go slowly and breathe, it's almost over!

My process, from the date I filed to the interview today took 3 months and I got out of there with my Oath letter in hand, which will be on April 24. I can't wait to get to the end of this journey.

Best!

[Precious 2]

After being in US on various visas and eventually a green card I'm finally applying for naturalization and am terrified of screwing up the process or getting so frustrated I give up completely. Any practical advice on what to do/not to do or just stay sane during the process will be much appreciated.

Oh, something else: the day you go for your biometrics, they give you a booklet with all the questions and answers for the test. I found particurlary helpful the CD it comes with it, which I could listen in the car, on my way to work and back. I watched documentaries on Netflix about the Civil War, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, which were also helpful.

[NickD 202]

First question is, are you applying for the 3 or 5 year, the latter is far simpler. If you went through the AOS and ROC stages, same old stuff again.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Don't carry a loaded gun to the interview.

Don't spit into the I.O.'s face.

Don't say that you wish North Korea would turn the U.S. into a crater.

Short of that, you will find that the naturalization stage is so simple that a cave woman can do it. The less intelligence you have, the better:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/hey_wait_a_minute/2011/02/the_problem_with_question_36.html

Edited April 2, 2013 by Brother Hesekiel

[NickD 202]

Don't carry a loaded gun to the interview.

Don't spit into the I.O.'s face.

Don't say that you wish North Korea would turn the U.S. into a crater.

Short of that, you will find that the naturalization stage is so simple that a cave woman can do it. The less intelligence you have, the better:

http://www.slate.com...uestion_36.html

You do make a point in a way, average IO does not like to interview a person that is obviously more intelligent than they are, and far superior in speaking the English language. Perhaps their reason is, if they make you a US citizen, you may take their job.

Is probably better to act stupid.

[av8or 34]

this is not a popular advice here, (since everyone seems to be an expert here in filing themselves, then short of giving themselves a heart attack on waiting if they did everything correct while waiting for a response), i actually retained a lawyer to do all my paperwork from day 1 to the finish line.. this is the most important last step in your journey and the last thing you want to do is screw it up.. sure, you save a couple of hundreds doing it alone but then if you mess it up, it will take twice as much to have it fixed.. my lawyer did all my paperwork and made sure i had everything's in order.. interview took less than 30 mins.. when you are sick, you go to a doctor.. when you have problems with your car, you go to a mechanic.. see where i am going here.. if you are in doubt on your n400 and want piece of mind, use a reputable immigration lawyer..

Edited April 3, 2013 by av8or

[mozplay 28]

Short of that, you will find that the naturalization stage is so simple that a cave woman can do it.

Cave MAN!!!!

[TBoneTX 43,131]

For a light-hearted look at part of the process, see here, si man:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/382775-mrs-t-b-the-citizenship-test/

[FlipgalRN 19]

After being in US on various visas and eventually a green card I'm finally applying for naturalization and am terrified of screwing up the process or getting so frustrated I give up completely. Any practical advice on what to do/not to do or just stay sane during the process will be much appreciated.

Be honest in your application. Keep track of all your travel dates you'll need this for your application. Also make a copy of your n-400 application so you can review it before your interview. I realized I had made an error with a travel date and was able to amend it at my interview. Once you get you first NOA sign up for USCIS text/email notifications, it updates you as soon as your status changes. Do an early biometrics if you can. It helped bump my processing time but that's just from my own experience. Good luck with your N-400 application!

Edited April 3, 2013 by FlipgalRN

[Kevin-n-Merlaine 14]

this is not a popular advice here, (since everyone seems to be an expert here in filing themselves, then short of giving themselves a heart attack on waiting if they did everything correct while waiting for a response), i actually retained a lawyer to do all my paperwork from day 1 to the finish line.. this is the most important last step in your journey and the last thing you want to do is screw it up.. sure, you save a couple of hundreds doing it alone but then if you mess it up, it will take twice as much to have it fixed.. my lawyer did all my paperwork and made sure i had everything's in order.. interview took less than 30 mins.. when you are sick, you go to a doctor.. when you have problems with your car, you go to a mechanic.. see where i am going here.. if you are in doubt on your n400 and want piece of mind, use a reputable immigration lawyer..

Not trying to hijack your thread at all skatetrash but I don't think anyone here would claim to be an expert in any area of immigration. Every piece of information you need to complete the process from start to finish is here along with hundreds of people who have gone through the exact same steps that the next person needs to complete. That wealth of knowledge has been far more valuable to me than any false "piece of mind" I might have had with an attorney. I actually personally know several couples who have had more problems and their cases have taken way too long to complete because they did use an attorney. I'm sure a lot have had good experiences too but most that I know, both personally and here on VJ, didn't.

Having said that, I'm not just trolling...lol. My wife and I are going file in the next few months and I too was looking for a few tips if there were any. Sounds about as straight forward as the rest has been though

[av8or 34]

Every piece of information you need to complete the process from start to finish is here along with hundreds of people who have gone through the exact same steps that the next person needs to complete. That wealth of knowledge has been far more valuable to me than any false "piece of mind" I might have had with an attorney. I actually personally know several couples who have had more problems and their cases have taken way too long to complete because they did use an attorney. I'm sure a lot have had good experiences too but most that I know, both personally and here on VJ, didn't.

there's a wealth of information out there on the internet.. as a matter of fact, if you need your appendix removed, you can google search the procedure.. heck you can even ask around those who have gone thru it and they will tell you what to do.. question is, are you dumb enough to do it? maybe the couple you know who's cases were problems when they retained a lawyer, did the process themselves, f ^*&^ it up, then come crying to a lawyer asking them to do miracles.. or maybe their case were f*&*^T up to begin with and then blame the lawyer.. i highly doubt a person trained in the field of immigration law would mess up.. that's what they do and are schooled for.. the advice you get from an immigration lawyer, far outweighs any you get from anyone here..

[NickD 202]

this is not a popular advice here, (since everyone seems to be an expert here in filing themselves, then short of giving themselves a heart attack on waiting if they did everything correct while waiting for a response), i actually retained a lawyer to do all my paperwork from day 1 to the finish line.. this is the most important last step in your journey and the last thing you want to do is screw it up.. sure, you save a couple of hundreds doing it alone but then if you mess it up, it will take twice as much to have it fixed.. my lawyer did all my paperwork and made sure i had everything's in order.. interview took less than 30 mins.. when you are sick, you go to a doctor.. when you have problems with your car, you go to a mechanic.. see where i am going here.. if you are in doubt on your n400 and want piece of mind, use a reputable immigration lawyer..

My attorney that guided us through the AOS stage, didn't want anything to do with the ROC of citizenship stages, but did help me with some of those very nebulous questions. He knows I want a flat rate quote, and perhaps thought I would be calling him every five minutes for updates. When we did run into long delays, he advised us to contact our senator's office, can give that advice for free. Plus helping with those nebulous questions.

Where did I start? Downloaded and printed that M-476 manual, supplements, instructions, and the N-400 form. Instructions state average time for the N-400 is around six hours, was far less than that for the five year, but try more like 30 hours for the three year.

Want free advice? Wait another two years.

[Kevin-n-Merlaine 14]

there's a wealth of information out there on the internet.. as a matter of fact, if you need your appendix removed, you can google search the procedure.. heck you can even ask around those who have gone thru it and they will tell you what to do.. question is, are you dumb enough to do it? maybe the couple you know who's cases were problems when they retained a lawyer, did the process themselves, f ^*&^ it up, then come crying to a lawyer asking them to do miracles.. or maybe their case were f*&*^T up to begin with and then blame the lawyer.. i highly doubt a person trained in the field of immigration law would mess up.. that's what they do and are schooled for.. the advice you get from an immigration lawyer, far outweighs any you get from anyone here..

I guess my only question left for you then would be, why are you here? You have no timeline, your journey starts with citizenship, you have no personal stats or information on your profile and obviously don't need any help or advice from such an uneducated group as us. I didn't suggest that all attorneys did a poor job, just the facts of cases I knew of. The attorney does exactly the same thing...fill out the proper forms, file them at the appropriate times...etc. That's just my opinion though