N400 Denied - Suggestions.. advice?

[nabeel24 3]

7 minutes ago, dwheels76 said:

You were denied because you didn't qualify under the marriage 3 year rule. Don;t know what you investigated but it was wrong. You filed too early for 5 year need to wait that 4 months.

 

So when your 5 years as a LPR comes up you are eligible to file.

 

 

So, you're saying to qualify for the 3 year rule, I need to receive my GC via marriage? I'm surprised to hear that, obviously from my research it simply said you need to have GC and married to USC for 3 years to apply for it. Also, obviously was told that by an USCIS officer. I'd hope he knew what he was saying. 

 

Is there anywhere you can point to where this is written or shown? Need to make sure as I didn't see it anywhere. Thank you.  

[MahUSA 19]

OP is right, he doesn't have to have received GC through marriage, as long as he does have a GC and been married to a USC for the last 3 years and during those 3 years spouse was a USC too, he qualifies to apply under the 3-year rule. 
I can't copy it but check the first page of N-400 

[nabeel24 3]

17 minutes ago, MahUSA said:

OP is right, he doesn't have to have received GC through marriage, as long as he does have a GC and been married to a USC for the last 3 years and during those 3 years spouse was a USC too, he qualifies to apply under the 3-year rule. 
I can't copy it but check the first page of N-400 

 

Yep. I've been researching a lot since a couple people here said otherwise. 

 

Found this website that says about getting citizen through marriage and getting GC through that marriage too BUT also states this:

"By the way, this exception also applies to people who obtained their green card in some other way, so long as they were also married to and living with a U.S. citizen for three years before applying to naturalize."

 

https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/immigration/citizenship/marriage-and-us-citizenship.html

[MahUSA 19]

1 minute ago, nabeel24 said:

 

Yep. I've been researching a lot since a couple people here said otherwise. 

 

Found this website that says about getting citizen through marriage and getting GC through that marriage too BUT also states this:

"By the way, this exception also applies to people who obtained their green card in some other way, so long as they were also married to and living with a U.S. citizen for three years before applying to naturalize."

 

https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/immigration/citizenship/marriage-and-us-citizenship.html

Yea it makes sense. And honestly if you think about it logically, I would argue that you deserve to apply for citizenship 3 years after marriage as much as, if not more than, someone who obtained GC through marriage. If not, it would be like you're being punished for already having a green card before marrying a USC citizen.

[hopephilly 21]

3 hours ago, nabeel24 said:

 

Nope. I just checked to make sure. You simply need to have a Green Card and be married to a US Citizen for 3 years. Does not matter how you got that green card. You do not need to get the Green Card through marriage. 

Hi Nabeel,

 

you should wait a few months then apply under 5 years rules. I know someone who had a similar problem so he just applied again and got his citizenship .

good luck to you . Time is fast so be patient .

 

[nabeel24 3]

1 minute ago, hopephilly said:

Hi Nabeel,

 

you should wait a few months then apply under 5 years rules. I know someone who had a similar problem so he just applied again and got his citizenship .

good luck to you . Time is fast so be patient .

 

 

Thank you! Those few months have already gone by so I am now already able to apply under the 5-year rule. At this point it's just waiting on the notice to see the exact reason of why it was denied. But if it was because of marriage documents, I'll be sure to file immediately. Just hoping it was not due to the speeding ticket because it was reckless. It was brought down to a regular infraction so I assumed it didn't matter. 

 

How long did that person have to wait to re-apply? Are you able to do it immediately?

[hopephilly 21]

14 minutes ago, nabeel24 said:

 

Thank you! Those few months have already gone by so I am now already able to apply under the 5-year rule. At this point it's just waiting on the notice to see the exact reason of why it was denied. But if it was because of marriage documents, I'll be sure to file immediately. Just hoping it was not due to the speeding ticket because it was reckless. It was brought down to a regular infraction so I assumed it didn't matter. 

 

How long did that person have to wait to re-apply? Are you able to do it immediately?

The speedongbyoblet should not be an issue as long as you provide the proof of payment . They love that ( proof ! Lol )

my friend went back home for a few months ( I think 3 ) then came back and applied . About 4 months waiting time .

now he is happy . He had plenty of tragic tickets in court but always payed . It was not the issue .

i hoops this helped .

also, do you pay your taxes as joint or single . This is very important .

[nabeel24 3]

2 minutes ago, hopephilly said:

The speedongbyoblet should not be an issue as long as you provide the proof of payment . They love that ( proof ! Lol )

my friend went back home for a few months ( I think 3 ) then came back and applied . About 4 months waiting time .

now he is happy . He had plenty of tragic tickets in court but always payed . It was not the issue .

i hoops this helped .

also, do you pay your taxes as joint or single . This is very important .

 

Got it. Yeah, I'm a bit anxious to get the application process started again. I actually filled out a little bit of the online application, I previously did it on paper. I'm assuming it's either the N-336 or re-file, I prefer the 5-year re-file route to avoid issues. 

 

We do our taxes Married filing Jointly. 

[Tilia 75]

I think you had very little proof of bona fide marriage.

[nabeel24 3]

30 minutes ago, Tilia said:

I think you had very little proof of bona fide marriage.

 

This could very well be. I had a slight feeling when leaving the interview. And the last name issue also played a factor I’m guessing. But I thought the 5 years of being married would’ve felt otherwise.

 

I want to say in total I had: car insurance, apartment lease from 08/2016 till now & the renewal till 2019 and lastly the separate bank statements. 

 

I want to say the combination of not having a lease for the past 3 years played a role as well but what can we do... had to live with the parents for that time being.

[Starkilla09 366]

5 hours ago, dwheels76 said:

You were denied because you didn't qualify under the marriage 3 year rule. Don;t know what you investigated but it was wrong. You filed too early for 5 year need to wait that 4 months.

 

So when your 5 years as a LPR comes up you are eligible to file.

 

OP you definitely qualified based on marriage as you have been a permanent resident for the past 3 years and your spouse has also been a U.S. citizen for the past 3 years prior to you applying. This doesn’t matter how you got your initial green card though. Now with that being said, to qualify under 3 year rule the burden of proof is on you the applicant to demonstrate you have ONGOING marital union. Sure you’re still married after 5 years and this is great, however; when it comes to this interpretation, documentary evidence is the bread and butter of it especially ones showing joint financial liability. USCIS uses such evidence to make the determination and I’m afraid that’s where you fall short. I’m pretty sure your denial letter will explain it all. The good thing is you’re already qualified now under 5 year rule so you should definitely reapply under this rule and waive yourself from this stringent requirement and sail through it easily. Don’t even waste time chasing an appeal. Just fork out your new fees, put you application online and wait for another interview. You should be fine.

Edited May 13, 2018 by Starkilla09

[Santos12 41]

4 hours ago, nabeel24 said:

 

Got it. Yeah, I'm a bit anxious to get the application process started again. I actually filled out a little bit of the online application, I previously did it on paper. I'm assuming it's either the N-336 or re-file, I prefer the 5-year re-file route to avoid issues. 

 

We do our taxes Married filing Jointly. 

You can actually file up to 90 days before the 3-year rule or the 5-year rule. 

So 2 years and 9 months or 4 years and 9 months respectively as a permanent resident. It’s the first time I’ve heard someone being denied on the spot like that. Usually they reschedule you for another interview. 

[TBoneTX 43,413]

Thread is moved from the US Citizenship main forum to the Case Progress subforum.

[KVE 29]

The requirements under marriage are way more stringent than the 5 year route. I got it through marriage but I have 3 kids, joint credit cards, accounts, beneficiaries on all our insurances, etc. I work 30 minutes away from my wife and took her to the interview. I also took photo books there.

 

Once the person saw my wife in the lobby he wanted her to join us and also started scrolling through the photo books. I think that made him feel comfortable that my marriage was legit. It was a breeze from there, I even took out all the documents (about 3 inch stack) and he never wanted to see anything from there. I probably spent 10 hours collating evidence for him to ask nothing. Guess pictures really are worth a 1000 words.

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the proof that your marriage was legitimate.

[nabeel24 3]

10 hours ago, Starkilla09 said:

OP you definitely qualified based on marriage as you have been a permanent resident for the past 3 years and your spouse has also been a U.S. citizen for the past 3 years prior to you applying. This doesn’t matter how you got your initial green card though. Now with that being said, to qualify under 3 year rule the burden of proof is on you the applicant to demonstrate you have ONGOING marital union. Sure you’re still married after 5 years and this is great, however; when it comes to this interpretation, documentary evidence is the bread and butter of it especially ones showing joint financial liability. USCIS uses such evidence to make the determination and I’m afraid that’s where you fall short. I’m pretty sure your denial letter will explain it all. The good thing is you’re already qualified now under 5 year rule so you should definitely reapply under this rule and waive yourself from this stringent requirement and sail through it easily. Don’t even waste time chasing an appeal. Just fork out your new fees, put you application online and wait for another interview. You should be fine.

 

Yep, I had a slight feeling this might be the case when leaving the interview. Looking back on it with my wife, we just thought IF it wasn't enough they would send us an RFE but guess they just fast tracked it to a denial. If it was denied due to evidence, then I will be re-applying immediately under the 5-year rule. 

 

Do you happen to know how fast I can re-apply? I believe on the notice it'll say if I want to go against the decision to file a N-336 within 30 days or the decision will be finalized... but I wonder if I can file another N-400 within 30 days as well.