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ADW & JOP

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  • Gender
    Male
  • City
    San Diego
  • State
    California

Immigration Info

  • Immigration Status
    IR-1/CR-1 Visa
  • Place benefits filed at
    Texas Service Center
  • Local Office
    Phoenix AZ
  • Country
    Canada

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  1. Also, having just gone through a similar passport situation, your last option is risky and stressful. This is travel season and demand for a passport is very high. Everyone is trying to get a passport right now and those urgent appointments aren’t always available. You would need to call, possibly wait hours on the phone, disconnect and repeat, then if you are lucky enough to get an appointment, may need to travel to where that appointment is, ie Hawaii, etc. Even though I was fortunate enough to get my passport, if had to do it again, I would have deferred the oath ceremony.
  2. When I went to my naturalization interview, the officer asked if I was traveling in the next few weeks. I told her I would be traveling in 6 weeks and she made me feel it would be enough time to get a passport so she sent me to the same day oath ceremony. Fortunately, I was able to get my passport in time. A person I met at the interview told his officer he needed to travel internationally that weekend to see his children so they deferred his oath ceremony to another day. Let your officer know your travel plans.
  3. It worked for me in San Diego. I applied for i751 in 01/2022, then heard nothing after biometrics. I applied for N400 on March 1, then had my combo interview/naturalization on the same day May 10.
  4. Preamble: I submitted my N400 on March 1, 2023, received an interview letter for N400 in early April, interviewed and prepared for a combination interview on May 10. The immigration officer asked if I was leaving in the next few weeks, I explained I will be leaving in 1.5 months to attend my brother's wedding. She indicated that that should be enough time to expedite a US passport, so sent me for naturalization on the same day. I didn't realize that I could not fall back on my Canadian passport to return to the US until this was mentioned during the naturalization ceremony, so I went back to the check-in and they explained they had already destroyed my green card. After the interview, I researched for passport offices, but there was no available appointments at USPS for a few weeks. Fortunately, I found a local university that allows for walk-in appointments and I submitted an expedited passport application with expedited shipping. 5/10: Submitted application 5/15: Called NPIC for assistance, indicated they cannot book anything that far in advance (appointments within 5 days of flight only); learned online that these appointments are difficulty to come by. 5:16: In-Progress at Locator 35. 5/19: Wrote to my senators regarding the situation and asked for assistance. Received response from one of the caseworkers at one of the senator's office indicating an inquiry has been submitted on behalf. This was within the hour. 5/22: Approved 5/23: Shipped 5/25: Arrived with naturalization certificate in the same UPS mail. Looking back, I would have deferred naturalization since I wasn't in a rush. Everything about this process has been dead slow, but this last leg went by so fast that I didn't have time to do all my research. Fortunately, it worked out and now our journey is over. 😀
  5. I submitted my N400 application on March 1, 2023. I got an appointment for a N400 interview today in San Diego. I was not anticipating things to move so fast so I attached a letter after receiving my N400 appointment letter requesting to convert it to a combo interview with a pending I751. I added it as a document for my N400 submission and messaged them through myUSCIS but never heard back. Regardless, I prepare for both and went with my spouse today. Both I751 and N400 were approved today and I even had the same day path ceremony and now at the passport office, hoping to expedite a passport before my travel plans in mid to late June.
  6. I get the idea. Has I waited a couple of months to cross the border (>two years after marriage), I would not have to go through this process for ROC. So theoretically, it is possible an interview may be waived. Either way, whatever comes my way I am ready.
  7. There may be a chance - had I enter the country 8 months later and obtained my 10-year card, I nor my wife would have needed an interview.
  8. Glad to join this thread. I can’t believe it’s been almost two years already. It seems just yesterday when I crossed the Canada-US border the day before they shut it down. Window opened on December 20, but filed via UPS today. Fingers crossed.
  9. Fastest way to build your credit score is by being added as an authorized user to a spouse (presumably with a good credit score) on a credit card that has been established for a long time. Your credit score automatically ties in with your spouse’s credit score and you get the credit history. My FICO score is near 800 in less than 2 years. I also got a secured card with Capital One that was automatically reimbursed and turned into an unsecured card 6 months later with timely payments. The problem with these credit cards is that your credit limit is relatively small and credit history is too new. You can also see if you build a relationship with a bank in the US. I put my savings into HSBC, became a “premier” customer and received a credit card with a high credit line and a 30-year jumbo mortgage loan at < 3% when the rates were still above 3%.
  10. I moved from Toronto to San Diego. Taxes - Overall, I am making more money and paying less taxes than in Canada, but that's job specific/state specific Rent - Comparable. Depends on where you are moving to. Cost of food - Food is more expensive than in Toronto - whether dining out/groceries. Access to service - We have a great plan with Kaiser so access to services are faster and we have no copays - again, this would be job specific. Cost of living - In general, cost of living is more expensive in San Diego compared to Toronto. From groceries, dining out, etc., we are paying more.
  11. I forgot what I did exactly but I remember I had a similar issue, but forgot what I chose that allowed me to inquire. Tried it once, generic response. Tried a second time, similar so I filed with the ombudsman and my card was printed soon after. Took 6+ months.
  12. Here is a good read: https://connect.onefpa.org/browse/blogs/blogviewer?BlogKey=924761a0-ec91-4500-b92b-59a8abdf17d2 including summarizing the penalty from OHIP
  13. I had this issue too when I went to a DMV in San Diego. Fortunately, the DMV agent was humble enough to seek help with a senior employee who processes my driver’s license/real ID application with just the passport stamp. One added perk, the senior employee told me my license would expire when my temporary passport stamp expire, but when it came through the mail, I received a 5-year license.
  14. There should be no risk. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect.html#:~:text=Getting a COVID-19,14 days between vaccinations.
  15. I actually made the same mistake. I submitted the rip copy (taped) to the NVC but I got another one. When I explained what I did to the immigration officer, she just took my new copy. I didn’t ask whether she would have accepted the old one in it’s taped condition. Same philosophy as before, you can take the risk but I didn’t want any unnecessary delays. I was in the last batch of interviews prior to the Montreal consulate shutting down in 2020 (crossed the border the day the border closed), so I am glad I didn’t leave anything to chance. Sucks that it cost more, but now that I’ve been here for over a year, it doesn’t keep me up at night =]
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