Mama mia

Peter'n'Jaime,

With the link you provided on top, I was able to find out:

Aliens NOT required to register:

Lawful non-immigrants on visas (e.g., diplomatic and consular personnel

and families, foreign students, tourists with unexpired Form I-94, or Border

Crossing Document DSP-150)

Also:

NOTE: Immigrants who did not enter the United States or maintained their lawful non-immigrant

status by continually remaining on a valid visa until after they were 26 years old were never required

to register. Also, immigrants born before 1960 who did not enter the United States or maintained their

lawful non-immigrant status by continually remaining on a valid visa until after March 29, 1975, were

never required to register.

http://www.sss.gov/PDFs/WhoMustRegisterChart.pdf

Consult an experienced immigration attorney.

When did you get your green card? Did you file the N400 based on 3 or 5 years residency? I think the background you provided on top regarding your situation when you were removing conditions makes a big difference. You didnt fill in the timeline and it's not on your signature either. Maybe if you provide more details someone may be able to assist or answer your question.

My oath ceremony in Atlanta, GA started at 3pm and we were done by 4-4:15 ish. Once the ceremony concluded, we were called by our checked in numbers to get our certificates and were allowed to leave.

Some people who don't understand English very well also fail but I think you get another chance before the deny your N400

Here are the grounds for filing a divorce in NY. Yours should be the last one.

Here is the NY court website citing these details:

http://www.nycourts.gov/divorce/info_faqs.shtml#How do I start a divorce case?

To start a divorce case, what legal requirements do I need to meet?

(1) Residency: Before a New York Court can give you a divorce, you need to show that you and/or your spouse have lived in New York State for a certain amount of time, without interruption, generally for one year. For more information on the residency requirement, see pp. 1-3 of the Uncontested Divorce Forms Packet Instructions.

(2) Grounds: You need to have grounds – a legally acceptable reason – to get divorced in New York. That means that you need to prove one of the grounds listed below:

• Cruel and Inhuman treatment

• Abandonment

• Confinement in prison for 3 or more consecutive years

• Adultery

• Living separate and apart pursuant to a separation judgment or decree

• Living separate and apart pursuant to a separation agreement

• Irretrievable breakdown in the relationship for a period of at least 6 months (for divorce proceedings started on/after October 12, 2010)

For more details on grounds, see pages 3-5 of the Uncontested Divorce Forms Packet Instructions.

I guess it was too early since I didn't even proof-read before I posted.. But I was trying to say, I would NOT advice getting the divorce based on abandonment grounds!

I would advise you to file the divorce based on abandonment; this is not true in your case and may make it challenging for your ROC.

I was able to find this online:

http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state_type.php?id=8252&state_code=NY

What are the grounds for divorce?

"Grounds" are legally acceptable reasons for a divorce. As of October 12, 2010, NY now has a "no-fault" divorce ground.

No-fault ground - You can get a "no-fault" divorce if, according to either party, the marriage has "broken down irretrievably" for a period of at least six months (in other states, the common term used is "irreconcilable differences.") You do not have to be separated for 6 months, you just have to allege that the marriage has been completely broken down for at least the past 6 months. Note: A judgment of divorce will not be granted under this ground until the following issues are resolved by the parties, or determined by the court and incorporated into the judgment of divorce:

equitable distribution (division) of marital property,

the payment or waiver of spousal support,

the payment of child support,

the payment of counsel and experts' fees and expenses, and

the custody and visitation of any minor children of the marriage.*

I am no expert but Google is my best friend!!

Even though the credit cards may have been cancelled, if your name was on them, you can still call Macy's and ask them to send copies of the bills for the last 2 years. If your wife removes your name from the lease, just call the the place you leased the car and try to get a copy of the contract which included both of your names. Also call the insurance company and request copies of your policies and bills for the last 2 years. Try to get your hands on all the evidence you can get right now before you/she moves out.. Paperwork seems to disappear when couples divorce!!

Well, if you filing to remove conditions on your own as divorced, the divorce decree is required to be submitted with the I-751. And if not submitted, you will get a Request For Evidence (RFE) to submit the divorce decree in 87 days.

Since your gc is not expiring until 12/2011, you may need to wait a little longer until the divorce is finalized. If not finalized until 12/2011, then you can file 1-2 weeks before the gc expires, so will have an additional 3 months to send the divorce decree. I hope this makes sense to you.

With the I-751 petition, submit as much evidence from the last TWO years proving your financial co-mingling: taxes, leases, bank statements, credit cards, insurance, utility bills

birth certificates if any and anything else you can find with both of your names. The divorce decree also needs to be included as it is very important if you are filing ROC as divorced.

It does make a difference in Georgia. When I got my citizenship, I went to the DMV with my certificate of nat and the clerks changed my status from non citizen to citizen on my DL and state ID and asked me if I wanted to register to vote.

Now, this ofcourse does make a big difference in GA as there is a new immigration law that just passed and in the future, when pulled over, the cop can ask you your immigration status.

I am not sure if the VA DMV clerk didnt know what there were doing or maybe VA doesnt have restrictions, but If I was you, I would go to another DMV just to be sure...

The payment that you submitted with the AOS package---has that check been cashed?

If you have any paperwork showing travelling within 2 weeks, you can apply at a passport agency and usually at the agency, they will return your original documents right then and there.

Here is your closest passport agency:

Seattle Passport Agency

Fifth and Yesler Building

300 5th Avenue,

Suite 600

Seattle, WA 98104

This Agency issues the US Passport Card on-site!

Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays

Schedule An Appointment 24/7: 1-877-487-2778 

Some insurance companies are not able to send a copy of the policy if the policy is cancelled but sometimes your agent may be able to help you.

To be on the safe side and not worry or have any regrets later why you didn't mail it yourself, mail it on Sunday or even on Saturday by priority mail which takes 2-3 days.

Per the date calculator:

Calculation results

From date:Sunday, November 20, 2011

Subtracted 90 days

Resulting date: Monday, August 22, 2011

Maybe you can still try to make it when you come back in the country. Some places will let you have it done even if you a couple weeks late.

My sister (GC holder) and I (USC) POE'ed JFK last year and they had a gc line and USC and since we were traveling together, the TSA agent told us to go together thru the USC line. No issues, no questions asked. Recvd a stamp in my US passport and she showed her gc and got a stamp in her Tanzanian passport and we were on our way.

By the way, the GC holders line was very very long while the USC line was hardly a 2-3 minute wait.

Messybrownhair,

Congrats on the AOS, I used to see you on AOS, and now you are already on the otherside!!

Anyway, if you interested, you may look up expedited citizenship if you want to join your husband abroad. I know if your spouse is deployed for more than 1 years and you have intentions of joining him, then I believe you can apply for expedited citizenship. I am not sure but I dont think the 3 year for citizenship applies to military personnel and families.

If its something you may be interested in, I suggest you check it out!

Based on your timeline, you were approved for a green card around July 2008. You are within guidelines to file for naturalization. You have been married for 3 years and have had your green card for three years. As long as you qualify the residence requirements, save yourself some stress and file for citizenship.

You won't have anything to lose if you go and they tell you your appointment is being rescheduled BUT you have everything to lose if you don't go and they tell you your appointment was NOT rescheduled and therefore missed your appointment.

I decided to get US citizenship because with my Tanzanian passport, I have to apply for a visa going everywhere and its a pain. And since Tanzania doesnt allow dual nationality once you turn 18 yrs old, I had to give up my Tanzanian citizenship to gain USC. But, it was all worth it!

It felt really weird when I went to Tanzania and had to get a visa to enter my own country and pay $100 for the visa as well. Not happy!

So travelling, federal jobs, voting and social security benefits for my children where deciding factors for me!

Right now, as I see it, you have two options:

1. Go to the interview as scheduled and if you pass, most likely you will be notified when to come and take your oath.

2. Return the appoitment notice to be rescheduled, then receive a new interview date and hopefully its after August 10th, otherwise you will still have 2 trips to take to Atlanta again. If the interview is after Aug 10 but scheduled on a day when oaths are not taken, then you will have another trip to make...

Another question for you please....

The drive to Atlanta is 6-7 hours round trip. Our interview is scheduled for 2pm. I am confident that there is NO WAY that we could do the interview/oath the same day.. is that correct?

Also, if that is indeed the case would you suggest arriving early on the interview date and requesting to be seen before your scheduled interview appointment, or would you just go ahead and send the interview letter back and

attempt to reschedule with an early morning appointment sometime in the future so as to finish up this process in one trip to Atlanta? Thank you again for all the comments you have provided.

Kind regards- Vespa

When are you scheduled for the interview? They only have the oath on certain days and I am pretty sure Friday is not one of them.

Do not reschedule but try to get there by 11am. I remember everyone who had their interviews before 12pm took the oath the same day (it was on Thursday). Once you get there and check in, you will be called once an agent is available. I got there about 1hr earlier and was called in about 10 minutes.

When my sister went to apply a passport for her son, she wrote a statement why he wasnt there and was not able to sign the DS-3053 since he is in Africa. She had tried to call him several times and even sent some family members to his residence but he was not available. She stated all this on DS-3053 and even included the phone numbers she tried to call him on and his last known address, had the DS-3053 notorized and a passport was issued for her son without any problems.

If you save her from deportation and she gets a green card, she will be on the first plane to UK...is that what you want??

Xray, I think you need to xray your head..lol, just kidding..

But for real...why do you want to help her at all????