Neja

Hi all,

What should be brought to the interview (in addition to the list of things included in the letter from USCIS)? Is there a master list somewhere? We appreciate any suggestions, tips, etc. The interview is July 12!

Thanks and good luck to all of you N-400 folks out there!

If your citizenship application is based on 3 years marriage, then make sure to bring evidence of your joint relationship such as being on spouse's health insurance, joint bank account statements for the last 3 years (apparently just the current year's joint bank account statement is not sufficient), utility bills and other such documentation. Make sure to bring tax returns for 2009 if you didn't already submit them.

I am off to part 2 of my citizenship interview next week as I did not provide sufficient evidence the first time around. Hopefully, this time will be successful.

Good luck with your interview!

If it's my mom that's asking (which it usually is) I just tell her we'll have a kid if she buys us a house and pays for the kid's college education. She gets the point. We'll have one someday, just not right now.

Yay! I just checked my case status online and it says my card has been ordered. I submitted my I-751 to VSC on February 4, 2008 and today my card has been ordered and should hopefully be here in the next 30 days.

An alternative to the guarantor is the "Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor". I used this form cause I did not know anyone that met the requirements of the guarantor. With this form you are able to have the documents notarized by a notary public. I had no issues with renewing my passport using this form. I had my new passport within 10 days. I was amazed at how quickly the process was done.

Also, Passport Canada contacted both of my references who were both people in Canada who have known me since I was a kid. My one reference almost thought it was a joke or some kind of scam and was ready to hang up the phone but then remembered me asking about using them for a reference for my passport renewal and fortunately didn't hang up the phone. They called really early in the morning.

The pay in NYC is pretty good from my experience. I've also been fortunate enough to have a really low cost of living compared to the average New Yorker. I started out at $40,000 for receptionist/admin type work. It's the most money I'd ever made doing easy work! The financial industry pays well over here. I also lucked out with amazing benefits - free dental, health, vision and 15 days of vacation a year which seems to be better than alot of US companies offer. We used to have unlimited sick days but then there was a merger which reduced sick days to 5 a year.

That's macabre.

If you really want macabre, you should watch the documentary they did on this. It's called The Bridge. A camera crew spent a year filming the bridge from different angles and caught several of the two dozen suicides that year. And that's what they show. People jumping off the freaking bridge to their death. (And one guy who actually survived.)

One guy named Gene they focus on throughout the whole film, and they show his jump last. They catch him going all the way down and quite close up.

I watched that whole thing in a daze. It was so fascinating but so damn disturbing. I don't know if I could ever watch it again.

Definitely agree with you on that.

Is it the entire medical that you got RFE'd on or is it just the vaccination supplement that USCIS wants?

When you hand in the medical at the border they are supposed to send it in to USCIS, I don't know what address exactly that they send it to.

Good luck on getting this sorted out.

We have Vonage. It's great. It's about $20 a month. Unlimited long distance within US and to Canada.

I way too addicted to WoW. I have level 70 resto druid and 70 shadow priest, as well as a 58 warlock, 45 mage, 20 paladin and a couple other lowbies. They're all on Scarlet Crusade.

ooo nice apartment! Too bad nyc real estate is so expensive.

Yep there was a lot of smoke/steam. It was quite crazy. We could see the people evacuating Grand Central from my office window. No one really knew what had happened.

Tomorrow morning is definitely going to be interesting. I work over that way. Wonder if the trains will be running into Grand Central again by then.

whoa..that sux...what was your job?

I had to inspect certain processed products in a hog plant.. nothing really important...

Still sucks...but sounds like you might be better off if they're that nitpicky. You'd think you'd get warnings before being fired for something so minor.

whoa..that sux...what was your job?

Hi Everyone,

Hmmm...I was wondering the same thing too...Do I need to know the notary public person here in the USA for 2 years?

As well, I was wondering, has anyone who is living in the USA gone back to Canada to apply for their Canadian passport in-person at a Canadian passport office and subimtted a "in lieu of a guarantor" form and their application there too? (Just wondering if ever I'm on my way to visit Canada again...)

Ant

I was just going to mention that......

my passport expires at the end of this year and I was wondering if I use a Notary Public, does that person have to have known me for 2 years??

Definitely don't need to know the notary for 2 years.

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use the "in lieu of guarantor" form for an in-person application in Canada. The form is for anyone who has not known someone for two years who is on the list of professions that qualifies them as a guarantor.

Edited to add: The passport Canada website is great. It's very helpful. http://www.ppt.gc.ca/

Hi Neja and Everyone Else,

Good luck on your immigration journey. Thanks for your reply. How was your experience in having the form signed by the US notary? Did they give you or your notary any problems? Did they contact the notary to verify the information? Did they ask you or the notary any other questions? Did the notary charge a fee for notarizing your application? Did your notary have to sign the back of the passport picture or any other documents besides the application and "in lieu of guarantor" forms?

Glad you got your Canadian passport though (and very quickly too).

Ant

I'm not sure if they contacted the notary I used but I know Passport Canada contacted my references that I put down. This notary knew me for as long as it took for her to sign all the documents, which was probably about 10 mins. So in answer to MarilynP, the notary definitely does not need to know you for 2 years.

I had no issues whatsoever with using a notary. I was lucky I didn't have to pay a fee but if I did it probably wouldn't have cost very much. She signed and stamped the backs of all the pictures and on all the lines in the form that ask for a signature from the notary. And that was it. I showed her the originals to the photocopies of ID that she had to sign and stamp. I sent in photocopies of my US driver's license and Social security card because the application required two pieces of ID that show your signature. I also had to send them my ORIGINAL birth certificate. Scary. I'm glad I have both long form and the little card one, so I sent them the card one. Figured that was easier to replace if it got lost in the mail. But Passport Canada was very good. Nothing got lost and they even sent back the photocopies of my ID along with the passport. I was surprised at how fast it was.

Just to let you know, I wasn't able to find the "in lieu of guarantor" form online so went to the Canadian Consulate in NYC and picked it up.

I used the "in lieu of guarantor form" and had it signed by a US notary and then mailed it in. I had my new passport mailed back to me in about 10 business days.

I watched it last night. It's so funny. Such a crazy movie.

Who says you need to wait for your SSN to apply for AOS? I don't see that anywhere in the guides or the forms.

here you go

I put "NONE" in that box. I didn't get my SSN until after I had submitted my AOS forms. I changed my name the day I got married. So far I haven't had any trouble changing my name on anything. Just had to show the marriage certificate as proof of name change.

Yep it was pretty easy and super quick. Got my new passport within 10 days. I used the "in lieu of guarantor" form (or whatever it's called, can't remember the exact name and am too lazy to look it up) along with the passport application. I used that form as I didn't have a guarantor and really didn't feel like wasting time sending the forms to Canada to have someone fill out as my guarantor. So I was able to go to the notary here and have them sign and date everything. Immigration Canada actually called my references too. That was surprising. My one reference got a call at around 6 or 7 in the morning!! Passport Canada must have been calling from Eastern Canada and my references were in Alberta, so didn't account for the time difference or they just really like to catch people when they are half asleep! Anyways they asked my references a bunch of questions about how I look and how long they've known me and how do they know me, etc. That's about it.

It was an awful smell. Unfortunately not bad enough to evacuate work and be sent home.

They definitely asked us for our SSNs in Brooklyn, NY. Not sure if they are "required"

or what would have happened if we hadn't had them, just saying...

I got married in Brooklyn NY too. No SSN required for me. There was a space for SSN on the form but I think I just wrote in 'none' for mine. I didn't apply for my SSN until after marriage. No problems here. We just both took our passports.

DVDs for $4.99 each. And they are good ones too..Fight Club, Master & Commander, Underworld.

A nation within Canada...hmm sounds like fancy words for a PROVINCE. lol. I don't get it. *shakes head*

We just bought a 40" Samsung LCD tv. It's great! My husband did major research on tvs before buying and decided that this was the best one to buy. I leave the technology decisions up to him.

I'd be very hesitant to fill out online applications that ask for your social security number! *identity theft alert*

How do you know these are all legit? Have you worked for them? I'm very skeptical of these things.