TriniTex1

Thanks for the speedy responses yall. Good luck to all those who are going thru this process or something similar.

As stated above, you're no longer married so you'll need to wait until 5 years to apply for citizenship. Additionally, you can actually file/mail your application 90 days before you complete the 5 year requirement:

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-early-filing-calculator

Thanks. January is actually the beginning of the 90 days. My actual date is April 2017 but I plan to file in January.

You can not file under the 3 years rule since you are no longer married to a USC. You must wait to naturalize under the 5 years rule.

Thanks Aaron, I sorta figured so but wanted to make sure. Should have filed since last year but we Trinis (or maybe its just me?) love to procrastinate. January 2017 it is.

Hello everyone, I have a question. January 2017 is when I am eligible to apply for citizenship under the 5 year rule (Jan 2017 makes it 5 years since I received my green card). My wife and I ended up divorcing last month (We were married for 7 years) and when we divorced, I was actually eligible to file for citizenship, but it didn't interest me at the time. As a matter of fact, I have been eligible to file for citizenship since January 2015 seeing that we were married at the time (3 year rule). I just never did it.

My question is, because of my divorce last month, do I now have to wait until the 5 year period (Jan 2017) to file for citizenship? Or can I file now seeing that we were married and living together for 3 years after getting my green card and I was in fact eligible? I have no problem waiting since January is right there but I want to travel the world and possibly live overseas so a US passport will come in handy to avoid visa fees etc.

So my question in other words, is does the 3 year rule still apply to me or do I now have to rely on the 5 year rule seeing that I am divorced?

Thanks for your assistance.

Thank you S_R. I will be sure to update this later on. It looks like i will be fine so we'll see.

Thanks for the feedback guys. This sure is refreshing to know.

I think all you need to go into Canada will be your passport, you will need your letter and expired G/C to get back into the US

Thanks. Last time i visited Canada, my GC was valid and it was ok. Not sure how the rule will be now that its expired. Then when i call the Canadian embassy, they refer me to the website which doesn't answer the question in its entirety.

Hi everyone. I am a citizen of Trinidad, and I am also a US green card holder living in Texas. My green card expired and i received the I-797 extension letter. My question is, i plan to visit Canada and i was wondering would my expired green card, my I-797 extension letter and my Trinidad passport be enough to grant me entry into Canada? I am hoping i don't need a Canadian visa because my trip is next week. Please advise!

FYI, the Canadian embassy site says nothing about expired green cards, hence the reason i came here for assistance.

There is a 60 day grace period at the completion of OPT for the student to leave the US. I am pretty sure the same 60 days would apply in the case of a student not finding a job within 90 days of the OPT being issued.

I am not aware of any extensions for OPT if the student has failed to find a job within the three month period. I don't think your brother has any other choice than to leave the US preferably within the next 2 months to avoid overstaying.

Thanks for the advice. I searched forums and looked everywhere on USCIS's site and they don't mention anything about this. I sent an email to my lawyer and on Monday she should come bk to me with concrete info. My bro is in the process of packing just in case.

My brother was on an F1 and graduated, then got his OPT approved in the middle of January 2012, his 3 month period to find a job is officially up today. Is there a grace period for him to leave the country? Or does he have to just pack up his things and leave ASAP? He will need a month or so to gather all his things and make travel arrangements.

His student visa expires in the middle of July 2012 but i don't know if that's relevant or not.

Also, is there anything he can do, or some sort of extension he can file to buy him some more time? Any info will help, thanks!

thanks very much!

First time posting so i don't know if its the right place but i just wanted to let you all know that i had my interview today and got approved today. I'm in Houston by the way.

The officer didn't even ask us any questions. All he did was go through my file and asked to see our Tax returns (we filed jointly) and he said "How about i tell u that i am going to approve your application and grant u your green card UNLESS u object of course". Well of course i didn't object

The process was super fast though. Got married in October 2011 and filed February 24th 2012. He stamped my passport and told me my green card will come in the mail.

I will research this but since i'm here, with this temporary green card, do i still need a visa to visit Canada? Also, how long does it usually take to get the green card in the mail? Thanks yall! Your posts really helped me throughout this entire process!