kpeck

1 minute ago, jptl85 said:

Thanks! So just to be clear travel between interview and oath ceremony is ok? Someone told me once you are in line for oath you should not travel?!

There's no legal restrictions whatsoever - if you have your green card, you can travel. At the Oath Ceremony, they will take your green card and then you cannot travel until you've gotten your US Passport. 

So, in between the interview and Oath Ceremony, it all depends on what your personal timeline is - sometimes the time between interview and Oath Ceremony is really short (in my husband's case it was 3 weeks), sometimes people have to wait a few months. Some people do not have a huge rush to get the Oath Ceremony over and done with and have the flexibility to reschedule if necessary. Others need/want to get it done as quickly as possible and for them, it might not be a good idea to schedule the travel in between for fear of it possibly overlapping. 

One thing I will note is that my husband got the letter for his Oath Ceremony about a week and a half before it took place, so he had very little notice. However, people have missed their Oath Ceremonies due to lost mail/being out of the town, etc. and they're able to reschedule. USCIS understands that this happens - it's not something to panic over! (One suggestion is - do you have someone at home that could keep an eye out for any USCIS mail while you're out of town? You could have a letter "pre-prepared" and ready to be sent by the person at home asking USCIS to reschedule if possible. We did this when we were traveling and waiting for Biometrics appointment - my mom sent in my  husband's pre-prepared letter with our dates of returning from travel and asked them to reschedule).  

You can always ask to reschedule the interview and/or Oath Ceremony if it doesn't work out with your schedule. My husband had to reschedule his interview due to his graduate school schedule  and he was given another date about a month later, no problems at all. 

16 hours ago, jptl85 said:

Hello all,

 

i am considering applying for naturalization when my window opens next month. I wonder if anyone can tell me if there are any restrictions on traveling abroad at any point during the process? 

 

I am most concerned about travel between when you have (and hopefully pass) the interview and your oath ceremony. I know you cannot travel after oath without first having US passport in hand. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

No problem/restrictions with international travel as long as you have your green card (and you're correct- after Oath Ceremony until you have your passport)

You can always ask to reschedule your interview/Oath Ceremony if it interferes with travel plans. 

On 8/11/2017 at 3:13 PM, Dinosaur2013 said:

Hi everyone,

I'll have been holding my GC and residing in the US for 2 years and 9 month when I plan to apply for N-400 (on 9/2/2017). I know USCIS asks that we submit joint tax return document for the past 3 years as an option for one of the additional documents. However, I only have 2 tax return receipts for 2015 and 2016. I arrived (and became LPR) in the US in December 2014. Am I considered eligible to file N-400?

 

Thank you!

 

P.S. I have a pending I-751 with VSC (NOA dated September 22, 2016)

Write a cover letter with explanation of why you only have 2 tax returns and include with your application.

3 hours ago, Rodrigo Macedo said:

DONT MISS YOUR OATH CEREMONY,,,,

change your trip day but dont change your oath ceremony unless you are in a  hospital.

uscis may put a hold on your application. remember this is the most important day of our lifes.

 

THINK ABOUT IT.

good luck

I think it really depends on each individual's situation, as has been discussed here many times. 

Some locations are really backed up and rescheduling may delay the Oath Ceremony for several months, others just for a few weeks. If there's no huge pressure/rush to become naturalized, then by all means, reschedule the Oath Ceremony. Rescheduling a trip (especially an international trip) can be extremely costly and an incredible inconvenience! They understand that people have lives and things come up... 

Just weigh the pros and cons and make the best decision for yourself. 

On 7/2/2017 at 9:15 AM, AK_2014 said:

Thanks for your great description of your husband's ceremony here in Chicago!

 

Did the instructions specify a number of guests allowed per person?

No problem! 

No, there were no limitations on guests - some people had their whole families and some just had one or two people present, it seemed like. 

4 hours ago, Karli2014 said:

Thank you! I'm just worried because I had another child while being legally married that they will make it a big deal. 

This happens in life... I don't think they'll be worried about it... It's not illegal!

On 6/23/2017 at 11:24 AM, agrzybianek said:

Hey, I am filling out my employment history for my N400 for the last 5 years and I can't figure out exact dates for 2 of the places I worked at. I called the stores and they couldn't pull up that information, i tried corporate and they told me to call the store...

I can guess Months which i started during and I definitely know what years, the days are going to be impossible.

Can I just estimate the employment start/end date? does it have to be exact?

I think someone else asked this recently... If you don't know the exact day, just put the 1st of the month in which you started. I used to work in HR and that's what we would have people do... I doubt it's super important to the interviews as long as the right month/year are included. 

1 minute ago, BorisH_TX said:

Thanks, kpeck.  That would be my guess too, but I'd hate to have to make guesses...

Haha, you know it!

Is your Oath Ceremony at the same place as your interview was held? That could probably give you a clue... 

I'm guessing that you'll need to send where you had your interview as I'm guessing they facilitate scheduling the Oaths Ceremonies, but I'm not sure... that's how it is in Chicago. Maybe someone else can chime in? 

7 hours ago, Lorna&Alex said:

Hi everyone,

My fiance and I are planning on submitting our i-129f within the next couple of months - definitely before the beginning of September!! I am the beneficiary and I am from the UK...we are planning to get married in Philadelphia on July 28th 2018. We want to start planning and booking stuff for the wedding as soon as we receive NOA2 because we are going to be having a relatively big wedding, has anyone else starting planning and booking stuff for the wedding before they actually go to the interview and receive the visa in their passport?? I know it can be seen as risky but even if we wait until the 1st week of September 2017 before we submit the i-129f, that's still over 10 months between then and having the wedding in July 2018 

I agree with a lot of what everyone has chimed in on.... planning ahead without having the visa in hand can be risky! You just never know what can go wrong... bureaucracy!

My husband and I waited to plan anything/put any deposits down until he had his visa in hand. We also did a courthouse wedding within a week of his arrival so we could get started on the paperwork (and since you have 90 days to get married within arrival on the K1 - no sense in waiting!) and then had our actual ceremony and reception for later - it was just as meaningful and special even though we were legally already married. (A lot of people have asked us this - on this site and our friends). 

Best of luck on this journey! 

On 6/22/2017 at 9:44 PM, M Sea said:

It would be 3 years this coming July since I moved to the States.

And according to Naturalization Eligibility Workheet intruction, People who has married to USC and has not been out of country for 18 months or more during the past three years has an eligible to file for US citizenship.

So I think it's time for me to apply for it

As I am filling the form of N-400, I came across a big question which I do not know what to answer in the questions of " time outside the United States."

 

1. How many total days did I spend outside the United States during the last 5 years.

      2. How many trip of 24 hours or longer I have taken outside the United States during the last 5 years. 

      3. List below all the trip of 24 hours or or longer that I have taken outside the United States during the last 5 years.

 

Their questions about during the last 5 years but NOT during the last 3 years since I moved to the States.

 

In my case, 2 years out of the last 5 years, I was living in other country but NOT in the U.S.

 

So I am so confused how to answer the quetions.  Should I focus on the last 3 years  and answer how many days I was out of the US or should I consider to count the days when I was out of the US including the terms when I was living in other country based on the last 5 years ?

 

Hope my question is clear to all who are willing to try to answer it.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

What Deagle says... Answer the questions based on the time you've been living in the US as a permanent resident (so in your case, the past 3 years)  because you're filing for citizenship based on marriage to a US Citizen, which allows you to naturalize after 3 years, vs. the typical 5 years. 

Everyone applying for naturalization uses the same Form N-400, so people who did not obtain their green card based on marriage to a US Citizen will be using the same form and answering based on the last 5 years. 

13 hours ago, Roohi85 said:

Thank you for all that information.my husband went to the office yesterday.and gave them the ticket copy and written letter which explains everything.so hopefully everything is going to be fine.can you tell me that after how long they sent him the interview date letter after you request for recsedudle?or directly they gave you the interview date?

Thank you for the information 

My husband's was rescheduled for a month and a half later (originally scheduled April 18th and new interview date, which he attended, was May 31st). I think it all depends on how busy/full your office is on when they can reschedule the interviews. 

2 hours ago, agrzybianek said:

Hey, on the N400 application where i'm filling out employment dates do I have to put down the exact date I started working? I know years/months but I am unsure about days. Can i put down my best guess? I know one of my jobs I started mid month in June so can I put for example 06/14/2013? 

I think that should be fine, or you could even just put the 1st of the month (I used to work in HR and we would have people do that if they couldn't remember the exact date). I don't think they will be scrutinizing the exact, specific date and if they ask during your interview (which I doubt they will), just say you couldn't remember exactly which day, but you know the month/year. 

On 6/19/2017 at 5:43 PM, Roohi85 said:

Hi...so my question is for my husband.he has green card so I applied for my husband citizenship.he got biomatric.yesterday we received a letter for his interview.now the problem is we are going out of country for a wedding.the whole family.everything is planned.we have tickts and flying next month.we been waiting fot this wedding for so long.now we are so upset.we are in the middle now.dont know what to do. can I reschedule his interview?uscis will give us hard time?does anybody went through this situation??please give your honest opinion.thanks

 

Echoing the same responses - you can absolutely reschedule. 

My husband rescheduled his with no problems - just follow the instructions on the interview letter you received. My husband had to write a letter explaining why (he's a grad student and was in the middle of finals/his research thesis, etc. and no way he could take time to go to the interview). They rescheduled him for a month and half later. 

4 hours ago, Mrs_Lyds said:

I just print them from the IRS site. Same thing

Perfect! 

Some people (including us) weren't able to access them online and i had to have them snail-mailed to me...

17 hours ago, Mrs_Lyds said:

😕 I was printing them from turbo tax but my friend who is doing the same process now told me I need to print them from the IRS, I guess it will be safer to ask them to mail it to me but it will take days, I wanted to send my paperwork tomorrow 

Better to wait and get the official tax transcripts from the IRS - that's what they are looking for now/requesting. 

3 minutes ago, Mrs_Lyds said:

They have terrible customer service at first premier, they are not able to give me anything.. but at least. Same for credit one. But I have joint debit/credit at Chase and a federal credit union, banana republic, capital one, Citi furniture that we bought our furniture and also we have the bjs card membership card lol

Haha yes, you have way more than enough - don't worry! If you want to still include them, just include an explanation just in case. You'll be fine! 

12 minutes ago, Mrs_Lyds said:

but the numbers are different. Only our last name is the same on the cards

Are you able to have them give you a transaction history (vs. a statement) that shows which charges were made with which card? I would think they could provide that at least...? Or if not, you can still scan the cards that show your names (and black out the numbers, as millefleur said, and just include an explanation. 

And if not, don't freak out! If you have the joint Chase bank accounts and other credit cards, that should be more than enough. Not everyone has multiple credit cards, etc., so you should be good!

1 hour ago, lucybelle said:

Great report!  Thanks! And Congrats!!!

Thank you!

1 hour ago, WandY said:

Awesome! The kind of immigrants that we need and want (people that are proud to be taking the oath). I wish both of you the greatest joy in this land of opportunity.

 

Thank you!  

9 minutes ago, nooha said:

Congratulations,  i have a question for you , 

there were nobody with missing green card at the oath ? 

don't your husband have to wait for 10 days before he apply for US passport ?

Thank you! 

There was nobody there with a missing green card that I was aware of (or my husband)- that could have been the case, but not that we saw/heard. 

You can apply for a Passport right away (in fact, they told us during the ceremony that if someone needed one right away to go downstairs to the Passport Agency, although you need an appointment...) It's the Social Security Administration that they advise you to wait for 10 days before updating status. 

3 minutes ago, NDB052714 said:

So beautiful and inspiring. Thank you for sharing! And congratulations to both of you. 

 

~David & Noom

Thank you!  

Good luck with the rest of your journey!

Hi All, 

I just wanted to share my husband's Oath Ceremony experience at Chicago for anyone interested! 

Date: Monday, June 19th, 2017 

Where: Chicago Field Office | 101 W. Congress Parkway 

Time: 9:00 am

He brought: 

• Green Card
• Oath Ceremony Letter - "Questionnaire" on back side completed, signed and dated in black ink

Dress:

My husband wore dress pants and a collared shirt. 

There was a WIDE range of dress for the people taking the oath - there were people in formal suits to people in shorts and flip flops... they didn't deny anyone participating due to dress, but they do mention on the letter to dress appropriately as it's a solemn occasion. 

Quick Background: 

• Husband came to US on K1 Visa in Oct. 2013
• Received first green card in Feb. 2014
• Filed N-400 in Dec. 2016 based on 3 year rule - Marriage to US Citizen 
• Citizenship Interview - Wed., May 31st
• Received Oath Ceremony Letter on Friday, June 9th and his ceremony was scheduled for Monday, June 19th at 9:00 am 

We arrived at 8:15 am and passed through Security - we were the only ones in that line, so we passed through speedily. My husband had his lunch packed as he was heading to campus afterwards (he's a grad student) and they made him throw away his fork. He brought in his backpack with his books and folders, etc., so that wasn't an issue (*We probably got there way early, but you never know with Chicago traffic/transportation, even taking the 'L'!) 

We went up to the third floor (note: this is the same area you go to for the Citizenship Interview - there were people waiting and being called back for their interviews in the same area) and they had us take a seat in the middle section of seats, leaving the first 3 rows reserved. Family and friends are supposed to sit in the other outside sections, but I just sat with my husband until seats started filling up more, and then I moved. 

Around 8:45 or so, a woman came over to announce that they were going to start calling the "oath takers" back by rows to head over to the auditorium, which is across the floor, and then they would come back for friends and family members. She reminded everyone that if they hadn't done so, they needed to fill out the questionnaire on the back of the letter and to have their green cards out and handy. 

They called the first two rows back - you could see them checking in at at table before going into the auditorium. (They took their letters and green cards.) They then proceeded to call them back, two rows at a time, until they had everyone accounted for. This took awhile... maybe 30 minutes or so. Then the same woman came back and was calling out some people's names who apparently hadn't shown up yet to make sure they weren't missed. 

After a few more minutes, they called back the friends and family - I want to say it was already around 9:45am or so. 

When walking in the auditorium, the oath takers were all sitting on one side - my husband said they specified to them where they needed to sit. Friends and family were directed into the rows of chairs on the other side. 

The same woman from earlier directed the ceremony - she was some sort of USCIS Officer/Director and wasn't a particularly inspiring speaker, but it was fine. She told us we could take pictures inside the auditorium and downstairs (there were flags on the stage and then more flags downstairs for photo ops). 

During the ceremony (this probably not in the right order - I can't remember how everything went): 

• We all sang the Star-Spangled Banner - it was some recording that was played. Some people sang along, but most people didn't. 
• We watched two different videos set to images from around the country - "Faces of Immigrants" (or something like that) which showed a lot of pictures of immigrants starting from the 1800s, arriving on Ellis Island, etc. up to present day (this was cool to see) and then another video showing various Oath Ceremonies around the country with a woman singing a very soulful rendition of "America the Beautiful". 
• The woman talked about what this day meant for people, etc. and then called out the names of the all the countries represented and asked them to remain standing as she was going to administer the oath. She said there were 117 people being naturalized that day. After everyone stood up, she asked them to raise their right hands and then they repeated the Oath after her. Everyone started clapping. 
• She then presented their naturalization certificates to everyone by calling them by name - they went up and shook her hand and accepted their certificates and then sat back down. 
• I think this is when we all said the Pledge of Allegiance. 
• She then wrapped up the ceremony by reminding the newly naturalized citizens to apply for a US Passport, register to vote (there were tables outside with people helping get everyone signed up if they wanted) and to update their status with the Social Security Administration (but to wait to do this with the SSA for at least 10 days)

That was it! The ceremony itself wasn't very long - we were done about 10:30 am, maybe. It was crowded as people were trying to take pictures, etc. and the little hallway outside the auditorium was super crowded since people were filling out their paperwork for voter registration. My husband registered to vote and then we ske-daddled! 

Whew! Now just need to get his Passport (going to the post office tomorrow) and then will head to the SSA in a few weeks to update his status... 

Good-bye USCIS!

9 minutes ago, NDB052714 said:

Hey. I'm in need of a little reassurance please! So Noom has his green card now, and we are leaving for Thailand in the morning. It is our first trip outside the US since he arrived last October. I'm a nervous wreck that I don't have everything we need to ensure he can re-enter. I keep having horrible visions of having to leave him behind because I did something stupid. All documentation we need is passport, green card, and marriage license, correct? Is there anything else I should haul with us? Thanks so much. 

 

~David

My husband and I have traveled several times - just his passport and his green card are needed!  

I was nervous the first time, too (understandable!), but you shouldn't have any issues. 

51 minutes ago, SAS007 said:

Thank you for your response!

 

We literally put a short one line description with the address I use for commute explaining its used a few days a week as a secondary address. I guess at the same time we didn't want to raise it as a big thing (because it isn't), but likewise i'm concerned if they will want to know more about it, even thought we have all the evidence... including having a child!

Yes... I'm sure that will be just fine!  

48 minutes ago, ivyanddan said:

 

If you don't mind me asking, what was the reason for the lengthy time between interview and ceremony? Was it paperwork?

 

Did you come upon a problem of not being able to make it for their scheduled date? Is the something that can be pre-emptively said to them before you're scheduled for the ceremony (i.e., tell them right away that I won't be around for this and this date)?

 

Truly appreciate your help!

 

 

Thank you for this! Are the oath ceremonies always with the court or is it with the USCIS office?

 

I believe it depends on if you're doing a name change or not - probably other VJ'ers can chime in on this. 

My husband was not changing his name, so it was an "administrative ceremony" and a USCIS director (or some other title - I can't remember what she said) administered the oath and conducted the ceremony. It was at the same place where my husband did his interview - just across the hall in an auditorium. 

54 minutes ago, SAS007 said:

Hi all, 

 

Long story short, my commute is super long, and my wife was heavily pregnant. We decided she would live with her parents in the last months of pregnancy as it was closer for her own work commitments and we agreed that the money from our old lease would go to a new place closer to my own work. I basically live in this property 3 to 4 days per week and live with her and the parents the rest of the time. 

 

Now the baby is here we have continued this trend, where I am at this other property a few days a week (my commute is circa 2.5 hours each way otherwise!). Once the baby is older and she is working, things will of course change.

We have all the evidence from Joint taxes for two years filing, Joint lease from past property, Joint medical insurance, Joint auto insurance and car loans, showing my spouse as beneficiary etc... and of course our new baby birth certificate! Plus photos of our wedding, honeymoon, birth etc. 

 

Question: I am declaring that I live with her and the parents as our physical address (and that the baby lives with me), but for transparency, in the appendix section I've included the other address under my name with a short description saying its used for work purposes for a few days a week. Is this going to cause alarm bells to ring? My fear is by not putting it, they may run a check against my SSN and it will show this other address, so I want to be transparent with it. 

 

Likewise, would they really split up a family if you have had a child here during your two years?

 

Thank you all in advance for your help! Such a stressful process! 

I don't have any specific experience with this, but I think that as long as you include an explanation, you will have no issues. 

Just make sure to include your other evidence showing your financial ties with your wife (joint bank account/beneficiary of life insurance/dependent on health insurance, if that's the case, etc./tax transcripts showing married filing jointly, etc.).

Your living situation is perfectly reasonable given your commute and your wife's pregnancy, etc. and I know of couples (not in the immigration process, however), that have a similar arrangement. 

Again, as you said - transparency is key!