LastSurvivor

Bob my wife is Thai and I believe she can leave on that passport and return on her u.s. one. I know before she got citizenship she left on her Thai passport and upon returning entered on her green card. I think you only have to prove you can legally enter the country that is your destination but I may be wrong.

All you can do is look at timelines. No one can give you a magic number of days as it will only be a guess. Good luck and be patient.

LS

You should have walked in. A long drive is a lot better than waiting a month +. Besides the next date you get could be just as inconvenient.

LS

Go to Walgreens and have them made. They can help you and it is fairly cheap.

LS

I suggest you check the various threads (november, december, january, etc....) to get an idea. There are usually one of two Atlanta filers in each month. My wife applied in November and took the oath the same day she had the interview in Atlanta on April 13th. No one on here can tell you exactly how long it will take. It will just be a guess and with the USCIS you NEVER really know.

LS

There is a passport thread and you can see some of the timelines. Two weeks if you expedite and four weeks if you file normally give or take a few days.

LS

If you meant tax transcripts then open the envelope and attach them to the application package.

You can always order the tax transcripts again for free, if needed.

This is exactly what I did.

LS

Received two more mailings today (5/16/2011). Passport card arrived and in a seperate priority envelope the naturalization certificate also arrived. Sure feels nice to have everything back. I should also note that the Naturalization certificate arrived in the exact same condition I sent it in. No staple holes or creases and in the same binder.

LS

I thought the rule as over 6 months total on a given year but I'm not sure. If so you will have a problem with your time in 2009. Regardless it sure looks like you have no ties to the U.S. and I could see that causing you problems.

LS

Congrats

Hopefully, this thread and data will help others in the future.

Thanks. Looks pretty cut and dry. 2 weeks or less if you expedite. 4 weeks or less if you do not expedite.

LS

Passport arrived today!

(Use Courier New, size 2 when adding/editing the timeline)

Filer:.....Date applied:.....City,State:..........Expedited?:.....Date received:

Sand..........01/31/2011........San Diego,CA.........No..............02/25/2011....

F@rsc@p3......02/18/2011........Charleston, SC.......No..............03/10/2011....

ED*Riza.......04/04/2011........Clarkesville,GA......No..............05/07/2011....

JeanneV.......04/04/2011........Tucson,AZ............Yes.............04/12/2011....

Champi........04/07/2011........Gastonia,NC..........No..............05/06/2011....

JaTam.........04/09/2011........Miami Gdns, FL.......No..............05/06/2011....

LastSurvivor..04/15/2011........Atlanta, GA..........No..............05/13/2011....

DeeBee........04/28/2011........Seattle,WA...........Yes.............05/11/2011....

Section 41.81 N6.3 of Chapter 9, Foreign Affairs Manual:

If a K-1 visa, valid for a single entry and a 6-month period, has already been used for admission into the United States and the alien fiancé(e) has returned abroad prior to the marriage, the consular officer may issue a new K visa, provided that the period of validity does not exceed the 90th day after the date of initial admission of the alien on the original K visa, provided the alien fiancé(e) pays a new application processing fee, and provided also that the petitioner and beneficiary still intend and are free to marry. The alien’s return to the United States and marriage to the petitioner must take place within 90 days from the date of the original admission into the United States in K status.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87391.pdf

So, as long as the original 90 day window has not expired then the consular officer can issue a new K1 visa.

Jim as I read your "quote" it says as long as they have NOT gotten married. OP says in his first statement that they are married now and his "wife" has returned to Costa Rica. That seem to me that she can not return on a K-1 at this point.

LS

Applied 4/15 with no expedite service. Received email today with tracking number that it is in the mail on 5/11!

(Use Courier New, size 2 when adding/editing the timeline)

Filer:.....Date applied:.....City,State:..........Expedited?:.....Date received:

Sand..........01/31/2011........San Diego,CA.........No..............02/25/2011....

F@rsc@p3......02/18/2011........Charleston, SC.......No..............03/10/2011....

ED*Riza.......04/04/2011........Clarkesville,GA......No..............05/07/2011....

JeanneV.......04/04/2011........Tucson,AZ............Yes.............04/12/2011....

Champi........04/07/2011........Gastonia,NC..........No..............05/06/2011....

JaTam.........04/09/2011........Miami Gdns, FL.......No..............05/06/2011....

LastSurvivor..04/15/2011........Atlanta, GA..........No..............xx/xx/2011....

DeeBee........04/28/2011........Seattle,WA...........Yes.............05/11/2011....

Not so weird that she had to remove her ear rings by the way. You better do that on passport photos as well.

LS

Wow. I never once thought of scheduling our interview to be convenient for us and going early. Despite all the postings on this forum some of the silliest questions continue to be posted. We should have just submitted the n400 when my wife arrived here on her k1.

No you can not choose your interview date. Most likely it will be at a very inconvenient time.

LS

Why did you not just do a walk in? Why delay the process?

We did walk-in biometrics on roc and naturalization within days of getting the bio appointment for each step.

LS

I took what they asked for in the letter and then whatever else I could think of. I did not take ANY chances.

LS

Order tax transcripts from the irs. They are free and much easier than copying a bunch of returns.

Well, now I have a question. If you are married and have enjoyed the benefits of a 10 year green card for a while and have crossed the five year mark should you still apply based on marriage or go the easier route and do the 5 year requirement? We are done but I think we were only a couple of months away from meeting the 5 year part and it does sound a WHOLE lot easier.

LS

My wife didn't even have her wedding ring on. LOL

LS

The I.O. walked out to ask us a question about doing a name change. My wife could have answered that question without me though. I don't think your spouse needs to be there at all. I was there for moral support only.

LS

Citizenship thread and posters post timelines in threads for each month. Sorry to be such a downer but rarely is anyone happy with their uscis experience. gl2u

All I can say is to just be patient. Look at the November list and see all those in Atlanta who got ahead of us. We did fingerprints early in Nov and intv not until April 13. Just wait.

I should add to look at the Nov filing list. Several people applied after my wife in Atlanta and had interviews long before her. It doesn't seem fair but it is the norm.

LS

I should add to look at the Nov filing list. Several people applied after my wife in Atlanta and had interviews long before her. It doesn't seem fair but it is the norm. Calling will do nothing but cause you angst.

LS

My wife never got a yellow letter. Just the interview letter. I think each case is different. Just wait for your intv letter. It might be a month after your spouse. Filing at the same time does not mean the processing times will be the same. Would say the odds of that are quite high.