nightingalejules

Yes - good idea - I know they asked for my DL when I was at the passport office.

A rather alarming number of US citizens never get passports, so yeah, don't worry. 

At some point you will also have to go into the Social Security Office and update the status on your SSN. And depending on whether or not you got a full-term driver's license, you will want to update your status with the DMV, too!

Basically the only way to separate out the income is to go back to the actual W-2s or 1099s or whatever. My mother in law joint sponsored and fortunately, while she filed jointly, her income was "self-employment" income so it had its own form, and that made it easier.

I think, if you need the combined income to make up the difference, you will need to submit one form per person, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

The ceremony was very nice... 51 people naturalizing - they asked for a volunteer to lead the pledge of allegiance and I volunteered, so that was pretty cool! After we'd all taken the oath and said the pledge, the judge asked if anyone would like to speak. A couple of the new citizens spoke, and it was nice... but the best were the family members saying how proud they were. My hubby spoke (and made me cry a little), and so did some other husbands, but then a little girl whose grandfather had to lift her up to reach the podium said how happy and proud she was of her "nana," and there was no topping that. 

The 45 video didn't have a chance. 

And then they played the video for God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood. I would have MUCH preferred America the Beautiful, but whatever. Then we got our certificates and a flag pin (from the local "Daughters of the American Revolution") 

Then hubby and I went for BBQ. 

A good day!

Rescued the formatting - I'm a citizen today! 
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USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox  
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UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr |Intrview|Oath....|Field Office......|NBC/IOE|ECD......|Intr. Result 
Kevo.............|10/31/13|02/06|02/09|02/09|03/09/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Salt Lake City, UT|.......|.........| 
josue818.........|05/11/15|02/21|02/27|02/23|03/23/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles,CA....|.......|.........| 
Calberry.........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco,CA..|.......|.........|

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Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox 
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UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrview|Oath....|Field Office..|NBC/IOE|ECD..........|Intr. Result 
Jazztin..........|04/16/15|02/08|02/15|02/14|03/05/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New Orleans,LA|.......|.............| 
JaEnglishGirl ...|05/13/08|02/09|02/26|02/26|03/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Baltimore, MD.|.......|.............|
Cangreja1........|02/21|02/27|03/02|03/07/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Fairfax, VA...|.......|.............|
My_main_man......|02/24/12|02/06|02/15|02/15|03/06/18|--/--/--|08/25/18|09/25/18|--/--/--|Fairfax, VA...|.......|.............|
thinblueline.....|04/17/15|02/20|02/23|02/21|03/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Dallas, TX....|NBC....|.............| 

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USCIS Chicago, Illinois Lockbox
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UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrview|Oath....|Field Office....|NBC/IOE|ECD..........|Intr. Result 
inchape7.........|01/24/15|02/03|02/05|02/13|03/09/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|09/26/18|10/13/18|Philadelphia, PA|IOE....|.............|
happyinlove2014..|10/24/14|02/05|02/10|02/14|03/06/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|04/16/18|--/--/--|Chicago, IL.....|.......|.............|

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USCIS Online Filing
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UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrview|Oath....|Field Office......|NBC/IOE|ECD......|Intr. Result 
Hicks81..........|02/25/15|02/01|02/01|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York City, NY.|.......|.........|
Lynners..........|10/30/14|02/01|02/01|02/01|02/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Seattle WA........|IOE....|.........|
cganesh75........|04/24/04|02/02|02/02|--/--|02/22/18|--/--/--|04/02/18|05/14/18|06/21/18|Orlando, FL.......|IOE....|.........|US Citizen as of 6/21/18
CTgal18..........|04/26/04|02/02|02/05|02/05|02/20/18|--/--/--|05/04/18|06/14/18|07/26/18|Hartford, CT......|.......|.........|
Dave2702.........|12/18/08|02/02|02/02|02/05|02/23/18|--/--/--|08/10/18|09/13/18|09/21/18|Chicago. IL.......|IOE....|Feb 2018.|
Dualie...........|04/18/15|02/02|02/02|02/05|02/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|St.Paul MN........|.......|.........|
Filya............|05/23/13|02/02|02/02|02/02|03/02/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|St.Paul MN........|.......|23 months|
Haj delco........|04/28/15|02/03|02/03|02/05|02/13/18|--/--/--|03/30/18|05/18/18|07/11/18|Columbus, OH......|.IOE...|.11mo....|
American1Dream...|04/30/15|02/03|02/03|02/04|02/27/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|10/02/18|10/26/18|St Louis, MO......|IOE....|.........|US Citizen as of 10/26/18
TingX............|05/03/13|02/03|02/03|02/03|02/13/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York, NY......|IOE....|6 months.|
missLinda........|03/01/13|02/04|02/04|02/04|02/28/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York, NY......|IOE....|12 months|
Ontheroadagain...|01/25/15|02/04|02/04|02/04|02/27/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Fernando, CA..|.......|.........|
murfie...........|08/27/08|02/05|02/05|02/05|03/01/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Houston, TX.......|.......|.........|
ElMayimbe........|10/23/14|02/06|02/06|02/06|02/28/18|--/--/--|10/09/18|11/27/18|12/21/18|Phoenix, AZ.......|IOE....|.........|
JAN0.............|05/05/15|02/06|02/06|03/13|03/02/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Houston, TX.......|IOE....|15 Months|
Kichuka..........|03/05/14|02/06|02/06|02/06|02/28/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA...|IOE....|.........|
Cndrbk...........|03/01/06|02/07|02/07|02/07|02/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York, NY......|IOE....|.........|
AnaBless.........|04/30/15|02/07|02/07|02/07|02/22/18|--/--/--|05/17/18|06/25/18|10/24/18|Hartford, CT......|.......|.........|US citizen as of 10/24/18
D3si.H3art.......|05/08/15|02/07|02/07|02/07|02/27/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Newark, NJ........|IOE....|.........|
Positive Thinker.|03/12/15|02/07|02/07|02/08|02/28/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|St.Paul MN........|IOE....|.........|
Nightingalejules.|11/07/14|02/08|02/08|02/08|02/26/18|09/17/18|09/18/18|11/02/18|12/14/18|Tucson, AZ........|IOE....|6 months.|US citizen 12/14/18
Le Bangoulap.....|04/27/15|02/09|02/09|02/09|02/28/18|--/--/--|03/28/18|05/17/18|06/26/18|Columbus OH.......|IOE....|10 months|
évariste.........|03/14/12|02/09|02/09|02/09|03/02/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA......|IOE....|12 months|
Zukkaus..........|07/16/12|02/10|02/10|02/10|03/06/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|04/24/18|05/23/18|OKC, OK ..........|IOE....|.........|US Citizen as of 5/23/18
Paulinelap...... |02/14/12|02/10|02/17|03/03|03/10/18|03/10/18|04/04/18|05/10/18|--/--/--|San Antonio, TX...|IOE....|.........|
nywestq..........|05/12/15|02/11|--/--|--/--|02/23/18|--/--/--|04/29/18|06/07/18|09/06/18|NY................|IOE....|.........|
nuno.............|07/31/08|02/11|02/11|02/11|03/06/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|05/10/18|--/--/--|OKC, OK...........|IOE....|.........|
ilyak............|10/29/14|02/11|02/11|02/17|03/08/18|--/--/--|03/13/18|04/17/18|05/14/18|Buffalo, NY.......|IOE....|9 months.|US Citizen as of 5/14/18
vhta.............|04/16/13|02/11|02/11|02/17|03/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|05/01/18|05/18/18|OKC, OK...........|IOE....|11 months|US Citizen as of 5/18/18
MindTheGap.......|05/--/13|02/12|02/12|02/12|02/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York City, NY.|IOE....|.........|
Eddie Taz........|03/27/13|02/12|02/12|02/13|02/26/18|--/--/--|08/09/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|Charlotte, NC.....|IOE....|5 months |
wilcovanl........|05/12/15|02/13|02/13|02/13|03/05/18|--/--/--|08/09/18|09/28/18|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA...|IOE....|.........|
naazzaaniin......|12/03/14|02/14|02/14|02/14|03/08/18|--/--/--|08/23/18|09/27/18|10/17/18|Chicago. IL.......|IOE....| 8 months|US Citizen as of 10/17/18
jaynelei.........|08/06/14|02/14|02/14|02/14|03/05/18|--/--/--|07/16/18|08/20/18|10/04/18|Milwaukee, WI.....|IOE....|......... US Citizen as of 10/04/18
mr.turtle........|06/07/98|02/14|02/14|02/24|03/09/18|06/15/18|06/21/18|07/24/18|09/21/18|St.Louis, MO......|IOE....|7 months |US Citizen as of 9/21/18
KM2014...........|03/22/12|02/16|02/16|02/16|03/08/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Miami, FL.........|IOE....|.........|
ScottandMhay.....|05/10/09|02/16|02/16|02/16|03/05/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Salt Lake City, UT|IOE....|.........|
Angelthebear.....|04/24/15|02/17|02/17|02/17|03/01/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Phoenix, AZ.......|IOE....|.........|
Tango777.........|05/14/15|02/17|02/17|02/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Tampa, FL.........|IOE....|.........|
Trekkypj.........|04/24/15|02/17|02/17|02/17|03/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|05/17/18|05/17/18|Omaha, NE.........|IOE....|.........|
Derwood..........|05/19/15|02/18|02/18|02/18|03/13/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Cincinnati, OH....|IOE....|.........|
Sukie............|07/15/14|02/18|02/18|02/18|03/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|07/28/18|08/17/18|Albany, NY........|IOE....|.........|
Andy1121.........|03/20/13|02/18|02/18|02/18|03/02/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|04/09/18|--/--/--|Lawrence, MA......|IOE....|.........|
Hedi&Colleen.....|05/14/15|02/19|02/19|02/20|03/12/18|--/--/--|07/10/18|08/20/18|--/--/--|St Louis, MO......|IOE....|11 months|
WONDER87LA.......|11/24/14|02/20|02/20|02/20|02/27/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA...|IOE....|.........|
BBurns...........|11/21/11|02/20|02/20|02/20|03/15/18|--/--/--|10/10/18|11/19/18|12/19/18|Santa Ana, CA.....|IOE....|.........|
Bonhomme.........|05/22/15|02/21|02/21|02/21|03/16/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Houston, TX.......|IOE....|.........|
Pshine...........|--/--/--|02/21|02/21|02/21|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA.......|IOE....|.........|
didi&bebe........|03/07/13|02/21|02/21|02/24|03/14/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Birmingham, AL....|IOE....|.........|
Chowking.........|04/21/15|02/22|02/22|02/22|03/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Washington, DC....|IOE....|.........|
marriedtomrg.....|01/12/11|02/23|02/23|02/23|03/08/18|--/--/--|04/05/18|05/10/18|07/25/18|Jacksonville, FL..|IOE....|10 months|
RzHn.............|09/10/14|02/23|02/23|02/23|03/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Anchorage AK......|IOE....|.........|
Dee&Vee..........|05/23/15|02/24|02/24|02/24|03/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Baltimore, MD.....|IOE....|11 months|
flash9153........|05/22/15|02/24|02/24|02/24|03/21/18|--/--/--|08/30/18|10/03/18|11/05/18|Chicago, IL.......|IOE....|.........|US Citizen as of 11/05/18
tatisvans........|07/15/11|02/24|02/27|02/24|03/19/18|--/--/--|04/02/18|05/09/18|05/23/18|San Bernardino, CA|NBC....|7 months.|US Citizen as of 05/23/18
evapaula.........|05/26/15|02/26|02/26|02/26|03/22/18|--/--/--|05/31/18|07/10/18|08/14/18|Portland, OR......|IOE....|09 months|US Citizen as of 08/14/18
JB63.............|05/27/15|02/27|02/27|02/27|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Salt Lake City, UT|IOE....|.........|
JohnE............|04/04/14|02/28|02/28|03/01|03/23/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA.......|IOE....|.........|
Shell20..........|05/26/15|02/28|02/28|02/28|03/22/18|--/--/--|05/31/18|07/10/18|07/25/18|Pittsburgh, PA....|IOE....|.........|
psg052813........|05/28/13|02/28|02/28|02/28|03/08/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|10/23/18|11/08/18|Queens, NY........|IOE....|11 months|

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Yes, you can continue to use your green card to exit and reenter the US while your Naturalization is processing. 

However, when you are approved and take your oath, you will not be able to travel overseas until you apply for and receive your new US passport (because you surrender your green card at your oath ceremony.)

This may be where the confusion was.

They just asked me if either of my parents was a US citizen. Nothing else about them after I said no.

Remember that you can always amend your taxes later. File something on January  first (you still don’t need to pay anything until April) with your 2018 income. Send in the entire package as a response to the rfe with a cover letter that explains that you now qualify to sponsor alone. 

Then, later, amend your tax filing with more info as required. If your rfe is still being processed you will have another opportunity to send in the amended taxes.

Right now, the priority is to keep your current application alive so you don’t lose your application fees. USCIS gets enough of our money already!

Ok... I’m assuming you’re talking about usc spouse’s naturalization cert. The application should have required some proof of spouse’s citizenship. Did you include passport as that proof? That would be sufficient. If you didn’t prove that the usc spouse is a usc, you have to provide some proof so yes, attach it. 

You are able to change the physical address without changing your mailing address.

Would it be at all possible (or helpful) to file 2018 taxes early (like Jan 1) and submit your entire package? Did you make enough in 2018 to qualify? 

You’re right - your new income should qualify you, even in the absence of prior qualifying returns, but without a joint sponsor you will need to work even harder to keep your application alive now that they think you don’t make enough to sponsor alone. 

At least, send another copy of your employer’s letter, along with a letter acknowledging that you didn’t previously make enough, but that you do now, and you will, going forward. 

Good luck!

Oath Ceremony scheduled! It will be on December 14th - so it will be a race to get my passport in time to go home for Christmas, but since there's an actual passport office in Tucson and a protocol to get an appointment even though it's within 2 weeks of travel, I should be ok! Thank goodness! So glad to be able to get this done and be a citizen and not have to reschedule! Very good day here in Tucson!

45 minutes ago, madiartzer said:

Not a question, just need a place to sort of vent where people might understand what I’m going through.

Not being able to go home for Christmas is absolutely crushing me. I don’t have advance parole and I was really hoping to have been able to see my family at Christmastime. I’m very very close to my family, so this will be a first for me. Not to mention my grandpa who has been a father figure to me, is ill, and the thought of not being there and this being his last Christmas terrifies me and just makes me emotional whenever I think about it.

Christmas is my favourite time of year, so I’m trying not to dread it or anything. After living somewhere I don’t know anyone, not being able to work, and not being able to go anywhere to meet new friends or anything...I just wanted to spend one week at home, with my family, you know? They don’t make this process easy on the immigrant at all. 

Hugs from a fellow Canadian! I'm so sorry that all the backups at USCIS are making things hard for you. I mean, it does for everybody, but especially for those who are depending on AP to be able to travel. It didn't used to take so long. And the first Christmas away from home and family is always tough - especially when you didn't actively choose to do something else.

For now, try to come up with some fun things for your new family (ie you and your husband) to do that will establish some new Christmas traditions. Last year, hubby and I threw a Boxing Day party - since Boxing Day isn't really a thing here in the US, it was a cool way to bring some of my traditions to my new home!

I see you’re not getting any responses... A lot of people probably stop coming to VJ after they’ve done their oath. Maybe try searching “rescheduled oath” in the search bar and private message other people who may not be active on the page anymore but might still get an email notification if they get a private message.

I should be getting my oath letter soon and hope I don’t need to reschedule! I’ve waited too long!

3 hours ago, geowrian said:

You'll probably hear back on the I-130 in a few more months.

That said, your PD likely won't be current until around Sept. 2019. The petition won't proceed past NVC until the PD is current.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

That has the minimum income level. There is no maximum level or a minimum level to guarantee that it will satisfy the IO.

The CO looks at the totality of the circumstances. That said, current income is king, and you must at least meet the minimum level with current income.

If you change jobs to one that makes less - or reduce hours - then your current income will be affected accordingly. Current income for an employee is how much they make in a 12 year period (which can differ from what they are expected to make at the end of the tax year).

 

Assets can be used in lieu of, or in conjunction with, income.

It's a minimum of 3x for a spouse.

Right! Shoot! I always forget that. Thanks!

They look at multiple years, but they’re most concerned with whether you make enough at the time of interview. So you might be in trouble. 

The amount is (as I recall) a minimum of 125% of the poverty line. (For you plus your wife plus any other dependents) You can do a google search for that. 

If you don’t make enough, you can use savings but you need 5x the difference in savings. So if you need 25000 income and you only make 20000 the difference is 5000... You’d need 25000 in savings (5k x 5) to use assets. 

You might want to look for a joint sponsor.

Click on “report post” and in the comments say that you’d like the topic name changed.

41 minutes ago, wacoachrusso said:

I’m talking about at the airport as she comes through immigration for the first time

It shouldn’t be much different at an airport than it would be at a land border crossing. I think ours was around 15 minutes- once we got to the front of the line. Try typing POE and the name or call letters of your airport into the search bar at the top right. Other people may have written their stories and that should give you a better idea of what to expect, timeline-wise!

It shouldn’t. Have you both filed your address change docs with USCIS? (AR-11for you and I-865 for your spouse) 

If so, the border guards will have access to your new address if they check... but they probably won’t. Either way, just having the document should be sufficient to get you back in, even with a wrong/outdated address. Have a good trip!

29 minutes ago, h1btogc said:

Hi,

 

I am an Indian citizen living in the USA since 2013 ( F1 then OPT and now on H1-B since Oct,2018). My Fiancee is a U.S citizen and we are planning to start my IR-1 green card process. 

 

A few concerns that have been bugging us:

1) Is having a court marriage in the US sufficient for starting the process. We both are not particularly interested in having a huge traditional Indian wedding and will that have any negative impact on the application ?

2) For the wedding photos can we just submit a couple of pictures with us holding the marriage certificate ? we do have a lot of pictures of us traveling together for the past two years.

3) Based on what I've read co-mingling of finances is more important than the kind of wedding for USCIS and so, apart from below listed items is there anything that we have to combine ?

 

a) Joint bank account

b) Joint credit-cards

c) Joint home lease 

d) Joint car-insurance

e) Beneficiary in 401K

f) Joint health insurance

g) Renter's insurance

 

Thanks

 

 

1. Yes. As long as the marriage is legal, it’s enough.
2. Pictures of any kind are considered secondary evidence so don’t worry too much. Traditional wedding photos are good because they show other people too, (thus less likely to be fake) but just send a selection of photos of the two of you throughout your relationship.
3. It looks like you’ve got lots of evidence- more than a lot of people! Good luck!

You can ask an admin to edit the topic.

Well, it looks as though my oath is scheduled- got the notification this afternoon and it showed up on the egov website but it hasn’t updated on the USCIS site. Hopefully tomorrow! Seems like the computers update over the weekend.

Not terribly helpful, I’m afraid, but it could be that they’ve decided to do a combo interview. Or maybe they will just approve your ROC. Or maybe they’ll send you home again. Nothing they do seems to follow any discernible pattern.

Good luck, though - I hope they get their act together this time!

As long as you’re contacting your congressperson, also contact your Senators. My ROC was approved after an inquiry from my Senator’s office. (I reached out to my congressperson and both senators)

You ought to give them all the pertinent information, but as concisely as possible (a timeline with short descriptions maybe). Be sure to also fill out the privacy waiver that you will be able to find on their website. If you’re contacting more than one person, probably each form will be different (that was my experience, anyway!)

On 11/6/2018 at 9:25 AM, Liz Lime said:

 

I’ve been approved and “We will mail you a letter when we schedule your naturalization ceremony.”

Me too, in Tucson. It seems like most Tucson people (at least the ones updated on VJ) have their oath ceremony around a month after their interview, so I'm hopeful I'll get that next update soon! Best of luck!

I think they've eliminated the "In Line for Interview" message. So you'll wait... and wait... and wait... (more or fewer based on your local office and how busy they are) and then eventually get the "we scheduled your interview" - good luck!