MordecaiRigby

I received the notice of naturalization oath ceremony in the mail today. It's scheduled for March 10th.

The funny thing is that current case completion time still says "May 2020 (3 months)" and estimated wait time: 4 months. 😆 😄 

It has been less than 3 months from filing to oath ceremony. Didn't think it would go so fast!

My naturalization ceremony is 1 week before the presidential primary election in Arizona. I am a bit sad that I won't be able to vote  But I'll vote in August and November  I look forward to it!

I just checked myUSCIS page and now it shows:

Congratulations @VVirgie

I must have been in a great hurry when I was writing the topic. Obviously I meant "Does the spouse need to accompany the applicant to the naturalization interview". Oops, sorry!

I was one of those people that got their interview really fast (just 2 months after application).

I just assumed that it's because I didn't not have pending I-751, I have a 10-year green card and a really uncomplicated case with plenty of evidence, no previous marriages, no children, very co-mingled finances and a 9-year relationship history.

Hi guys, I need your advice.
My naturalization interview is scheduled for Monday, February 24 in Arizona. I applied based on the 3-year rule.
My husband just found out that his step-grandfather died and the funeral will be the same day as my interview, in Iowa.
Originally my husband was planning to come with me to Phoenix, to the USCIS office. While we understand that he wouldn't be able to be with me during the interview, I've read that it's good to show the USCIS officer that the spouse was willing to be there for you (especially if applying under the 3-year rule) even if they are just sitting in the waiting room.
How much do you think it really matters? Do you think that my husband's absence at my interview will jeopardize my naturalization in any way? Does it matter at all? I can imagine that many people don't attend their spouse's interview appointments due to work/school/childcare etc.
I can also probably print out the obituary and take with me to the interview to show that my husband had a very good reason not to be there with me.
What do you guys think?

Hi guys, I need your advice.

My naturalization interview is scheduled for Monday, February 24 in Arizona. I applied based on the 3-year rule.

My husband just found out that his step-grandfather died and the funeral will be the same day as my interview, in Iowa.

Originally my husband was planning to come with me to Phoenix, to the USCIS office. While we understand that he wouldn't be able to be with me during the interview, I've read that it's good to show the USCIS officer that the spouse was willing to be there for you (especially if applying under the 3-year rule) even if they are just sitting in the waiting room.

How much do you think it really matters? Do you think that my husband's absence at my interview will jeopardize my naturalization in any way? Does it matter at all? I can imagine that many people don't attend their spouse's interview appointments due to work/school/childcare etc.

I can also probably print out the obituary and take with me to the interview to show that my husband had a very good reason not to be there with me.

What do you guys think?

On 1/17/2020 at 8:56 PM, mvrgs said:

that's awesome! when did you receive the interview letter? i hope mine changes to, i field in phoenix 12/10/2019 and estimate right now says 11 months

I haven't received the mailed letter yet, but the electronic letter appeared on my myuscis account on 1/17 (dated 1/15).

My estimate still says 11 months even though interview was scheduled.

5 hours ago, Giovanna024 said:

MordecaiRigby  That is great news!

What was your estimate time??

My estimated time is 11 months (December 2020).

5 hours ago, gregcrs2 said:

I believe all updates are being done here now.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pc_6j98ovzeg0xHgbxsqZAhl8sCPzriB7L8oURdHkL0/edit?usp=sharing

 

My apologies! I must have missed this. Thanks for providing the link. I'll update my info there.

5 hours ago, Georgia16 said:

If you apply under the 3 year rule (can’t see your timeline on my phone) then the spouse also have to attend  

3 hours ago, Georgia16 said:

If filing under the 3 year rule your spouse has to be there. Now if they are let in or not is up to the different officers I have seen both. I have also seen on person that was just given the test in the waiting room. 

I am applying under the 3 year rule and my husband will come with me either way (even if he has to wait outside), but I think that if they required the spouse's presence, they would probably put it in the letter. My letter doesn't specify that he has to be there:

Hello,

I checked my USCIS online account and my interview letter was there today, so I'm updating the table. I have an interview on February 24 (Monday) at 10:55. I wonder if they'll let me bring the husband with me.

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2 minutes ago, Sartre said:

May I strongly suggest that on Monday you call the IRS directly and change your address with the operator (I've done this in the past) and while at it talk to them about the technical difficulties you are having and I will bet they will help you get your transcripts.

I have just found a form online that IRS wants you to fill out for change of address: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8822

I'm planning to send this to them ASAP. That should give me enough time.

1 minute ago, MiaTher said:

Yes the first time I tried it said it didn’t recognize my number. I didn’t add any extra codes, just the area code + number, and no spaces or symbols, just like this: 1234567890. So I just closed the tabs and started over. 

I just tried again, and got this: 

"We couldn't verify your identity using your phone. Let's try something else.

Complete the following steps:

Press continue to create a username and password.
We'll send an activation code by postal mail to your address on file. Allow up to 10 business days for mail delivery.
Follow the instructions in the mailed letter to return to the website. Log in with your username, enter your password, and provide the activation code from the letter.
NOTE: To complete your registration with your activation code, you will need a U.S.-based phone or an iPhone, iPad, or Android device. This is required to access this online service."

Well, this won't work for me, since I don't live at the address that IRS has on file (and the mail forwarding has expired). I guess I'll just have to wait and hope that my interview is after I file my 2019 taxes.

But I'm glad it worked for you!

1 minute ago, MiaTher said:

I just registered right now and it gave me the same message and other issues, I tried multiple times until it finally let me. You should try again! 

Was the phone number your issue? What format did you use? I first tried putting it like this: 1234567890. It didn't let me. Then I tried with the U.S. code in front: 11234567890. It didn't work either. Then I gave up. Did you use any other signs (like "-" or "(/)")?

I also wonder if it has anything to do with their planned outage ("Planned Outage: December 27, 2019 - January 2, 2020"). But at the same time I am not surprised that it didn't let me use this phone number, since it is a pre-paid type of phone (with a sim card), not a regular one with a contract and a monthly plan (I don't spend much time on the phone, so I don't like to overpay for services I don't need).

44 minutes ago, VVirgie said:

You can download your tax transcripts from the IRS website (https://www.irs.gov/). That's what I used for ROC and that's what I uploaded with my N-400 application. I assume there is no difference if you order paper copies or just download them but I don't know for sure.

I tried to register to download tax transcripts online but unfortunately the IRS website won't let me - they claim that they can't verify my phone number ("We were unable to verify that this phone number belongs to you with the phone provider. Please double check that your phone number was typed correctly or try a different number.") So I can't order them online. I guess I'll just have to wait until I file.

But thanks for the info! It was worth trying!

4 hours ago, daniel4310 said:

Just took my biometrics. In and out within 10mins. All they took is my right index finger. They must be using my other prints from my ROC. Also asked them what timeline looks like, they said I should have interview within the next 2-3 months! Well see how accurate this is since my completion says July. But from reading other posts people have been faster months than the original date. 

Wow, 2-3 months?! That's fast! 

On the one hand, I want it to go fast, because I would like to vote in 2020, but on the other hand, I would like my interview to be after I file my 2019 tax return, so I can order my tax transcripts for the last 3 years to have them with me.

I have recently moved from Minnesota to Arizona (less then 4 months ago), so if I order my transcripts now, they will be mailed to Minnesota (my last address that IRS has on file).

Do they absolutely require tax transcripts during the interview? Or are copies of tax returns good enough for them?

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Hello,

I have a question concerning filing taxes this year in the US.

I entered USA in July 2016 on an immigrant visa IR-1, I received my SSN in August and started working the same month. Before I moved to USA, I worked in my home country until July 2016. I will be filing taxes jointly with my husband. My question is: on my tax form for 2016 do I need to include my earnings from my home country (Poland) since I worked there last year before I moved to the States? Of course I will file my taxes in Poland so I will pay the income tax in my home country. 

I will be very grateful for your help.

Thanks!

My husband (the USC) lived with me in Poland for over 3.5 years before we decided to move back to USA.

He really didn't want to move. He loved how friendly and welcoming people are in Poland. He loved how everyone was always trying to talk to him, even if they spoke very little English, and how easy it was to make friends.

For us the decision to move back to the States came down to 2 things:

1) My husband really doesn't have a flair for languages. He never learned the language and realistically speaking, he wouldn't learn it in the future, at least not fluently enough to secure a "serious job" in Poland. He had a full-time job teaching kindergarten kids English in Warsaw, which was a surprisingly well-paying job (compared to other Polish jobs), but that's not something he would want to do for the rest of his life (or even for a foreseeable future). If he wanted to have a serious job (in his field), he would have to either learn the language or move to an English-speaking country.

2) He still has many years of student loans to pay off in USA. We were paying them off while living in Poland, but you can only imagine how ridiculous it was, taking into consideration how much weaker Polish zloty is compared to US dollar and what the currency exchange fees and transfer fees are. Even with Transferwise it just didn't make any sense.

So for us moving to the States was a very calculated decision, which meant that my husband could secure a job in his field (he's a social worker) and start paying off his student loans. He's already talking about moving abroad when the loans get paid off.

While living in Poland he got used to certain perks, such as affordable healthcare (he's never seen as many doctors in such a short time as he did when we lived in Poland: he went to fix his teeth, checked his heart murmurs with a bunch of different heart exams, went to eye doctor to finally get new prescription for his glasses, went to ear-and-throat doctors after singing too many songs to his little students... etc). Now we're back in the States, he has an employee-provided insurance, but it sucks! Deductible is $5k so he's afraid to go to any doctor again.

Getting pregnant here in the States is a very scary prospect for me. Poland is much more family-friendly (guaranteed long and paid maternity leave, possible paternity leave, tax-payer funded pre-schools, affordable healthcare, etc.) I'm 31 and if we want kids we should probably start having them now or soon, but in US with the high healthcare cost, high childcare cost and extremely short (if any) maternity leave I just don't know how we would get through it. For the time being it's a bit too overwhelming.

I guess a lot depends on the outcome of the November elections. I can't imagine what this country could turn into if Trump wins. We're lucky that the closest friends that we have here in Minnesota are also very forward-thinking, progressive and well-traveled people, but it's really hard for me to deal with the bigotry of some of husband's family members.

I'm still hoping that this move will be a positive thing in our lives. We only moved back here this year (my husband in January and I in July). Time will tell.

Hi there!

Just came across this thread and we are travelling to the US (Chicago) from London with our cat in a couple of weeks. He has to go in the hold though not the cabin.

I'm interested that you said you had to show evidence of the rabies vaccine? It says on the CDC website that it's not needed: http://www.cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/cats.html and Illinois said it's not needed either: https://www.agr.state.il.us/international-import-requirements-for-dogs-and-cats/

Edited: also found this https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/56/~/pets---cats

Can I ask where you found out that the CBP wanted to see it? We don't have time to get our cat the vaccine now and we won't be able to fly with him if this is the case

Many thanks for your help!

LW x

Hi LondonWelsh,

In my case the rabies vaccine had to be administered because otherwise the cat wouldn't be allowed OUT of my country (one thing is what USA authorities want from you when you enter their country with cat, another thing is what the airlines want to see to even let the cat on board). The Polish certificate from the County Veterinarian Inspector had a question about rabies on it and it was specified on the airlines website that the pet needs to have had a rabies shot.

You are absolutely right - the CBP and CDC websites don't mention the quarantine (and there probably really isn't any for cats). I found the info about quarantine on the website of the airline I was traveling with. It says: "NOTE! In case of carriage of animals to the United States of America a 30 day-long quarantine since the last vaccination against rabies is required." http://www.lot.com/us/en/travelling-with-pets That information is probably either outdated, or it only pertains to dogs, and not all pets. My bad, sorry.

However, even though my cat was not examined by anyone at the Chicago airport upon arrival (I didn't even have to take him out of his container), the CBP officer asked about the cats documents and they were thoroughly examined.

hi there just wondering did you get your cat the rabies vaccine? also did you get your papers from pettravel.com or did your vet just write up their own letters/record of vaccinations etc?

Yes, the rabies vaccine is the one that the CBP wants to see. The rabies shot must be given 30+ days before travel (no less than 30 days before travel or the cat might get quarantined).

I did not use any papers from pettravel.com. I actually wrote my own "Pet health and immunization certificate" document and asked my vet to sign it (of course she thoroughly checked that all info was accurate) because I wanted to have this document in English and I didn't feel like paying for another certified translation. Obviously, since you're from Ireland, you won't have this problem The health certificate that I put together contained the following:

- data of the owner (first name, last name, address, phone number)

- data of the cat (name, breed, age, color, sex)

- Information that the cat is in good general health and free of signs of any communicable diseases

- info on all the recent immunizations (dates, names of vaccines, names of diseases that they are against, manufacturer)

- contact info for the vet (name, address, phone number, signature, stamp, preferably on letterhead, although mine wasn't and it was OK too)

Document should be dated as close to the travel as possible (definitely no more than 2 weeks). Mine was dated 8 days before travel.

Hi guys, thank you all so much for your answers!

I have flown into USA with my cat 3 days ago.

As you could see in my original post, I was worried sick about everything, but in the end the experience was very good and I was truly surprised by how smooth everything went.

First of all, the airline I traveled with (LOT Polish Airlines) didn't care at all about the pet carrier - nobody checked the dimensions. I had a soft-sided carrier that was 9cm too high but I knew that I could push down on it and it would fit under the seat in front of me. At the check-in desk they only asked to see the one document from the Polish veterinary agency that states that cat is good to go outside of EU.

What I didn't realize is that the security agents want the cat to go through the body scan completely "naked" (=no harness, no collar, nothing). So I took the cat out of the carrier, I took his leash and harness off, no problem there. The problem was with his collar. It's not a regular fabric collar but an anti-parasite collar that he's wearing now (we just put it on him 1 month ago and it's good for 8 months). The problem is, it only goes one way - you can put it on, but to take it off you need to cut it. So I told the security agent: "I can take the collar off but I will need to cut it, do you have scissors?", she said "No". But at the same time the other security agent who stood on the other side of the body scan said: "It's OK, just walk with him through the scan", so we did that. The scanner beeped, because the cat had his metal name tag and a little metal bell fixed to his collar, so the agent just patted the cat down, and he was good to go!

While we were on the plane (9h 40 min) the cat was in the carrier under the seat all the time. The airline policy says that the pet needs to be in the pet carrier under the seat during taxi, take off and landing, but there was really no room to put him anywhere else during the flight. He was super calm. He behaved like a little angel. He didn't make a sound. I gave him him water and snacks to eat, but he didn't want any. I didn't use any tranquilizers (I was told by the vet not to), but I did use cat pheromones. I sprayed the cat carrier 15 minutes before we got into the car to go to the airport and then again halfway through the flight. I also lined the bottom of the carrier with material that would soak any pee (I got it at a pharmacy), but he didn't pee or poo during the flight.

When we got to POE (Chicago), I of course had to declare that I have a live animal with me. I didn't need to take him out of the carrier at all. The CBP agent just asked to see the cat's documents, so I handed him the whole folder, which contained the letter from the vet in English with all of the info about the cat--his health and immunization record, his booklet with all the shots he ever got and the document from the Polish veterinary inspection that said he's OK to go abroad. My cat was never micro-chipped. He didn't need to be micro-chipped to be able to travel to the USA. I figured that the micro-chip from EU might not be compatible with the US system, so we will get him micro-chipped here.

Hi, my flight is in 5 days and I'm getting extremely nervous about travelling with my cat.

He will be travelling with me in the cabin. I have all the required documents.

I am, however, worried about the basics. Although our cat is quite used to travelling (regular 4-hour travels by train), he has never been on a plane (it will be a 10-hour flight). The vet I spoke to said it is not a good idea to give the cat any tranquillizers, because it is such a long journey and it is uncertain how he will react to the meds (in the middle of the flight it will not be possible to help him if he gets sick from the meds). If you have experience travelling by plane with a cat please let me know if you have used any tranquillizers. I will definitely spray the pet carrier with cat pheromones that are supposed to make the cat calmer.

Another thing I'm worried about is getting the cat through the security check at the airport. I have just read that I'm supposed to take the cat out of his carrier and walk with him through the body scanner. It terrifies me since I know my cat will freak out and will not make it easy. I'm scared he will run away into the airport and I will never find him again.

And the last thing that keeps me up at night is the size of the pet carrier. LOT Polish airlines (that I will travel with) says on their website that the pet carrier height cannot exceed 20cm. At the same time the size of the container, according the website, needs to make it possible for the cat to stand up inside the carrier and turn around without a problem. Obviously this is not possible if the height of the carrier is only 20cm. My cat's carrier's height is around 29cm, but it is soft shell so it can be pushed at the top, so it will fit under the seat. I have not even seen any pet carriers in online stores that were only 20cm high. Do you think this is going to be a problem at the check-in counter or at the security check, do they actually measure the carrier? Or are they reasonable enough to understand that the pet carrier cannot possibly be only 20cm high, unless you're travelling with a ferret?!

Thank you.

I864 my dads application

part 6

question number 3

income you are using from any other person who counted in your household size

do i write my moms name?

and i still need to

fill up

the I864a right?

sorry its my first time doing this

Correct, your dad needs to put your mom's name there and her current income.

And yes, your mom still should fill out the I-864a.

The current individual annual income that you asked about earlier, should be the same number as written on employment letter of the sponsor (it has nothing to do with the tax return as the tax return shows your income for the past year, not the current year).

Hi.

I'm petitioning my husband. My dad and I will be the sponsors.

My parents files their taxes together. So that makes my mom a household member under my dad right?

I've read it somewhere that my mom also needs to fill up a I864a.

my question is on part 2 1.c

which one should i mark?

spouse since she's a household member under my dad?

I need help..

Hi, I was in the same situation - my husband (the USC) was the petitioner and primary sponsor, but he did not have enough income, so we asked his stepdad to be the joint sponsor (he filled out another I-864) and his wife (my husband's mother) filled out I-864a. It has been recommended on the forum (I remember especially Pushbrk advising to do it this way - and he knows what he's talking about) to send the I-864a even if the joint sponsor has enough income under the guidelines. They just want to know that the household member understands the duties that come with sponsoring an immigrant.

We got a case complete really soon. Better safe than sorry.

And yes, you should mark "spouse" on part 2, 1.c.