Logan5

I think a receipt from the storage would do. it proves that you had your stuff there and always intended to come back! did you pay any taxes that year?

hi, im asking if applying for citizenship using the 3 years rule/ marriage with us citizenship /should be before completing 3 years or until we complete it ? i will complete 3 years june 2017 wish month should i fill n400 and apply for citizenship ? thanks.

that depends on when you became a Permanent Resident.

Exactly. She probably did not abandon her permanent residency. Given that you were deployed I assume, you still had a home in the US, paid rent, taxes, insurance, etc. If those run under her name, too, she should be ok. Especially if she produces something that shows she always intended to come back (once you are back from your deployment), such as return ticket, other responsibilities at home, like insurance etc.

There is no requirement to have uninterrupted physical presence.

I understand, they mean 18 months combined physical presence, not continuous.

Thanks for clarifying.

And yes, our 3rd wedding anniversary is 40 days before I am eligible to apply for Citizenship, so no problem!

Hi,

Next year, I will be eligible to apply for US Citizenship. I will have been married to a US Citizen since before the day I became a US Permanent Resident, i.e. > 3 years.

Question: we were traveling for 117 consecutive days last year before moving to another state. Does this constitute an interruption of my physical presence in the United States?

IF SO, our travels happened (or ended) 550 days before I will have been a Permanent Resident for 3 years, so > 18 months and no problem, but only 459 days before I can apply for US Citizenship, so < 18 months. Which date matters? Date of eligibility to apply for or eligibility to become a US Citizen?

Thanks for helping out!

Numbers:
Married on 1/11/2014

Permanent Resident since 5/21/2014

Eligible to apply for US Citizenship on 2/20/2017

Eligible to become US Citizen on 5/21/2017

Can I ask you, Brokenness, for specifics about some points you made? The general idea, I understand. However, what those points mean can be quite challenging to understand...

"speaking the language": I was born in Germany, went to school, graduated from college, etc. Do I proof "that" by submitting my degree(s)?

"having friends and family in Germany": My whole family and probably 60% of my friends are German. Do I proof that by submitting copies of their IDs, or social media transcripts, if any, or how exactly?

"knowledge about the German culture": eugh..... photos of my German book collection? receipts of museum tickets? This is so vague...

"disadvantage for not having a German passport": my wife and I plan on moving to Germany for a while but not in the next 2 years. she wants to learn the language, go back to school and get a post-graduate degree. Also, we were thinking about having our kids in Germany. But... none of this is de facto in progress or even planned. It's just an intention. How do I "proof" that? Also, of course I would want to take care of my eventually super-senior parents but that's not anytime soon either.

"disadvantage for not having a US citizenship": I understand this is based mostly on economic factors. There is work that I dont get delegated bc I dont have the necessary security clearance. Do I just "state" that or do I need a letter from my employer or something similar? Do I just copy-paste the law that says only US Citizens can get that security clearance?

In all, I am in a big black hole about some specific examples on how to approach this. The German government does not say what exactly they want to see and I cannot find much information from approved applicants about what they actually submitted.

very helpful links indeed, thanks!

I have gone over some threads but it seems nobody is actually too specific as what constitutes a valid reason to obtain US Citizenship in the first place.

I also cannot find any helpful information as how to provide evidence of existing ties to Germany.

For the GC it was pretty straight forward: bank account, photos, travel documents, etc.

The German "branch" doesn't seem to be too helpful about what exactly they want to see ://

ah sorry, I mean getting the US Citizenship while keeping the German one

Thanks HK12, I will check it out

Hi,

I wanted to check if anybody here has successfully arranged for German-American dual citizenship in the past?

Would like to talk about it, maybe clear up some initial questions...

Thanks for letting me know!

Logan5

Not true. For spouses of US Citizens, the period she needs to have been a permanent resident is 3 (three) years, not 5 (five). Also, she will only have to have stayed in the US for 18 months of those 3 years. And of those 18 months, she will have had to stay in the US for 12 months consecutively. She can already then apply for citizenship.

Secondly, she cannot stay outside the US for "only" 12 months. She can stay away longer, provided that she keeps ties to the US (bank account, credit card, car insurance, driver's license, etc.); having obtained an I-131 BEFORE she leaves is beneficial but that is only valid for 12-24 months. If she stays outside the US longer than that, she needs to apply for an extension and provide reasons for such.

If her conditional green card expires before she comes back to the US, she needs to apply to have those conditions removed for which she WILL have to come back to the US to have her biometrics taken. If she remains outside the US, this process may be put on hold.

Hope this helps!

PS you can always have the Green Card be sent to a US mailing address (e.g. your family), from which it can be sent to your wife in Europe. She doesn't require a Green Card to leave the country.

Hi everybody,

I would need some advice on the following issue:

I am a German citizen with a valid Green Card which I obtained via marriage to a US Citizen on 5/21/2014. I spent 15 months and two days in the US (got a job, etc.) until my wife and I decided to temporarily leave the country to go travel in the Southern Hemisphere (Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, ...). We wanted to spend the majority of our time in New Zealand for which we both obtained a 12-month Working Holiday Visa. We are currently in New Zealand.

My Green Card will expire on 5/21/2016 and I fully intend to apply for having the conditions removed, by late February 2016 (90-day window). I did not apply for the I-131 because we never intended to stay outside the US for more than 12 months.

We are maintaining our bank accounts, credit cards, US mailing address, SSN, and Netflix account (for what it's worth), and we will file taxes in the US come 2016. We are planning to visit friends and family for Thanksgiving this year in the US (return ticket because we are still traveling).

We do not currently pay rent, own a car, or have domestic health insurance in the US. I also don't have a US driver's license or own any property in the US. We also have not bought a car in New Zealand, so far haven't done any work either, and the visa, as mentioned above, is only valid for 12 months and does not allow for residency of any type.

So far, so good.

My questions are:

1) When I fly into the US sometime in March/April next year to get my biometrics taken, will I have trouble with the immigration officer? I will have been outside of the US for quite some time of course (more than 7 months in the last 12 months that is, with a 1 to 2 week interruption for Thanksgiving) and I have read, depending on the port of entry & mood of the immigration officer that they could accuse me of having abandoned my intent to permanently reside in the US. Of course, I would bring my "supporting evidence of ties to the US" with me when returning to the US, but will that be enough (see above)?

2) Also, after that, we would want to keep traveling outside the US until our New Zealand visa expires. So, speaking the truth, in March/April 2016, I don't have the intention to stay in the US, at least not for another couple months. Will this be an issue with the immigration officer if I am only temporarily returning to have my biometrics taken? Should I purchase a one-way ticket?

3) Finally, if we do not visit the US over Thanksgiving, will this effect the outcome of any of the above questions?

Thanks for helping me out here. I am quite puzzled by the system. I understand that an I-131 is helpful when staying outside the US for more than 12 months, but for anything between 6 and 12 months, it seems there is not much you can do...

yes looks like it. I called USCIS and they confirmed: You absolutely have to return to the US to have your prints taken *doh*. No way around it.

Also, I remember having filed for the I-131 back when I applied for the GC, just in case I needed to leave the country. Can I possibly use this in my case now?

moving our date of departure is out of the question. (un)fortunately, we are leaving on August 23, already. that's on me, I know. not very German of me I guess

From the looks of it, I will het the I-131, and in 2/16 in the US Embassy in Auckland, I will try to get the conditions removed.

Well, if that is my only option, I guess I will consider it. Although it seems a tad bit unreasonable to fly 2x 14 hours, and pay approx. $1,700 air fare just to have them take a finger print that they have already taken about a dozen times, which btw never changes anyways. For that type of commitment, I might just apply for a new Green Card, once I have returned.

Hey'all,

I find myself in a little bit of a pickle, and I think I am in need of some advise, please.

So, here is the situation: I was granted a conditional permanent residency (spouse) in May 2014. Naturally, it will expire in May 2016, and I cannot apply to have the conditions removed before February 2016.

As it is, me and my wife are moving to New Zealand in September. We were granted a 12-month Working Holiday Visa. We are also playing with the thought of spending some time in Taiwan, thereafter, since that is were my wife's family lives.

That said, I do not want to lose my permanent residency, as we intend to move back to the States, at some point.

As far as I can see, I cannot apply to have the conditions of my permanent residency removed while I am abroad, because it requires me to have my biometrics taken. Also, if I apply for a I-131, I am not sure if they will let me back in, since I not only was gone for 12-24 months, but my Green Card expired in between.

Could somebody verify that I can still re-enter the US with an expired Green Card if I have a granted I-131?

Or can I apply to have my conditions removed in a US Embassy abroad?

Or what do you think is my best option here?

Thanks so much for all your help!

Best,

René

I still have a question: I have received approval notices for I485, I130 and I765, as well as my EAD and GC. Online, it says USCIS has sent me my I131 approval on May 16th, however, this has not arrived here, yet, while all the other documents were sent a week later.

Any experience on that? I understand I need this document if I leave the US for more than a year?

Thanks again

I checked my status online just now it says all the applications were approved and cards are in production!

Biometrics were on April 4th and the interview on May 20th. No EAD here as of today.

Hi,

My wife and I had our interview. For those who will be going through this, maybe this will help:

At the entrance, there are two consecutive doors. For some reason, there is no sign whatsoever that you are not allowed to enter the building unless you are told to do so. Since there was no line in front of me, I opened the door (accidentally the same exact moment the officer called the 'next group'). Unnecessary to say, he was pretty angry and told me to not ever do that again (entering without permission). I got the feeling the officer couldn't handle the stress very well or the authority giving to him. He seemed more nervous than I was and when communicating with his colleague, was rather yelling than talking (not at all like at the airport). But who knows, maybe this is some kind of DHS intimidation tactic. It did not intimidate me but made me feel unwelcome, is all.

The officer conducting the interview was calm, emotionless, really (this circumstance makes the process really stressful, even though you have a solid case). The officer took our oath, then proceeded going down the list if I had military training, was a drug trafficker, etc. All my answers were 'no', just like on the application. The officer just checked off all the questions with a pen, sometimes even checking it off before hearing my response. Seemed like they have to do that with every applicant (I could here the officer next door doing the same). The officer then asked me basics (address, phone number, last time I entered the US, how many times I have entered the US before that, if I have ever overstayed, my wife's birthdate, if I had met her parents). Asked if we brought more evidence but than actually did not take any.

The officer then asked my wife about where we met, how the relationship started, if we did any travels together, etc., you get the idea.

There were no "hard" questions or any attempts to intimidate us or "make us confess" or such things. If anything, I would say the officer was not prepared. Asked for some proof of our wedding which was sent with the application, already. Of course we had everything handy, nonetheless.

In the end, the officer was "pretty satisfied" and believed we were in a relationship. Said the case is pending "other requirements to be checked/verified" and we will be notified via mail.

I don't really know what to make of it. Our evidence was strong and apparently satisfying. I was hoping for a stamp in my passport since I started applying for jobs, already. But I guess I have to wait….

Hi Samhunter,

thank you for your swift reply. Sounds reasonable enough

Hi,

I have a straight and simple question which I hope a connoisseur of immigration procedures could answer for me:

I have received the notice to appear for an interview (San Francisco, CA office) next month. Attached to this was another page, fairly dramatic, saying:

"Notice to Applicant: If you have ever been arrested or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason, you must bring the following to your adjustment of status interview."

Well, I had answered that and relating questions in the initial application, already, with "no". I am merely curious if this is a standard attachment to this notice or is linked to my specific case purely because it seems superfluous.

Thanks a bunch,

Logan5