Darth Vader Kuu

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your detailed experience.

The way you spell a lot of words leads me to believe you have spent a good percentage of 911 days in the UK.

Good luck with your follow up interview...

Thanks, and you're welcome.

Actually, not as much time in the United Kingdom as you might think. I attented British preparatory schools, though outside the United Kingdom, and I suppose certain habits die hard!

Good Luck...Please keep us posted on the additional documents requested!

Thanks! I am shortly posting the details of my follow-up interview and will include within it any details of additional requested documentation.

Congrats!!!!! And good to know. I also have 900+ days outside the U.S. I'll be bracing myself for those questions when I have my interview, and thanks to you now I know the max is 912... lucky I put less than that on my N400 app.

Aurelius,

Thank you, but I would not congratulate me just yet.

Out of curiosity, and perhaps it might inadvertently help you as well, how many days exactly do you have outside the United States? It's important for you in you interview, should it become an issue, to assert not just the broad 50% physical presence requirement, but also the actual specifics of the requirement as laid out in the law (see below). I say this because I personally know of a poorly-informed immigration lawyer in the South Florida area who interpreted that requirement as:

- > five years = 60 months;

-> 50% of 60 months = 30 months;

-> a "month" = 30 days;

-> 30 days x 30 months = 900 days

and that those 900 days are the maximum number of days you are permitted out.

Of course, he was wrong, but I would not be surprised if other poorly-informed Immigration Officers thought along the same lines since:

a) even certain sections of USCIS literature casually refer to the "30 months" requirement and neglect to outline the specificity as contained in the information below and

b) the event of a Naturalisation applicant exceeding 900 days of physical absence from the United States during the statutory period is uncommon enough to trip up all but the most informed USCIS officials

It is also important (again, this information is contained below) to assert that the statute gives physical presence credit for both days of departure from and arrival into the United States. In other words, an international trip for which you left on Monday and returned on Wednesday would constitute only one day of physical absence from the United States, not two.

Here are two links I would encourage you to review and possibly have printed and in your possession during your interview:

1) The first is an excerpt from the USCIS Policy Manual that explicitly defines the physical presence requirement in terms of actual days

http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter4.html

2) The second is an excerpt of the INA: Act 316 which describes the general aspects of the statute upon which the policy manual above elaborates.

http://www.uscis.gov/iframe/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-9898.html

Thank you so much! I will update everyone on the 28th.

Best of luck for tomorrow!

Thanks! Just returned. Will shortly post the details.

Thanks, Christi85! I remember you and remember that your local field office had particularly long processing times, so I'm happy to see you scheduled. Good luck on your interview, I'm sure you'll breeze through. I wouldn't worry about it.

Not sure how Santa Ana processes Naturalisation Oath schedules at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, but I do know of a Los Angeles resident who applied and was given an oath date within a month of her interview.

I'm running around and gathering/printing/requesting faxes of my documents. Should have the packet completed within another couple of hours. To answer your question, yes, I will be interviewed again tomorrow to "explain" my requested evidence and to speak with my Immigration Officer's supervisor. I agree with you and am not worried about the time spent outside the United States. One of the last things the Immigration Officer said to me is that the law is clear and that the application I have presented is within the confines of the statute. He just told me he is researching it to be thorough and to comply with Miami Local Field Office policy for applicants with 800+ of physical absence within the statutory period.

I'll keep you posted and I want to hear how your interiew goes. Good luck! :-)

Good luck, JimmyHou!

I remember during the interview that my Immigration Officer mentioned that policy in the Miami Field District Office (not sure how this is handled nationally) is that extra scrutiny is applied to cases (suggesting possible minimal delays) only when travel outside the United States exceeds 800+ days as noted on the application.

That's good to know... thank you!

It is not true that, by itself, failure to register for Selective Service establishes a failure to demonstrate good moral character.

It is also not true that one who fails to register (not the Original Poster who has since confirmed he was indeed automaticaly registered) cannot apply for citizenship "any time soon."

There are people who are simply unaware of this requirement, and are able to demonstrate such ignorance with ease. I was, in the past, casually informed that the USCIS only considers crimes of moral turpitude (rape, murder, drug trafficking, felony theft, arms offences, etcetera) as events that would demonstrate a failure to demonstrate good moral chracter in consideration for naturalisation.

Persons with suspended drivers licences, reckeless driving records, and misdemeanour criminal RAP (Records of Arrests and Prosecutions) sheet routinely get naturalised while such offences are within their statutory periods.

All US citizens and permanent residents between the ages of 18 and 26 are required to register for selective service. There's some good news and bad news for you.

The good news is that your status as a permanent resident will almost certainly not be affected by this. You'll still be able to sponsor any relatives that are eligible for sponsorship by permanent residents (this will be slower than if you were a citizen). More good news: you'll also be able to eventually apply for citizenship.

The bad news is that you probably won't be able to apply for citizenship anytime soon. Failing to apply for Selective Service is seen as a failure to "demonstrate good moral character". To overcome this, you need to wait 5 years (or 3 years if you are applying based on marriage to a US citizen) from the date of the offense. This means that if you want a relatively smooth application process, you'll need to wait until after your 31st birthday to send in your application. You can still apply before then, but there is a big chance that you'll be denied.

The information below is from an immigration legal advice website, not from an official USCIS document. It addresses the situation you're in. If you use the search tool on Visa Journey, you'll find many cases similar to your own. Most people wait until they have turned 31 (or 29), but there are exceptions.

The following is from: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/naturalization-eligibility-men-who-failed-register-with-the-selective-service.html

Proving Good Moral Character If It’s Too Late to Register

If you’ve passed age 26, it’s too late for you to register for the Selective Service. Your chances of qualifying for U.S. citizenship depend on how many years have passed since you were supposed to register and how many years of good moral character you need to show. If you need to show five years of good moral character, then the easiest thing might be to wait until you are age 31 to apply for citizenship.

Or if you need to show only three years of good moral character (because you have been married to and living with a U.S. citizen all that time), you should wait until you are 29 years of age to submit your N-400 citizenship application.

Proving That You Didn’t Know You Were Supposed to Register

If you are eager to apply for citizenship before you turn 29 or 31 (as applicable), you may be able to show USCIS that you had no idea that registering was expected of you, and that you therefore didn’t “willfully” fail to register, by submitting these along with your naturalization application:

• a Status Information Letter from the Selective Service System
• your sworn declaration, and
• sworn declarations from people who knew you.

I keep a spreadsheet with all of my international travel; dates, airlines, flight numbers, US and foreign ports of entry and departure, and all countries visited on the trip. So, I'm confident that I haven't missed any trips, I was just worried about not having a stamp, but as some people have said, I'll keep my flight receipts (with travel dates) and going forward, I'll snap a photo of the Global Entry receipt before I turn it on on arrival.

For the last poster, you'll love Global Entry; it's saved me so much time and at least once, stopped me from missing a flight. My flight from London to DC took off two hours late and if I had had to wait in the immigration lines in DC l, I wouldn't have made my flight to Houston.

Thanks again everyone, it doesn't sound like the missing stamps are anything to worry about.

Missing the stamps is nothing to worry about. As long as you present all passports in your possession and attempt, in good faith, to report all your international travel, you cannot be held responsible for an absence of stamps in your passport. This is fairly intuitive since the same departments that runs Global Entry runs the USCIS and they cannot expect you to provide physical evidence that they have declined to offer.

It's also worth noting that the adjudicating officers of N-400 aplications are given guidance NOT to penalise applicants who make good faith attempts to document their international travel within the statutory period, but inadvertently neglect to list all trips and/or total days outside the United States.

Interview Experience

My interview was scheduled for 11:30 am today which, from my observations, was probably the last slot of the day. I arrived at 11:05 am, passed through security, checked in with the receptionist (who electronically notified my interviewer-to-be of my presence on-site) and I was directed into the general waiting area to be called for my interview. This general waiting area seemed to be split between about 65% of applicants and their supporters/family/attorneys who were scheduled for Naturalisation interviews (and were being called by name into the secure area by the interviewing officers) and about 35% who had INFOPASS appointments (and were being directed to public booths by audio announcements of ticket numbers).

I estimate that the interviews before mine in general lasted, on average, 15-20 minutes based on my observations of applicants going into the secure area and then emerging. About seven officers were conducting interviews today. Their demeanours ranged from bored, to rude, to bright and pleasant, to distant and formal. The most pleasant of all by far, based on my observations of their comings and goings was a young, smartly-dressed gentleman who seemed genuinely engaged in the entire process, was courteous to all his interviewees, and who I secretly wished would interview me.

I was finally called at about 12:20 pm (I was told that things were slowing down for lunch), and I was indeed the very last person in the general waiting area aside from about three INFOPASSers. Just when I thought I had been forgotten (afterall, there had been upwards of seventy-five people when I arrived), the young, smartly-dressed, pleasant-faced gentleman announced my name, pronouncing it with great difficulty (it is a long, foreign name and entirely unfamiliar to Westerners). I followed him into his office and the interview began.

After he swore me in and asked me to sit down, he pushed my A-File into the middle of his desk (a monstrous, dusty binder about 6-7 inches high and crawling with paperwork) and arrived at the first order of business. He told me that he was “recommending” me for a name change because the long tribal names on my birth certificate were slightly different from the abbreviated and westernised equivalents I have in my passport and all other documents (including my Social Security Card) in use since I first entered this country. He explained that he was simply doing a “formal name change” to the name I currently use now and that this had to be done since my birth certificate was the first official document that named me, and that to continue using my abbreviated names, this would be necessary. The discussion on the names took about eight minutes.

We then progressed to the Reading, Writing and Comprehension of English section of the test. He handed me a sheet of paper and asked me to read one of three simple sentences (the sentence he wished me to read had been ticked by him). I read it. I cannot remember what it was other than the fact it was mundane and had something to do with government. Next, he asked me to write something he dictated. Again, I do not remember what it was.

We then moved on to the Civics portion of the interview. Curiously, he asked me only four questions and then stopped abruptly. I assume I got all four right, because he informed me I had passed all portions of the tests. Without being specific:

• the first question asked about a constitutional right
• the second about a historical date
• the third and the fourth were geographical in nature

This took all of about four minutes.

We then moved onto the application review portion of the interview. He was very thorough and explained what he was doing and why he was probing certain issues. He asked me about trips I had taken outside the United States since submitting the application. I updated him, he notated them and moved on. He went over the entire application (though not every question) and not just the Yes/No section. After we spent about ten minutes on that, he nodded satisfactorily and asked me to sign my main N-400 form in the section indicated to be signed at the interview. He then handed me several sheets of paper related to a court affidavit that would judicially recognise the recommended change of name. He then said something along the lines of “all looks good here” and then indicated that he wished to return to my trips abroad.

I have, in the five-year statutory period, over thirty-five trips abroad to many different countries. Coincidentally, I satisfied the 50% physical presence requirement quite narrowly. The Immigration and Nationalisation Act specifies that the number of days an applicant may be out while still complying with the physical presence requirement to be no more than 912 in the last five years. I had been out for 911. We proceeded to review the Immigration Law together while he reviewed my passport stamps. He then went into a database to look at my travel records. After making some progress, he informed me that the time for interviews for the day was up. He indicated that, to give an answer, he would need to research my case, and consult his supervisor. I should mention that the gentleman who interviewed me is himself a supervisor (that is, he is consulted by his junior immigration officers about final approvals on N-400 applications when they give Recommendations for Approvals), but he wanted to get clearance from his overall supervisor.

He informed me that it was not a problem, and that he would like to interview me again within a month as soon as he had completed his research. He also gave me a list of certain additional evidence he wanted to review with his supervisor and gave me directions for how to have that sent via physical post.

The interview lasted over fifty minutes.

As he walked me out, he asked me how soon I could come back. I casually said something along the lines of “tomorrow if need be.” He stopped, thought for a moment and said “Great! Why don’t you do that!” He gave me a special pass for priority interview with him dated for tomorrow and said, if it were possible, to gather all the documents that he had requested of me and bring them to my follow-up interview scheduled for tomorrow. He said he would “do his part” and complete his research tonight if that’s as long as it would take. He confirmed my telephone contact numbers and asked if it was alright to call between now and tomorrow in case he had any questions. I said, of course, that it would be no problem.

I thanked him and left.

In one hour, this gentleman with all his professionalism and pleasant demeanour, while still effectively performing his charges, dramatically raised my impression of the USCIS.

How thrilling!

I'm A United States Citizen

======================================
USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox
======================================
VJ.UserName......|Eligible.|Sent..|Cashd.|NOA...|BioApp|InLine|IntLtr|IntVw.|Oath.....| Field Office

Engineer21.......|04/27/13.|02/24.|03/04.|03/04.|03/28.|04/01.|04/04.|05/13.|07/30/14.| Lawrence, MA
prinambiar.......|--/--/--.|03/02.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Baltimore, MD
PacienciayFe.....|10/13/13.|03/03.|03/13.|03/11.|04/10.|04/14.|07/03.|08/06.|--/--/--.| Queens, NY
Math Man.........|02/05/12.|03/03.|03/10.|03/07.|04/03.|04/07.|04/14.|05/21.|07/30/14.| Lawrence, MA
DanTes ..........|02/25/14.|03/03.|03/11.|03/10.|04/09.|04/28.|04/29.|06/02.|--/--/--.| New Orleans, LA
Coqueta..........|03/10/11.|03/03.|MOrdr.|03/06.|03/28.|04/01.|04/01.|05/06.|07/03/14.| Memphis, TN
HJP..............|12/17/12.|03/03.|03/11.|03/10.|04/04.|04/08.|05/05.|06/05.|07/31/14.| Jacksonville, FL
Sunshinepretty...|--/--/--.|03/03.|--/--.|03/12.|04/09.|04/11.|05/30.|07/01.|07/01/14.| Newark, NJ
Rip_curl.........|--/--/--.|03/04.|03/11.|03/12.|03/26.|05/02.|05/16.|06/21.|06/24/14.| Dallas, TX
Montblanc........|--/--/--.|03/04.|03/11.|03/10.|04/08.|04/10.|05/12.|06/17.|08/01/14.| Philadelphia, PA
*HappyInlove*....|09/20/10.|03/05.|MOrdr.|03/10.|04/07.|04/09.|04/28.|05/27.|08/08/14.| Memphis, TN
JVKn'CVO .......|01/08/11.|03/07.|03/13.|03/10.|04/02.|--/--.|04/07.|05/15.|07/31/14.| San Antonio, TX
Ontarkieboy1.....|--/--/--.|03/08.|FeeWv.|03/19.|04/15.|04/17.|04/28.|05/29.|--/--/--.| Memphis, TN
Ontarkieboy2.....|--/--/--.|03/08.|FeeWv.|03/19.|04/15.|04/17.|04/28.|05/29.|--/--/--.| Memphis, TN
fumes............|--/--/--.|03/08.|FeeWv.|03/20.|04/17.|04/22.|05/02.|06/02.|07/03/14.| Memphis, TN
Tristanz.........|03/09/14.|03/09.|03/11.|03/11.|03/23.|05/06.|07/11.|08/12.|--/--/--.| Queens, NY
chantal356.......|--/--/--.|03/10.|03/17.|03/14.|04/15.|04/17.|06/06.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Baltimore, MD
bloomfield.......|--/--/--.|03/10.|--/--.|--/--.|04/02.|05/08.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Atlanta, GA
Wise_Hawk........|--/--/--.|03/10.|--/--.|03/20.|04/14.|04/16.|07/11.|08/12.|--/--/--.| Queens, NY
ByrdNest.........|--/--/--.|03/12.|03/20.|03/20.|04/17.|04/21.|05/27.|07/01.|--/--/--.| Fairfax, VA
Bibi&Beebti......|01/01/14.|03/15.|03/27.|03/27.|05/06.|05/08.|06/22.|07/25.|--/--/--.| Washington, DC
starbeam.........|--/--/--.|03/15.|03/20.|03/20.|03/28.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Houston, TX
CatherineTheGreat|--/--/--.|03/17.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Louisville, KY
Felix01..........|01/06/14.|03/18.|03/27.|03/27.|04/28.|04/30.|06/03.|08/25.|--/--/--.| Hartford, CT
anjp.............|02/17/14.|03/18.|03/25.|03/28.|04/21.|04/22.|04/28.|06/09.|--/--/--.| San Antonio, TX
DeanRShortland...|03/13/14.|03/19.|04/01.|04/01.|04/29.|05/12.|05/23.|06/30.|07/25/14.| Memphis,TN
ninasan..........|03/08/13.|03/20.|03/27.|03/31.|04/22.|04/24.|06/07.|07/15.|--/--/--.| Tampa, FL
K96..............|09/--/11.|03/21.|03/26.|03/27.|04/30.|05/02.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| New York, NY
miggg............|03/22/14.|03/24.|04/01.|03/31.|04/24*|05/20.|06/17.|07/24.|--/--/--.| Washington, DC
rogue320.........|--/--/--.|03/24.|03/31.|--/--.|02/11.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Memphis, TN
yomi0518.........|02/13/11.|03/25.|MOrdr.|03/28.|04/29.|05/02.|06/13.|07/15.|--/--/--.| Oakland Park, FL
rosemont.........|--/--/--.|03/25.|03/28.|03/31.|04/30.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Baltimore, MD
bjrichus.........|--/--/--.|03/26.|03/27.|04/01.|04/21.|04/23.|07/12.|08/12.|--/--/--.| Dallas, TX
Darth Vader Ku...|03/30/14.|03/29.|04/04.|03/31.|05/01.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Miami, FL


================================
USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox
================================
VJ.UserName......|Eligible.|Sent..|Cashd.|NOA...|BioApp|InLine|IntLtr|IntVw.|Oath.....| Field Office

Kristel..........|--/--/--.|02/26.|03/06.|03/05.|03/28.|04/01.|--/--.|05/23.|06/25/14.| Chula Vista, CA
ChristinePR......|--/--/--.|02/28.|03/06.|03/10.|03/20.|04/02.|04/14.|05/12.|--/--/--.| San Jose, CA
Suaya415.........|12/18/13.|03/01.|03/07.|03/10.|03/27.|04/04.|04/14.|05/14.|06/19/14.| San Jose, CA
bennobot.........|09/08/13.|03/01.|03/08.|03/03.|03/28.|04/01.|04/01.|05/09.|06/14/14.| St. Paul, MN
Need2know........|04/21/10.|03/03.|03/12.|03/12.|04/18.|04/18.|04/18.|05/19.|06/18/14.| St. Paul, MN
lilacvioletiris..|10/04/13.|03/03.|03/12.|03/11.|04/04.|04/08.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Detroit, MI
VP19.............|02/22/14.|03/03.|03/10.|03/07.|03/31.|04/22.|04/25.|06/02.|--/--/--.| St. Louis, MO
eca31............|--/--/--.|03/04.|--/--.|03/18.|04/11.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Cleveland, OH
Mistere..........|10/26/91.|03/05.|03/13.|03/12.|04/04.|04/25.|06/12.|07/18.|--/--/--.| San Bernardino, CA
Ju&Ja............|--/--/--.|03/05.|--/--.|03/12.|04/22.|04/24.|05/19.|06/20.|--/--/--.| Oxnard, CA
tom_g............|--/--/--.|03/06.|03/14.|03/11.|04/02.|04/04.|05/10.|06/10.|07/16/14.| Oakland, CA
viber............|--/--/--.|03/06.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.|
Abby62...........|--/--/--.|03/07.|03/11.|03/14.|04/01.|04/03.|04/12.|05/12.|06/12/14.| Indianapolis, IN
b_fowler.........|05/03/12.|03/07.|03/26.|03/21.|04/14.|04/23.|04/26.|06/05.|07/10/14.| Kansas City, MO
Np19.............|--/--/--.|03/07.|03/13.|03/11.|04/03.|04/07.|05/12.|--/--.|--/--/--.| St. Louis,
mrs_jaz_h........|11/10/11.|03/11.|--/--.|03/14.|04/08.|04/10.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Detroit, MI
lori7734.........|--/--/--.|03/12.|--/--.|03/19.|04/09.|--/--.|--/--.|06/03.|06/19/14.| Milwaukee, WI
KirstyVQT........|--/--/--.|03/13.|--/--.|03/20.|04/10.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Portland, OR
aneczka..........|12/12/06.|03/14.|03/25.|03/20.|04/02.|04/07.|05/30.|07/01.|07/07/14.| Detroit, MI
BalooSL..........|09/15/13.|03/15.|03/25.|03/21.|04/11.|04/15.|05/08.|06/17.|07/30/14.| San Francisco, CA
yjia0319.........|03/12/14.|03/17.|03/21.|03/26.|04/14.|05/12.|05/12.|06/17.|07/16/14.| Columbus, OH
Chris&Angela.....|03/17/14.|03/19.|03/26.|03/24.|04/14.|05/15.|--/--.|07/02.|07/16/14.| Sacramento, CA
Christi85........|03/09/14.|03/19.|03/27.|03/24.|04/21.|05/07.|06/24.|07/28.|--/--/--.| Chatsworth, CA
Sraj49...........|08/04/13.|03/19.|03/27.|03/31.|04/09.|04/11.|05/30.|07/02.|07/16/14.| Sacramento, CA
ez2007...........|10/29/11.|03/21.|03/26.|03/27.|04/22.|04/24.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Seattle, WA
Newoption........|04/04/09.|03/24.|04/01.|04/01.|04/28.|04/30.|07/09.|08/12.|--/--/--.| San Bernardino, CA
missicy..........|03/21/14.|03/24.|04/02.|03/31.|04/21.|05/20.|07/05.|08/04.|--/--/--.| Chatsworth, CA
shikha_and_howard|03/23/14.|03/24.|04/01.|03/28.|04/18.|05/20.|--/--.|--/--.|--/--/--.| Phoenix, AZ
KyG..............|04/27/12.|03/24.|04/02.|04/01.|04/21.|04/23.|05/13.|06/17.|07/22/14.| San Jose, CA
AKKWM............|01/03/14.|03/24.|04/02.|03/31.|04/22.|04/24.|05/02.|06/11.|--/--/--.| Las Vegas, NV
can702...........|12/18/13.|03/26.|04/02.|04/07.|04/22.|04/24.|05/08.|06/11.|--/--/--.| Las Vegas, NV
Myles2986........|03/25/14.|03/27.|04/02.|04/01.|04/18.|05/23.|06/03.|07/07.|08/04/14.| Saint Paul, MN

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