insipidtoast

Approved.

Thanks for the encouragement. My wife sounded rather bewildered by what the IO told her.

This was my wife’s second naturalization interview today. The first interview last year went okay, and the interviewer said she was going to recommend my wife for approval. 4 weeks later we got a denial letter. The reason: We didn’t wait 3 months to submit the N400 application following our move to SD. So we went through the whole process in vain. Couldn’t they have denied us for this technicality right from the start instead of making us jump through all the hoops over the course of the next few months? 
 
We were residents of SD then.
 
Fast forward 14 months later to today’s interview based on my wife’s second N-400. Wait let me back up a little first: 
 
In July 2018 (not long after receiving the denial letter) we moved to TN to go to work for a different company that refused to hire me with a SD address. By the way, I’m a truck driver...long haul. Hopefully you understand what that means more then these Uscis idiots who think the products magically appear on their shelves. In case you’re as clueless as a uscis interviewer, most long haul trucking companies REQUIRE a driver to be away from home for at least two weeks at a time, and many companies (including mine) prefer that drivers stay out much longer.
My wife is my authorized passenger, and we have been living like this for over 2 years now “over the road” or “OTR” in trucker lingo. This lifestyle is reality for millions of Americans.
 
Last year my sister let us use her address in TN to establish residency. We came up with a written agreement with her to use a room in her house when we’re in town. We submitted a copy of this agreement with my wife’s most recent N400. We fulfilled all the requirements to establish residency in TN, and get a drivers license. Actually mine was a Class A Commercial Driver License with a TSA approved hazardous materials endorsement, so I had to jump through more hoops to prove my TN residency than the average person. Actually it wasn’t even going to work except for the fact that my sister was a resident, and there’s a sibling clause. That actually made the difference. It’s a lot easier to obtain a regular, non-commercial license.
 
Well apparently Uscis interviewers have a problem with a trucker and his wife being away from home “too much.” I suppose I could leave my wife at home to fend for herself for weeks at a time while I’m out on the road, but we didn’t get married to live separately. And you know Uscis would look at such a situation and say, “well you hardly even live together, so this doesn’t look like a legitimate relationship.”
 
So, today my wife aced her civics and English test (for a second time). *So proud of her!*
 
When the interviewer was finalizing the session, my wife was shocked that the interviewer marked the box that said “a decision cannot be made yet about your application.”
 
My wife rightfully questioned this, and the interviewer seemed to mistrust the fact that my wife waited more than 3 months from moving to TN, establishing residency, and getting a drivers license before submitting her most recent N400. My wife offered to show her Driver License to prove that the issue date was more than 3 months prior to the N400 application date. The interviewer responded, “that’s not necessary.” Also, the interviewer expressed concern in the fact that we’re “not home enough.” So she told my wife she was going to “look into the TN laws regarding residency.” My wife explained the reality of the long haul trucking lifestyle, but this interviewer just said she needed more time to review everything.
 
The interviewer was lucky I was not allowed to be part of the interview. If I had been involved there would have been a scene.
 
They sit on the application for 8 months, and don’t even do their homework to verify if the applicant is a legitimate resident BEFORE the interview. Then they practically accuse you of residency fraud, by doubting that TN knows how to properly assess and grant residency. You can’t get a drivers license in TN without first becoming a resident of the state. And if there were a law on the books that says you need to spend X amount of days at home every month or else one’s residency will be revoked then no truck drivers would have their domicile in TN. Also, that would fall under the jurisdiction of the state of TN, and would be the responsibility of TN and NOT the federal government.
 
So can they deny citizenship based on the fact that they don’t really like your licit lifestyle and career choice? 
 
In any case, these are concerns of theirs they could’ve investigated BEFORE the interview.
 
I didn’t hear what was said, just what my wife told me afterwards. My interpretation of what they told my wife is essentially, “Well, applicant, you did everything right this time, but just give us another three weeks to see if we can dig up some other excuse not to give you your citizenship that you rightfully earned.”
 

At least you didn't get a rejection notice. At least your spouse is still alive.