Hi,

My mother-in-law, is waiting for her AOS interview. She received her EAD/AP combo card a few months ago. We live in CA right next to Mexico. She is from Mexico. She is having some medical issues and we want to know if it’s okay to travel back to the US with the permit given the current restrictions. Her husband visited in December 2020 and he has a tourist visa. He flew in from MX to LAX. No questions asked. She is having medical issues and it’s more affordable to go to her family doctor across the border and either try and walk back or fly back. Any advice or tips?

Thank you all!

7 hours ago, fairwood1 said:

Thanks for quick reply.

Would you mind telling me when was your trip? Was it like within 2-3 weeks after your oath ceremony?

And did you make the appointment in advance, before the oath ceremony occurred?

Thanks again.

No worries,

The trip was that same weekend. The oath ceremony was on a Wednesday and his passport expedite appointment was Thursday. He got his passport at 3PM on Friday. Honestly, we just made a free booking and then cancelled it but just printed out the confirmation. We live in San Diego and all his family is in TJ. He didn’t want to be without access to them. Thank god we did the expedite passport because that Friday his uncle passed away and we had to go to Tijuana right away. 
 

In conclusion, you’ll receive your passport quickly and definitely before traveling. I’m sure we got ours within a day because the reservation was for Saturday. 

1 hour ago, fairwood1 said:

Finally got the oath ceremony scheduled.

Just received the letter today with date of 12/19.

 

One question, does anyone have experience going to the passport agency for the expedited passport appointment?

Because I will have a trip in early January, which I believe going to the expedited passport appointment at the agency is the fastest, which takes at most 8 business days.

Yes, it’s very easy. Make your appointment soon and take the confirmation Copy of the hotel or flights and show that. My husband and I had plans to travel right after the ceremony so he had the appointment the next day, got it expedited, received the passport card and book a day later. 

3 minutes ago, txdoc said:

Hey guys,

 

Got my interview scheduled for Oct 10th in New Orleans, LA!

I checked out the interview letter in my online USCIS account. It seems like they mailed it to my previous apartment address (same city and everything). Will the online PDF print out suffice, or do I need to request another one mailed to me with the correct mailing address? I filed AR-11 and my online account also shows the correct mailing address, so not sure what happened there.

Hi! They may forward it to your new address if USPS allows it but USCIS correspondence usually gets sent back. Other than that, you can take the one from online. That’ll be enough. They print their notices on low quality basic white paper now. 

8 minutes ago, Luis562 said:

Any news on California/ Los Angeles filers I'm march filer and I'm trying to track cases before mine

Yes, my husband is already a citizen. Please, scroll to past posts on this thread to see the updated timelines

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

Congrats.

 

Not to down on one's parade, but the US isn't always "a better life", especially if somebody has their roots, family, friends, etc. abroad. Often the reason somebody comes to the US is only due to their love with their SO, otherwise they would be living abroad as well. I get the situation in parts of Mexico and all, but this is universal It's a very person decision.

 

The age of a sibling doesn't matter. It's F4 category for any sibling. ETA: >20 years. Probably a decent chunk longer (the line gets longer over time..no idea what it will be in 20 years, if the category even still exists).

 

The mother can be petitioned directly as an immediate relative (I'm assuming he's well over 21 given his own immigration history).

The stapfather can be petitioned directly as an immediate relative is the marriage occurred before age 18.

ETA for immediate relatives: ~1.5-2 years (given CDJ's current backlog for an interview).

 

Adoption probably would not have changed anything here anyway. An adoption that qualifies for immigration benefits has a lot of rules around it, not just being legal in the country performed.

 

Yes, all 3 can be petitioned together. Keep in mind the I-864 requirements, especially for parents re: healthcare, depending on if they are of working age & capability or not. (I assume they are given the under 21 child)

 

Once one parent becomes a permanent resident (the endorsed immigrant visa acts as a green card upon endorsement at POE), they can petition  for their child/stepchild (18yo rule applies again). This applies even if there is an I-130 for them by somebody else...there's no issue with having more than 1 at a time.

Although the timeline may or may not make it worth the effort + $535 filing fee as a sibling, depending on his age at the time, USCIS processing rates, and visa bulletin PD. He may or may not qualify under F2A (under21 unmarried child of an LPR) by then. If he ages out into F2B, then it would probably be best to have both petitions at the same time, just in case something unfortunate happens to one petitioner during the long wait.

 

So there are options, but they all pretty much start by filing sooner rather than later. Get going on it if that's what both you and they want.

Good luck.

I truly appreciate you explaining why and how on this. I know each case is different. It helps to have this community. I know I help out others with the K1 questions and N400 whenever I can. Thank you!!

2 hours ago, aleful said:

hi

 

sorry, but age doesn't matter, for Mexicans, the wait is over 22 years

 

he can only file for stepfather if the marriage occurred before he turned 18. if not, he can file for his mom, and then when his mom comes she can file for her husband

 

unfortunately for the sibling, it will always be over 20 years of waiting

 

 

Thank you very much!

Hello all,

My husband just became a US citizen. He migrated over with a K1 fiancé visa and has been here for four years. Luckily, the process has been quick for him.

We want a better life for his immediate family too. His brother is not yet 21. So we plan on petitioning for him ASAP. Both the brother, mother, and step father all have tourist visas that are valid for the next few years. Should we petition for all of them at the same time? Will it make a difference that the father is actually a step father but he’s raised my husband. In Mexico you can’t “adopt” your after a certain age if you’re the step parent. 

Anyway, should we apply for all three of them at the same time or possibly wait for my mother in law’s residency to eventually be approved and apply for her spouse then? Luckily, they all live in tijuana and we live in San Diego. So visiting isn’t an issue.

thank you all!

23 hours ago, Adaline&Fouad said:

I, the petitioner am just starting to assemble the I-130 packet for the CR-1 visa for my husband. I am currently living in Morocco with him and have a few questions in regard to the application in this regard. 

 

#1. For Part 2 information about me, can I put my address back home as my physical address or should I put my address with my husband in Morocco? 

 

#2. In regards to the I-864 I am unemployed so I will have my father be the joint sponsor. But my concern is how I file I-864 while abroad? I have read that to file the form one must be domiciled in the US. Well of course, it is my permanent home and I'm just living in Morocco with the intention to be with my husband until his visa is issued and we can go back together. Because of this is it seen that I am no longer domicile? If so what do I do? Or is it really an issue because I will have a co- sponsor? 

 

Thank you and look forward to any help I can get on the topic. 

Hi, I filed under the k1 and married here. Not working shouldn’t be an issue. I barely had begun a part time job and my best friend, who is in the military, sponsored us. It wasn’t even a family member. You’ll be fine as long as you have a sponsor. Like the person below said, answer honestly and truthfully. Once my husband and I got here we both finally obtained full time jobs and I finished school online. Best of luck and I wish for you a rapid process!

My husband’s oath ceremony is July 10th

2 hours ago, xilef said:

did he not take tax returns for 2018, banks statements, credit card statements or nothing else ?

Nope. Nothing else. If you want take it just in case but they only asked for what’s on the letter

4 minutes ago, MandMB said:

Thank you so much for the fast response. That is basically what I thought I should only bring at first. I might not be interpreting that one sentence about bringing originals of anything I had submitted as evidence right. Thanks once again!

Yeah exactly! Don’t worry, I was questioning that too but then I saw below the list of what to bring. I also knew from my tax lady that I didn’t have to bring original tax transcripts either since I asked her when we did them and she works on immigration cases too. You’ll be fine! You got this!

1 minute ago, MandMB said:

Hi everyone! I have a question for those of you who had their interview already - the notice says that if I have submitted documents as evidence with my N-400 application, I should bring the originals with me. When I sent my N-400, my I-751 was still pending (it's approved now) and I went a little nuts on providing evidence, so now I'm wondering if I should bring physical copies of everything that I have submitted online already, like bank statements, lease agreements, travel itineraries, etc. or that pertains to documents like marriage certificate, automobile title, etc.? I have my interview bright and early on Friday morning and want to make sure I won't be short on documents I need to have with me.

Any help will be greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance!

Hi! My husband only took our marriage certificate, my birth certificate, the selective service proof since he’s a man, his ID and green card of course. Basically all that it asks for on the notice for the interview. 

My husband had his interview today and passed! He doesn’t remember the questions he was asked but he answered them all correctly. His online status changed to Oath Ceremony will be scheduled. He got in trouble because he didn’t know where I currently worked lol because I just got a new job! Other than that it went well.

54 minutes ago, Lochnessmonster said:

I've had a crazy 2 weeks. I wrote in a previous post that at my naturalization interview, I was approved on the spot and verbally told my Oath Ceremony is on 5/30 by the Immigration Officer who interviewed me. I haven't received any mail/notices or change in online status since my interview on 4/15.
On 5/15, 2 weeks before my supposed Oath Ceremony, I called USCIS and emailed USCIS asking for an update since I haven't received anything in the mail. The phone rep told me to continue waiting and told me there was nothing she could do. My email was forwarded to my local Charleston field office, and they wrote back on 5/17 saying that according to USCIS records, an oath scheduling notice was mailed to me. It should arrive "very soon." I waited and waited, and nothing. I contacted my local congressman on 5/20 who also put pressure on USCIS. My congressman's aides haven't heard back from USCIS. I continue waiting thinking it would be in the mail at least by early this week if they said it was already sent out by 5/17. 

Yesterday, 5/28, I sent out another email to USCIS saying that the notice hasn't been received by me and my supposed Oath Ceremony is in 2 days. No reply. Today, 1 day out from my supposed Oath Ceremony, I called USCIS and spoke with a Tier 1 officer. She said she doesn't see I've been scheduled for my Oath Ceremony and nothing has been uploaded to my Documents tab, and she cannot email or call my local Charleston field office. She told me there is nothing she can do if it doesn't show on her side. I asked to be transferred to a Tier 2 officer and she put me in line to wait. A Tier 2 officer called me back and told me she can escalate this and will investigate it further with Charleston's field office. The Tier 2 officer told me a higher up officer will call me in a few hours. My worry was that if I was indeed scheduled for my Oath Ceremony tomorrow 5/30, and I miss it because I never received the notice, that I will be penalized. Also my husband wouldn't be able to come since the original reason why the Immigration Officer scheduled me for 5/30 is because my husband's in the military and it's hard for him to take time off. The Tier 2 told me it's well documented that I've reached out to USCIS several times for the missing notice and it will be OK even if that is the case that I miss it.
15 minutes after I get off the phone with Tier 2, Charleston's field office calls me directly and told me they scheduled me for my Oath Ceremony tomorrow and will email me directly the Oath Scheduling notice and told me to print it out and fill it out. I've never heard of being emailed an Oath Scheduling notice before but voila, I got it through email and it's confirmed it's tomorrow!

 

What a long ordeal... my online status still hasn't changed, nothing has been uploaded to the Documents tab, and I still haven't received any mail from USCIS lol. But at least I have the notice now. Fingers crossed tomorrow is the end of this journey!

Oh my god! That’s definitely hectic but I’m so happy to hear you have a copy of the notice and will still be able to attend the original ceremony that was set for you. Congrats again!

2 minutes ago, asilva411 said:

Hello! 

Had my interview today in Louisville, it all went smoothly! The officer was extremely nice.

After I left I got a text saying that "We placed you in line for your oath ceremony and will send you a notice  with the date, time, and location of your oath ceremony. You should receive your notice within 30 days of its mailing date."

 

Anyone know if that means I have been approved? Thanks!

Yes, you’ve been approved. Now you’re in line to be scheduled for an oath ceremony. My mom got the same notification actually months after her interview because she had some issues so that’s great you got it already so fast. 

10 hours ago, jsoubenz said:

The oath ceremony was today; and so one journey ends while a new one begins! We very much have appreciated this website and the valuable information that people so freely share. The kindness of the people here over the last four years has made things so much more bearable. Best wishes and positive thoughts to everyone still on their journey! 

Congratulations !! I’m happy for you and the rest of us on this journey. Well deserved!

My husband's interview is scheduled for June 17

My husband’s interview was scheduled today! Nothing online yet but once I have the date I’ll update here. What are the websites and apps again for studying? He’s only been studying off the book they have him at the biometrics but I know it will be state and city specific. We are in San Diego by the way! Oath ceremonies are held monthly here so here’s to hoping for a speedy process!

2 minutes ago, KYUK said:

Yes his status still shows "we scheduled your interview"

Please, don’t freak out if it stays like that for a while. My mom’s was the same for the longest time then she finally got “placed in line for oath ceremony” then finally oath ceremony scheduled. It between the interview and the ceremony it took a few months. Depends on the capacity. She got scheduled until the big one in LA happened. Which was two days ago luckily. It was 5,000 people at 9AM and another 5,000. It was beautiful. You already went through the tough part!

4 minutes ago, mrzjimenez7810 said:

Interview Was Scheduled

On March 26, 2019, we scheduled an interview for your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, Receipt Number IOE92xxxxxxxx. We will mail you an interview notice. Please follow any instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Yay! Congrats!

Husband is San Diego office and he just got his biometrics done. Wait time went down from 13 months to 11 months. I hope it’s even faster than that lol

Hi guys! Hubby got his biometrics scheduled for March 5th. However, we would like to go sooner since we live fifteen minutes away from that ASC center. What time was recommended to go in if he is trying to walk-in before his actual scheduled date? 

1 minute ago, irvine said:

 

 

San Diego office is faster than other CA offices.  You can go to Visajourney immigration timelines and search by different offices.  San Diego office is processing the applicants whose priority dates are 10/2018.  But Santa Ana office is processing the applicants whose priority dates are 03/2018.

I actually forgot to mention that my mom is a resident of Orange County so she is at the Santa Ana local offices. Thanks for pointing that out! 

Good morning all!

We just submitted my husband's N-400 online and paid via debit card. It's nice that they debit the account right away lol. There are two ASC centers near us I believe so luckily it won't be an issue. We are in San Diego. There are many applicants. They do a ceremony once a month here. My mom filed her N-400 application I believe late 2017, got an interview in August 2018, didn't pass the written exam, retook it late October and passed finally. She was approved. She has been waiting to hear about her ceremony for a few months as you can see. She spoke to an agent last night who informed her it is normal to from 9-6 months after you pass the interview and exam to wait for a ceremony :(. It's frustrating on all ends.