D.Ba

"You can request for a name change on the day of your interview and that can delay the oath ceremony up to 1-2 months, depending on your city/county judicial ceremonies calendar. The name change can be as simple as hyphenating surnames or changing one single letter."

Nice one, but having gone through a painful name change in Germany once, I have no desire to do that again.

The bad advice is
"File at the end of March.  You'll pay the smaller fees.  It's just the filing, so until you have an interview and an oath, it's just that - an application.  Chances are it will take a month or 2 before your case would be eligible for an interview, so hopefully the law will have passed.  Even if you've passed your interview, you still have to have your naturalization ceremony to actually become a US citizen and that oath ceremony could potentially be rescheduled/delayed.  As long as German parliament pushes the actual changes into effect in mid-April as anticipate, you should be good to go."

Which is exactly what I did, and we know now when the law will go into effect (which is not on the date it was passed) and I for one know that the average processing times mean nothing (website 7 months, actual 13 days). And likewise there is no guarantee on the oath scheduling ceremony.

Obviously, it is up to the individual (and I did not apply because someone suggested that on the internet), but to encourage people to do this is just not very helpful.

So, I'd advise to follow the German embassy's advice.

Welcome to Arizona!

We got married in Pima County (Tucson). There, the marriage license turns into the marriage certificate once everybody signs. We had the lady from the county come out to a random park in our neighborhood where we did a quick ceremony, and they happily obliged.

I wouldn't spend USD100 on it, honestly. It is straightforward. The form has quite a few pages, but you don't need most of them. You just need a list of your bank accounts, you write down the account numbers and the maximum amount of money that was in them during the course of the year. That you have to do on your own anyway. It all works online.

CSC. 

Approval and green card received on the same day!

It seems that Nevada has no full reciprocity with Germany. It does with Taiwan... Just goes to show each state is different.

In Arizona it is:

Driver license applicants who have a current/valid driver license from one of the countries listed below may not be required to take a road skills or a written test.
Countries with Reciprocity

1 hour ago, chars said:

Well, I'm sorry to hear but US citizenship isn't right for you according to your assertion. Be prepared for RFE or possibly an interview. However, you could be lucky that neither of the mentioned are called into play during your Removal of Conditions adjudication.

 

In addition, not because you submitted "thin evidence" that might trigger a "RFE" or "interview"... it has to be looked at in totality. I hope you don't receive either.

I don't remember conscience questions in the RoC forms.
Since we passed the K-1 application with two relevant meetings, two photographs, and no email or chat printouts, I trust in the minimalist approach.

I had cards designed and printed in Germany and then shipped to me (making them the most expensive cards ever! But they were extra-specially designed, so...).

Then mailed from US, and I included reply postcards with the appropriate German stamps affixed. It just all takes a long time, mail can be sloooooooow...

Well, license from another COUNTRY might be different from license form another STATE.

First of all, check whether you need to take an additional test. Here in Arizona (hi to Phoenix) ONLY Germans and one other country worldwide, I forgot which, did not have to take a written or practical test and could get the AZ license (that was 2015, so you never know).

Also, the German license was good for the first 90 days.

I went to the MVD in Tucson, that was after marriage, AOS was in the works, but no greencard yet, and they wanted EVERYTHING: My German passport, my German drivers license, my marriage license (original), my social security card (original), the AOS letter... and then they disappeared for half an hour and finally gave me a license that was good for a year or so. They admitted they had to look up what to do and phone around. Not a common case, I gues...

And, of course, they are not supposed to take the German license... defend it with claws and teeth.

How exciting, it is moving. Not for me, though, but I am still secretely expecting an RFE because my application was so thin (it all fit into a normal envelope...).

As far as citizenship, I am still very much struggling with the question whether I should apply. I am torn between "it is just so practical" and "I don't believe in what this country stands for". I don't suppose anyone else is struggling with that?

There is also the Green Card Lottery (or did that get ended)? I actually have met people who have won, so it is not that hopeless.

I would also not give up on the work visa quite yet. If you complete a German traineeship you are actually pretty qualified for your profession.

Yeah, this has been floating around VJ forever. In my humble opinion, rubbish. Let the government look into it. What will they find? Nothing whatsoever. Fully legal money, earned and taxed in my home country, brought into the US in increments because it technically not possible any other way (you simply CANNOT do larger amounts with my bank), so I can spend it in the US to boost their economy. If anything they should be grateful I bring it all here.

Bringing your personal money has NOTHING to do with tax fraud (neither with money laundry). They are concerned about money leaving the country and/or money not being taxed because you have it in some tax haven (which Germany certainly is not). My money is not being taxed, regardless in how many steps I bring it.

No, with my bank it is some odd figure like 10,800 USD per transaction and day. So I can so the same today, tomorrow, the day after...

I also noticed I could not transfer more than 10,000 EUR to another account in Germany in one day (I think because of money laundry legislation) - it is in no way prohibited by law, they just don't want to file the extra report to the central bank.

"Engagement" is not in that sense a legal term, but you actually have to write a letter stating you intend to marry that person. That is kind of an engagement in itself. Nobody much cares about rings, parties, and such.

Your son filed single, so that is not relevant to the discussion of Married filing Jointly (where the whole question of electing to treat your spouse who is technically a non-resident alien because of less than 6 months in the country  as a resident for tax purposes comes into the melée  - NOT you, because you weren't, but me).

If you want to tell us our real-person certified tax preparer is unqualified because he did not manage to file electronically, maybe...

I think the difference might actually be that you passed the "residence test" anyway, and in my case we just elected to treat me as such. Or we had a totally different complication.

Why I continue this discussion: For all to see that all our cases are highly individual, and nuances can make a difference.

You are right, I meant exemption!

On the second count, I partially agree - I did have a SSN and it was not an amended return, but we still could NOT file electronically. The reason was not, however, that it was "the first year with your new number" (and my number was already 20 years old, anyway), but it was because of me having lived in the country only for part of the year, which would be the case for anyone who does not arrive on January 1. "First time filing tax return" is pretty pointless in this case since we are talking about filing jointly, and I doubt that it will be the USCs first tax filing ever (possible, but not all that likely). Anyway, I don't see why that should be a headache, just print and mail... If you managed the visa stuff, you will manage that...

Don't forget to file your FBAR before April 15 if you had more than $10,000 accounts in your home country at any time during the year.

On 12/6/2018 at 7:15 AM, Khallaf said:

if your married now you filed married, its up to you to change things with your HR, if your W4 reflects married they take out less takes that is the only difference.

but since your husband is going to file taxes with you for the first time, and in my opinion you would want to file joint you get the added deduction, you will have to file by paper I think, not electronic since it is his first time filing taxes on his SSN.

There are no more personal deductions. Hello, tax reform.

Yes, no e-filing in the first year.

On 12/12/2018 at 9:57 AM, hoangthaihuy said:

You are from Germany where credit card or any sort of debt is despised, it's totally different here in the US.

Cards won't be enough. But for starting out, you'll need one. Later on, you need some installment loan like car loan or personal loan that requires you to pay monthly. The way they calculate the score is to monitor your ability to manage credit/money. The more diversified, the better. Keep applying for more cards to boost it. It took me 4 years to get to 720.

 

 

I think there is a good reason to despise credit card debt! I for one despise it, but of course I am German, so I completely fit the stereotype!

When I arrived and opened my bank account, I naturally had NO credit score, and then after a while a very dismal one. Which I found annoying, since I have never had a penny of debt in my life... I immediately bought a car and paid in full, although I realized it would "build my credit score" if I bought it in installments. Crazy, right? I am a better debtor borrowing money that I am if I have enough funds to pay in full. Us Germans don't get that, haha.

Anyway, I staid with my ONE credit card, which I also use very little (don't like to be fully traceable), always paid it off monthly, naturally, and after a while my score jumped from one month to the next, probably because I suddenly had some kind of history. So, my five euro-cents: no loans, no multiple credit cards, unless, I guess, you are really looking for a mortgage soon.

The US taxes are not really the problem at all, it is that you talk about several countries.

It depends somewhat on whether the US has a reciprocity agreement with the respective country. Then, in a VERY simplified way, you report all your worldwide income for the year, including investment income, etc., calculate complete tax due in the US and deduct tax already paid in other countries.

I agree, the first year can be daunting due to working, earning, and living in more than one country. It will get MUCH easier after that.

On 1/10/2019 at 7:59 PM, AstroCanada said:

The only thing you can do wrong is to try to send it over in multiple payments just under $10,000 to avoid the reporting requirements--that's called structuring and is sure to attract unwanted attention.

My German bank has a limit on how much I can transfer in one go, maybe because THEY want to avoid the reporting. So, no choice but to do the repeated smaller amounts.

You will have to file an FBAR EVERY YEAR as long as you still maintain more than the equivalent of $10,000 in your home country.

I just did mine for 2018.

On 1/6/2019 at 11:11 AM, mrandmrsBRS said:

Do I really need my passport once the 18 month letter expires? My paSport is expired and it would cost me a little over $200 to get a new one and I don’t have that kind of money right now 😪

Very likely we will get the green cards before the end of the 18 months, but I personally would go INSANE without a German passport that makes sure I can move around the world freely. I am just about to apply for a new one in my new name (yes, I know, you should NOT wait 3 years to do that...), and no, it is not convenient to have to go to Las Vegas or Los Angeles just to leave your fingerprints and drop your documents (if you live in Arizona), in addition to the cost, but even if you have the new greencard, how will you get into Germany if you have to? Or any other country, for that matter?

Oh, and by the way, expect AT LEAST two months to receive your passport, since they are done in the Bundesdruckerei and have to be mailed etc. pp.

And, since we are Germans and love the bureaucracy: As a German citizen you are obliged to always have a vaild Personalausweis or passport.