ros88

Any experience with interview under Ina 319b?

what did they ask you and how long was the interview?

On 5/22/2023 at 1:10 PM, TosioCarlyI said:

Question -- did they require the US citizen spouse to be present at the naturalization interview?

They did not ask for my spouse to be prese t.

should I bring him?

22 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Not supposed to do that.  Might need to try to get an emergency passport appointment after taking the oath.

This is what I am going to do.

thanks

Just now, ros88 said:

This is what I am going to do.

thanks

I will try to get an emergency passport 🤞 

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

With what document do you plan to exit the US after taking the oath?  It might be difficult to get a passport that fast.

With my European passport.

I have been scheduled for an interview.

Anyone knows if the oath is on the same day or the following one?

I need to schedule my overseas trip that’s why I am asking.

I cannot stay more than a week in the US, hope everything is going to happen that week (if I pass the interview)…

18 hours ago, OmarStuck said:

Oath was in the same day as the interview.

You just need 1 day for the oath and interview.

I would recommend Washington DC field office.

 

We stayed for three days. Arrived the day before, one day for interview and oath, and travelled the next day.

 

Applied for the passport overseas even though it is frowned upon. It is much quicker.

What should I basically bring?

the documents that I put on the application right?

2 hours ago, OmarStuck said:

We went back overseas and applied for the passport.

 

As I mentioned, they prefer that you leave the country with the US passport in hand.

If you don’t yoi are still allow to travel internationally right? Why they say no 

6 hours ago, OmarStuck said:

Oath was in the same day as the interview.

You just need 1 day for the oath and interview.

I would recommend Washington DC field office.

 

We stayed for three days. Arrived the day before, one day for interview and oath, and travelled the next day.

 

Applied for the passport overseas even though it is frowned upon. It is much quicker.

They are saying this to me:

Once you become a U.S. citizen, you are required to possess a U.S. passport for international travel. You will need to make an appointment in the U.S. with the Department of State to retrieve a U.S. passport

is this true? So I need to wait 4/8 weeks?

5 hours ago, OmarStuck said:

Oath was in the same day as the interview.

You just need 1 day for the oath and interview.

I would recommend Washington DC field office.

 

We stayed for three days. Arrived the day before, one day for interview and oath, and travelled the next day.

 

Applied for the passport overseas even though it is frowned upon. It is much quicker.

Why are they instead saying this:

As a United States citizen, you will be required to obtain a U.S. Passport from the Department of State prior to departing the United States (see 22 CFR 53.1). Exception to this provision can be found at 22 CFR 53.2. Please visit www.travel.state.gov for more information or call 1 (877) 487-2778.

2 hours ago, davidvs said:

How long have you been living overseas?

1 month now

1 minute ago, OmarStuck said:

Oath was in the same day as the interview.

You just need 1 day for the oath and interview.

I would recommend Washington DC field office.

 

We stayed for three days. Arrived the day before, one day for interview and oath, and travelled the next day.

 

Applied for the passport overseas even though it is frowned upon. It is much quicker.

Fantastic!

so is a good sign that they are scheduling me correct?

what did they ask? So is the oath right after the interview?

I am scheduled for the DC office too.

Glad to hear how simple it is.

thanks

On 2/25/2022 at 4:22 PM, OmarStuck said:

I have recently completed the naturalization process for my wife through the Section 319(b) clause and would like to share the A to Z experience.

 

Background

 

I am a US citizen living overseas working for a US university overseas. My wife is a non-US citizen and I wanted to get her US citizenship.

 

The typical way of getting your spouse a US citizenship is to get a green card and live together in the US for 3 years and then apply for citizenship.

 

One of the requirement for getting the immigrant visa is to show a proof of domicile for the US citizen. This is proof that you are living in the US either by showing rent contract, proof work, or anything that shows that you are actually living in the US.

 

In addition, your non-US citizen spouse will also need to live in the US for three years to get US citizenship. 

 

I had given up on getting her the US citizenship since I did not live in the US and did not have plans of moving to the US yet. Everything change when I learned about Section 319(b).

 

What is Section 319(b)?

 

Section 319(b) allows you to get an immigrant visa without the US citizen spouse needing to live in the US and the non-US citizen spouse does not need to live in the US to become a US citizen if you meet its requirements.

 

As per USCIS, (https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/citizenship-and-naturalization/i-am-married-to-a-us-citizen)

 

Generally, if your spouse is a U.S. citizen who is employed by the U.S. government, including the military or another qualifying employer, and your spouse is scheduled to be stationed abroad for at least one year at the time you file your Form N-400, you may be eligible for naturalization under Section 319(b) of the INA.  Qualifying employers can include:

• Certain American institutions of research;
• American firms or corporations engaged in the development of foreign trade and commerce;
• Certain public international organizations; and
• Certain religious denominations or interdenominational mission organizations.

 

In general, at the time of your naturalization interview and ceremony, you must be present in the United States under lawful admission for permanent residence and you must meet of all of the requirements listed above, with the following exceptions:

• No specific period as an LPR is required (but you must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence);
• No specific period of continuous residence or physical presence in the United States is required; and
• No specific period of marital union is required; however, you and your U.S. citizen spouse must be in a valid marriage from the time you file your Form N-400 until the time you naturalize.

 

To check if you work at an American Institution of Research, you can check the list here.

https://www.uscis.gov/list-of-recognized-american-institutions-of-research-and-other-recognized-organizations

 

Your institution can also apply to become an American Institution of Research:

https://www.uscis.gov/requesting-recognition-as-an-american-institution-of-research

 

I-130 Filing and Immigrant Visa

There is no difference in the I-130 process except in the NVC process and interview process. 

 

For the NVC process, you will need to upload proof that you are working at an American Institution of Research in lieu of the proof of domicile.

 

For the interview process, you will need to bring proof that you are working at an American Institution of Research and you might need to convince the consular officer as they might not know about it!

 

N-400 Filing

Once you have received the green card, you may start the N-400 filing. The process is the same except that you will select that you are applying for naturalization under Section 319(b).

 

In addition, you will need to do fingerprinting either at the US embassy in your country of residence or in a field office before you complete your interview in the US.

 

You will then be interviewed and will get your Certificate of Naturalization. Congratulations!

 

Our Experience

We applied for the I-130 and had no issues until the interview for the immigrant visa at the US embassy. Originally, they rejected our case as they did not accept that my work at an American Institution of Research counted as a substitute for domicile. After a bunch of emails with the embassy, they accepted it and we got the immigrant visa. Unfortunately, COVID happened and we did not travel and the immigrant visa expired. When COVID was done, we got in contact with the embassy and again they gave us the same issues regarding the domicile. Eventually,  they accepted it as they had done before. This was very stressful and was thankful that it was done.

 

We had no issues travelling to the US and we got the green card within a month of entering the US. We flew back home a few weeks after receiving the green card.

 

We applied for the N-400 on the same day we received the green card. You must select the option that you qualify for Section 319(b) when you fill out the N-400! We applied to the Washington DC Field Office as we had read online that they know the Section 319(b) process very well.

 

The N-400 was approved but we needed to do fingerprinting before they could schedule an interview. We asked to do the fingerprinting at a different field office and they had no issues scheduling it.     

 

We flew to the US completed fingerprinting at the field office and then the interview was scheduled. We then flew to Washington DC to complete our interview. We brought all documents submitted. We did the interview and my wife became a US citizen. 

 

Please feel free to comment below and I will answer any questions that come up. Please try to limit questions to Section 319(b) American Institution of Research! 

How many days did you stay in the US for the interview? Was the oath same day of the interview? How long was the interview and the oath?

Did you apply for the passport there or at the embassy overseas?

thanks

I have applied for n400 under 319b INA.

I live overseas, is a good sign if they are scheduled me with an interview? Does anyone know how it works? How many days should I be there?

is the interview and oath made in different days or same day? Whats should I bring/know for the interview?

thank you

Just now, ImmigrantKrish said:

If they have your updated fingerprints, then they do not need any. It's another step that shaves some time off with the application process.

This has nothing to do with approval process, just a step before doing background.

 

 

 

Yes but if they are going to not approve my application why do they need fingerprints?

I thought the fact that they are reusing my fingerprints was a good sign about my application.

Thank you! Any feedback or experience about it would be really appreciated!

6 minutes ago, jacketconfident said:

It's possible that you qualify for naturalization under 319(b), but you should really consult with an immigration lawyer who is experienced in these cases.

I applied online.

we ll see if Uscis think that I am qualified or not.

Does somebody know how is the timeline when applying under 319b?

thanks

58 minutes ago, jacketconfident said:

Hello! The main question I would have is whether your husband is "regularly stationed abroad" with his job with the defense contractor or at NATO. (A related question is whether the defense contractor work is employment or whether he himself is the contractor to the government. The latter would not be helpful, as using 319(b) requires him to be an employee of a qualifying employer.) That is a statutory requirement, and USCIS interprets it to mean that your husband's employment abroad would need to last at least a year from the date of filing the N-400. But you said that he is "based in the US", which sounds like he is not regularly stationed abroad, even if he is often sent on long business trips overseas. 

So:

(1) Is he an employee of a defense contractor or of NATO? And

(2) Are the overseas business trips as an employee of the defense contractor or NATO at least one year long?

He is regularly stationary abroad as USCIS can see from his and mine overseas trips out of the country.

and they will be at least one year long.

And he co-owns the company where he works and he has his main office based in Washington DC.

On 4/18/2019 at 7:47 PM, Qian said:

 

319B category still seems to be rather unfamiliar by many, even by who are eligible for, especially non-military applicants.

I had been looking for 319B (civilian) info on the internet with very little luck. Few posts I found was from years ago, so I decided to share my experience with up-to-date info, document list, procedure, and even quote of T2 officers' email,  to contribute my part in return of the great support I have got from VisaJourney. As well as for the future 319B applicants’ references.

 

I was a 6 months conditional LPR when I applied for citizenship, and I became a US citizen in 3.5 months. I applied for both of my Green Card and citizenship from overseas. A few attorneys I had consulted with didn't want to take my case because “I don’t live in the States”. Thanks to USCIS website and Visa Journey, I managed to do it myself without any glitches.

 

If you are a spouse of a US citizen employed abroad, you might be eligible for the expeditious naturalization under INA319B too.

 

So, here’s the information and I hope it helps.

 

My category, 319B is for the spouse of USC employed aboard in qualifying employments.

 

First, timelines

Married: Jan 07 2017

I-130 NOA1: Apr 19 2017

GC date: Jun 23 2018

 

N-400 NOA: Dec 24 2018 (Day 1)

Interview scheduled: Mar 5 2019  (Day 71)

Interview scheduled for: Mar 26 2019 (Day 92)

Oath scheduled: Mar 29 2019

Oath: Apr 11 2019  (Day 108)

 

Second, a few key points when filing:

-      LPR at the time of filing N-400

-      Married more than one year when filing, and remain in a bona fide marital reunion with the USC spouse up until the Oath

-      The USC spouse works for an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof (* Note #1)

-      The qualifying employment is scheduled for at least one year at the time of filing 

-      No pending I-751

-      Free to choose the location for interview within the U.S.

-      No requirements in terms of continuous residence and physical presence within the U.S.

-      No need to file I-751 if the Oath happens before the 90 days window of  lifting of conditions (if you have reached 90 days, or have pending i751, you will have to do ROC first)

-      Be present in the U.S. for the interview and oath

-      Depart the U.S. and live with the USC spouse within 45 days after naturalization

-      Do NOT forget TWO photos and TWO sets of fingerprint cards in a sealed envelop

 

NOTE #1: “engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States” is the trickiest part. Translation: Not all US companies’ overseas assignment posts are qualified. The key factor is that whether the nature of the overseas assignment benefits the US or not.

For example, if a US company with thousands employees is manufacturing generators in Asia and sells them to the world, and the revenue goes back to the Asia entity, that might not qualify. Whereas if the US manufacturing company makes high-end audio components in the States, and the employee in Asia is to develop the Asian market, that would qualify. Also, if a US engineer consultancy firm only with 5 employees to provide consultancy services in Asia and send the production work back to the States, it would qualify.

 

Third, my document list

-      Forms: N400, I551, etc.

-      Supporting documents (general, all photocopies): cover letter (* NOTE #2), Passports (both parties), birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decree, police clearance cert

-      Supporting documents(employment): company letter(*NOTE #3), business license, offer of employment(*NOTE #4)

-      Supporting documents(overseas residency): lease, bills, tax returns, local bank accounts, etc.

-      Supporting documents (intention of re-establishment of US residency (*NOTE #5)): property deed, bills, US bank account statements, etc.

 

NOTE #2 Cover letter contains: why you qualify for 319B and proof, your intention of residing with you USC spouse and proof,  your intention of re-establishing residency in the US after your spouse’s oversea assignment

 

NOTE #3 Company letter contains: the nature of the company, if the company is wholly or partially owned by the US, the nature of the employee’s employment and overseas assignment, anticipated period of the overseas assignment, a mention of the name of the spouse to be naturalized

 

NOTE #4 Offer of Employment, focus on the job description (how the employee’s job is benefiting the US economy), the duration of the overseas post (must be over a year from the time of N-400 filing)

 

NOTE #5 To show your intention of re-establishing your US residency, you need to write up a statement stating so. Ideally accompanied by supporting documents, such as, US saving accounts, property purchase, pension savings, etc.

 

Forth, the procedure

(This is mine-applying from overseas. Cases may vary)

1.    Submit your application- N400 along with supporting documents

(Read the N400 instructions on USCIS website to determine where to send)

2.    If you send TWO sets of fingerprint cards, you might be OK (depending on countries where you send from)

3.    USCIS might send you a RFE to request FD258 (FBI specified fingerprint cards with an envelop to seal the cards) with instructions on where to send back

4.    Go to a USCIS international field office, or embassy, or a police station where directed by the embassy, to get fingerprints taken. Enclose the cards in an envelop with signature and seal on the flap

5.    Wait…

6.    USCIS would contact you, and ask you to pick a date and time for interview

In my case, I got an email from a Tier 2 officer asking me to indicate a date and time that I’m available for interview (*NOTE#6)

7.    Get on the plane for your interview

8.    They might give you the result after interview or not (depending on if your interviewer has the authority to approve your case)

Mine didn’t get a result after the interview because “you case is uncomment, we need more review”

9.    Three days later, I got a call from USCIS (Dallas) that they have date and time for me 

10.I changed my ticket and attended my Oath Ceremony. The officer was still a little confused at the check-in seeing my conditional Green Card and without a ROC. 

So, I was asked to sit aside while other candidates were seated for the ceremony, when the officer went back to the office to search my case in the computer. But she came back in time and let me in for the ceremony. 

 

NOTE #6, document check list from the T2 officer 

Once the interview was scheduled, the officer kindly sent me an additional document check list- addition to the general list on the interview letter. See below:

(Luckily, nothing was new than I had already submitted, so I just brought the originals with me. At the interview, the interviewer didn't even go through the documents, simply checked if everything was there, and scanned them (I guess) for the supervisor to review.)

 

US spouse birth certificate

Marriage certificate

Statement from employer that includes the following:

·         Name and nature of employer

·         Employing entity is owned in whole or in part by the United States

·         Employing entity is engaged in whole or in part in the development of the foreign trade and commerce of the United States

·         Nature of the activity/duties of the US citizen and spouse

·         Anticipated period of employment abroad

 

Category of Qualifying employment abroad

 

Last, now you are a citizen but you have to leave the US right away

 

We booked the tickets back to Singapore for the interview and had to change it for the Oath. 

Our departure date was 2 days after the ceremony, and my tickets were booked under my old passport and name.

So, I made an appointment for passport with the embassy as soon as I got the oath date, and I decided to leave the US using my old passport.

At the airline check-in, they DID ask about my green card, which never happened before when I left the US. I think there must be some sort of remarks on my documents that the airline can see, like “the traveller’ s GC has been cancelled”.  Luckily, they were understanding enough to let me go with my old passport.

I applied my passport in the US embassy in Singapore yesterday.

The officer there was also confused that why I didn’t apply in the US, and how comes I got my citizenship while living in Singapore. But when I explained the 319B category, everything just came together.

 

So, there you have it, the complete guide/experience of 319B for non-military applicants.

 

My package has travelled to many places and managed to get to where and whom it needed to go. My biggest conclusion/take-away from this immigration process is that the system is quite established, reasonable, and fair, and if you follow the rules and the instructions, you will get there.

 

Please, my fellow applicants, have confidence and faith in the process, and be patient. 

 

If anyone has any questions, I would love to help wherever I can.

 

Best luck to you all! God bless. 

Thank you for sharing your experience!!

i am in the same situation and I need some help to file under 319b.

Do you have any example of cover letter and employment letter to explain everything clearly to uscis?

thank you

4 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

i would enclose copy of the defense contract your husband has

it may require paper petition to do this but from what i gather ,  its as fast as online petition

 

 

read thru the following USCIS site for 319 b submission and decide,  then,  if u want to spend money for a lawyer or r prepared to DIY

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-4 

Fantastic! But it’s ok if he was then just my fiance’?

and should I write a letter of presentation explaining all this???

On 11/30/2022 at 12:05 PM, jacketconfident said:

Since most of the discussion on this site relating to Section 319(b) of the INA relates to military spouses, I wanted to share our experience of a successful naturalization under another of the 319(b) categories – for those whose spouse has a qualifying employment abroad with an American firm or corporation. It was difficult for us to find a case similar to ours in researching how to prepare our application, so I thought this post might provide a helpful data point.

 

I (the original petitioner) am an American citizen. I am employed at a foreign office of a US-headquartered commercial law firm. This foreign office practices both US and foreign law, but I am an American lawyer practicing US securities law out of this foreign office. Among other things, I assist foreign companies in issuing bonds. I help make sure that these bonds comply with US securities laws, especially as a portion of them are sold to US investors.

 

I do not practice immigration law. This post is an account of our immigration experience, not legal advice.

 

My wife (the original beneficiary) was a US permanent resident, but had only resided in the US for about six months before we moved abroad. This put her in the position of needing to return frequently to the United States to maintain her permanent residency, which was a pain and not really sustainable for long, as we do not yet know when we will return to the United States.

 

American firm or corporation

 

Applicants’ spouses need to be employed by an “American firm or corporation,” or a subsidiary thereof. This usually means that the American spouse’s employing entity, or its parent, needs to be more than half owned by Americans and was incorporated or registered in the United States.

 

Not all global American-based law firms are likely to meet this criterion. For instance, many operate on a verein model in which the foreign offices are not in common ownership with the US offices; functionally, they are separate law firms that share common branding. My employer, however, is one of a few that follows a more traditional model on which most of the foreign offices are just branches of the US law firm. So, although my employment contract is governed by foreign law, the employing entity is a US LLP.

 

In order to establish American ownership USCIS requested a number of documents, including the firm’s partnership agreement and its annual report. Our own immigration lawyers initially suggested that we ask the firm for copies of the passports of all the firm’s owners (the equity partners) in order to prove that more than half of them were Americans. None of this was remotely acceptable to my firm. In the end, all we had for our application was a letter from the general counsel of the law firm affirming that, having access to the records of the firm, it was more than half owned by Americans. Evidently, this was acceptable to USCIS.

 

Development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States

 

Apparently, the criterion that the employing firm be engaged in the development of the United States is rather loose. Our immigration lawyers drafted a letter for the head of HR of my firm to sign that confirmed that I did the sort of US-related work I mentioned above. (My understanding is that the applicant needs to show that the firm is engaged in the development of foreign trade and commerce with the United States, not that the employee’s particular job is so connected – but in my case, the strongest connection to US trade and commerce is through my job.)

 

The applicant also needs to show that the citizen spouse is “regularly stationed abroad,” meaning that they are scheduled to be employed abroad for at least one year from the time of filing the N-400. This requirement seems more geared towards military and diplomatic posts. In my case, and like most jobs at law firms, my contract is of indefinite length. Accordingly, the letter from HR merely confirmed that I was, at the time of writing, employed by the firm. Evidently this, too, was acceptable to USCIS.

 

The rest of my wife’s application included evidence that is common to other 319(b) applications: evidence we live together abroad, evidence that she would leave the US after naturalization, intent to return to the US, etc.

 

I’m happy to field questions in the thread below.

hi!

I am in the same position I followed my then fiance’ out of the country and that’s why I don’t have enough months to apply for citizenship and he is now my husband and needs to move out of the country again that’s why I need to naturalize in order to travel back and forth without any issue.

he is a defense contractor based in the US but he works also for Nato and need to be overseas for long times sometimes.

Do you think that I can do the same you did even if I was just his fiance at the beginning but we are married now since 2020.

looking forward to hearing back from you thanks 

4 hours ago, Mike E said:

 

So I can apply?

What should I write a letter?

or should my husband write a letter?

8 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

Out of the country with husband who is working as defense contractor?

makes a difference

Yes why???

Hello everyone!

i have been a LPR since 2015 and I have one question!

I would like to apply for naturalization but I have some doubts… I have been out of the country for many months consecutively (always less than a year) and I do not have 30 months of continuos residency in the last 5 years but I have more than 30 months if we count since 2015!!!!!!

so can I file counting the months from the day I become a LPR or they will count just the last 5 years!!!!????

thank you so much for helping me out!!!

20 minutes ago, Bob in Boston said:

from your timeline it looks like you have the time in to naturlize under 5 year rule. Do it!

No because I dont have 30 months of continuing residence due my husband job

Just now, ros88 said:

No because I dont have 30 months of continuing residence due my husband job

Is still required to have been in the us 30 months?

5 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

is the job related to any US government contract?

No he is a defense contractor