jg121783

So doing some quick google searching it appears if my wife's brother is petitioned by my wife and her parents do not get a green card before he is 21 he would be in the F4 category. If my wife's parents petition for him after he turns 21 he would be in the F2b category. I have no idea how accurate this is but google says current processing times for F4 visas from the Philippines are 20 to 25 years while google says the processing times for F2b visas are about 13 years. Taking that into consideration does it even make sense for my wife to petition for any of her siblings? Wouldn't it be faster for her parents to do it (assuming they obtain their green cards in a reasonable amount of time). Am I missing something here?

So what you ae saying is my wife can petition him now then when her parents get here they can also petition him and change his category as a result assuming he is under 21 and unmarried?

So my wife would like to petition to bring her parents on an immediate relative visa. I think for the most part we understand how that works. She also has a 17 year old brother she would like to petition for. It is my understanding that if she petitions for him now he would be in the F4 category which takes quite a long time (about 15 years for the Philippines as far as I can tell). However it is also my understanding that if her parents get their green cards first then they petition for him before he turns 21 he would be put in a category that processes much faster. Is it better to just wait until her parents get their green cards then at that point start the process for her brother? Or should my wife petition for him right away to get him "in line" in case her parents for whatever reason don't get their green cards before he turns 21? If my wife petitions for him right away then her parents get their green cards before he turns 21 can they then petition for him and change his category or does it not work that way? This is something I am confused about. My wife has other siblings she would like to petition for but they are over 21 so they would all be in the F4 category. After we get her parents and brother taken care of we would like to file for them and get them "in line" even though it could take a decade or two.

So I emailed the Chicago consulate on Monday asking some questions about the dual citizenship process such as if my step son only having a US passport and not a naturalization certificate would be an issue among other questions. I have yet to receive a response. This is the same email address their website tells you to email the application to so they can review it and schedule an appointment. Has anyone gone through this process and actually got a response via email? It appears that you can also send the application through the mail. I'm wondering if this is the best option as it appears they don't respond to emails.

You just basically answered all of my questions except for one. How does my step son apply for dual citizenship while waiting for his naturalization certificate? Is a US passport enough?

So I have been doing a lot of research on what it would take to bring my wife's parents to the US and so far I think I have some answers but I also have some questions. What I know is we need to do an I-130 for both of her parents. What I'm wondering is how similar this process is to applying for a spousal visa like we did with my wife. I know we will need basic documents like my wife's naturalization certificate, parents marriage certificate and parents birth certificates (I'm assuming this one). Those are the things I know. Here are my questions: What other documents that I didn't list will be needed? Does my wife need to provide proof of income like I did when petitioning for her? If so are the income requirements the same? What are the fees to file the I-130s? Can this be filed online? What is the average processing time when filing for a parent? The same as a spousal visa? Slower? Faster? My wife's brother is 17. If we file before he turns 18 (in December) can he be included with my wife's parents? How does that process work? Will my wife's parents have to go for an interview? If so can they bring someone along to translate for them as they aren't fluent in English? If my wife's brother was included in the process he is fluent in English if he was allowed to attend the interview. Otherwise would they be allowed to have someone attend to translate for them? Anyways that's all I have for now. Any help is greatly appreciated.

As the title suggests I have some questions about dual Philippines US citizenship. Our situation has a few variables at play here so I'll lay out all the details then ask my specific questions. So my wife and step son came to the US on a CR1 visa and since then we had 2 more kids who are 7 years and 18 months old. My wife became a naturalized citizen in December of last year and my step son turned 18 in April meaning he derived citizenship from my wife but we still have to file his N600 (which were starting on this weekend). My wife and I did not file a "report of birth" (think thats what it is called) with the Philippines consulate for our US born children as we were unaware at the time it had to be done before they turned one year old. So our end goal here is for my wife and all the children to have dual citizenship. Here are my questions: Wife: I think the process is fairly straightforward for her. Simply submit the requirements on the (Chicago) consulate website and schedule an appointment. Am I missing anything here? Does she need a US passport before applying? Step son: As I mentioned we are getting ready to file his N600. Does he qualify to apply for dual citizenship now by just using a US passport or will he need to complete the N600 process first. My understanding is he is already technically a US citizen. He just doesn't have the certificate yet. Can he apply for dual citizenship on my wife's application or will he have to do it separately? The end goal would be to only have to take a trip to Chicago once to complete everything but I don't know if that's possible. US born children: It was my understanding that my wife and I were supposed to report their birth to the Philippines consulate before they turned one year old which we failed to do. It was also my understanding we could fill out a form explaining why we didn't do so. I was not sure what a valid reason would be on that form. I thought a "report of birth" was the only way to get their dual citizenship until I saw this on the dual citizenship website for the Chicago consulate: "Under the principle of derivative citizenship, unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age, whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted, of former Filipino parents who retained/reacquired their Philippine citizenship under this law, may also be deemed Filipino citizens, if they are included in the parent’s application for retention/reacquisition of Philippine citizenship." Does this mean we can simply include them in my wife's dual citizenship application and bypass the "report of birth" process entirely? I'm a bit confused here. Hopefully someone can clear this up for me. If the "report of birth" process is still nessasary some clarification on what I could use as a reason for not reporting them in time would be helpful. General questions: We are planning a trip to the Philippines at the end of next year. We are planning on staying for a couple months. Assuming my wife and none of the kids have dual citizenship by then would they all qualify for balikbayan visas? Would I qualify for one via my wife even if she didn't have dual citizenship yet? I assume my wife and step son would qualify based on their former Philippines citizenship. Anyways those are the questions I have in order to get this process started. I'm sure I'll have more as I dig into it deeper. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thats a good point. Something I didn't think about. I assume his Philippines passport is no longer valid so he would need a US passport as we plan on visiting the Philippines next year. So the N600 can take "years"? I hope that doesn't impact his plans to go to tech school.

So my wife completed the naturalization process back in December and is now a citizen. My step son turned 18 in April so I believe he gained citizenship from my wife as he was 17 at the time she became naturalized. It is my understanding that even though he is a citizen he still needs to file an N600 to get his citizenship certificate. I was not able to find a guide for this process so I have a few questions. Since he is now 18 he would technically have to be the one filing the N600 correct? But I can still help him with it right? He can still get a US passport without a naturalization certificate correct? Is it better to get his passport right away or after he completes the N600 process? Or does it not matter? I have read that he might need a naturalization certificate to enroll in college and/or to apply for financial aid. He is planning on enrolling in tech school next January. How long does the N600 process take and what difficulties might he face enrolling in college before completing the process? What are all the steps of the N600 process? I know the first step is submit the N600 form along with fees and relevant evidence. After that what happens? Does he need to go for an interview? I have read that sometimes it is required and sometimes it is not. What criteria do they use to determine if an interview is required? What does the interview consist of? Will he have to do the civics test and everything else my wife had to do? Will he have to attend an oath ceremony like my wife did? As far as fees go it looks like there is a fee waiver if you are low income. How would his income be calculated if he doesn't make much money but lives with my wife and myself? Does he have to count our income or part of it as his or would he qualify for a fee waiver as he doesn't currently earn much money (he just finished high school and just works part time)? I am sure I will have more questions about the N600 form its self as we sit down and work on it this weekend. But those are the questions I have for now. All answers are appreciated. You people have been the number one source of information as my wife, step son and I have navigated the process of obtaining visas all the way up to naturalization and we wouldn't have been able to do it on our own without this website. I believe this will be the last step in our process (until we look into bringing my in laws to the US).

My wife just took her oath ceremony last week for US citizenship and now we are looking to the next step which is getting her dual Philippines citizenship. It is my understanding that she would go to the consulate and would submit the required paperwork and possibly have an interview (what would this consist of). Then she could apply for a new Philippines passport and have dual citizenship. Am I missing anything here? To complicate things a bit my 17 year old step son is also now a citizen. But we have to file his N600 to get his certificate. Are we better off doing both of their dual citizenships at the same time and waiting for my step sons naturalization certificate or should we just get my wife's done right away and do his when he gets his certificate? There is a possibility we will be traveling to the Philippines before he receives his naturalization certificate and would be staying longer than 30 days so im wondering if this would affect balikbayan visas in any way. On to our next issue. Report of birth to the Philippines consulate for our 11 month old and 7 year old born here in the US. Looking on the Philippines consulate website it says children reported over a year after birth require a notarized explanation for the delay. My wife and I simply didn't know about this requirement when our 7 year old son was born and our daughter is right on the borderline at 11 months. What explanation should we give for the delay in registering our son? What benefits does this process give our children?

My wife took her oath yesterday in Milwaukee and her journey is now over. Now we start on the N600 for my step son.

Honestly I don't have any problem with this. My wife recently had her naturalization interview and the bar is fairly low for passing the civics test. My wife had the correct answer for all 100 questions memorized after less than an hour of studying.

My wife's oath ceremony was just scheduled for December 16th at the same location in Milwaukee where she had her interview. Does anyone know if anyone will be allowed in to watch the ceremony? They would not let me in when she had her interview.

My question is do we have to file the n600 before he is 18 or does my wife just have to take her oath before he is 18?

My wife had her interview in Milwaukee today. It was also quick for her. She is also waiting for her oath to be scheduled.

My wife had her interview today. Milwaukee office. 5 year rule. They asked her a couple questions about the N400 form. Mostly about her speeding ticket (dates, was the fine paid, ect) but there was some confusion about where we got married. He thought we got married in Wisconsin for some reason but we got married in the Philippines (even though we submitted our marriage certificate with the N400). Once my wife cleared that up he moved on. She took the civics test and passed then the interviewer told her he could tell her English was good so she didn't have to do the reading or writing part. Then she was told she passed and an appointment letter for the oath would be in the mail in a week or two. My wife was so worried and studying and memorizing every detail of her N400 form. She even memorized the answers to all 100 civics questions. Then it turned out to be a brief interview. One question. My step son is almost 18 and my wife should compete her oath well before then. What is the next step for his naturalization?

She passed. She has to go back for the oath. She said besides the civics questions they only asked a couple questions about the N400. The interviewer didn't make her do the reading and writing because he said he could tell her English is good.

The kids and I are in the waiting area right now waiting for her to finish.

That part I'm not concerned about. Just wondering if she has to memorize all the dates we moved to different addresses, employment dates, date of her speeding ticket, ect.

She is ready for that part. Every time I quiz her she gets all 100 correct. I'm just wondering what else she will be asked.

My wife has her interview today (Milwaukee office) under the 5 year rule and I wanted to make sure she is bringing all the documents she needs and is fully prepared. Here is a list of what she is bringing: -Interview letter -Green card -Drivers license -birth certificates for her, me and all of our kids (submitted with N400) -Current lease (we moved recently and our current address isn't on her N400 that she submitted in May) -passport -marriage certificate (not sure if this is needed for 5 year rule but we submitted it with her N400) Does she need to bring anything else? I have a few questions about the interview its self. Besides the civics test questions what other questions will they be asking her? We have seen some practice interviews on YouTube that go through every question on the N400. Are they really gonna ask her every question that is on the N400? One other issue. We moved in September and forgot to update our address with USCIS until a couple weeks ago. I have talked to some people about this including a couple attorneys who told me it shouldn't be a big deal. If they ask her about this during the interview what should she say? Is simply telling the truth and saying she forgot gonna be a sufficient answer?

I read that part on some immigration attorneys website that I found on Google. Maybe it was fear mongering to get people to hire them.

We filed my wife's N400 back in May. We moved in September and forgot to update her address with USCIS. Now she has an interview November 13th. We went online and changed her address through the form USCIS provides as soon as we realized this. I was concerned this might affect her naturalization. Now I am reading not updating your address within 10 days of moving could be grounds for deportation. How worried should we be about this and what should we do. Should we hire an attorney?

#1 Will they hold the fact that she didn't do the change of address in time against her as far as naturalization goes? If they ask her about it at the interview is simply telling the truth that we forgot gonna be an adequate answer? #2 The landlord of the previous property sold it and I don't know how to get into contact with the new owner. Will a printed version of the interview letter be good enough? #3 We will both do this ASAP. #4 The new address is only a few blocks away from the old address so I think it would be the same jurisdiction.

My wife just had her interview scheduled today for November 13th. Milwaukee field office. Got a question. We moved about a month ago and forgot to give USCIS our new address. Their website says you must notify them within 10 days of moving. How should we handle this? I'm assuming the interview notice will be mailed to our old address. If we do not receive it is a printout of the pdf adequate to take to the interview?