Jameson78

1 minute ago, Whitehead said:

What does this mean exactly? Are they finally working on my case? I hope I get an approval soon I'm getting so impatient.

 

 

Automatic update saying they can't be bothered doing their job. But what update did you get on June 6?

On 6/18/2018 at 10:28 AM, Bebe1 said:

Hello Jameson78, 

 

While on this topic, i have a friend who was approved (ROC) a couple months ago. She was separated (physically, but not legally) from her spouse for a short period of time (due to marital issues), and now they have worked things out and she's moving back w/her spouse this month. She wanted to know if she can file for the n-400 under the 3year rule but was confused because of the short period of separation. 

 

I am of the opinion that she shouldn't, as they count for continuous residence with spouse for that 3 years of the PR period and she is short some months due to the period of separation (due to some marital issues). I know there is no straight answer to this especially since if she applies for n-400, the officer will ask for the gap in her residence and review her file based on that. depending on who she gets, that may be a no no or yes maybe, we will approve pending further investigation.

 

Not sure what other vj'ers think and wanted to throw the question out there in case anyone had an input.

 

Should she file under the 3 year rule or wait to file under the 5 year rule. 

To be honest, I don't know the legal/procedural answer to this. But if it were me, I'd simply wait a couple of years to play it safe. What's to lose? Or alternatively, what's to gain by trying to accelerate it, and risking falling afoul of them? 

Just now, FEODORA said:

they didn't at all ! they only said they need more proof of commingling...and funny enough they said don't send the same docs you sent before..well I sent all again! adding the 2 years more sicne I sent the first package!

My husband wrote a letter and 2 neighbors, coworkers, the manager of our business account in the bank ...honestly I don't know what else can we send

tons of trips (for work and pleasure) we share the same offices I have my business in the same building than him .

Lol, I'm sorry to hear that, but not too surprised, honestly. It'll be fine, you've done everything required of you, they just messed up yet again. In case you hadn't noticed, in terms of USCIS workers, they're not sending their best.

Just now, FEODORA said:

Commingling and they place an example of birth certificate of children ...I wrote a statement we don't have kids I have my uterus removed for medical reasons ...

They are supposed to re-state all of the documents that you sent. So, what did they state that you sent?

Just now, FEODORA said:

The only thing I did wrong was send affidavits that was a photocopy not the originals I keep those and now I regret it...my husband and mine letter was the original one. But I really wish this don't take months of waiting

I saw in some place they have like 3 month to answer?

What, specifically, did the RFE say? If you sent all of the above, and for the whole period you resided in the U.S., then they probably just made a mistake, since they're halfway-retarded.

2 minutes ago, ThousandMoreSteps said:

My spouse is a he, and he's already starting to be difficult. He would not show up for an interview. I'm flying home for a month and a break from all the drama, I think it is probably best to have a lawyer on the back burner just in case. I just didn't want to look like I was trying to be fraudulent when going for my n400. The marriage has been turbulent, but it was very much real.

Right, well same deal applies regardless of gender, lol. Yes, it would be good to at least consult a lawyer, so your options are laid out clearly. Price is the best indicator of quality, as well as law school attended. Your best bet would be to hang tight, and you'll likely be approved without an interview like 90% of people are, assuming you had a good evidence packet. If you do get an interview, then just inform them of the situation, ask to convert to a waiver, and have a lawyer intercede. Then, present the divorce decree, and they'll adjudicate on the basis of the good faith documents you submitted. You'll be fine. I'd certainly recommend the consultation, however. 

Regards,

1 minute ago, ThousandMoreSteps said:

It'll be our 5th Anniversary at the beginning of Oct before I file. So that's not an issue. 

 

Well, the 5 year rule has nothing to do with how long you have been married. It is 5 years since you became a permanent resident. So I repeat: DO NOT file for citizenship on the basis of marriage to a US citizen under the 3-year rule, if you are getting divorced. Wait until you have been a PR for 5 years. Trust me on this.

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

As noted, you are not required to notify them of the change, but usually it is wise to do so. Without switching to a divorce waiver, both of you will need to be at the interview (if you get one, which seems to be the norm nowadays). You need to be honest with them about the current state of things with anything asked. There's the possibility that your spouse will tank the interview or not show up at the last moment. It is a considerable risk IMO. You're responsible for your own case in the end, not your spouse/former spouse.

 

That said, if you file for citizenship and they discover that you did not notify them of a pending (or completed) divorce and it seems to the IO that you misrepresented your marriage situation, it can still be used against you.

"Seems to be the norm nowadays?" Are you sure? Almost nobody with a normal situation is getting interviewed at the moment...

25 minutes ago, ThousandMoreSteps said:

I filed in March '17 with CSC, so it should be a couple more months before I actually get approved. Well hopefully. My spouse and and I are getting a divorce, after what will be 5 years of marriage in October.  We can't file until we have lived in our current state for a year which will be October. I am aware from reading similar threads that there is no 'divorce pending category'. However,  would it be seen as deceiving once I apply for citizenship later in the year that I didn't notify USCIS of the pending divorce?

No, you don't have a duty to notify them until you are divorced and have the decree. I'll be in a similar situation, actually. There's nothing they can do about it. The only thing that you mustn't do under any circumstances is lie to them, i.e., pretend you are living together when you're not, at the filing stage (or interview, if it comes to that). But it looks like that wasn't the case, right? 

One thing to be wary of is that if you get randomly selected for an interview, she will have to attend, or you'll be denied and have to convert to a waiver, which will take even longer. So it would be best for you if you stay on good terms, and don't kick the hornets' nest, from this perspective.

Oh and one other thing: DO NOT apply for citizenship yet, if you are planning to get divorced. You have to have an ongoing matrimonial relationship by the time you are naturalized, for the 3-year rule. So forget about that, and wait for another two years, then apply. If you try to naturalize after divorce has been filed, then that would be considered fraud.

Looking back at what I sent, i am worried that it might trigger an RFE and delay the process further. I sent:

- Joint checking accounts statements, one per quarter for the entire period, with transaction activity from both cards. However, I was the only one regularly depositing money into it, even though she used it for all our household purchases.

- Joint savings account, although she was the only one putting money into it and withdrawing for major purchases. It seemed to make more sense to use our joint checkings for household purchases, while she saved, to make things easy. I guess I never really thought too much about ROC.

- 401k with quarterly statements, with her listed as the sole beneficiary. 

 - Employer letter confirming life insurance policy, with her as beneficiary for 50%, estate listed as the other 50% (i.e., my parents or siblings) 

- Joint health insurance, with statement from provider that it it covers both me and her

 - Joint IRS tax transcripts with all schedules, filing as married, for 2015 and 2016

 - Joint dental and vision insurance

 - Joint leases, with both of our names, for the entire period

Does this sound like it would be considered insufficient? I could really do without dragging this out even further, after 11 months already passed, with an RFE or interview or whatever. If it came to it, I could provide credit card statements used to pay off my student loans, with both of us paying it off each month, joint car insurance, and a record showing that we both made car payments (I didn't have a credit history yet when we purchased it just after I arrived). 

What do you think?

51 minutes ago, mindthegap said:

lol.

So I will receive another (third!) extension letter for my oct 2017 filing, even though it will still be useless as my card expired over two years ago now. More stamps for me- yay.

 

Farcial. USCIS on fine form as usual. 

Serious question - does anybody know what's actually wrong with them? Even government workers can't be this feckless, disorganized, and stupid, can they? Also, they have discretion to raise fees to deal with short-staffing issues, it's not like they are dependent on congressional budgets...

2 minutes ago, fcorona85 said:

I think I am going to go ahead and file mine when the window opens for me. Have you heard anything about speeding or delaying the process? I didn't know they were tied to each other. 

I've only heard anecdotal evidence, on these forums, and a bunch of immigration attorneys who disagree with each other. There seems to be a relationship between filing it, and your i-751 case getting processed imminently, but it isn't conclusive (hence my question).

10 minutes ago, gc@gc said:

 

as of today, among 17251's 206 cases,

3 cases as name was updated;

2 case as card is being produced;

2 case as RAF;

1 case as card was mailed to me

 

Tbh, I don't think that they are even updating the online database consistently. Some people are getting mail notifications, but nothing changes online. What a mess.

Is there any consensus on whether filing the N-400 speeds up or slows down this process, or whether it makes no difference? I've searched these forums and there is a lot of disagreement on this topic.

16 hours ago, CharlieBrown said:

thanks! the bank statements as I sent do show the account is very active, and I also sent a voided check with both our names and address on it. and I thought the same about pictures being easy to fake that's also why I didn't bother with it. I guess I'm just starting to get paranoid with this long wait.

Yeah no problem, you should be all set. I also drive myself up a wall with this,  so I get it.

5 minutes ago, CharlieBrown said:

Hey everyone, I've been wandering if I made the mistake of not sending any pictures with my package. I didn't think it was necessary, and the officer at the first interview asked to keep our pictures so I thought they already had that part. But now I've been wondering if that was a mistake.

 

I sent a solid package with joint filed taxes (we filed separately for money reasons in 2016 but sent that too), car title with both our names, car insurance in both our names, drivers license showing shame address and same last name, health insurance, bank statements, 3 different leases from the apartments we've lived together since our marriage in 2015, our cat's registration with both our names as owners, some mail adressed to both of us, phone bill with his name and both our lines together (they don't let us have two names on a plan), and one affidavit (without notary - didn't know about that). 

 

I'm a november 2017 filer, same sex marriage. Any insights?

 

Thank you!!

Apparently they aren't interested in anything like that, and only in financial documents and leases/mortgages. I guess it makes sense, since anyone can fake pictures and letters and so forth. You can't predict anything reliably, since the USCIS is a shambles, but what you sent should more than suffice (provided the bank statements show that you both made transactions from it - they are on the lookout for 'shell' accounts).

On 6/8/2018 at 11:17 AM, mrs thb said:

Nothing will come.  It's suggesting that if your approval has happened you will get notification by mail, if not contact them.  But in reality you don't need to since you know I-751 approval processing times are another 6-8 months away for CSC filers and 3-4 months for VSC filers (I'm guessimating these times of course since one never knows approval rates at USCIS). 

 

These updates are generic in that everyone gets the same response.  They are computer generated, and since computers aren't human, they are programmed not to look at each case specifically when updates are sent.  They give the impression that a notice is forthcoming, when indeed, it is not.

 

Do not be worried and do not get frustrated over this.  We all got them *and will still get them) and expect more since you signed up for the auto-updates.  You can turn this feature off by going into your account.

Where do you get 3-4 months from? Vermont is processing June applications, with a few May ones apparently left over. I think you could be unlucky, and get one of their super-special needs or super-lazy dipshits reviewing your case (they're competing in a tough pool for that accolade), but generally, July should be largely done by early August unless they #### something up again. That said, such a situation is far from implausible; I just wondered where you got your information from.

37 minutes ago, Jason27 said:

I have been waiting from 11/22/16 and it’s 5/3018 and still nothing I also went on a strokes interview and I went back on a interview in March of 2018 and still nothing I really don’t know what to do next 

You should have a lawyer file a Writ of Mandamus to force these people to do their jobs. 

14 hours ago, Thokozile90 said:

Hi all, I am a may 2017 filer and i am posting in this forum for the first time. I was at the store when my husband called that I received a letter from immigration and we were both happy that he waited for me to get home so we could open it together but it was a RFE letter. Did anyone else receive this? We are currently looking for mail that has both our names and printing everything we can to show that our marriage is real. We threw away most mail that we thought was junk but now we need it.. smh

Is there a way to print out utility bills from months ago? We don't think it's possible but we thought we'd ask and maybe have a friend who introduced us, my family and his family write letters saying we are legit. We have bank statements, jackson bills, an old comcast bill (just 1), lease agreement, an old life insurance policy i had with him as a beneficiary but they spelt his name wrong though his first name and date of birth is correct, i have him on my current life insurance policy at work (waiting for tomorrow to get a copy), car insurance, our flight for july this year in vegas, our hotel room, and letters from our lawyer addressing us from when my husband was involved in an accident. Is this enough? I admit that the first time we didn't give them enough information so here we are..

Any tips will be appreciated. I think i really wouldn't mind if they came to our house just so they could see that we are legit!.

SMDH, TBH. What did the wording of the letter say? And I can't tell from your poast a) what you already sent, and b) what you have, and plan to send in response to the RFE? Can you clarify those, fam? If you don't have a joint bank account (with evidence of both cards for the account being used to buy things) and joint tax transcripts, then you're basically guaranteed an RFE despite the fact that the rest of the evidence you have being solid enough. Also, do you have joint health insurance? I think that one counts as 'heavyweight' evidence, in a way that affidavits/letters and car insurance don't. 

4 minutes ago, Heather&Kevin said:

Ha!   Thanks.   When were you last there?   I had heard it was cleaned up a LOT in the past few years and thus becoming a viable option!

It's possible - even likely - that it's cleaning up now. But dealing with a border-crossing commute will really suck, in terms of time and stress. The holdups there can be surreal. 

1 minute ago, Heather&Kevin said:

Hi!   Hope you can help...

 

I am a British ex-pat, married to a US Citizen, living in Vegas.  

I have a Greencard thru marriage - two years are up on Dec 12th and I'm aware I can apply for Conditions To Be Removed 90 days before (mid Sep) using I-751.  And it will take maybe 4-12 months for that process. 

After that I can apply to become a citizen using N-400 and that will take maybe 6-12 months.

 

My wife is being offered a job in San Diego.

As housing and other costs are so high in San Diego we are wondering if we can live in Tijuana.

I thought initially that would invalidate my Green Card - but I read about 'Commuter Status' from Mexico and Canada.

 

1. Any idea if this status can be used BEFORE conditions are removed?  or only AFTER conditions are removed?

2. I see that I have to have a certain amount of employment in the USA (and not just work from home in Mexico) to retain my Green Card - any idea how much work would be needed to keep my status? Would teaching a few hour-long classes each week in the US be enough?

3. Anything else I should think about in terms of my Greencard - journey to citizen etc?

 

We are leaning towards DO NOT DO IT! - but I have to check everything before we put the idea on hold and just pay the $price of San Diego 

 

I assume once a citizen - and I have the US passport - that we can live anywhere on earth we choose and just come and go to the US when we like?

If that is the case then maybe just worth toughing it out until I get the passport and then we could move to Tijuana no problem?

 

Ok - hope that's enough clear info without going OTT.   Please be advised that everything else is perfect - marriage is super strong - we have no criminal records! etc.  We also have no need to bring people to the US etc. or any of the other things that people often need to do.                                     Many thanks for you time!!!   Kevin & Heather.

 

Holy sh*t fam, don't do it, lol. Tijuana is a sh*thole. I understand that San Diego is $$$, but if you're willing to move a bit further inland, it becomes more more reasonable quite quickly. Downside is that you lose super convenient access to the beach, social activities, bars and restaurants etc, but it's a trade off, and the traffic isn't as bad as LA or somewhere.

9 minutes ago, Canelita said:

Hi I'm glad a everything is good with you after divorce, I would like to make a few questions?, did you have your green card through marriage and you were removing conditions after divorce? Or your gren card was just aproved ? Domestic violence is the only reason why immigration approve a waiver after divorce? Thank you.

10 minutes with google and grade school reading comprehension would definitively demonstrate that domestic violence is not the only reason why immigration approve a waiver after divorce, as you put it. 

No, the waiver is approved as long as you can demonstrate that you did not enter into a fraudulent marriage in order to evade immigration laws (the burden of proof is on the applicant, with respect to this stage). 

If they deny it, then you are sent to immigration court, and retain status in the meantime. Once you are in immigration court, the burden of proof flips, and the government lawyer must prove that you entered into a fraudulent marriage, for the purpose of evading immigration law. There is basically no ###### way that they can prove this, especially not ASU-tier government immigration lawyers, and so there's no way you will get deported regardless of whether or not you committed marriage fraud. In this manner, it is demonstrable that, the entire ROC stage is a colossal waste of money, and ZOG job-creation program. Which we all knew anyway, but at least this time the charade is obvious.

17 minutes ago, shell20 said:

Love, love, love it!! It made me grin from ear to ear, sending fairy dust to spray over my family of Vjshire.   Will sign first editions of course and we can make millions and have VJshire party in the land of happiness!

Lol, looking at your posts, you've certainly been doing *some* sort of dust. I was thinking more angel, than fairy, but interested to hear details? Sounds fun as sh*t.

Shalom, goyim, and salvete - it's clearly a glitch. All of the evidence point to it. They aren't going to solve a severe backlogging/low-paid gubmint worker incompetence problem by transferring tens of thousand of cases to comparatively tiny regional offices now, are they? 

Government workers really are the bottom of the barrel in terms of intellect and work ethic. I understand that low-to-middling IQ, and low-agency people need jobs, but they should be allocated them in less responsible and impactful fields.