Scandi

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

Only you can make that decision, you don't have to become a citizen, you can live just fine your whole life as a greencard holder like many others do. 

For me, one of the reasons was that I agreed with my husband (who is born and bred American) when he said becoming a citizen is about respect for the country you see yourself living in for the rest of your life. Becoming a citizen shows that you care and want to be part of this new country as much as you can (there will always be certain things you won't be part of as "just" a greencard holder). And I agreed with him, of course I should be a citizen when I see myself spending the rest of my life here. 

But I believe the absolute biggest reason that I chose to become a citizen is that I always want to be able to move back to the US if I for whatever reason decide to live elsewhere for a while. Since I have no plans on ever living elsewhere but have family in another country, it made sense to become a citizen. IF I have to move back to my home country for a while when my parents get old, to take care of them or for other reasons, then I will always be able to easily move back to the US when the time comes. This is the most important thing to me. Since I became a citizen I feel more relaxed knowing that I don't have to think about anything immigration related in case the situation would arise that I would need to leave the US for a few years. All I need is my US passport. 

Another thing, that isn't very important but still a positive thing, is that a Swedish passport is only valid for 5 years while the US is valid for 10. That the Swedish one has such a short validity sucks in so many ways, especially when it's very hard to get it renewed in the US (can only be done in person in DC and NY, and I live on the west coast). Now that I have a US passport that is valid for 10 years I worry less bout being stuck without a valid passport. And obviously it's very easy to renew the US passport in the US too. 

The reasons above AND the fact that I can have dual citizenship made the decision easy. It wouldn't have been easy if I couldn't have dual citizenship. 

They had the intent to immigrate before they arrived anyway, it's not like that's a secret at this point. You have mentioned petitioning for them before and in this thread you admitted they JUST arrived and already have decided to stay and adjust status. So nobody is going to believe there wasn't an intent before arriving in the US. I don't think they can get denied based off of that alone though. 

They had the intent to immigrate before they arrived anyway, it's not like that's a secret at this point. You have mentioned petitioning for them before and in this thread you admitted they JUST arrived and already have decided to stay and adjust status. So nobody is going to believe there wasn't an intent before arriving in the US. I don't think they can get denied based off of that alone though. 

They had the intent to immigrate before they arrived anyway, it's not like that's a secret at this point. You have mentioned petitioning for them before and in this thread you admitted they JUST arrived and already have decided to stay and adjust status. So nobody is going to believe there wasn't an intent before arriving in the US. I don't think they can get denied based off of that alone though. 

They had the intent to immigrate before they arrived anyway, it's not like that's a secret at this point. You have mentioned petitioning for them before and in this thread you admitted they JUST arrived and already have decided to stay and adjust status. So nobody is going to believe there wasn't an intent before arriving in the US. I don't think they can get denied based off of that alone though. 

They had the intent to immigrate before they arrived anyway, it's not like that's a secret at this point. You have mentioned petitioning for them before and in this thread you admitted they JUST arrived and already have decided to stay and adjust status. So nobody is going to believe there wasn't an intent before arriving in the US. I don't think they can get denied based off of that alone though. 

Not an issue, just let them know at the interview that you want to use your maiden name. 

Perfectly normal. When a person goes for an N-400 interview while also having a i-751 still pending, either of these scenarios can happen:
 
-A combo interview, ie both the N-400 AND the i-751 petition are present on the IOs desk and both are being processed together. This scenario is what most people with a pending i-751 hope for, that's why you see some members on here trying to get a combo interview by asking USCIS for one before being called for an interview. 
 
-An N-400 interview ONLY, this means the IO hasn't received the i-751 file yet but agrees to continue with the N-400 interview anyway. This means the person will be interviewed as usual and if passing the tests, will be approved once the i-751 file has been located and approved. No more interviews needed.
 
-No interview, the IO sends the applicant home again without interviewing him/her. The interview will be rescheduled once the i-751 has been located and it will then be a combo interview. This is the least desirable scenario as it can delay your case a lot. Luckily this doesn't seem as common anymore, most IOs know now that they can actually go through with the N-400 interview despite not having received the i-751 yet. 
 
 
The different parts of USCIS don't like to communicate with each other, so it's fairly common that an N-400 interview is scheduled while the pending i-751 is still stuck at a record center or at NBC. 
 

Perfectly normal. When a person goes for an N-400 interview while also having a i-751 still pending, either of these scenarios can happen:
 
-A combo interview, ie both the N-400 AND the i-751 petition are present on the IOs desk and both are being processed together. This scenario is what most people with a pending i-751 hope for, that's why you see some members on here trying to get a combo interview by asking USCIS for one before being called for an interview. 
 
-An N-400 interview ONLY, this means the IO hasn't received the i-751 file yet but agrees to continue with the N-400 interview anyway. This means the person will be interviewed as usual and if passing the tests, will be approved once the i-751 file has been located and approved. No more interviews needed.
 
-No interview, the IO sends the applicant home again without interviewing him/her. The interview will be rescheduled once the i-751 has been located and it will then be a combo interview. This is the least desirable scenario as it can delay your case a lot. Luckily this doesn't seem as common anymore, most IOs know now that they can actually go through with the N-400 interview despite not having received the i-751 yet. 
 
 
The different parts of USCIS don't like to communicate with each other, so it's fairly common that an N-400 interview is scheduled while the pending i-751 is still stuck at a record center or at NBC. 
 

Perfectly normal. When a person goes for an N-400 interview while also having a i-751 still pending, either of these scenarios can happen:
 
-A combo interview, ie both the N-400 AND the i-751 petition are present on the IOs desk and both are being processed together. This scenario is what most people with a pending i-751 hope for, that's why you see some members on here trying to get a combo interview by asking USCIS for one before being called for an interview. 
 
-An N-400 interview ONLY, this means the IO hasn't received the i-751 file yet but agrees to continue with the N-400 interview anyway. This means the person will be interviewed as usual and if passing the tests, will be approved once the i-751 file has been located and approved. No more interviews needed.
 
-No interview, the IO sends the applicant home again without interviewing him/her. The interview will be rescheduled once the i-751 has been located and it will then be a combo interview. This is the least desirable scenario as it can delay your case a lot. Luckily this doesn't seem as common anymore, most IOs know now that they can actually go through with the N-400 interview despite not having received the i-751 yet. 
 
 
The different parts of USCIS don't like to communicate with each other, so it's fairly common that an N-400 interview is scheduled while the pending i-751 is still stuck at a record center or at NBC. 
 

That would be extremely rare yes. Most N-400 interviews with a pending i-751 are based on the 3 year rule, which means evidence of a bonafide marriage is part of the N-400 process as well. Not saying it's impossible to get a second interview of course, but that does seem extremely unlikely (and yes, I personally have never heard of it). And if it's just a matter of not enough evidence USCIS won't be spending time on another interview but will instead just issue an RFE. 

@Scandi I think there is a low possibility of scenario 4:
 
- N-400 only was conducted
- I-751 lacks evidence, or USCIS have a doubt about marriage
- I-751 interview is conducted before approval / denial
 
Or we haven't seen those?

@da95826 Based on what I read I'm not sure if @NearEthereal's spouse had a combo interview. To me it looks like only N-400 was conducted. 

The more you upload the better, that way you give the IO more time to go through your paperwork before your interview and the process could potentially go faster. There are no guarantees how long it could take for them to go through a stack of paperwork afterwards, and you may have to wait for your approval. 
 
You can upload as much as you like under additional evidence. Better not to overdo it, but definitely give them something to work with. 👍
 
Family based or not, filing your taxes and paying what you owe shows good moral character, so they want to see proof of that. If you owe, they want to see that you have a payment plan with IRS. 

No, you missed the point. The point is to make the interview part as simple and smooth as possible, by giving the IO a chance to go through your paperwork BEFORE the interview. You do this by uploading them in advance, not by bringing a pile of paper and throw them on his/her desk - especially if the IO is already behind schedule (which they often are), you can't expect him/her to sit there and go through it all in front of you. Glad that in YOUR case it worked out (in MY case, the IO never needed to look at anything since everything had already been uploaded (other than the tax return that had been filed just the day before the interview), very easy), for others they get the "decision can't be made" paper and then have to wait for an IO to actually go through all the documents which can take weeks. The IO will prefer to have the documents already scanned and uploaded she s/he doesn't have to do that himself afterwards - same goes for the lockbox people, that's why forms are online these days so the lockbox people won't have all that extra work. 

That's the point - UPLOAD everything yourself beforehand. Don't wait and bring a pile of stuff to the interview. It's not about being anxious at all, it's what the IO prefers and it doesn't cost you a dime. There's zero reason not to upload your stuff when you have the option. 

And as always, it's individual. Just because they didn't ask much of you guys doesn't mean they won't ask more from someone else. By uploading more than asked for you lower the risks of being asked for something at the interview, and lower the risks of not being approved on spot if they have to go through a stash of paperwork afterwards - nobody can tell you how long it will take for them to do that. There are never any guarantees, but a lot of us prefer to be extra prepared in every way we can. 

I never re-compiled anything, but maybe I misunderstand what that means? I uploaded a few new documents each month my case was pending - including the latest tax return transcipts etc. For that reason, i never had to bring much of anything to the interview (other than the originals of the important documents like divorce decrees etc) since they already had everything in the system. She even explained to me that they PREFER to have things uploaded (hence why they try to make forms available online these days), and also proceeded to scan one single of my documents and added it to my online file instead of taking a regular paper copy of it. 

The more you upload the better, that way you give the IO more time to go through your paperwork before your interview and the process could potentially go faster. There are no guarantees how long it could take for them to go through a stack of paperwork afterwards, and you may have to wait for your approval. 
 
You can upload as much as you like under additional evidence. Better not to overdo it, but definitely give them something to work with. 👍
 
Family based or not, filing your taxes and paying what you owe shows good moral character, so they want to see proof of that. If you owe, they want to see that you have a payment plan with IRS. 

The more you upload the better, that way you give the IO more time to go through your paperwork before your interview and the process could potentially go faster. There are no guarantees how long it could take for them to go through a stack of paperwork afterwards, and you may have to wait for your approval. 
 
You can upload as much as you like under additional evidence. Better not to overdo it, but definitely give them something to work with. 👍
 
Family based or not, filing your taxes and paying what you owe shows good moral character, so they want to see proof of that. If you owe, they want to see that you have a payment plan with IRS.