Inesmlm

Thank you for your replies, however i still have a few questions if you could kindly advise best. 
 

The scenario here is that, even though me and my daughter are American citizens and my partner is not (we all live in Portugal) I do not have a house in the US, my Portuguese income is bellow what they request ($27k, I make $19), and I do not have a joint sponsor. 
I’m trying to avoid the situation where I have to fly to the US and get a job there first and leave my 5 year old in Portugal, however I believe this is the only possible scenario, correct? If so, how long do I have to be working and living in the US until I can apply for a CR1 there? And can I apply there when my partner is in Portugal? I’m confused with this. Can I not bring her to the US as a tourist, establish a job and house and go from there? Not sure if this is legal. I know she cannot work as a tourist, obviously.. 

If I also need a joint sponsor for a K1 visa, then there’s no point of doing everything from Portugal but to go back to the US first, right? 
 

I would just like a solution for her to come with me at the same time to the US so my daughter is not left behind in Portugal and this way I also have her help.

thank you in advance. 

Hello everyone, 

I’m an American and Portuguese citizen. I lived in the US 8 years but came back to Portugal in 2019 with my also dual citizen daughter. 
We are considering going back to the US however I have a Portuguese fiancé since then and would like to understand how could I also take her with us. 
Would it be easier (in terms of documents/proof/money wise) to:

1 - marry in Portugal and apply from there (if so which visa should I apply for and what’s the process?)

2 - Applying in Portugal for a fiancé visa and go to the US and go from there?

My biggest concern here is that I don’t have a house nor income in the US, but I do work in Portugal. Not sure if it’s enough to sponsor her or how should I go about it if I don’t make enough. 
 

thank you in advance! 

Hi everyone, 

I am an American/Portuguese citizen. I lived in the US for 8 years and moved back to Portugal 2 years ago due to family health issues. I am thinking about moving back to the US again soon, however I have a girlfriend who I’d like to sponsor to come with me. I understand we have to be married so I can sponsor her and I would rather get married in Portugal first when the time is right. I also have a daughter (who is American/Portuguese).

I’m not 100% sure of how the process goes so here are my questions: 

- I have to file for Cr1 (I-130 petition) whilst in Portugal? Is this the only petition we have to file? 
- what kind of income proof do I have to gather? I am confused about this. I have a job in Portugal (so does she) and even though I don’t work in the US I still file for my taxes over there (the way it’s supposed to be done). I don’t own anything in the US. 
Will I need a joint sponsor? 
- if I don’t make enough money to sponsor her on my own and don’t want to use a joint sponsor, would it be a good idea that I move to the US by myself first, get a job and a house and go from there with the petition and affidavit of support? 
- if all this goes smoothly and works out the way it’s supposed to, will my girlfriend have permission to work immediately? 
- can all this be file electronically? 
 

thank you in advance! 

Just now, Kath2506 said:

Inesmlm

Congratulations ... were your friends and family allowed to tape your ceremony for you? 

 

Thank you! 

We were allowed to use cameras, pictures and videos. I only have a video of me receiving the certificate and the video where President Trump welcomes the new citizens. I wanted to enjoy the ceremony as much as I could! 

Had my Oath Ceremony today in Fairfax, Va.. Words cannot express how special it was. 

Got there at 1pm - ceremony was scheduled for 130pm - we all waited in a room for about 15min until we were asked to line up and have in our hands the letter filled out and green card. We returned those and proceeded to a different room on the 2nd floor at USCIS. We got packages with papers to apply for a passport, to register to vote, a flag and some more documents and in the end we were given the certificate of naturalization. 

The moment after we said the oath was very emotional and cheerful. One of the best days of my life. Now onto having my passport done! 

Ceremony was done by 3pm - there were about 60 new citizens. 

Good luck to everyone else who is still in the process! Enjoy this last step because it is indeed an honor! 

6 minutes ago, Leo7777 said:

Sounds OK as far as it goes.

But what about the USA Passport before you leave?

That is the issue with respect to getting back into USA.

I’ll have about 2.5 weeks until my trip. Some Passport agencies have same day passport, 2-3 business days, 3-5 and so on, as long as the trip is within the following 14 days. 

2 minutes ago, Amhara said:

@Inesmlm That’s great to hear!  Gone from a tough spot to much better!  Phew!  Great work on your part for the further diligence and research!!

Thank you for your kind words! 

I read somewhere that when rescheduling the ceremony, it’s a good idea to do so in person instead of just returning the request by mail. 

Hope the information helps anyone who was/is in my situation. 

Update on my oath / passport situation. 

After getting in in contact with the US embassy in my home country and USCIS they confirmed that I could NOT leave the US after the oath ceremony with my Portuguese passport and have the American passport done at the embassy overseas. The service is available but not in this situation. It is considered a crime to do so. 

Went to USCIS in person and they rescheduled the oath ceremony after asking for proof of my flight. It is now happening in 3 days and not on the day of my flight. 

They were awesome and very understanding of my family emergency trip. 

Best of luck to everyone else still in the process! 

10 minutes ago, Amhara said:

@Inesmlm

I sympathize with you.  But thanks for letting us know about the embassy option to get the US Passport at the embassy.  I hope you will be there long enough to be able to get it before heading back!  Sometimes, the US Embassy has an email address to ask and confirm these questions.  But I am glad you posted here, but one of us may need this info in the future!

Thank you for your kind words and you’re welcome! Any important information is worth sharing here. 

I emailed the US embassy in my home country and I’m still waiting for a confirmation (and how long will it take). 

9 hours ago, Leo7777 said:

Real question is why on earth did you buy ticket before completing the whole process of citizenship interview,  oath ceremony and obtaining USA passport.

After all the thousands of documents you had to deal with and waiting for years and years to obtain citizenship . . . you now want to go through the unnecessary additional nightmare of trying to travel at same time you need to obtain USA passport ?????

Fair enough, I apologize. Again I didn’t mean to instruct anyone not to answer but rather give an helpful answer. 

This doesn’t seem or sound like a constructive post. 

Gregcrs2,

I didn’t tell anyone not to comment but rather be helpful instead of giving an empty opinion that is in no way contributing to what the purpose of this forum is about. 

Do you think it’s okay to mock someone when someone is asking for help? In fact I would wait for him, out of anyone else here to be helpful since he just went through a situation that he’s now criticizing. 

So, updating my own initial question to ANYONE who needs guidance on this particular situation, I ended up getting an answer that it is indeed possible to have the passport done overseas at a US embassy, and like you mention Gregcrs2, it will take around 2-3 weeks to obtain it and there’s no expedite service outside the US. 

Besides, let me add: when I booked my flight 2.5 months ago I had no clue of the interview date and with and estimate of a complete case in January of 2020. I guess that it has to be too much luck or not that the oath ceremony would fall on the morning of my flight. 

My job is also not flexible and neither is someone’s sickness. Life happens and these situations can happen as well. 

I thought your process / your wife’s was complete, so if you’re sticking around this forum you could at least try helping others, otherwise move on and leave the answer to someone else. 

Leo7777,

its not the first time that your comments are anything but unhelpful. I’m pretty sure you just went through a tough situation with your wife obtaining a passport to fly to her home country. 

I really don’t need to justify anything to you especially when you’re criticizing instead of helping. I am pretty sure I’m not the first person going through this, but since you’re being such a helper here it is: 

besides not visiting my family in years, I have a parent who has terminal cancer and was only able to schedule my flight for that time. 

Is that enough for you to contain your unnecessary opinion?? 

If you don’t have anything helpful to suggest than say nothing at all. 

I cannot apply after I come to the US because I will need a US passport to enter the country. 

Also, could apply the same day of the ceremony but like it said, my flight is in the evening, so that wouldn’t make sense if I leave the country. 

So the solution is reschedule the oath (which I don’t want to do), reschedule flight (which is going to cost me a lot of money plus an expedite passport and the uncertainty of when will I have it) or attend to the oath ceremony, fly to my home country and have the US passport there. 

Applied: December 15 2018

biometrics: February 8 2019

interview: May 22 2019

oath ceremony: June 22 2019

Nothern Virginia - Fairfax office

And thank you! Congratulations to you as well!! 

I have my oath ceremony scheduled for June 22nd.. this is great news.. except that the ceremony is in the morning and my flight to my home country is in the evening! Fun quest I’m trying to figure out now. I know I can reschedule the oath ceremony but I wanted to avoid it at all costs. So it seems like I can apply for a US passport (for the first time) at the embassy of my home country! At least according to their website I can do it, just have to bring my certificate of naturalization along with my ID and other docs. 

Has anyone been through this situation and can confirm it is indeed possible? 

Also, if so, this will be a solution for many here who intend to travel right after the oath ceremony.  

Thank you!! 

Thank you! 

I passed my interview. It took 20min total!!

I was asked for my ID, went straight to the civics questions (answered 6 right and he moved on), reading, writing, followed by those yes and no questions, confirmation of some personal information and that was it! I was so surprised..! 

Oath ceremony should be around end of July! 

21 hours ago, GirlPower said:

So I had my interview today. The officer had no idea about my pending I-751 and he said he is going to request my I-751 application to be sent to him and approve it later. he did the N400 interview and told me that I I passed the test. He said he will approve my I-751 as soon as he receive the application. Hopefully everything goes smooth. 

Congratulations!! 

I have mine today!! 

I understand both sides of the situation and opinions, as I will most likely be going through the same situation of having my GC taken away right before my trip to my home country. It should be legal to, for example, being able to travel with the naturalization certificate.. sometimes it’s not a matter of just going on vacation, there are several important reasons for us to travel.. however there are options. They might be expensive but they exist.. you can get a US passport in 1 day at a Passport agency ($500), 2-3 days ($350) and so on.. 

Yes, we should be grateful our process is going fast and that we are / will be US citizens but maybe that gap between not having a GC and traveling could be filled with the certificate or even a stamp on our original passport. 

It’s always important do discuss ideas! We are all in the same boat and who knows who will be in this same situation. 

4 hours ago, GirlPower said:

Hi I just got my interview letter in the mail. It is scheduled for May 21st in Fairfax, VA. Now I have a question, My I-751 has been in the same status(Fingerprint Review Was Completed) for more than a year. Do I need to take any action? Am I going to have a combo interview? It is confusing.

Mine is on the 22nd in fairfax as well!! Let us know how it went! Good luck! 

Mine is on the 22nd in fairfax as well!!! Good luck!! Let us know how it went! 

Thank you for your reply and advice on IRS papers.

In the event of having the oath ceremony right before I travel, I’m thinking about possible options / plans of actions, but I’m not sure if they’ll work:

- can I enter the US with my home country passport and the certificate of naturalization? - I checked USCIS website and googled some and the answer is not 100% clear..

- how fast is the expedite passport if I decide to make one? I read 2 weeks but also people who got it in 1 day? - anyone experienced this?

- can I fly to my home country and have my US passport done at an US embassy there? 

Any help is appreciated even though I’ll try to confirm answers during this week. 

On 4/17/2019 at 2:44 PM, Inesmlm said:

Hi everyone! 

Just got a notice that my interview has been scheduled today but I still can’t see the letter online! Super excited!! 

 

I applied December 2018

Fingerprints - February 2019

Interview scheduled today for (?) - will update soon! 

 

I’m in northern Virginia. 

Interview scheduled for May 22nd! 

And I have some questions, if someone can ease my mind..

im filing under the 5 year rule.. I was married to a US citizen for 3 years, got a divorce and was approved for my 10 year GC after that. 

I have read that they shouldn’t ask any questions about my marriage but can they? Should I take all the documents I still have like marriage certificate, divorce decree, taxes.. 

Also, should I take my taxes from 2018 to the interview? (Only doc I didn’t upload because I didn’t have it when I filed). 

Anything else besides what states in the letter?

I have a trip scheduled to my home country in June/July, so I’m really hoping that the oath ceremony is after that 😩🙏 

I’m so excited and nervous!!! 

Hi everyone! 

Just got a notice that my interview has been scheduled today but I still can’t see the letter online! Super excited!! 

I applied December 2018

Fingerprints - February 2019

Interview scheduled today for (?) - will update soon! 

I’m in northern Virginia. 

After my biometrics this past Monday - feb 4th 2019, my status update for my case to be completed changed from November 2019 to January 2020 😩 

Anyone here filling in VA?