Daneandkathy

@ROK2USA thank you for the information. I spoke with the school yesterday and they said if we are her legal guardians it would be a cost as if she were our child. But I will double check that. 

@ROK2USA thank you for the information. I spoke with the school yesterday and they said if we are her legal guardians it would be a cost as if she were our child. But I will double check that. 

@nelmagriffin thank you so much for all this information, I really appreciate. most people have just said I have no idea and this is too expensive, without helping with any information about how to move forward. I have spoken to the local high school and if she does decide to come for a year, since it is public school there is a negligible cost to it (since it is included in our taxes already, I think $20 for administration). 
I know when I moved to the states and started university we had to do the SATs and we also paid out of state tuition for 2 terms and had to petition the school to allow us to have instate tuition after that, but we were on green cards. 
 
I need to research more about pharmacy and see what she actually wants to do, I am not sure if she wants to be an actual pharmacist or just work in a pharmacy, but she may change her mind completely later. In macedonia there are limited options and so she chose pharmacy. Once she comes here she may realise she can choose anything. 
 
I know if we go through an exchange program she can only stay with a host family, but my hope was to become approved as a host family so she can stay with us and possibly continue hosting students from Macedonia. 
 
Thank you again for the useful information, I was starting to feel quite discouraged by the folks who were just saying negative things. 

Greetings!
I think the preparation alone will take time.
Sone things to be considered are the following:
1. High School transcripts needed to be evaluated with any member of NACES.
2. And then there is a question of why not finish high school back home and start college in the USA? some do this to avoid taking the English test requirement, but not applicable to all school.
3. Most of the school will require the English test BCLS. If she has no problem in English that she will be fine with the results as some schools are specific wit what score that they wanted to accept.
4. Then the admission test,
5. If she finishes high school back home, then she will definitely have all her school credentials evaluated depending upon what the school requirement is asking for its admission. This is a must and the number one requirement needed from the admission, which means get more copies and apply as many schools that you like as you will never know who will accept her.
6. I am pretty sure that she must finish her undergraduate first (bachelor's degree), then in addition, she must have a doctoral degree which is another four years plus training before even applying to be a pharmacist. 
7. The money involve is high and the hard work as well, but if she can do it and you guys can afford, why not?
8. Most of the school is tuition is very high especially for international students and must have money to show that you can afford to stay and pay the tuition fees.
9. As you can see below that even nursing applicant must have a score of at least 83 for the English test while other courses is only 69. which is mind boggling. Well this will also depend upon what school that you are applying to enter.
10. I say let her finish high school back home and as soon as she finishes, have her transcripts evaluated here in the USA (must be from an accredited evaluator) and whilst waiting let her take BCLS test, and apply to as many schools as she can.
 
EXAMPLE: This is the expected school tuition fees of one of the school here in Michigan.
reference: Cost and aid | Admissions | Michigan State University (msu.edu)
 
A. IN-STATE FRESHMEN Tuition and fees: $14,914
Room and board: $10,676
________________________________
Total for two semesters: $25,590
 
B. OUT-OF-STATE FRESHMEN Tuition and fees: $40,726
Room and board: $10,676
________________________________
Total for two semesters: $51,402
 
C. 
The totals below reflect expenses included in the undergraduate financial proof requirements for MSU to issue an I-20. The cost for room and board includes the three weeks between fall and spring semesters.
Tuition and fees: $42,226
Room and board:  $12,278
Books and supplies:  $1,168
Personal/miscellaneous:          $3,950
Medical: $2,118
________________________________
Total for two semesters: $61,740
 
NOTE:  So, imagine how much it will cost for an international student.
How Much is the tuition for 4 years at MSU?
For the students who were admitted in Fall 2022, the estimated tuition for 4 years is $57,015 for Michigan residents and $162,693 for out-of-state students.     English language requirements
If your native language is not English, send an official English language proficiency test result directly to Marian University.
Minimum acceptable scores are:
TOEFL IBT  69      IELTS  6.0 ELS Level 112 PTE 48 Marian University will waive this requirement if you have:
Completed a degree from an accredited U.S. college or university Earned at least 24 regular semester hours of university credit from an accredited U.S. college or university Completed at least one year of high school in which English was the language of instruction For nursing students:
If English is not your native language or you are not a citizen of a country in which English is an official language (contact your nursing advisor for an updated list of exempt countries), you must provide proof of one of the following for English language proficiency.
Test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL IBT) with overall score of 83 and including a minimum speaking score of 26. International English Language Testing System (IELTS ) Academic Test with an overall score of 6.5 and including a minimum speaking score of 7. Duolingo score of 120 or higher.  SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score of 560 or higher (21 ACT English subscore) or, your SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score is 660 or higher (27 ACT English subscore), regardless of where you are attending or have attended secondary school. Provide proof of a conferred Bachelor’s level or higher degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Provide proof of attendance of formal secondary or post-secondary education in the United States for at least 4 years.    

sorry for the typos above.
 

sorry I don't think I am making sense. At the moment there is a very long wait for all visas for Macedonians into the US. So I am trying to find an international student exchange program that you can work with who would bring students out to the US and hopefully we can act as the host family. Give her that experience for her last year of high school. Then after that, she can apply for a student visa for pharmacy college (probably after she goes home). But this would be a way for her to come and see if she even likes studying in the US and to look at some schools she can apply to when she needs to do the student visa. We realise it is expensive and will cover cost of high school and she would live with us for that year. 

I am looking into schools now. I found one program that is approved by the US embassy in Macedonia and hope I can use that one to get her here for the first year. then we can look at Pharmacy schools and she can apply for a student visa for that school. Just starting the process and trying to figure everything out. 

Hey all
 
So my husband's citizenship was approved 30 seconds after the interviewer approved his 10 year green card. Now they have sent us his 10 year green card. He was asked to hand in his green card at the oath ceremony, he gave them the 2 yr one. But do we need to mail it back or go hand it in or something? 
Did this happen to anyone else? 
 
Thanks 

cross posting this from the N-400 thread
 
And we are done!!! Yay!!
 
Yesterday we had the interview and they had an oath ceremony so we got it all done at one.
 
Timeline:
I-751 - applied April 2020
Biometrics - June 2021
Adit stamp - December 21 2021
Interview - Jan 31 2022 (Same time as N-400)
Notice that card is being produced and sent - 1 Feb 2022
 
N-400 - applied April 2021
Biometrics - June 2021
Interview - Jan 31 2022 (Charleston, SC)
Oath Ceremony - Jan 31st 2022
 
Passport appointment - 4 Feb 2022
 
Interview process:
Husband was called in first
Interviewer asked a number of questions, such as:
Did you serve in the military
Did you ever kill or hurt anyone
How did you meet your wife
What is your zipcode (He couldn't remember this but explained I run his life, the interview laughed and said so does his wife)
He had to write: We pay taxes
He had to read something
Questions: What is the highest court of the land?
Who becomes president if the president and vice president die?
What does the judicial branch do?
 
Then the interviewer called me in and asked me a number of questions about how we met, when did we start dating, where did my family live, where was I born. 
 
He never looked at any of the paperwork or photos I had prepared. He then stamped and approved the I-751 and the N-400. Luckily there was an oath ceremony that day and there was still space for him to join. 
 
Thank you all for your support and assistance over the last few years. This community has been a godsend! Good luck to you all. 

cross posting this from the N-400 thread
 
And we are done!!! Yay!!
 
Yesterday we had the interview and they had an oath ceremony so we got it all done at one.
 
Timeline:
I-751 - applied April 2020
Biometrics - June 2021
Adit stamp - December 21 2021
Interview - Jan 31 2022 (Same time as N-400)
Notice that card is being produced and sent - 1 Feb 2022
 
N-400 - applied April 2021
Biometrics - June 2021
Interview - Jan 31 2022 (Charleston, SC)
Oath Ceremony - Jan 31st 2022
 
Passport appointment - 4 Feb 2022
 
Interview process:
Husband was called in first
Interviewer asked a number of questions, such as:
Did you serve in the military
Did you ever kill or hurt anyone
How did you meet your wife
What is your zipcode (He couldn't remember this but explained I run his life, the interview laughed and said so does his wife)
He had to write: We pay taxes
He had to read something
Questions: What is the highest court of the land?
Who becomes president if the president and vice president die?
What does the judicial branch do?
 
Then the interviewer called me in and asked me a number of questions about how we met, when did we start dating, where did my family live, where was I born. 
 
He never looked at any of the paperwork or photos I had prepared. He then stamped and approved the I-751 and the N-400. Luckily there was an oath ceremony that day and there was still space for him to join. 
 
Thank you all for your support and assistance over the last few years. This community has been a godsend! Good luck to you all. 

Hi guys. My USCIS journey is finally over. I had my naturalization ceremony in Philadelphia today. Let me share my experience.
The oath ceremony lasted about 15 minutes with about 30 other people in the room. It was a combined ceremony which we all took at the same time.
I went to apply for my passport immediately after the oath ceremony. I had made an appointment online for the passport application about 10 days before my oath ceremony.
I had my interview in Philadelphia about 2 weeks ago. The interview was done online via video link with a USCIS officer from Ohio field office which explains why my appointment letter came from the Ohio field office. The officer was very nice, the interview lasted about 15 minutes, she just asked me to confirm my name, address, wife's name and how many children I have. And of course the civic test questions and that was it. She said I passed and she will be recommending me for an approval. 45 minutes later I received an email and text confirmation that I had been scheduled for an oath ceremony.
The whole N400 process took about 8 months and 2 weeks.
Best of luck to everyone that are still waiting and a big Thank you to the entire Visa Journey community

@Mill&bill I got an email notification, then a text. I checked the website and it showed that the N-400 interview had been scheduled and in the documents section there was the letter stating where and when. The email said they would also be sending it in the mail. The next day I got another email stating action had been taken but there was nothing new on the website and the email didn't specify if it was the N-400 or the I-751, am assuming it was just an extra email. 

@Mill&bill Thanks for the clarification, I was so irritated I didn't even look at it, can't use it anyway since they kept his green card. But we just got notification his N-400 interview (and I assume his I-751 at the same time) will be January 31st. 
I swear they make us jump through goops for fun... so close to the end. 

EXCITING NEWS! We just got a notification that his citizenship interview is scheduled for January 31st!!! Finally. Now my brain is completely blank and I don't know what documents to start getting together. Please let me know some of the things you all took to your interview.
I am assuming it will be a combo with his I-751.
Note - it says on the notice to bring his green card, but that was taken when they gave the adit stamp, so I assume they mean to bring the passport, which we have to take any way. 

Heads up everyone, there is definitely a system glitch. When USCIS called to schedule my husbands addit stamp appointment they tries to send us to our original USCIS field office in Oregon, but we moved to South Carolina in June and I changed all the addresses. They lady said that she could see our address as South Carolina but the system kept trying to send us to Oregon. She said she had corrected it. However, today he went to go get the stamp and the lady there said be prepared for your interview soon in Oregon. He repeated that we had moved and changed our address, she checked and noted that it was indeed changed but the system kept trying to revert to the original office we applied to. She says she has manually fixed it. So be prepared if you get appointment or interview calls they may try send you to your original office instead of your new location.
 
Hopefully she meant it that his interview would be within the next month or so, but he has a 1 year stamp for now. They also took his green card so now he has to carry his passport with him... so annoying.
 
 

I agree, we were told to call 60 days before for the interview which would be scheduled within 30 days. Well there is a week and a half of that left and then only 30 days till the NOA expires..... hate this waiting, it always feels personal. 

We called USCIS on Monday August 30th and after only 56min (was supposed to be 77, so not complaining), a super helpful guy came on the line, he said:
For the I-751 10 yr greencard I see an officer has opened it and looked at it on August 26, beyond that I don't know
For the N-400 citizenship I see an officer has opened it and looked at it on August 26 and .......(dramatic pause)...... requested an interview!!!!! 
 
Woohoo he said we won't be notified for another 2-3wks and that the interview would most likely be in 2-3 months and he has no idea if it will be both or just one. 
 
We had planned for one of us to fly to Macedonia to bring his mom back for a visit, but since we don't when the interview is we don't want to risk buying tickets.... we will wait till next year. 
 
Finally some sort of movement!!! Hope everyone else gets movement soon too

We just submitted the N-400!!! Yay... hopefully the I-751 gets processed sometime this century

It says 13months for me too, currently in Oregon. When you search the times for Oregon in the general search it says 12-15mths, but we are moving to South Carolina and there it says 6-12mths.... Am going to change our address as soon as we finish the biometrics on June 4th. Don't want to risk changing it before that in case it confuses them. 

woohoo we have movement on the N-400, biometrics appt is scheduled for June 4th and just in time because we move states on June 8th!!! 

No I didn't, they never asked for it for me as the US spouse. I know people have asked about passports but it wasn't asked for so I din't include it. I can include it later as they have a place to upload extra info or just take it to the interview. For my husband it was only the green card both sides, never asked for ID either. 

3 years of taxes filed Jointly
1 year of all joint bank accounts
both sides of green card
marriage certificate
proof of citizenship for spouse
Any leases, rental agreements, joint bills etc.... 
 
Thats what we did

Hi Everyone! 
I have filed for citizenship as well. Online via MyUSCIS. 
Submitted: 
Color copues of permanent resident card front and back
Birth certificate of spouse
Marriage certificate
Divorce decree (from spouse's previous marriage)
Tax returns last 3 years
 
Other proof:
Birth certificate for our kids
Travel itenirary
 
I filed online on 4/27/2021
Today i received 2 NOA
First is receipt of fees ($725)
Second is notice indicating they will be reusing my previous biometricts. 
 
I will be a permanent resident for 3 years effective 7/25. So lets see how long it takes for this process to keep moving forward.
Good luck guys!
 

3 years of taxes filed Jointly
1 year of all joint bank accounts
both sides of green card
marriage certificate
proof of citizenship for spouse
Any leases, rental agreements, joint bills etc.... 
 
Thats what we did

Now I understand why MSC seems to be the slowest, anything with MSC appears to have to have an interview.....