Private One

I sent in my N-400 package without the "required" 2 passport style photographs. I deliberately left this out because I was under the impression they weren't necessary for my situation. I became a bit concerned after seeing that just about everyone else included them. I went back and read the checklist and it's contradictory.

The checklist says:

Quote

 

All applicants must send the following 3 items with their N-400 application:

1.□  A photocopy of both sides of your Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as the Alien Registration Card or “Green Card”).

If you have lost the card, submit a photocopy of the receipt of your Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident

Card; and

 

2.□  A check or money order for the application fee and the biometric services fee, as stated in the M-479, Current Naturalization

Fees, enclosure in the Guide.(Applicants 75 years of age or older are exempted from the biometrics services fee). Write your

A-Number on the back of the check or money order.

You may also pay using a credit card. There is no additional fee when you do so. The N-400 is the only form that you can

pay for by credit card using the G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transaction. Check www.uscis.gov for more specific

information.

 

3.□ If you reside outside the United States, 2 identical color photographs, with your name and Alien Registration Number

(A-Number) written lightly in pencil on the back of each photo. For details about the photo requirements, see Part 5 of Form

M-476, A Guide to Naturalization, and the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization instructions. If your religion requires

you to wear a head covering, your facial features must still be exposed in the photo for purposes of identification.

Send copies of the following documents, unless we ask for an original.

 

As you can see, #3 specifies, "If you reside outside the United States..." but the checklist headline says "All Applicants Must..."

Anyway...I did some more digging and found that USCIS no longer require that you send photos with N-400 application.  I haven't seen a USCIS article which talks about this but I've read about it from various credible sources such as here: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/photos-no-longer-needed-applying-citizenship-article-1.2807558

Breathing better although I felt like it probably would not have been a big deal.

8 hours ago, magda_pearl said:

Hello! 

I just got request for evidence which says that "Your supporting evidence does not sufficiently establish that you and your former spouse entered the marriage in good faith and continued to share a life together until your legal separation" and they asked me to send them evidence that me and my former spouse had resided together. 

I will send copy of our lease, but 

I'm panicked :/ what if it's not enough. 

 

This is not a good position to be in but don't panic. I'm with @St.James-One - You need to speak to an immigration attorney. I hope the lease isn't the only evidence you have. What kind of evidence did you send with your ROC application? Try to dig up as much as possible. Don't overlook anything. 

Good Luck!

Added my info.

N-400: April 2017 Applicants

=======================================
USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox
=======================================
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line..|Int ltr..|Intrview.|Oath.....|Field Office.......|NBC/IOE

================================
USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox
================================ 
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line..|Int ltr..|Intrview.|Oath.....|Field Office......|NBC/IOE
bay400...........|04/16/06|03/29|04/03|04/06|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|San Francisco, CA.|...

Cazzers..........|06/06/14|03/30|04/06|04/07|04/25/17|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Honolulu., HI.....|NBC

EandJ............|02/27/14|03/31|04/05|04/07|04/28/17|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|San Francisco, CA.|NBC

hagrid...........|07/20/13|04/03|04/05|04/07|04/27/17|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Salt Lake City, UT|...

Omarov2009.......|02/04/14|04/01|04/05|04/11|04/28/17|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Los Angeles, CA...|NBC

Thisislife.......|07/04/14|04/03|--/--|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|San Jose, CA......|...

lilebenz.........|03|07/13|04/03|04/10|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Los Angeles, CA...|NBC

B_and_G..........|07/20/13|04/04|04/13|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Kansas City, MO...|...

BrightSkte.......|10/06/10|04/10|04/13|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Indianapolis, IN..|...

bryneff..........|06/11/14|04/10|--/--|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Phoenix, AZ.......|...

Illiria..........|07/14/14|04/15|--/--|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|San Francisco, CA.|...

===========================================================================
USCIS Lincoln, Nebraska Lockbox (Filing Under 319b, 328, or 329 of the INA)
===========================================================================
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line..|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office......|NBC/IOE
.................|--/--/--|--/--|--/--|--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|...................|...


Instructions for adding/updating yourself (or assisting others) to this list:
1. DO NOT DELETE THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
2. Please use your VJ name to avoid confusion. 
3. Copy the most recent list and paste into the reply box.
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Legend: 
GC-Date: The 'Resident Since' Date located on your first green card
Sent: Date N-400 was mailed to USCIS
Cashd: Date your check was cashed / credit card was charged by USCIS / Money Order = MoOrd
NOA: Priority Date Printed on top of your official I-797 notification
Fprints: Date assigned for fingerprinting (Bio-metrics)/ In case of walk-in: Enter your walk-in date only in BOLD BLUE
In Line: Date you received e-notification about the start of your interview scheduling 
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview 
Interview: Date of your interview
Oath: Date Oath taken
Field Office: Your local USCIS office where you will have the N-400 interview
NBC/IOE: The first three letters of your receipt

11 minutes ago, CHRUKA said:

I just wanted to let people know that my wife received her ROC letter of approval in the mail today.  Date of decision says 4/11/2017.  It says that she'll be receiving a new permanent resident card within 60 days. 

 

I've been lurking in this and the original thread hoping for some sign of progress.  I'm glad to finally be moving on.

 

Thank you guys, and best of luck to those still waiting for approval.

Congratulations!

I'll update the list soon (if someone else don't). I see that the spreadsheet and the list are synced. If anyone is updating the list please try to update the spread also.

Stayed up last night getting my package ready. Heading to the post office as soon as I get off work. Will officially join this group once package has been sent.

Good Luck to All

On 3/27/2017 at 11:24 AM, charmander said:

I can point out a specific case from December 2015 thread where the applicant was issued RFE after the interview to prove marriage despite having his I-751 approved (without any RFE) long before his N400 application.

 

Nobody knows what triggers these bona fide marriage evidence RFEs, maybe some people are just randomly picked who knows. I see majority of people go through N400 interviews with minimally sufficient evidence (typically 3 years of IRS transcripts) but it will just create more headache and uncertainty dealing with an RFE. Therefore, I recommend all 3 year applicants to send additional evidences upfront and give the officer chace to go through your evidences before the interview. It doesn't have to be a second I-751 package but more than just the 3 years of IRS transcripts. Feel free to check my timeline for what I used in my N400 package.

Agreed...

I stayed up last night printing out bank statements and other evidence then I went through the checklist and realized that they're really not asking for much. I second guessed sending all what I printed but now I'm thinking it's the best way to go. Better be safe than sorry. The only thing I won't be sending is pictures but I plan on sending updated versions of just about everything we sent for ROC (my ROC application just got approved).

To those who say you don't need to prove bona fide marriage - I think you're wrong. Just because they don't use the phrase "proof of bona fide marriage" doesn't mean you don't have to. This should be implied based on the nature of the case (marriage based application) and the fact that they're asking for marital evidence. A marriage could have started as bona fide but then fall apart after 2 years. Some people may be physically separated and don't plan on getting back together but still legally married. A marriage such as that won't qualify as bona fide.  

My N-400 Package should go out tomorrow...

4 minutes ago, Cowface said:

We have both accounts having direct deposit in. One from my work and the other from his work. This is going to be A LOT of papers to send them 3 years of transactions. I will actually make a note that what account we usually use for utilities and rents and so forth.

 

Thanks for the wishes. I hope they will enhance the speed of process.

Small bump in the road for you but I think you'll be OK. The best thing is you have the evidence...good evidence with the direct deposits. Nothing says co-mingling like both your pays deposited into the same account that's used for household expenses.

You guys will be just fine. 

11 hours ago, Sukie said:

SOOOOOOOOO jealous!  But so happy for you!  Isn't it funny how the approvals happen in bunches throughout our month - and not in order. 

 

Sukie in NY

Sukie! You've been one of the biggest source of inspiration for me. I'm hoping you won't have to wait much longer. I can't say I didn't feel a bit jealous at those who got approved before I did, especially after seeing that St.James-One (April 27 filer)  got approved. Yours is probably on its way.

8 hours ago, Cowface said:

Thanks for the help... This is my plan.

I am going to make a letter head listing all the documents I will be submitting with.

- 2016 Joint Tax Return : Definitely I will include this in and as they advised me not to submit documents that were previously submitted, I will omit 2013 - 2015 returns

- Credit Card Statements : We do have credit card that we only use in case of emergency, but my husband is just an authorized user. So the statement is only showing my name on it. It's Bank of America.

- Health Insurance : Unfortunately, we did not put each other's name on our health insurance because both of our work were going to deduct more amount from our paycheck. However, I joined his vision plan this year because I didn't have any. So I will try to make a letter to explain the whole situation briefly.

- Bills : I actually did not submit any bills because they did not have both of our names. But I will definitely try this method. Thanks!

- Receipts of home appliances : We just moved into a new apartment and actually bought some furniture (under my husband's name).

I am also going to file my new lease agreement with the new place anyway, I will make another letter that we moved into a new place during the process of this application.

 

I do feel hopeful now, the RFE letter was quite surprisingly listed the documents that I sent them over to them.

Apparently, I only sent a month of our joint bank account, instead of the past 3 ~ 4 years. I will submit more bank account statements.

They specifically mentioned that they have my statefarm bills and insurance (it literally said statefarm).

 

I will complete all the details by next week and send them over.

Hopefully they will not put me into the interview process because both of my extend letter and the driver's license expires in June.

And there is no way I can renew my ID or get a stamp on my passport because it's already expired and the government of Korea wouldn't issue me a passport at all because I didn't service the military in Korea..

To want extent do you guys share bank accounts? Do you simply have a bank account together that's pretty much inactive or is that account real active? It would help if you both had direct deposits going into that account. If you do, highlight those deposits on the statements. Also, I would highlight all important transactions from that account (payment of rent and other bills). That's what I did for shared accounts evidence we sent. 

I was expecting to get a REF because we really did not send much...not even taxes. A big part of the approval process lies not with policy but individual judgement. Some officers can be real tough.

Best Wishes.

This has been an amazing journey. I found VisaJourney late in the process but still found lots of help and encouragement. I'm happy I got off the sidelines and signed up to be member. You guys are like family now. 

I've just completed another part of Journey. My ROC application was approved on April 8. Got the NOA in the mail just now. Envelope is dated April 11. 

I'll begin the next part of my journey soon. N-400 will go out later this week. I'll remain active in this April filers group until every last one of us gets a decision. I trust that it will be all approvals.

Still hoping to do a timeline...hope soon.

Hang in there guys!

Thanks again.

5 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

Yes, that's the letter (extension letter) I am talking about.  The receipt number starts with the letters WAC.

Sorry for the confusion. I'll try to be more diligent with proof reading before posting.

I said:

You need to enter the number from the NOA (Form CRI-89, that's the "letter" extending conditional status for one year) you received after filing I-751.

But this should have been: 

You need to enter the number from the NOA Form CRI-89, (that's not the "letter" extending conditional status for one year) you received after filing I-751.

Glad others were able to point you in the right direction with more accurate instructions.

You need to enter the number from the NOA (Form CRI-89, that's the "letter" extending conditional status for one year) you received after filing I-751.

7 hours ago, Skribs said:

Hey Everyone! I follow along avidly to see when everyone gets their approvals. I am filing as a divorce waiver at VSC so wasn't expecting to hear anything until at least May since they tend to take a little longer so I haven't been eagerly checking my Mailbox regularly... but... went to my mailbox today and there's a letter from USCIS. Probably been there up to a week. So I assume, RFE. 

 

Well how wrong was I! Approval notice!! I haven't got my Green Card yet so will update you all once that comes through. I'm actually in shock since I really wasn't expecting to get approved before so many others on here particularly being a waiver.

 

NOA: 4.14.2016

Approval: 3.31.2017

 

Good Luck to everyone else still waiting. Your turn is coming soon!!!

 

Congratulations Skribs! 

That's amazing getting approved so quickly with a waiver case. You must have had compelling evidence.

8 hours ago, QueenOfBlades said:

Thank you. Yep, still got a request for interview with that. AOS was approved without interview. We file taxes as Married Filing Jointly.

 

Behold the letter of doom. (Which again, still is bizarre to me given no one else has heard squat)

 

 

It is bizarre. 

I supposed I have to go with the quota / randomly selected theory then. It's either that or my conspiracy theory - somebody with some kind of grudge against you contacted USCIS to inform them of a "fake" marriage. This happens frequently but it's usually confined to divorce waiver cases.

I sent in less evidence than you, although my package included a birth certificate of our son born to our marriage. I used to think that this was the ultimate "interview-proof" document but not anymore.

Best wishes once again. Something tells me you have nothing to worry about. 

On 4/9/2017 at 4:56 PM, QueenOfBlades said:

I sent everything I had. Joint life/health insurance, joint bank accounts and highlighted payments, tax transcripts for 3 years. Gym, cc with me as an auth user, joint car purchase, new joint car purchase and car loan, photos, affidavits, flight tickets. 4 month joint lease. I sent over 1lb of papers. Our living situation was explained in our AOS paperwork which was approved without interview. 

You sent all this and still got an interview? If you don't mind me asking, what was your filing status on tax returns (Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately or Single)?

Just to clarify...you said that you got approved for AOS without an interview? That may explain the interview despite all the evidence.

Good Luck

@011116 Please edit the list to include @LittleSparrow RFE. Hopefully she'll be approved soon.

Forgot to congratulate @alksandra085. Congrats!

On 4/10/2017 at 8:46 AM, alksandra085 said:

Finally got approved on March 31. Just got the letter. I actually called them on Friday, before the letter was delivered and they told me, that they did not get results of my security check, or something like that. The officer did not know I was approved. I am glad this journey is over!

Did you receive a RFE?

12 hours ago, St.James-One said:

April 27 (Receipt date) VSC filer approved. My letter was dated 04-05-17. I updated the spreadsheet. Yeepee!

I'm April 26. Since after hearing of the first April approval I've been waiting on the "postman" every day like a kid waiting on Santa at Christmas Eve. Can't wait to go home and check the mailbox. 

10 hours ago, Blessed! said:

Oh wow, then I am actually a March filer not April cos it was received in April but I sent off my packet in March

Actually, you're an April filer. As Sukie said, it goes by the date your package was received (date on NOA).

.

39 minutes ago, MyHeartWillGoOn93 said:

Same, my GC expires May 6th and the date on my letter is 4/21 so I'm going to make an infopass appointment soon. Is it correct that I can only go to the appointment after 4/21?

People have reported being turned away if they show up at InfoPass requesting an extension stamp before entering the 30 day period but you're within the 30 day period (based on May 6th expatriation date) so you should be fine.

Good Luck!

5 minutes ago, MyHeartWillGoOn93 said:

What is void?

Sorry for the confusion. I should have explained. I messed up on trying to update the filer's list and reposted the updated list instead of correcting the one I messed up. I did not realize till after posting the second time. 

59 minutes ago, JSC n GOM said:

Approved! VSC filer NOA 4/16/16. Decision date 4/5/17. Will update my timeline when I get to a computer! Yay so happy

Congratulations!

Happy to see more April movement.