Shane & Len

Hi all,

Does anyone know how long we should set aside for the oath ceremony? 

Not the time between the interview and oath, but the day of the oath itself.  How long can we expect to be at the courhouse?

All the discussions I see are quite a few years old and everything seems to take much longer these days.

Kansas City Courthouse if someone has that specific of information. 

It is a 4+ hour drive for us, so we are just trying to plan work and accommodations for the big day!

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!

7 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

'Late filing' isn't a thing for citizenship.  There is no need to file, ever.

I answered a question and shared an experience.  The term late filing was intended to indicate filing outside of the initial 90 day window and not to imply there was a requirement to file within the window.

Sorry I confused you.

12 minutes ago, OldUser said:

@Shane & Len I-751s take 2 years give or take nowadays, regardless of N-400.

Not saying the N-400 would shorten it under 2 years (ours was over 2 years before we even filed the N400 - so 2 years is a pipe dream - ask almost anyone who filed in 2020!

I am just saying our estimated date for the I751 from USCIS site was still another 9 months from now - the estimated time frame we were getting put us at August next year - aka 39 months from filing.

But once the N400 was scheduled the I 751 moved with it.

Or at least it appeared to

My son's I 751 was filed at the same time - same envelope even as my wife's - he has no N 400 filed and is still waiting on his I 751.

Their biometrics and all communications from USCIS happened together - until her N 400 was filed then her application started moving - his did not.

Coincidence? perhaps.  But a strange one if it is.

Regardless, if you want to file the N400 there is nothing to be gained by waiting - and to respond to the OP no penalty for waiting.

Personal experience.  If you want to file the N-400 do it.  No worries on late filing, however, it does seem to hasten the I751 process (not that it matters in the end - just nice to have it done.)  We sit on the I 751 for nearly 2 years - filed the N400 and 6 or 7 months later - both are scheduled, approved and my wife is in queue awaiting oath ceremony.  I believe that if we had filed as soon as it was clear to do so, she would already be a citizen, and it would have saved us needless months of waiting on the I 751.

1 hour ago, mushroomspore said:

Ah copy that. I'm so angry for you that the underwriter was so rude like that! The extension letters are now plainly extend the GC's for 24 months now.

 

Hmm, so what happened with the I-90 and trying to change her name? At the N-400 interview, you can request a name change if that's your concern. 

The I 90 will be a year old in a week - they made us come back a 2nd time in 6 months and do biometrics all over again - then sent a letter 6 months after that stating that it wasn't necessary because they were already on file.... LOL.

So basically it is in the same limbo land that the I 751 is in.

We will find alternatives and keep moving forward until the paperwork makes its rounds.  Thanks for all the advice and support!

Thank you everyone - glad to see we are not alone, but sorry everyone else is facing same delay.

Just now, mushroomspore said:

Just curious, why did the I-751 come up with during the home purchase? I hope you showed current processing times for I-751 on USCIS' website to that underwriter. Super rude of her to say that and literally everything changed with Covid. It doesn't take much brain power to know that.

 

Other question - have you filed N-400? A lot of times, both I-751 and N-400 will be adjudicated together if I-751 is still pending.

Yea, I needed some time to cool down before I replied to her.  We have not filed the N-400 because everything seemed so screwed up when we tried to do the I-90 to change my wife's name at the same time - she waited to change her name until after arriving here (not k-1) due to time constraints on travel papers at the time.  

It came up during home purchase as she is part of the application for the loan and at this point her green card is 21 months expired - apparently the extension letter wasn't enough proof that it is processing.

Yes we supplied print screens of processing times, case histories, case documents and the status of the 2 cases.

The attitude just started us questioning if something was actually wrong - having gotten to this point we should be used to the wait but that statement brought back all the old impatience from the CR-1 days!

Is anyone else (I am sure there is, just feels lonely) been waiting 2 years for the I 751?  Our filing was May 26, 2020, Biometrics completed on December 11, 2020 then nothing but crickets for the last 17 months.

Really caused an issue when we tried to buy a new home and the underwriter has basically accused us of lying since she "got her I 751 in 3 months...."

Just looking for someone to tell us they are still out there hanging in limbo too.

On 5/9/2020 at 8:52 PM, Phoenix777 said:

I would advise first get 10 y green card and then change the name or do it during the naturalization. Especially during these crazy slow times due to Covid. Good luck 

Thank you.  

1 hour ago, Nitas_man said:

Drivers license?  SS card?  Why didnt you file the petition with her married name?

Do the Philippine consulates do a recorded name change here in the US?  It’s like a notation + a stamp

SS card, Drivers License, all documents in her current (maiden) name.  Like I said, at the time, it was easier and faster to leave it that way and we were racing deadlines of our own - we even got expedited at NVC.  Just trying to figure out the best way to go from here.

Her married name is her maiden name - due to the document timelines at the time we decided to wait on changing her last name until later.

Hello all,

I apologize if this has been asked elsewhere, I couldn't find anything.  We are about 3 weeks from mailing the I 751 and due to a number of circumstances my wife has not yet had her name changed.  She wants to do this so that her 10 year card would reflect her new last name.  Just as everything came together so we could apply for the name change - Covid19 shut everything down and our window has been lost.

Long story short.  Is it wiser to wait until after the new 10 year card is issued and then go back for a new card after the name change.  Or, can we simply add additional paperwork to the application showing the name change has done?  There is obviously no documentation, showing her with a new last name at this point.  Our marriage license lists her with her maiden name.  We felt at the time it was the better way to go rather than lose months and months in the Philippines waiting for name change documents and passport updates there.  She needs her passport for work related travel and could not afford the delays that we believed we would face then.

I know we should have gotten it done sooner once she had immigrated.  But we didn't.  We got comfortable and just lived - now we need to find the best path forward.

A short novel for a short question - wait or move forward with name change?  We prefer to get the name change done quickly as she needs to renew her passport soon anyway but not sure what documentation should be included with the I751 if we do so.

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks

13 hours ago, RWD said:

Saint Luke's gave us a copy of the transcribed immunization record for our son that included a small piece of paper that described the results of his TB test reading. We used that to enroll our son in school. Did they not give you that?

Yes, we have that and it worked fine getting him into high school.  The state university however, wants more than just the vaccination record - it wants TB blood work.  That, although performed and passed, is not part of the vaccination record.   Hoping against hope that USCIS will be able to provide something.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

On 7/5/2019 at 3:57 PM, Greenbaum said:

Do you have his cd with his chest scans of course that depends on his age. 

Yes, we tried submitting that as proof, but it wasn't sufficient.  They insist on blood work.

On 7/5/2019 at 4:12 PM, Hank_ said:

CD is useless .. just a picture

 

 

contact USCIS, but don't expect to receive a copy of the child's medical .. still that is your only hope of getting a copy.

 

 

Thanks, will look into that. Fingers crossed.

This may be the wrong forum for this question, but I can't find any other that seems more logical.

Has anyone ever needed to acquire their immigration medical records after moving to the U.S.

My son needs proof (the blood work) of being TB free. 

Yes, I know it is easy to do here as well, except that he is terrified - and I mean terrified of needles.

The school says they have to have it since he was in PH within the last 12 months.

St. Lukes says they can not share the information, but there must be some way for a person to get a copy of their own records.

Any insights into what it may take would be appreciated.

Thanks

12 hours ago, Gj & Cathy said:

So you think I can request for an expedite?  It wouldn't hurt to try...

You can always request.  It doesn't have a negative impact.  Our experience was that we were not able to make the request without the NVC number which was a 9 week wait in itself.

Best of luck to you!

I think you will find that most if not all of those claims came from the Philippines.  My wife has a cousin who claims that was her reason for expedite (birthday) and it was granted.  I do know that their entire CR-1 process was a few months shorter than the average. 

We were granted an expedite as well from the Manila consulate.  Our request was due to school starting for my step-son and needing to get him enrolled in time to be able to graduate after all the delays at USCIS AND NVC awaiting case #.  It appears we were able to cut off about 5 or 6 weeks from the NVC at that point.

I would like to emphasis what others have stated - each case is scrutinized by the individual consulate and will vary from 1 consulate to another.

....and I suspect that the consulates current work loads may have a bearing on whether or not they are willing to be more lenient one month and not the next. (but I am just theorizing there)

I have been unable to find this topic anywhere else.  My wife and step-son just picked up their CR-1 & CR-2 visas/passports today.

The directions stated we had to pay yet another fee - this time with USCIS  to begin processing the Green Card.

I went online and did so.  The payment went through according to MasterCard but the receipt number from USCIS says "undefined."

Has anyone else had this happen?

Is it a concern?

I have called USCIS and the agents who answer seem to have a hard time understanding the question.

Thanks in advance

Thank you to everyone for your prompt and helpful answers. 

I can't imagine how stressful and long this process must have been before sites like this existed.

3 hours ago, Hank_ said:

 

http://www.visaconnection-philippines.com/cfo-orientation-seminar.html

 

 

@Hank thanks again, if I may...a follow up question

Does she have to attend both the GCP and the PDOS?

It appears she does, but obviously if it's not required for both she would rather not.

thanks again for your help.

8 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

First off the state does not register it with any embassies or consulates. You can do what @Hank to get through CFO but it would be better for you to register it in the Philippines so that she can get a passport in her married name.

understood we plan on doing that now.  

We had asked about recording in PH while we were filling out forms at state offices in HI.  Either we both mis-understood the answers or the staff didn't understand our question.

But, true it wasn't done.

2 hours ago, Hank_ said:

Don't worry about not having your marriage registered, ROM, in the Philippines.     You are not the first to have been married outside the Philippines then having to complete CFO ... 

 

For CFO bring a copy of your marriage certificate and an original  PSA CENOMAR.    (do not let them have your original marriage certificate)

 

As for what CFO requires this site may be helpful (CFO tends to use the "other documents" clause to ask for other things, there is a list on that website.

 

http://www.visaconnection-philippines.com/cfo-orientation-seminar.html

 

 

 

Your wife  may want to do this one day to get her Philippine passport in her married name and for that she will complete ROM  - this will be done through the Philippine consulate for Hawaii).

Thank you so much!  We have been discussing this and hoped this would be sufficient.  We are going to go ahead and start the processing for registering as a back up measure.  

This will help my darling wife sleep a little better tonight!!

I appreciate your help.

21 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

W hat is the point of you going to CFO when you are already married? What is her status? GC holder or maybe a naturalized citizen. What passport did she travel on? Did you ever complete ROC. To many open questions to answer you.

We were married in the US while vacationing, but she is still in the Philippines awaiting immigrant VISA.  She traveled on a B1.  She is neither a GC holder nor naturalized citizen (yet).

She is about to interview for CR-1 she still has to go through CFO (PDOS) for sticker on passport.  It states on their website "if married provide copy of local registration." 

Hello everyone,

My wife and I were married about a year ago in Hawaii.  The state told us we didn't have to do anything they would file it with the appropriate consulate.  Apparently, they did not do so.

My wife has friends who are judges and lawyers in and around Manila who told her it wasn't a requirement to register in the Philippines because they recognized US marriages as valid.

Now, we see that a certified copy of the registration is shown as a requirement at the CFO.  Of course, in typical fashion we find this 10 days before the interview.

Has anyone else run into something like this?

Will they accept an original certificate from the US?

Looking for any guidance.

thanks in advance. 

1 minute ago, H&T said:

1. Wait until the file reach Embassy then you can contact them for the next step.

2. Wait until the Embassy give you the interview day, then you can schedule the medical.

3. do nothing. Wait until your case reach Embassy.

4.Wait

LOL thanks H&T, I had a feeling it was wait. But some old threads worried me.

1 minute ago, missileman said:

1.  Yes.

2.  I would email the embassy and ask for further instructions.  I would wait 2 weeks.

3.  No change in method of tracking.

4.  See #2

Good Luck.

Thank you!

I know some this has been asked before but most of the threads are quite old and the information is often contradictory.

 We just received this email a couple of days ago.