Loren Y

I called my CBP friend currently working in Tampa. She said the only way they confiscate a passport is when you are taken into US custody, and then only until they can release you to to the authorities from your embassy. Just like a US passport is the property of the US government, your Passport ( Unless you had a US passport) is the property of your government agency that issues it.  She said there is no way they would parole you into the country without any form of identification, that right there would get someone fired, along with taking something they legally have no right to do unless you are accused of a crime and in custody, and if that was the case, they would have notified your embassy that they have arrested a citizen of their country for x charges, and it would go from there. She said at the most, they could remove, or more than likely VOID the visa in the passport, and then admit you with a parole hearing date, but she is astounded that you are in the US, and CBP took your passport. So, just to be clear, you are inside the United States, with no form of identification? If so, I would get to your nearest embassy and file charges against the US. Bet that packet would show up really soon, like instantly. Your embassy should have a hotline to call, and they could probably figure this whole thing out quickly, or at the minimum get you a travel document to return to your home country.

My now wife was denied a B2 in Thailand, they gave her the sheet, and the reason why. Had no problems doing the K1 even with the denial a year earlier. I would try to find out more if possible. And definitely more time in person.

It could be they moved your file from one side of the desk to the other. If anyone even touches the file it triggers this message. Hope fully it means someone is reviewing it now, but wait for a notice to be sure.

As others have stated. Keep it slim. I only sent copies of my entry and exit stamps from my passport. Don't get better proof than that, and it meets the requirements. Maybe throw in the boarding passes scanned and printed on a sheet of paper for a little extra evidence, but that should be enough.

1 hour ago, EatBulaga said:

Did all the cards look the same after the initial removal of DHS Authorization restriction from the 2-year green card?

All the cards look the same after removal of the work authorization wording. When you Naturalize all you have to do is stop by the office with your certificate. They will update your status to citizen, then make a copy of your certificate for their records. Better to do this right after the ceremony before you tie up your certificate for 8 weeks getting a passport with it. And as a side note, you are limited to 10 replacement cards thru-out your lifetime. I don't know if this has ever been enforced, and you must really be forgetful if you lose your SS card more than 10 times( I still have mine from when I was 7 years old and my mom took me to get a SS number). Also, don't laminate the card either, it voids it( don't ask me why).

59 minutes ago, milimelo said:

And bring the original certificate of naturalization! They'll make their own copy and update her record in the system.

Yes, this is an important step. You need the original. My wife and I went to the SS office right after her ceremony when she got the certificate and updated her SS status. That way the next day we went and did the passport application for her US passport. Back then they were taking 8-10 weeks to issue a passport, so you will be without your original Naturalization certificate until they mail it back to you after passport is issued. So definitely go to the SS office first thing, then passport next.

As @Crazy Cat said, this was back in November 2018, so years ago, came thru LAX point of Entry at 7pm on a Sunday night, drove back to Vegas, got up at 8am the next morning, Monday, was in line at the local SSA office when they opened at 9am with paperwork all filled out. Got the number, and was called to window. showed the paperwork, and he immediately said you just arrived last night, there is no way you are in the system, come back in 2 weeks. I had to push a little bit as I knew it is an instant process when you come thru the POE from a few people I know at CBP, and the SS office higher ups. I convinced him to grudgingly get up from his chair and go to the computer on the desk like 10 feet away ( I know, it was a long walk for him). He keys a few things into the computer, and I see him look back with that look like your wasting my time. Next thing you know, the printer fires up next to the computer ( you can see the amazed look in his face, I just smile). he comes back to the desk with a few pages printed out, and finishes the application, and hands up the paper saying you applied for your SS number, and should have it in a week. He stamped the paper with a date and time stamp ( Make sure you keep this paper, as it acts as proof you applied and it is processing). we left and card was in the mailbox a week later. This was 5-6 years ago that the system updated within 14 hours of POE. If you give it 2-3 days, I'm sure you will be fine.

2 hours ago, nastra30 said:

Apparently, there was a 5-year plan from 2021 to make all forms electronic, and we all know how that's working out. All their IT budget will be from fees.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/SIGNED-Section-4103-FY2021-Report-9-7-21.pdf

5 year plan means actually 15 in " Government Time" LOL.

Don't worry, when you get to the N-400 for citizenship, it is all done online with uploading pdf's and everything. I have to say the N-400 was the easiest part of the whole journey, maybe that's why they save it for last, because by the time you get to that point, you need it to be easy.

Wouldn't worry about it now, the officer (IO) will give you a chance before the interview starts, and ask you if there are any corrections that need to be made, you can mention it then.

Are you sure they aren't asking for the passport photos you are supposed to send. You are supposed to include a few of you and your fiancee with names written on the back for the application. I also have never heard of them asking for information on photos you included in the evidence section, but if you forgot to include or write your names on the back of the passport photos, you will get a RFE.

On 3/29/2024 at 7:48 AM, GeoNassif said:

Hello,

 

I have a question regarding obtaining the marriage certificate in Florida. I have come to find out that it takes up to 60 days to process the marriage certificate in Florida, but that does not really work for my 90-day timeline in the US. They also do not have any expedite options. My question is, what are my options here? Would a Vegas marriage be a better substitute?

 

Regards.

If you can get out to Vegas, I can get you married with a certificate in hand within an hour usually no problems. Feel free to message me if you are interested. I have picked people up at the airport at 9am, driven to the marriage bureau, got the license, went and did the ceremony, went and recorded the marriage and got the official marriage certificates in hand, and had them back to the airport for a flight out 4 hours later. Message me, and I will give you my contact information.

You will have no issues. My wife used her AP so many times I thought the card would wear out. 3 times in a 4 month period right after it was received. We used it via Land crossing, Sea Crossing ( On a cruise), and of course by air. Here I am rolling with global entry, and Mobile passport, and she is flying thru immigration faster than me. The AP card worked better than a passport I think. That's what it is there for. Use it once you get it. As a side note, keep track of all your international travel on a excel spreadsheet or something. Will make things easier come citizenship time.

I agree, 6 months hasn't been seen since about 2015-2016, maybe earlier, My wifes K1 took 9 months, and we filed November 2018.

You might be OK. My wife's Naturalization only took 4 months total from filing to oath ceremony, so if you have a fast field office you should be well within the time frame. File now, and hopefully take the oath mid July.

Are you sure you are carrying an envelope. A lot of embassy's have switched to Electronic for the K1 also by now. I know Thailand has been sending K1's with electronic forms since about 2021. But when my wife came on her K1 in 2019, I had to carry the envelope. Had it in my backpack the whole trip until LAX POE, and envelope was never looked at and we transited thru 3 or 4 countries over a 3-4 day period on the way back to the US. I don't think you will have an issue.

11 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

a dog that sniffs for money (and yes,  they  have them) would be bought in

 

Know from personal experience they have dogs that can smell money. I got hit on by one such canine at LAX on my way back into the US from Hong Kong with about 50,000 US on my person. I had the declaration form already filled out, and proof of where the funds came from, but I did get a brief stop in Secondary to get everything checked.

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Same for me when I lived in Arkansas......as a citizen.   Now, in Texas, the law, since 2021,  doesn't even require that to carry concealed.

Yes, Arizona got rid of the permit requirement also about 5 years ago, I am hoping Nevada does the same soon.

You can get a Concealed carry permit in most states by doing what you are saying. Take an 8 or 16 hour training course. Here in Nevada it is 4 hours classroom talking about the laws, then 4 hours of Range time where you have to " Qualify" on standard silhouette targets at like 5, 10, and I believe 20ft or so. You only have to fire around 40 rounds, and get a certain number of points to qualify. Honestly you can probably qualify even if you have never fired a gun before ( I personally believe you should get more practice obviously than what is required to just get the permit). I have taken many hours, including the 80 hour course at the police academy back in Ohio that was required to be an armed guard and run an armored car back then.

 Now. if you are looking to be able to sell and transfer guns, you will need a FFL license. ( federal firearms license). I have had one of these before for about 5 or 6 years, and it requires a lot more work and registration with the BATF and costs about 550 to 600 dollars a year to maintain. I never transferred, bought or sold enough guns to justify the cost, so I didn't renew a few years back. It used to be handy because you could buy direct from the manufacturers, and save some money that way, and there is no background check. But in the long run, most states (Nevada) after you have your CCW permit, you don't have to pay for backround checks either, and at 25 or 30 dollars each, it saves money getting your permit, and you can usually avoid any waiting period if you have your CCW. With CCW permit in hand, I can walk in and buy just about anything is 10 to 15 min. Takes that much time to fill out the form, and with a permit, you are on your way merchandise in hand.

 Another thing, if allowed in your state or jurisdiction you can legally own Class 3 weapons ( Suppressors/ Full-auto/ destructive devices, etc.) This requires a federal " Tax Stamp" that cost 200 dollars per device to get, and is about a 3-4 month wait currently with you needing to get the local law agency ( Sheriff ) to sign off, then file with the BATF, fingerprints and a wait until your background check clears, then you literally get a paper form with a stamp in the corner, and you can then pick up what you bought from your FFL dealer. Research this if you are ever going to get that much into class 3 stuff, as you will want to set up a Trust to keep the weapons registered to, and if you do want to get a suppressor in the long run ( They are cool in my opinion), spend a little more to get one that does multiple calibers, that way you only pay the tax stamp on the " Tube " of the suppressor, and you can buy the different inserts to put inside the tube to run different calibers, but only pay for 1- 200 dollar stamp. My Silencerco silencer (  https://silencerco.com/) can run anything from 9mm caliber up to .45, and just about any rifle caliber available.

FBI reports take about 14 weeks to get done. I do one every January, just did it and am waiting again. Anything you supply really wont matter as others have said, they will do their own. but you can get it done and have it by interview time.

They won't be expecting to see the 2023 taxes until after April 15th, 2024. That is the filing deadline. If you have them when you go in March, cool, if not, they are not going to worry about it much. I took the most recent 3 years to my wifes N400, and they just asked her if she has been filing taxes, they didn't even look at them. The N400 interview will be the easiest of all of them, at least it seemed to me. Study the questions and answers, and you should be good to go.

I used credit card for the whole process, and never had an issue with rejection. Granted I'm running a card with no set credit limit, and have the security options set pretty high. I will get a text message on anything over 5000, and it gives me the chance to approve it before it gets denied. If you have a lower limit, or a new card, as long as you let the credit card know, about when it will be charged, they can put an exception in the credit monitoring for your card for a 30 day window or so, that will allow either a specific amount ( you know what the charge is going to be), or the source of the charge ( The US government for USCIS, you can even tell them USCIS), and you should have no issues. I like the points and miles I earned thru the whole process.

I will say only one time the card failed me. I had been in Rio ( Brazil) for like a week already, and was hitting the card hard all week. Funny thing is I took an uber to a restaurant from my hotel, and not the ride charge ( about 5 US dollars) caused the issue, but the Tip I gave the Uber driver in the app, somehow didn't get approved. it was about 2 USD, and it froze my Uber account and I had to get creative to get back to the hotel. I added my other card to my uber account to clear the tip, then was able to continue on. Next day I called the card and asked what happened, and for some reason the low charge got flagged by the security algorithm, and didn't get approved. Rep said it's the small charges that can cause issues, because it looks like someone is testing the card before a big purchase. Funny thing, I bought a car one time on the card, and did get a call from the security fraud department while in the dealership. It was a 22,000 dollar charge, so I guess a call was expected, but they let it ride.