havil80

Just back from my interview where my application was recommended for approval. I asked for a name change in the application, and the IO confirmed that name change with me, yet after leaving I remembered that I was not asked to give two signed photos. To the best of my knowledge applications with a name change must include 2 signed photos. Was that procedure changed, or do I need to schedule an infopass appointment and go give these photos? 

Thanks

Since doing the biometrics I've received a courtesy email stating "We are still reviewing your case and there are no updates at this time" exactly every 2 weeks. It was supposed to come yesterday but it did not. Does that mean anything? Should I call to check what's happening,  or should I take it as a glitch in the automated email system? Thanks.

Thank you very much. Appreciate your help.

I've done my biometrics a little over two months ago and no interview has been scheduled yet. My mother is quite ill and I might need to go abroad for a few months. If they schedule an interview while I'm away, I intend to request a re-scheduling. I have 2 questions

First, when I request rescheduling, can I ask for an approximate date? As in saying in the letter "I will be back to America on March 15th and hope you can schedule the new interview sometime after March 15th".  Is this doable, or do I have NO say in when the re-scheduled interview will be?

Second question, can I request re-scheduling an interview more than once? If they re-schedule and I still could not make it back on time because of the health issues, can I request a second re-scheduling, or it's only allowed once?

Thanks

24 minutes ago, anop said:

I am about to file N400 online. I was just wondering if passport photograph is one of the requirements. While I am doing this, I am noticing that it is asking for marriage certificate and green card. Please let me know if I have to attach a passport photograph. If so, how many passports do I have to attach?

 

Thanks.

You do not need photos to apply online.

3 hours ago, CarlHamilton said:

Try it and let us know.  What's the worst that can happen?

Yeah, the interviewer will ask you angrily why you kept sending them messages, then when it's time to test your English he or she will ask you to write "Chiaroscurist" or "Myxosporidiida" 😋

Just sent a message, and hopefully the automated answer would at least specify if it's still in the name check phase or it's past that and waiting for a slot to open.

When you log into your USCIS online, there is a link named "send us a message". Has anyone used it for general inquiries about the state of a naturalization application before? Wondering if it's appropriate to do that or if that's not what it's supposed to be used for.

4 hours ago, AnujB said:

I am within 90 day period before completing my 5 years of receiving LPR and am preparing to file N-400 online.

 

It probably is a very basic question but will appreciate if somebody can help guide me whether answer to following question should be Yes/No : "I am at least 18 years of age and have been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for at least 5 years."

That's a yes. Good luck.

On 9/17/2018 at 9:26 AM, medicalguy said:

I have my Biometrics appointment scheduled on 10/1/2018. Anyone has any experience with early walk-in for Biometrics? Are they ok with it and what times would be the best to do it? 

 

Thanks

Yes, just did it myself. If you go early morning it will be busy and you will not be allowed in.  Go right after 12 noon and it will be almost empty and you will most likely be allowed. Just be courteous to the security guy and tell him you're there for an early walk in and would appreciate it if he lets you in. Don't act as if it's your right to do a walk in and if he says no don't get combative. Good luck

8 hours ago, sandra68 said:

It all depends on the workload of local field office. I filed on the 11th( of sept), received info on biometrics online, did a walk in on the 16th, and this morning I received my interview date( online, letter on the way).Louisville, KY is very quick. Online it showed average completion time 12 months but within 2 weeks of filing I received my appointment date for the interview.

good luck

This is the quickest processing I have ever heard of. Even before the current jump in application numbers I do not recall hearing about anything even close to this.  

3 hours ago, Dave&Kal said:

Along the same line of questions, i was wondering if being cited by police for traffic related matter and being just given a verbal warning, would be something one should be mentioning in his N400 application form ( specifically question 22 or maybe 23 , asking if you have ever been cited by any officer....) and also would  that be something recorded or documented on police records? 

The safest thing to do is to say yes and explain exactly what happened. It won't affect you.

When one changes their name during the citizenship process, they are supposed to change it on driver's license and bank accounts and credit cards etc. But what if one needs to leave the country immediately after citizenship and would not have the time to change these before they leave. Is it illegal or problematic to delay changing name on the mentioned items for almost a year while out of the country if one will change them immediately after coming back?

I was reading about the FBI's name check procedure and it contains the following

Definitive responses used to support other applications are valid for 15 months from the FBI process date. A new name check is required in cases where the final adjudication and naturalization have not occurred within that timeframe or the name check was processed incorrectly.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartB-Chapter2.html

My situation is I filed n-400 based on 5 years but with an absence of more than 6 months but less than a year at the very beginning of my residency,  so it could go either way based on what they think of my evidence. If I get rejected, I get to apply again in a year's time because by then that absence would have become irrelevant and would have fallen out of the 5 years prior to applying. Since I believe the FBI name check takes a good amount of time, does that mean that if I apply again in about 11 months it will be quicker because the first FBI check would still be valid, or is there something I'm missing? Would like to hear from anyone who re-applied within the 15 months FBI check validity and if the process was quicker the second time. Thanks  

An update- followed the advice and went back right after 12, and there was barely anyone there and I was allowed in. People were extremely nice and friendly, and I sure hope my interviewer will be similarly friendly. A few hours later my online status changed to

We reviewed your biometrics
You do not need to do anything at this time

We will let you know if we need anything else from you as we continue to review your application.

Now it's the anxious waiting game 😩

I think I know the answer to my question, but I'll ask it anyway just in case I'm missing something- I never met tax filing requirements because I've not worked or made any money since I came to America. When I first became a resident I brought over a substantial amount of money into the USA and have been living a retirement on it. I filed taxes anyway since it was easily done online,  and since I had no income I was exempted from paying the penalty for not having any health insurance.  Does the fact that I was exempted from paying that penalty make me someone who took public funds or benefits??

Thanks for sharing your experience and the wishes

My biometrics appointment is in two weeks time, but since the date coincides with something that I need to be doing 400 miles away,  tried a walk-in today in the Orlando Application Support Center. Arrived at 8:30 am, it was quite packed inside, reached the security personnel who examines your documents and asked him if he'd be kind enough to let me do a walk in. He said it can't be done but he could let me see someone to reschedule, which I would not do because I don't want to push the appointment any further. Went out and stayed in my car for a while,  people were leaving but hardly anyone was going in, so at 9:20  I thought I'd try again. This time it looked about half as busy as it was when I tried earlier, which gave me hope I might be allowed in, but the security said he still can't let me in unless I wanted to reschedule. I explained that the original appointment would be very hard for me to make and explained the difficulty, but the answer stayed a firm no. I certainly do not blame the office because it's not my scheduled appointment, but I was hoping to do it since most walk-in attempts I've read seem to have a positive outcome. Anyway this post is not to complain, just thought I'd leave it here for people looking for walk-in experiences in this particular location.

If one was going to receive a RFE after submission, when is it likely to happen?  Does it usually happen right after submission, or closer to the end of the process?

Also, can I print the PDF biometrics letter and go to the appointment with it, or should I take the original sent in the mail?

Thanks

I am filling the N-400 form online, 90 days before the 5 years anniversary of my green card. The form requires me to put my addresses for the past five years, which in my case would includes the address in the 90 days before I landed in America for the first time. I tried to ignore it and only listed addresses since I landed in America, but I got an error message that I'm missing address history for 90 days. I really don't want to list my foreign address in the 90 days before arriving because it could give someone the impression that it's absence time unless they look closely and cross check dates in order to understand that it's 90 days before I was granted residency. Even worse it will be a time where I list a foreign address without a concurrent American address, which looks like abandonment. 

Has anyone faced this problem? How did you navigate it? I think I can ignore the error message and submit addresses for only the past 4 years and 9 months instead of the requested 5, but I'm worried this would make it incomplete. Any suggestions? Thanks.

4 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

I'm not sure this site likes people linking to other forums but it's pretty much what geowrian alluded to, you'd think if an absence >1 year makes it ok less would be better, but the rules are it only applies for absences >1 year. She lost her application fee. She did try present evidence that she'd maintained residency during her absence (bank account, DL, apartment her husband was still living in etc) but they didn't accept it. (Plus, by the time all this has happened and you've been denied it's usually months after you've submitted and past the date you could have safely submitted.)

Great information. Thank you!

2 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Someone on another forum tried doing pretty much this for an absence >6 months but <1 year and got denied. I'd suggest waiting for your 5-year anniversary date. 

Thank you very much. I think I might do just that. Can you please give me a link to that discussion? I would like to read details.

On 29/06/2018 at 4:41 PM, gc@gc said:

 

has anyone of you double checked your N-400 before submitting the form? (you can print your n-400 while you review it)

 

i noticed some problems, for example:

 

--   online data seems not transfer to the n-400; let's say you checked to have your name change, but the form n-400 check "no", but still keep the new name you want to have on the form

 

--   nationality was picked online, but it didnt get to transfer to the n-400 form

 

--   i registered two accounts on dhs.gov,  but two accounts have different layouts/interface on evidence section, for the same file names with "_" (underscore),  one account allows you to upload,  the other account doesnt

 

This seems to be a serious problem. I made a test run and filled an application online, then at the end I chose to download the snapshot which is a standard n-400 filled with what was entered online, and there were many errors in it. For example I chose to change my name, entered a new name, but in the n-400 snapshot the "do you want to change your name" boxes were unmarked. Several such errors exist in that snapshot. Of course I did not submit that test application and deleted it after reaching that preview snapshot.

 

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Were you abroad for 1 year or longer?

(I know the answer is no based on what you stated, but these are requirements for the 4 years + 1 day rule.)

 

Essentially, time abroad in excess of 1 year can count as the first year towards the 3/5 year continuous residence requirement, starting upon return to the US.

I have not been out for more than 1. Only that 9 months one.

You raise a very good point. After a one year trip that interrupts residency, you can apply after 4 years +1 day from the date of return from that trip. There is no such stipulation though for trips more than 6 months but less than a year.  Actually I did not find any information on how exactly they reset your timer and when you can apply if the trip between 6 months and 1 year was found to be disrupting to continuous residency. I made the assumption that if the 4+1 rule applies to a trip that lasted more than a year, then it could also apply to the less offending trip between 6 months and one year. 

What do you think?

This is a confusing one.

I will be a resident for 5 years October 16th 2018. My early filing day would then be July 18th 2018.

But at the beginning of my residency I left the country for 9 months and returned September 10th 2014. I have bank statements for that absence that might or might not establish that I maintained residency, but I decided that instead of taking the risk I should just use the 4 years +1 day after returning from the offending absence.  Since I returned from that trip September 10th 2014, that 4 years +1 filing date would be September 11th 2018. 

EXCEPT that if I file on September 11th 2018, I would not have been a resident for 5 years since my 5 years anniversary is October 16th. Can I still apply on September 11th based on the 4 years +1 rule? I could not find anything about a 90 days early filing date for the 4 +1 rule and have no idea what to do.

A common sense solution would be to just wait until after the anniversary  on October 16 then file on the 4+1 rule, and maybe I'll do that. But for the sake of argument, do you think a filing on September 11th in this case would be accepted?

Very useful, will bookmark it for future reference. I'm so eager to get the citizenship I might actually begin to complain to my congressman before I file