ajm_80

I am eligible to file for Naturalization at the beginning of March 2010. I am looking to file as soon as possible, although I may be gone for family reasons for a number of weeks in May/June. I noticed in some of the Guidelines that there is a requirement to remain in the US after application for naturalization, but I am wondering if this related to remaining a resident as opposed to remaining present during the course of the application?

I am just curious, if, other than the risk of having to return hastily for biometrics/interview/etc, there was any possible threat to the application in travelling after filing. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks for your reply. Does anyone know the situation in regards to working while outside the US for a non-US company? If for example I went home for a few months, and work for a British Employer, but returned to the US after my short stay there is over, and filed the overseas income on my US taxes next year, and maintained car payments etc in the US while I was abroad, is that acceptable or is any kind of employment overseas, no matter how short, a bad idea.

I'm just thinking from a budget/money standpoint here, thanks.

Hi Everyone,

I became a Permanent Resident in 2005 by virtue of marriage to a US Citizen. I separated from my wife in 2008, and as things were rocky around the time I was eligible to file for citizenship based on the 3 year rule, I decided to set it to one side and wait until I could apply under the 5 year rule.

I will be eligible to file for citizenship in March next year. During my 4 years as a resident thus far, I have spent all but 70 days in the US, which is an accumulation of multiple visits back to the UK over a number of years. However, for family reasons it looks like I am going to have to leave the US for a number of months just as soon as it's possible to take care of everything here before I leave. My heart is really set on filing for citizenship as soon as possible, but it may be the case that I spend a significant part of this year back in the UK.

I am aware of the 180 day (or 6 month) scenario in which can reset your countdown to citizenship, and the importance of maintaining a residency and being capable of demonstrating ties to the US at the time of your citizenship application. It's unfortunate that this period of absence will not be at the beginning of my residency as I think it would be easier to say "I was in and out alot in Year 1 but I've been here consistently for the last 4", whereas I'm basically going to interview in March with my largest absences being the most recent.

Does anyone have any advice or past experience with this type of situation? Maintaining ties is my big concern, because to be quite honest I cannot afford to pay rent on an unoccupied apartment when I am overseas, and obviously I will not be working here during that time. I am really trying to balance the situation with the ability to file as planned in March so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Good Luck to all on your respective journies!

I married my USC spouse in 2004 and became a conditional resident in the spring of 2005. Under the 3 year rule, I was eligible to file for citizenship in the spring of 2008. My spouse and I had been having marital problems around that time, and subsequently pursued a divorce which we both agreed was the best route forward. I decided at that point that I would remain here until I could apply based on 5 years as a resident which will be the spring of 2010. My wife and I have recently worked through our problems and we are now back together after the break we had.

My understanding is that in order to meet the 3 year requirement, you must have been married to and living with your USC spouse for that time. We did spend some time living apart. Our divorce is also at an advanced stage (we are legally separated and she has already been served papers). We no longer intend to finalize the divorce.

My question is, if I were to file for citizenship now based on 3 years of marriage, will I encounter problems based on the marital struggles we have had in the past? I assume it will come to light that we spent time apart, and have even been legally sperated for a while.

Is it best to just go ahead after 5 years and have a simpler case to approve or is it possible to negotiate a path to the 3-year application without serious recourse?

Many thanks.

One critical thing that you missed (on your post at least) is that your check for $595 only covers submission of the I-400 itself. You also need to furnish USCIS with a further $80 for Biometrics (a total cost of $675.00).

Yes, the District Office that would preside over my biometrics, interview and oath ceremony remains the same office where I got my Interim EAD ans AOS applications approved. I have moved a couple of times since being here but always within areas covered by the same district office.

Hi Everyone

I have a quick question and couldn't seem to find any recent postings on the same subject.

I am sending off my N-400 on Monday and when completing the section of the form which details my residence(s) for the past 5 years, I realized that neither I nor my wife as my sponsor filed Change of Address forms when we moved to a new apartment on 4/01.

I don't want to fudge the date just to fall within the 10 day notification requirement for change of address. Does anyone have any experience with this? Should I just list everything correctly and file the change forms with a letter apologizing for the oversight? Will it be a big deal?

Thanks!

"May be you'll get two cards!

Sell one for 10K to make up the hassle and money USCIS caused!"

Two?! Who knows, maybe these green cards are like buses, you wait a long time for one to come along and two arrive at once!!

Thanks to everyone for their input, I was just curious what each piece of correspondence represented. Bottom line is I got approved and it's coming soon, that can never be a bad thing

Hi all

I'm getting confused, USCIS didn't want to be my friend for what seemed like an infinite amount of time and now I never stop hearing from them!

On Friday 10/12 I got this email:

Current Status: Card production ordered. On October 12, 2007, we ordered production of your new card.

On Monday 10/16 I got another email:

Current Status: Card production ordered. On October 16, 2007, we ordered production of your new card.

So which is it?

Yesterday I got a letter in the mail "Notice of Removal of Conditional Basis of Lawful Permanent Residence" dated 10/12.

Today I got a further email:

Current Status: Approval notice sent. On October 18, 2007, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this CRI89 PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OF PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED.

I guess my question is, which point during this sequence of communication indicates that the new card has actually been sent? Silly really, I was comfortable waiting months for approval, but now that I've obtained that I want to see the card in my hands!!

- Tony.

Sometimes you go to work feeling ill, have a bad day at the office, come home, sleep for 3 hours and wake up to a nice surprise in your Inbox (or at least today I did!).

I got an email at 7:45pm fron USCIS saying that production of my 10 yr Green Card has been ordered!! Suddenly I don't feel so unwell :-)

Vermont Service Center

Receipt Notice 5/23

Biometrics 6/12

Approved 10/12

Good luck to everyone still waiting, if you filed in Vermont, it seems to be getting faster YAY!

Congratulations, you must be relieved to have it behind you!

(You) Received NOA and blue letter - dated May 17

(Me) Received NOA and blue letter - dated May 31

(You) Biometrics - July 2007

(Me) Biometrics - June 2007

(You) Card production ordered - Oct 8, 2007

(Me) I'm thinking I must be getting pretty darn close, I'm excited now!

I checked my USCIS online portfolio today. I have all of my prior cases in there as well as the pending I-751 case at the VSC. My I-131 was approved on 01/04/2005 when I was still under AOS, but it shows as being Last Updated 9/30/07!

I guess

1) What does this represent (if anything)?

and

2) Who the hell would be touching it on a Sunday anyway?!

Anyone have any ideas? Do they look at the travel doc as part of the I-751 process or is it just some type of online error.

Hi all

I filed my I-751 back in the spring at VSC and judging by the recent posts of other VSC filers, I'm anticipating that all being well, my 10 Yr GC should drop sometime in November (but with this process there are no guarantees of course!).

Anyway, I am considering returning to Scotland once the 10 Yr card arrives, for a substantial period, but no longer than 6 months. My brother is having health problems and I would like to be with my family for a period longer than my company vacation time allows. My wife will not be travelling with me as her father is also in ill health. Having discussed it at length we think it both best that I spend some time in Scotland and she remains with her parents.

In order to make this happen I would obviously have to resign from my job in the US, and my finances dictate that I will most likely work in a temporary position back in the UK. I was also considering selling my car, but we'll see about that one.

Anyway if I am out of the US for up to 6 months, perhaps less, what kind of difficulty would that create in returning? I've read the residency requirements on the USCIS website, but would it raise questions on my return that I did not have a job to come straight back to in the US etc?

Has anyone actually been through this? I'm slightly concerned, more so because I will be going alone, I think that may raise a question or two. My wife will most likely be visiting during that time though. Would it be beneficial to make a visit to the US during the time that I'm in Scotland to minimize the period of continuous absence?

Kind Regards, Tony.

BostonChick, I noticed in your timeline that your check was cashed just 3 days after the package arrived. My package arrived with them over 10 days ago and it has not yet been cashed. I mailed one check for $275 for both the application and biometrics (which it indicates is acceptable on the form instructions).

I know it got there, it was signed for by 'P.Novak' who was the receiver on all our prior submissions. But do you think this is cause for concern or no? My submission was extremely thorough but I'm always paranoid they'll bump it back to me for some reason!

- Anthony.

hcj thanks for all your comments, they're very useful...

Regarding your additional ideas:

- evidence of joint debts (for example joint credit cards) we have no joint debt together

- utility bills in both names or some in one name and some in the other spouse's name

- copy of your drivers license to show address and as another photo ID good idea thanks

- for any recurring statements (bank account, utilities etc) recommend that you send a selection -- one every few months for the period between your AOS interview and the present time, not just one single statement ok

- does USC spouse work? show his/her paystubs direct deposited into same joint checking account

She does not work at the moment actually, so showing traffic going into our joint account from her is not so easy right now

- joint memberships to gym, Costco, Blockbuster, etc. From people's experience, does this stuff actually help? I mean I added her to my Blockbuster account without her even being present in the store!

Thanks again.

aloha, yes evidence of vacationing together includes plane tickets with our travel info, passenger names etc., boarding passes showing seating assignments beside each other, photo's of course and random misc evidence.

Hi everyone

I've been a member since June '04 although I haven't posted much in a loooooong time (primarily down to the fact that anything at all related to USCIS unearthed some stressful memories!)

Anyway, it's time for the I-751 to go in, my 2-Year GC expires May 31, so I need to get it in. Although I could have filed as early as March 2 I just wanted more time to assemble the evidence.

Here is what I have, do you guys think I'll have any problems? Also, for those of you have already submitted the I-751, how did you put it together? In a binder?

Thanks, Anthony.

LIST OF EVIDENCE ETC

Petition Fee ($205) Biometrics Fee ($70)

Form I-751 jointly signed

Copy of Existing Permanent Resident Card (Front & Back)

Lease Contract 09-01-2006 - 08-31-2007 showing common residence

Evidence of joint checking account

Evidence that we filed 2006 Fed & State taxes together, and that all refunds were deposited into our joint account

Evidence that USC spouse is sole beneficiary to my 401k contributions

Evidence that USC spouse is covered under my Health Insurance Policy

Copy of Marriage Certificate

Evidence of USC visiting my country (Scotland)

Evidence of us vacationing in the US together

Evidence of birthday gift from USC (she had a song written and cd made for me)

Evidence that my car is titled to me but registered and insured by her with me and her father listed as additional drivers

Affidavit from my boss saying she's been to my house, met my wife at company outings, that I've worked there 2 years

Miscellaneous cards, letters from people, photo's etc

Evidence of my employment, 2007 compensation summary, same for '06, paystubs with our address on them, proof that the direct deposit goes into our joint account and not a seperate account

AM I SAFE?!