Shub

Alrighty then, thanks!

I also know it's OK to move an unlimited number of times *after* filing one's application for naturalization (you could even move to a totally different part of the country) 😅 But as mentioned up top, the law requires someone who is planning to file for naturalization to have resided "within the State or within the district of the Service in which the applicant filed the application for at least three months", and this is reiterated in the CFR and the USCIS PM. So knowing this, what I'm trying to figure out is, for example, someone lives in Philadelphia, then moves to Pittsburgh, then immediately files for naturalization without waiting 3 months. Both cities are in the same state, but they're in different USCIS districts. Would that person be OK because they remained within the same state despite changing districts, or would their application be denied because they moved to a new USCIS district and didn't reside there for 3 months before filing?

On 7/30/2023 at 10:42 AM, JeanneAdil said:

it doesn't mean state per say ,  it means and should say state district or jurisdiction district 

even our smallest state Rhode Island has 4 juristdiction districts

I'm not sure what you mean by "jurisdiction districts" in this case, sorry. AFAIK Rhode Island only has one field office near Providence and all residents of Rhode Island are in that field office's jurisdiction?

On 7/30/2023 at 10:50 AM, milimelo said:

I went from one state (NW Indiana) to another state (IL) but remained in the same USCIS district - Chicago field office. No issues. They did attempt to send me to another ASC for fingerprinting - from Chicago area ASC to east Indiana but I successfully walked in to my old ASC in Chicago area. 

Right, I know that; in your case, you stayed within the same USCIS district, so even though you ended up in a different state, I know that's no problem. Sorry if my question wasn't clear initially, my question is more about what happens if you move within one state but change USCIS districts (as in my example, Philly->Pittsburgh, both locations are in PA but different USCIS offices). In other words, if you moved from Philly to Cleveland, you'd be changing both your state and your USCIS field office. I know that would prevent you from applying for naturalization. But for a long time I've thought that changing USCIS offices while staying in the same state would pose the same problem. So my question is whether staying in the same state while changing USCIS office is acceptable when it comes to naturalization's 3-month jurisdiction/residency requirement.

23 hours ago, Mike E said:

If within the same states, this is never grounds for denial.

 

It  is  possible for a USCIS service district to cross state lines, so for some reason the government allows that exception. Perhaps it is a throw back to the days when borders between states and territories were fluid. 
 

 

Thanks for the feedback. I know some USCIS districts cross state lines so I'm not really concerned with that, and I know it's no problem if you move within one service district even if crossing state lines. I was more curious specifically about one's eligibility in a situation like my example where someone remains in the same state but crosses from one USCIS district to another.

The text of the policy manual, the CFR and the INA have always read ambiguously to me. I'm sure it's clear to a jurist/immigration lawyer who knows how this is applied in reality. Here's what they say:

INA 316(a):

Quote

No person, except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, shall be naturalized unless such applicant, [...] has resided within the State or within the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed the application for at least three months, [...].

8 CFR 316.2(a)(5):

Quote

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, to be eligible for naturalization, an alien must establish that he or she:

...

Immediately preceding the filing of an application, or immediately preceding the examination on the application if the application was filed early pursuant to section 334(a) of the Act and the three month period falls within the required period of residence under section 316(a) or 319(a) of the Act, has resided, as defined under § 316.5, for at least three months in a State or Service district having jurisdiction over the applicant's actual place of residence;

USCIS policy manual:

Quote

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing. 

It sounds simple but the fact that it says "state or service district" is confusing to me. So practically speaking, let's use a state that has multiple service districts such as Pennsylvania, and let's say someone lives in Philadelphia and moves to Pittsburgh. Same state, different service district. Then they file for naturalization without waiting 3 months after moving. Are they OK because they stayed within the same state despite changing service districts, or are they not OK because they changed service districts despite staying in the same state?

Been debating this elsewhere so came here hoping for a clear answer. I always thought moving service districts (even within the same state) was grounds for a denial. Please don't speculate if you're not sure, although this is just a theoretical question for my own knowledge. Thanks!

Applicants for naturalization are of course allowed to travel like all permanent residents. The same rules apply to all green card holders, whether they have applied for US citizenship or not.

You can see the following link for a summary of those rules:

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident

After applying for citizenship, however, your spouse should be mindful of the length of time she spends outside of the US, so that she continues to meet both the physical presence and continuous residence requirements.

- You will be asked to raise your hand and placed under oath for the interview.

- You and the IO will go through your N-400. They may ask you questions on the content of the form, so be sure you know what's in there. They'll also ask if you need to make any changes, e.g. if you traveled outside of the US between the time you filed and your interview, or if you got married/divorced/widowed, or had children, or moved, or got a new job, or got arrested for something -- tell them at that time and your application will be amended accordingly.

- The civics test is oral. They ask you up to 10 questions from the pool of 100, you have to get 6 right and you pass. Try to give them the exact answers they're looking for.

- The language test is both oral and written. For the oral part, they'll give you a written sentence and you have to read it aloud. For the written part, they'll utter a sentence and you'll have to write it on a piece of paper. The sentences typically relate to US civics, and this part of the test is trivial if you speak English at least decently, as the sentences are elementary school level stuff.

- Your language skills are actually evaluated throughout the interview, not just through the formal bits where you're reading and writing super simple sentences.

Yes, file I-485 for your spouse, and another I-485 for your child. Once his permanent resident status is approved, and if he is in your legal custody in the US at that time, and if he is under the age of 18 at that time, he will automatically become a US citizen. You can then apply for a US passport (quicker, cheaper, but must be renewed) or file N-600 (expensive, slow, but valid forever like a birth certificate) as proof of his citizenship.

deleted

Hi folks!

Last night I got an automated email from you which said:

Quote

Shub,

We haven't heard from you in 12 months and wanted to see if there have been any updates to your immigration case.  If there have been, please take a moment to update your timeline.  If you haven't had any movement on your case we hope it happens soon!

You can view your timeline here which includes estimated approval dates for your immigration case:

<link>

To update your timeline account please follow this link:

<link>

Thank you again for your membership and support!

To start, let me say that it didn't bother me to receive this email, but it made me stop and think. This is not a complaint, nor is it really about my receiving the email, rather it's about the decision to send the email in the first place.

I haven't been on the site because I've been a US citizen for a few years now, so there is nothing to update to my immigration case since I've beaten the game, so to speak.

Like I said, this is very very trivial, but since my timeline is fully updated, shouldn't the site realize that and not send this email at all? For example when someone fills out the "Oath Ceremony" date field of the "Citizenship" section of the timeline, it means there's a high probability this individual is forever done with USCIS, and I figure that could meet a simple condition that the site checks for before sending this email.

If you still wanna send a "poke" email, you might send another message instead, encouraging people like me who are done with USCIS but haven't been using the site to return and help others who are still in some way forced to deal with USCIS.

Just a suggestion

Have a nice day!

Yep, since you're eligible, just apply based on 5 years of residence, it's easier.

Just to share a bit of my experience, I applied based on 3 years of residence + marriage even though I would have been eligible to apply based on 5 years of residence. At the interview, when going over my application with the officer, she told me she would change my application so it would be based on 5 years. I didn't want to argue or go into the reasons why I applied the way I did, so I rolled with it. In retrospect I imagine it was because 1) I met the requirements, and 2) it was less work for her.

Hello everyone, just wanted to say my cousin is back in the United States , he received his US Passport last week from the embassy, and he arrived Saturday Morning. Thank you everyone for your help !

Good news, thanks for following up!

There is no obligation to apply for citizenship, ever. Apply now, later, never, at the same time as your wife, not at the same time as your wife, it makes no matter. Your marriage plays no part in your application since she isn't a US citizen.

USCIS is not interested in what you did prior to becoming a permanent resident.

You should only include your work and residence history since the past 5 years (or 3 years if your application is based on marriage to a US citizen), or since you became a permanent resident, whichever is shortest.

1) Nope, but that doesn't mean they can't "go on vacation" to Canada for months at a time (within the allowed limits for purposes of applying for naturalization)

2) Yes in the sense that if you're a permanent resident, you're supposed to live in the US, maintain a permanent address, pay taxes, etc. You can keep your address in Canada as well, that's fine, but you can't claim to be a resident of two places without it being a problem in the eyes of USCIS.

3) It's still 5 years, but they have to be physically in the US for more than half of those 5 years (so 30+ months) and maintain continuous residence, meaning any absence of 6+ months will be subject to USCIS scrutiny.

yes that is correct , same date as conditional green card

Ok, then yes, you are eligible to apply for citizenship based on 5 years of residence, as of November 25th, 2013.

Do go to http://www.uscis.gov/n-400 and http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-naturalization/guide-naturalization and make sure you meet all the requirements! The "eligibility worksheet" in the first link is helpful at determining whether you at least meet the basic requirements.

thanks

after removing my conditions i got my permanent green card on 02/24/2009

It doesn't matter when you removed your conditions, if you had a 2-year green card before that, you were a permanent resident. Look up the "resident since" date on your green card. It would have been the same between your first, two-year green card and your current, 10-year green card.

Sir

i came to US on K3 spouse visa on 08/08/2008 after arrange marriage to a US citizen.

i got my conditions removed and got my premenent green card 10 years on 2/24/2009

the date of approval of greencard is 05/04/2011

unfortunatly the marriage doesnt work out despite of narriage councelling efforts by a pycologist and we were just physically seperated since may 2011

and my i got my divorce decree from my spouse on 20/nov/2012. Infact she filed the divorce from court of illinois

am i eligible to file n-400? baed on 5 year rule?

please advice

thansk

mani

I'm a bit confused, you said you got your 10-year GC in February 2009 but then go on to say the date of approval of your GC is May 2011.

Please have a look at your GC, there is a date next to "resident since", what is that date? Anyway, count 5 years from that date, subtract 90 days (not 3 months) and you have the date after which you may apply for naturalization.

I would have written "N/A" instead of "none". Unfortunately, while "none" is an English word, it could be a valid name in your country of origin and they have no way of knowing one way or the other. Anyway, I don't think it's a big deal.

When you go to your interview, you will go over your N-400 with the officer and can point this out. Likewise at your oath ceremony, before you take the oath, they will show you your certificate of naturalization and you can tell them if everything is correct or not.

This might be a silly question but the guide says that you can start the naturalization process if you're married to a US citizen for 3 years, AND have had permanent residency for 3 years. Does the 2 years of conditional residency of the green card count towards these 3 years? Or is it 3 years with the permanent card?

Thank you!

Look up the date next to "resident since" on your green card, add 3 years, subtract 90 days (not 3 months), and that's when your eligibility window opens.

You were initially a conditional permanent resident, but a permanent resident nonetheless, so the "resident since" date should be the same between your 2-year green card and your 10-year one.

hello i wanted a few info my mother is currently 65 and wants to take the test to become a us citizen we live in new york and she will be taking the test in spanish i wanted to know the prices i heard it was free but im guessing that was for the president election or are there any waivers she can qualify for please help thanks in advance

The standard fee for an application for naturalization is $680 ($595 + a $85 biometrics processing fee). Applicants age 75+ are not charged the biometrics fee, but that doesn't apply to you, so under normal circumstances, the fee for your mother is $680.

If you would like to apply for a fee waiver, I suggest you start by reading the instructions for form I-912: http://www.uscis.gov/i-912 -- to see if you qualify. You can also read http://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver regarding the USCIS general process on waiving fees.

You should also read the instructions to form N-400 (see http://www.uscis.gov/n-400) carefully to see if she is indeed eligible to take the citizenship test in Spanish. Just because she's 65 doesn't mean she can.

Meaning the actual printed text. The person giving those instructions repeated that for four good times for everyone to understand. She said NOT to sign the like the bit that appears next to the picture.

And that goes against the instructions included in my naturalization packet As usual, USCIS isn't very consistent.

At my oath ceremony on Friday, we were told to sign the Naturalization Certificate using the full names written on the certificate and not use the usual signature we use on checks, driving licence etc. We were also told not to make colored copies of the certificate, just black and white copies.

That's the thing though... do they mean the actual printed text, or the bit next to the picture that replicates how they had you "sign" your picture beforehand? Some people seem to have signed that differently, some printed their names, some used cursive, some used their scribbled signature... I am part of that third group, meaning my signature that is printed on the certificate matches the way I sign checks and stuff, so that's also how I signed the certificate when I got it.

The short of it is that their instructions suck.

Yah i signed it same in d picture that is mounted in mu cert.. so this means i dont need to worry!?

Well I did the same thing you did, based on my interpretation of the instructions... I'm not worried about it so I guess you shouldn't be either. By my reckoning you and I signed it correctly. It needs to match what's printed next to the picture.

And if my interpretation of their poorly-worded instructions is wrong, then I guess two of us need to worry

Seriously though, it's no big deal either way. In any case, you'll probably never need that piece of paper after you get your passport. To me this was just the one last thing that USCIS did to make me fearful of their power of quasi-life or death over us.

To repeat, sign your name exactly as it appears on your Certificate of Naturalization. If you previously signed the photograph that is mounted to your Certificate of Naturalization, then sign your certificate using the exact same signature you used to sign your photograph, even if that signature does not match the full name shown on your certificate.

I think the quoted text above is the important part.

Did you sign your certificate in the same way as it appears next to your picture on the certificate? Remember this is how they printed your certificate, and the two are supposed to match. So if the pre-printed signature is your usual and possibly illegible scribble like a lot of signatures are, then that is how you should have signed your certificate. If I read you correctly, that's what you did. That's actually also what I did, per their instructions.

Greetings!

My new life in the USA is going great! It's time for me to file my N-400 application from a marriage based green card.

In the wonderful "Additional Information" section I have to answer "yes" to the questions:

"Were you ever a worker.....in....a jail or prison" and "were you ever a member of....police unit."

The explanation is not a problem, while I have been here I have worked for the Department of Corrections, a Sheriff's Office and now a city Police Department. I'm sure this won't affect my eligibility for citizenship, but what I need to know is what evidence they're going to want.

I have paystubs, W-2s and my current commission card, and my state certificate of completing Police Academy.

Thanks in advance...

I can't help you with the evidence they're going to want, but just to tell you about the background for those new questions in the new form, it's because they want to know if, prior to living in the US, you were ever involved in that kind of work, in case you lived in a country where human rights abuse is an issue. I don't know if you were in that line of work before immigrating to the US, but I can't see this being a problem if you worked those jobs in the US, or in the UK if that's where you come from.

Also, if you don't feel like dealing with those questions, grab the last version of the form, which does not have those questions, and submit that. You can use it until May 5th.