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Diriangén

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    N400 filers at Minneapolis,MN

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, AffableAndy said:

    - There are parking lots nearby that are much cheaper than the river center one if you walk 3-5 minutes!

    Agreed! RiverCentre ramp event parking rate was $15, other ramps nearby charge less, street parking meters charge $2.25/hr, or there's even free street parking within a 1/2 mile on Exchange Street or just off West 7th Street where I parked (SW of the RiverCentre).

     

    Other logistically notes from 5/10 ceremony: the notice said to arrive at 1:45pm for the check-in process. I arrived a little earlier but arriving at 1:45 gave you enough time to check in and be seated before the ceremony started at 2pm. Arrive earlier if your family wants a better seat or just want a little more time to settle in. The ceremony was about 45 minutes long (2-2:45pm) with the opportunity to register to vote & take care of social security paperwork afterwards. 1,000 people were naturalized. They read out the birth countries represented (I think there were 95 different countries) and how many from each country.

     

    After the oath and as the ceremony ends, staff is ready to hand out naturalization certificates and new citizen info packets to you directly. Even though seating is not assigned, they know who is sitting in which row. They must use some kind of facial recognition technology to identify where everyone is sitting during the ceremony. It's a little unnerving to know they know exactly where you're sitting! But it definitely makes handing out naturalization certificates more efficient.

    N400 filers at Minneapolis,MN

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    8 hours ago, RamonGomez said:

    How long is the N400 realistically taking nowadays in the Twin Cities area?

     

    My wife already has her 10 year green card.   The online case status processing times estimates 15.5 months or less for 80% of cases. However, I've been skimming reports on here and it looks like 4-8 months seems to be pretty common.

    Processing is much faster than 15.5 months if you have a straightforward case. I applied under the 3 year rule and my oath ceremony was about 4 months from the N-400 application date. I think my case was straightforward (solid evidence of marriage & co-mingling of finances, no arrests or criminal history, etc.) but I may have just gotten lucky with the timing. Hopefully four months (or less) becomes the norm!

     

    8 hours ago, RamonGomez said:

    Also, how bad is it applying under the 3 year rule? My wife will be eligible for the 5 year rule in Feb 2024 (about 8 months from now) and is not in a huge rush, would it make sense to just wait? Or is the 3 vs 5 year rule not a huge deal.

    3 vs 5 years doesn't matter as long as you're eligible. If your wife wants to be a citizen, I don't think there's any reason to wait. We thought the online N-400 application was the easiest application in the process. There's a screening section to check if you're eligible to apply and under which criteria (the 3-year rule or 5-year), the application automatically skips any sections that don't apply, you don't need to worry about putting extra info in the addendum pages, you can save your work and come back to it, and the submission notice generates shortly after submitting the application.

    Stimulus package for LPR-

    in Coronavirus Covid-19

    Posted

    6 hours ago, CJK said:

    Does receiving the stimulus check fall under the "Public Charge" category?

    No, see info below from the National Immigration Law Center document (page 4): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zHLRaciDqIZfkI_icRGVJWKWcinP6cAwvkuAeae8eog/edit

     

    Benefits Considered 

     

    The regulations expand the types of benefits that could be considered in a “public charge” determination, adding several widely-used programs that help low- and moderate-income working families. These programs that can be counted under the regulations are:

     

    • Any Federal, State, Local or Tribal cash assistance for income maintenance, including TANF, SSI and general assistance programs (considered under the previous rule as well);

    • Medicaid (with exceptions including coverage for emergency services, children under 21 years old, pregnant women including 60 days of post-partum services);

    • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called “food stamps”);

    • Federal Public Housing, Section 8 housing vouchers and Section 8 project-based rental assistance.

     

    Use of cash assistance programs or long-term institutional care before February 24, 2020, will be considered in public charge determinations. Use of any amount of the programs listed above for any period of time on or after February 24, 2020, will be considered as a negative factor in the totality of circumstances, with a heavy negative weight assigned to people who use one or more programs for twelve months in the aggregate out of 36 months.  Note however that:

     

    • DHS will not consider any benefits not listed in the rule (see table below).

    • DHS will not consider benefits received by persons other than the applicant, even if the applicant requested the benefits on their behalf.

    • DHS will not consider non-cash programs funded entirely by states, localities or tribes.

     

    The regulations also exclude benefits received by active duty servicemembers, members of the Ready Reserve and their spouses and unmarried minor children. (Benefits received by veterans or their families are not excluded).

     

    Benefits received by immigrants while in a status that is exempt from a public charge determination (e.g., while a refugee, VAWA self-petitioner, etc.) will not be considered if they apply for admission into the U.S. or LPR status under a pathway like a family-based visa petition, where public charge applies.

     

    NOTE: The regulations are not retroactive. This means that benefits -- other than cash or long-term care at government expense -- that were used before the regulations became effective on February 24, 2020, will not be considered in the public charge determination.

     

    Benefits Included for Public Charge

    Benefits Excluded from Public Charge

    ·     Cash Support for Income Maintenance*

    ·     Non-Emergency Medicaid**

    ·     Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or Food Stamps)

    ·     Housing Assistance (Public Housing or Section 8 Housing Vouchers and Rental Assistance)

     

    * Included under current policy as well;  

    ** Exception for coverage of children under 21, pregnant women (including 60 days post-partum) adn emergency services

    ANY benefits not on the included list will not be applied toward the public charge test. Examples include: 

    ·     Disaster relief

    ·     Entirely state, local or tribal programs (other than cash assistance)

    ·     Benefits received by the applicant’s family members

    ·     CHIP

    ·     Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women Infants and Children (WIC)

    ·     School Breakfast and Lunch

    ·     Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)

    ·     Transportation vouchers or non-cash transportation services

    ·     Non-cash TANF benefits

    ·    Tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit 

    ·    Advance premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act

    ·    Pell grants and student Loans

    ·    Any other program not listed in the left column

    • Popular Post
    • Popular Post

    Final public charge rule

    in US Immigration News and Discussion

    Posted

    30 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

    Thank you it was very informative and straight forward except for pages 18-20, 42-43 and then it just goes in to fear mongering. 

    You're welcome.

    Obviously there are some disagreements on the meaning of the new rule, but hopefully we can use this forum to point people to information that clarifies what has and hasn't changed and those who might be affected and how.

    Final public charge rule

    in US Immigration News and Discussion

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