Nyanna

4 hours ago, SuperAnia said:

Did you managed to submit it eventually? I have the same issue, also stuck on "sending response" and I wonder if it's temporary thing or I should do something to help it get through?

Yes I managed to submit it after making the files much much smaller than the submission limit. I thought it was small enough but it wasn’t. Hope that helps! 

2 hours ago, Bashar yaseen said:

My parents are having their interview for naturalization in the same center. They don't have their old passports but i tried to get all of their tickets they used to travel outside of the United States. The longest trip is 5 months.I couldn't find one of the tickets though for a trip in 2016 which is not stamped on the new passport they have. They don't file taxes but I claim them on my taxes as dependent.  Does that work as a proof for their physical presence? Their interview is next week?

From my experience, my IO only asked about the trip that exceeded 183 days (6 months). She didn't ask about my other trips nor did I need proof of continuous residence for the duration of other trips (I had several other 4-5 month trips). I wouldn't stress too much about it but do bring the flight tickets/ itinerary and your tax record anyways just in case. I also sent in utility bills under my family member's name (none of the utilities are under my name) to proof I had access to my residence while I was gone.

Here is the list of information from my RFE if you want to prepare accordingly:

"You have taken a trip outside of the U.S. that lasted six months or more since becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident from [Date] to [Date] . Submit evidence that you did not abandon your residence. You may submit documentation which includes, but is not limited to, evidence that during your absence:

• You did not terminate your employment in the U.S.;
• Your immediate family remained in the U.S.;
• You retained full access to your U.S. place of residence;
• You did not obtain employment abroad.
• An IRS tax return transcript or an IRS-certified tax return listing tax information relevant to your absence for the last 5 years;
• Rent or mortgage payments and pay statements; Bank, credit card, and loan statements showing regular transactions;
• Proof of car registration and insurance; or
• Any other document that shows you have not abandoned your residence in the United States."

Hope this helps and best of luck to your parents!

35 minutes ago, Yajhsar said:

Are the two issues you are talking about related to 1) more than 183 days stay outside USA and 2) having been registered to vote by your school staff??

Yes. In fact I was outside US 184 days and still needed evidence to proof ties to the US

On 9/27/2019 at 10:50 AM, Nyanna said:

Hello, everyone. I had just gotten back from my interview and would like to share my experience (in exchange for good luck haha)

 

First, here's a brief timeline:

Application Submitted: July 23, 2019

Biometrics Scheduled: July 27, 2019

Biometrics Date: August 16, 2019

Interview Scheduled August 16, 2019

Interview Date: September 27, 2019

 

The Cleveland Field office only has a estimated time of 4-8 months but I was still pleasantly surprised at how fast everything was scheduled.

 

On to my interview experience:

My interviewed was scheduled at 8:30am but I had read the time wrong and got there at 8:00 right when the office opens. I was the first person to sign in and was the first person to get called in after waiting for about 5-10 minutes. So if you have an 8:30 interview, it wouldn't hurt to get there earlier (and potentially catch the IO in a better mood). 

 

My IO was a woman with a strong french accent, but I understood her nonetheless. She called my name and greeted me. She asked for my ID: green card, driver's license, passport. She then asked me to stand up and raise my right hand and put me under oath. Her first question was about my trip outside of US that lasted 183 days (exactly 6 month). The application system had a warning about it so I knew she was gonna ask about it. She asked to see the passport stamp to check exact departure and arrival dates of the trip but US immigration didn't stamp for departure. I only had electronic copy of the itinerary so I asked for her permission to check my phone to show her. She just needed to see the exact dates of travel (leaving and coming back to US). I thought they'd have records of exact travel dates from immigration so I had only prepared for other trips during the middle of that trip. So it's best to print out your travel itinerary if your passport doesn't show all the departure and arrival dates. She also asked why I made that trip, why it was for so long and who stayed at my US residence while I was gone. At the end of the interview she mentioned that they might need more evidence from me, so I gave her my phone bill that showed I maintained my phone number during that 6 months. I also had other frequent trips but she didn't go into details for them.

 

After explaining my travels, she went through my application line by line, starting from my name and address. I have an issue where I was accidentally registered to vote by my high school teacher, so I decided to put "Yes" for whether if I ever claimed to be a U.S. Citizen. But my IO corrected me and said it was whether if I actually claimed to be American and changed my answer to "No". I also explained why I was registered to vote and never voted in any elections. She asked for any evidence so I gave her the documents I had previously obtained from the Board of Election as proof that I cancelled the status and never voted. 

 

All of the evidence I gave my IO was also already submitted electronically. But it seems like she wasn't aware of it (not sure if they will read the electronic supplements after the interview). So I suggest if you have any supporting document that you'd like them to know about, definitely talk about it and give them physical copies because they might not ask for it during the interview unless you show them. I also typed a cover letter explaining all my issues and reasons in details and gave it to her. For my case, she didn't ask detail questions about taxes or jobs but it might be different for each IO. 

 

Reading and Writing test was the same sentence: "The President lives in the White House."

Writing was on a electronic pad. It was pretty difficult to write nicely so don't worry about handwriting. There was no erase option but you can ask the IO to start over.

 

Questions were exactly like the booklet and I answered them 6/6 correctly. 

After that, IO asked me to confirm my personal information again and sign. 

 

At the end, my IO said the evidence I provided might be sufficient but she still needs to talk to her supervisor about it. If they need more evidence, they will send a letter asking for more. If my application is approved, they will send a letter scheduling the oath ceremony. My result paper says I passed the test and "A decision cannot be made yet about your application."

 

My IO was strict but nice and understanding and my interview lasted about 30 minutes. My advise is to be articulate and explain everything well. Know your application weakness and prepare evidence for it. I did a lot of research on this forum and even talked to lawyers (both lawyers I talked to advised against applying for citizenship due to the issues I listed above and the current immigration policy, but I decided to go for it anyways. We'll see if they're right about it.). Most importantly give them physical copies of supporting evidence once they raised a concern even if they didn't explicitly ask for evidence. I printed out all all the evidence I previously submitted electronically, as well as others I didn't submit, and labelled them accordingly so I didn't have to dig through all the documents to find the one I need. It might be an overkill but it's better to be prepared than to have to re-submit more evidence later. 

 

That's it! Fingers crossed I will be approved for oath ceremony soon and good luck to everyone on this journey!

Update on my case if anyone are still interested:

Got a Request for Evidence in the mail on Nov 11 asking for proof of ties to US during my long trip and explain my voting situation. Responded asap by Fedex overnight the next day but decided to to respond online just in case (probably wasn't necessary). I had some technical difficulty but it was submitted. 

2nd interview scheduled for Dec 19 about 2 weeks after and this got me really concerned. I attended the interview and brought all the paper works with me. It was the same IO and It turns out my proof of not abandoning tie to US is all good but they just need me to swear under oath again and sign a written copy of my explanations of the accidental voter registration. The IO was apologetic though, she asked me questions related to voting and registration and typed it all out and had a supervisor sign as witness. 

Finally on Jan 2, I got my oath ceremony scheduled for Jan 17!! 

My journey is almost over and now I just need to attend and apply for passport afterwards!

My overall timeline:

Application Submitted: July 23, 2019

Biometrics Scheduled: July 27, 2019

Biometrics Date: August 16, 2019

Interview Scheduled August 16, 2019

Interview Date: September 27, 2019

RFE: November 11, 2019

2nd Interview: December 19, 2019

Oath Ceremony scheduled: January 2, 2020

Oath Ceremony date: January 17, 2020

4 hours ago, Southern+World said:

Am an Adult unmarried child of a us citizen. my parent filed i130 in 2013. Vermont processing center. i got RFE in September 2019 and responded immediately using a certified USPS tracking mail. They received it and notified me. this November i got an approval. so i will advise you to use a physical copy. good luck

Thanks!

I already replied using Fedex overnight delivery but I wanted to submit electronically as secondary measure.

I just saw this maintenance notice but it wasn't there last night. Maybe it will be fixed after maintenance.

Quote

 

Tools Outage

 

USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Customer Relationship Interface System (CRIS) from Friday, November 8 at 11:59 p.m. to Saturday, November 9 at 3:00 a.m. (EDT.)

During this timeframe, users may experience technical difficulties with one or more of the following online tools:

• Check My Case Status
• e-Request
• Change of Address Online
• Check Processing Times
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• FOIA Status Check
• Office Locator
• File Online
• myUSCIS Online Account

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

I'm trying to upload my RFE documents electronically but it's forever stuck on "sending response" after I click submit.

I've tried restarting computer & browser, clearing cookies, turning off firewall, switch browser, etc. It never goes through. I've been trying since last night. I messaged support but I'm not sure how effective that is.

Has anyone have the same problem? I'm not sure what to do now.

I mailed the RFE physically but I had forgotten to clarify something so I wanted to submit that online. Should I just hope that my IO doesn't need that bit of information?

4 hours ago, Zaidba said:

Good luck, I am in a similar situation and was advised by lawyers not to apply. I listened to them and decided to wait. however, I have seen cases in the forum where people are approved. Since the officer said that she had enough evidence, I think you will be approved.

Thanks. I will update if I get approved!

4 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Then the answer is "No", as you have never claimed to be a citizen. Try being careful when wording and use accurate terms.

If this happened during an interview, it would be deemed misrepresentation, and would create not just confusion -like now-, but would have serious consequences. 

2 minutes ago, xyz12345 said:

I think by signing that form, you swore that you fit the requirements to register to vote (e.g., USC) even if you didn't check the box. So YES in my opinion. Here's a sample Voters Registration form assuming they're the same everywhere.

 

https://www.nonprofitvote.org/documents/2016/04/filling-returning-voter-registration-forms.pdf/

 

 

That being said, here are one forum conversation that can give you some hope:

https://www.***removed***/forum/usa-citizenship/132884-permanent-resident-registered-to-vote

 

 

If I did what you've done and still want to naturalize, I would apply via paper form so I can explain everything and attach all evidence as suggested by allaboutwaiting. Good luck!

 

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

I just looked up the registration form also and it says "I declare under penalty of election falsification I am a citizen of the United States, will have lived in this state for 30 days immediately preceding the next election, and will be at least 18 years of age at the time of the general election." next to the signature box. I will write a formal letter addressing everything and provide lots of evidence. 

Thank you both!!

12 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Yesterday you said you didn't recall receiving a voter registration card (certificate). 

I didn't receive a voter certificate in the mail after filling out the form in class. I meant that when I filled out the voter registration form, I had signed on the bottom of it.

What should I answer to this question "Have you EVER claimed to be a U.S. citizen (in writing or any other way)?" I didn't check the boxes but I did sign on the bottom of the voter registration card.

1 hour ago, dilip said:

Not  to be political,  the current administration is not going after legal immigration and also USCIS has guideline and will not deprive PR to citizenship if there is no strong case against someone and in your case it is not and they will understand your situation.  Try  to locate the teacher and explain to him and get a letter from him also ( if possible).  Also , if a lawyer who will take your case ( if you would like to hire a lawyer).   Remember taking no risk is the biggest risk of all.  

3 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

A simple letter explaining why you filled the form, like:

 

"On [day/month/year], while enrolled in [name of the high school], as part of an assigment for [name of the class] and at the request of [name of professor], I [your name], filled out the voter registration, not checking any boxes indicating that I was a citizen (evidence attached).

On [day/month/year], the registration was cancelled (evidence attached).

Since becoming a legal permanent resident, I have not voted on any local, state or federal election, as evidenced in my records (evidence attached)."

 

Good luck! 

Thank you both for the advice! Much appreciated.

@bakphx1 @Allaboutwaiting @dilip 

Thank you all for replying. I did go to the board of elections and got a copy of original registration form, proof that I never voted and proof of cancellation. The registration form shows that I filled out my name, address , date of birth, driver license number, and my signature. I do not recall ever receiving voter registration card. The lawyers were worried that there may not be discretion under Trump administration. I'm willing to take the risk and proceed but I'm not sure how I should word the letter explaining my situation? 

I was registered to vote by my high school teacher 7 years ago. We were in government class and had to file out the voter registration form. At that time I had no clue green card holders can't register to vote, so I followed his instruction. I remember not checking any boxes indicating that I was a citizen (probably left that blank). My voter status was challenge and cancelled couple years after that. I have never voted in any elections. I contacted the board of elections and got my voter records as proof (status cancelled and no voting record). I contacted two lawyers and both of them says I shouldn't file for citizenship at all. I looked up so many cases of accidental registration and they got their citizenship successfully. I don't know what to do now, I do want to become a citizen and vote in future elections. Should I just file N400 anyways?

10 minutes ago, Going through said:

 

 

Continuous presence requirements aside, I agree with your lawyer to wait before filing....because from the info you've given above, you will also have broken the Physical Presence requirement too for the N400 if you were to file right after your return to the US.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear when I wrote the original post. My apologies. My total days outside of US would be 850 days for all my trips including this trip. I will not leave the US once I return from this trip.

@geowrian Thanks for your reply.

I agree and I am aware that the 6 month trip may or may not break my continuous residence but my lawyer doesn't seem to be too concerned about it. As for this current trip, the duration will be 175 days once I return. So technically I only have one trip that may break my continuous residence requirement (183 days).

I'm still not sure why I should wait 6-7 months before I file for N400. Sigh

I'm hoping to get some second opinions here. I have a green card since 2006 and want to start my N400 process (5 year basis) and have it done by the end of 2019. My main concern is processing time since my parents are not well and my grandma is 93 years old (they are all in my home country). I really want to get this done as soon as possible so I don't have to deal with immigration if I have to be by my parents side for extended period of time if something were to happen. I also have a really good job opportunity (global firm) in my home country. I'm filing from Cleveland, Ohio so it should be relatively fast compared to other field offices.

I have around 850 full days outside of US in total in the past 5 years. I'm currently outside of the US right now so there are 11 trips in total including this current trip. This trip will be 175 days outside of the US (I'm returning to US on April 15) and one other trip was exactly 6 month (183 days exactly). All the other trips are less than 6 months.

I have not filed any tax return before due to being a college student til 2016 and self study/no employment afterwards. I started helping out at my dad's firm in my home country beginning of 2019 for couple months (til now) so I don't need to file yet.

The lawyer wants me to file taxes for all previous years to show record and that I'm a good resident. She says having foreign employment is not a big deal as long as I have a job. She also says I should wait 6-7 months (she told me the earliest I should file is Nov) before I file N400 because it's too risky to file too soon after I return to the US. She told me that she doesn't want me to come off as an entitled person living off of my parents (but I've been preparing to become a CPA after graduation).

All these statements contradicts with what I have read online and on this forum. I can do as instructed and file all past 5 years return but I really don't want to wait till November to start N400 process.

Should I get second opinions from another lawyer?

Thanks in advance. I'm just really stressed and confused.