RamonGomez

BTW the best luck we had with this type of situation is sending a letter (an actual snail-mail old school letter) directly to the service center explaining the situation. Make sure to include copies of all relevant documents.

My wife submitted her N400 September 10 2023, her interview was Nov 7 2023, and oath was Nov 15 2023. So basically 2 months + 5 days from submission to naturalization certificate in hand. It legitimately might be faster to go through the N400 process than deal with an I-751 NOA issue (don't ask me how I know...) Just be aware of the dual citizenship issues with mainland China if you do go forward with the N400. Good luck to you!

Getting a passport is easier. N600 is optional but usually recommended as a backup. I think there are a few edge cases where COC or US birth certificate is required (usually involving federal employment).

I entered China several times on a tourist visa with my wife when she was still a Chinese citizen/US green card holder. Never got asked anything at the airport and we always went through together in PEK.

I know this is kind of late but moving that much #######, especially irregularly-shaped heavy stuff like bikes and couches and tables, is going to cost a fortune. If it's just boxes, there are "agents" in most metro US areas that basically rent space on a cargo ship, once there is enough demand on the Chinese side (e.g. China -> Chicago), they ship from China to the US to a central point in your metro area, where you need to pick it up. Often it's someone's house or a random warehouse. The speed can be highly variable, and it's somewhat unreliable and prone to theft. But it's very very cheap. Sell or toss whatever you can. Take as many suitcases with you as possible. Do the math so see if paying for extra checked bags and/or overweight bags is worth it. Save the less important stuff and bring it back home with you on a future visit if you can store some stuff in China.

If it doesn't arrive by December 8, it will probably never arrive. I think you will be fine. Once you have the card in hand, file the AR-11.

How is abolishing non-immigrant AOS going to solve the problem. Per the DHS, about 11% of "overstays" adjust status. That includes students on F1 visas that studied here for 4 years and met someone. So B2/ESTA adjustments represent a small proportion of overstays (which are perfectly legal BTW if the guidelines are followed). This is based on actual data not anti-B2-AOS emotions.

Can't answer about the I751 since my wife already had her 10-year card when she filed the N400. Regarding the oath, it depends on the field office. Some don't do same-day oaths. Some give you the option of a same-day oath or waiting for the bigger ceremony (usually at the end of the interview). At other offices it seems like same day oath is SOP. Best thing would be to ask the officer about it once you pass the interview.

Wife finished the interview yesterday, interview was about 10 minutes long - basically by the time I parked and got coffee, she had already texted me that she was done. Passed on the spot, and a few minutes later got a paper to attend the oath next week. So about 8-9 weeks from submission to oath - not bad!

We've used the same attorney on and off over the years. For the N400, my wife filled out the forms. The attorney is charging $600 to familiarize herself with the submitted N400 (1 hour), a 1-hour strategy/prep session before the interview, and the interview itself. So basically $200/hr for 3 hours of her time. We definitely want a witness there in case the USCIS officer acts of line (rare, but happens, and much less likely to happen with an attorney present), if we ever get into a "USCIS's word vs. our word" type of situation, etc. Plus the attorney knows pretty much all the officers there and knows how to handle the few oddballs. And if we run into the rare problem post-interview, like a denial, we already have an attorney that's familiar with the case and can get working on next steps ASAP.

My wife filed mid-September and just got an interview notice in the mail this morning, looks like they sent out the notice 18 days after she submitted the N400. She filed the N400 online and she already has a 10-year green card so this will be only an N400 interview. interview is 4.5 weeks from today.

My wife just filed her N400 about 2 weeks ago. Estimated time is showing at 10 months which actually would be fine (she already has a 10 year green card)... but our lawyer said she's seen some interviews get scheduled as soon as 2-3 months out. Have there been any cases that fast? But my wife is pregnant and our baby is due mid-December. How lenient is USCIS with rescheduling interviews in case we get scheduled 3.5 months after submission? Same question for the oath ceremony.

We were not asked to show any documents, they only asked her one question at the exit immigration desk ("where are you going?"). I don't think I've ever heard of anyone running into issues. But yes, better be safe than sorry especially with the latest exit control tightening and take what @RandyW suggests. She'll need all those documents in the US anyways.

Wife just filed her N400 yesterday, got the receipt and re-use letter immediately. Estimated time of 10 months which is perfectly fine, but our attorney told us she is seeing interviews in the 4-6 month range at our office. Man... this online interface is so nice compared to having to send in reams of paper.

Lol literally 0% of this turned out to be true. Just goes to show the loudest and most confident aren't always the most correct. Congrats OP.

She was a CCP member but easily meets the exemption requirements, since she only was pushed into it in college for "job opportunities" (which she never took advantage of) and hasn't been a member or paid dues in 15 years. That shouldn't pose any problems with the N400 but you never know whether the IO is aware of USCIS's own policies. For our AOS interview the attorney dug up and brought a massive stack of court rulings related to CCP issues but the issue was never brought up. My wife did however submit a "letter of explanation" with the I485 packet per the attorney's suggestion. I'm not too worried about it but like @Mike E said in another thread, having a third person as a witness is invaluable in case it ever comes down to a "our word versus yours" situation. And according to her 20+ years of experience, USCIS IO's generally behave better when there is an attorney in the room - not that abusive behavior is particularly common, but it's especially uncommon when an applicant has legal representation present.

My wife is considering filing an N400 in October this year. For the I-485 AOS we hired a VIP top-tier immigration attorney in case if any issues came up. The attorney knew pretty much all the IOs and staff at our field office and brought along a massive stack of court decisions as a defense in case if any issues cropped up (e.g. Communist Party Membership). The interview was only about 7-8 minutes long and she did a lot of the talking, corrected the IO, clarified answers, basically guided the process etc. Definitely worth the money. To make the process smoother we were thinking of hiring her again for my wife's N400 (money is no issue) - is this allowed?

While I don't know your financial situation or what country they are from, life can be very expensive and difficult living as, basically, an undocumented illegal immigrant. They will not be eligible for any free government welfare, food stamps, medicaid, auto insurance etc. They will not be eligible for health insurance through the ACA. They will be living here on a cash basis. Look up cash prices to see a dentist, doctor, emergency room bills - they aren't pretty. A single incident can wipe out whatever money they earn for your siblings, which I'm guessing isn't that high given they would be working under the table. I know of two couples who were able to legally bring their parents over here on an IR5, and it led to the breakdown of both marriages BTW, but maybe it will work out for you. My suggestion - unless their lives are in grave danger in their home country (in which case they should apply for asylum), they should go back.

When my mother in law came to visit some time ago, I looked into various travel insurance policies. Most were, to be frank, useless. Remember, US hospitals by law must "stabilize" anyone that walks in the ER - that means putting a cast on a broken bone or stent for a heart attack. Research all the cash-based options for primary or urgent care near you, you may be surprised at what you find. There is a family practice doctor near us that is cash-only and charges $120 for a 30 minute visit. There are several urgent cares that charge a $400 flat fee for cash-paying patients. Most standard medications like antibiotics or inhalers are dirt cheap if paying cash. So for 95% of run of the mill issues (infections, broken bones), you'll probably come out ahead by self-insuring. I'm not familiar with the Philippines at all, but do any health care plans there cover medical care abroad?

USCIS is often liberal with some deadlines as well so you may not even run into any issue. I double checked the RFE we got some time ago and it does say you must "submit by [DATE]", not that USCIS must "receive by [DATE]". I doubt they have a rejection letter ready to go at 12:01am if the RFE isn't on their desk.

We went through this process some years ago. We immediately filed my stepdaughter's I130 after we married while my wife AOS'ed. So my stepdaughter went through the I-130 process essentially on her own as a minor. Definitely have your spouse attend the interview, not an aunt or grandma because the officer did ask a few questions that only my wife knew the answers to. The interview was about 5 minutes long, and they mostly spoke to my wife. The officer did show my stepdaughter a picture we included in the I-130 and asked her who the man is (it was me). We got the passport back with her visa in 3 days and headed back to America shortly afterwards. Her biological father did send a notarized permission letter, but it wasn't checked at the interview. My wife did have sole custody so it might not have mattered anyways. Although if you filed the cases together I think you could request the be interviewed together. If they are not able to do this, definitely have your spouse attend the interview with her.

When we submitted our I-485 packet some time ago, we put in ultrasound pictures as my wife was ~3 months pregnant at the time. At the interview, the first thing the officer asked about was the baby. After handing him the birth certificate he literally said "well this is going to be a quick interview" and we were out of there in 5-10 minutes. But yeah, I guess signed affidavits and joint Costco cards would've been even more impactful LOL if you listen to some of the posters on here. I don't understand the defensiveness and insecurities regarding the issue of children. No one is saying you have to have children to get a case approved. But having a child obviously seems to help, based on our experience and according to our attorney who had attended hundreds of these interviews. The first item in the "Evidence of the Relationship" section of the I-751 instructions is "birth certificates of any children born during the marriage". Anyone impulsively claiming that "kids just means you had sex" is just trying to sound edgy, but instead comes of as highly insecure - and there's no reason at all to be adversarial about this.

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. 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. Thanks everyone.

Depends on the current backlog. I recall seeing a few recent cases get an interview notice about 6 weeks after DQ. My stepdaughter went through the process in 2019 and it was: DQ ----> Interview Notice 2 weeks Notice ----> Interview 2.5 weeks Honestly we could've used a little more time between the notice and interview, since we had to arrange vacation time at work, extra childcare, and scramble to buy tickets/hotel accommodations in 2.5 weeks as one of us had to accompany her to the interview.

I don't (unfortunately) have an answer to your question, but when my stepdaughter went through Guangzhou, they sent us an email with the appointment time and date, we had no opportunity to schedule it. It would've been nice to be able to schedule it, since her appointment was scheduled for 17 days from the date of the email 😑 There are a few facebook and wechat groups that have a lot more activity for current applicants - I would take a peak there.