Alexmat1

2 hours ago, MarktheShark said:

At the last hearing when the judge realized we didn't have any marital propery or debit she Strongly emphasized we work things out in mediation, because we hadn't accumulated any debit or property together. She has nothing to loose so never showed up to mediation and wants a judge to decide. We go back on 1/22/24 for a status hearing.  

I think its a losing game for her. She maynot get any property from you, but if the marriage has been for a year or two, the judge can order some support based on your income but that support could be few months to an year, and if you are already supporting her after separation thats counted as credited towards your total support obligation. 

8 hours ago, Pinkrlion said:

But you actually did not want to naturalize. You said you did not want to due to financial issues in your country. You should have just waited until all those things were done to file. 

Please read what I posed initially carefully. I never said there were financial issues in my country but there is a backlog thats related to country (if you meant financial instability in that country thats not what I meant). In normal times it should have completed in few months but that overshot. I also said I didnt want to naturalize but had to hold it till the above process is done. Hope I didnt confuse. 

16 hours ago, Timona said:

Taking the oath didn't mean your mother country was on the ground to snitch on you. I mean, officials from your mother country aren't at the oath to pick up your PP. You have to go to the embassy later. 

 

You could have taken the oath, kept the certificate, applied for US PP, then abandoned your other. 

 

Even people who renounce, prior to renunciation, have 2 citizenship. You cannot go renounce country A because you're sure you're going to get B. That's not how it works. You obtain B first, then go renounce A. I'm not sure what you were upto..

That was not what I had asked. Question is not about PP or how to renounce it but that I had to postpone oath because I had to get few things processed in my home country which required me to be a national for it to happen.

10 hours ago, OldUser said:

So what happens if you lose citizenship of your home country? Can't you visit on US passport? Worst case you'd apply for visa if US passport doesn't grant visa free access to your home country. Is losing some tax benefit / social benefit back at home country the reason why you postponed naturalizing in the US? It's really not a good reason, as US isn't responsible for your financial wellbeing overseas. I doubt this would be taken into consideration when N-336 is reviewed.

It depends on what is considered a good reason. Its not a tax benefit but something like 401k for over 10 years that I will lose if I dont withdraw it while I am a citizen. If USCIS thinks that is a good reason or not would be the main point. For an individual it is a major thing as its life saving.

4 hours ago, Timona said:

To make it simple, you have to hold atleast 2 PP prior to renouncing.

 

Your plan is to renounce one before getting the other. What guarantees you that you'll get the other? Infact, had you succeeded with your plan, you'd be stateless right now, since USCIS has decided to deny your N400. 

 

You could have just gone, taken oath, kept N400 certificate at home. Shot yourself here

I never renounced my PP from my homecountry. But on taking the Oath, by default I lose the citizenship of homecountry. Even if I dont tell them and keep the PP, it wont work because when I travel out of US and reach home country there is no visa or GC for me to show. That would mean I am a citizen by default and immigration there can confiscate my PP. This is why I cant take the Oath till I have processed things back home.

On 7/9/2023 at 3:31 PM, srilankanmafia said:

Different issues, different treatment. Marriage establishes a “fiduciary duty” to the spouse. All this depends on your state laws as well. Community property or not. You’re the sponsor - in the eyes of the law, regardless of her immigration status and/or whether you signed the 864/134 or not. I never signed or provided a 134 and my husband came from DR as well. Just because you withdrew your immigration petition, it has nothing to do with your responsibility to provide for her now as well. She can be out of status but it’s highly unlikely they’ll remove her unless she commits a crime, etc. I agree with other comments that you should settle in mediation and make her sign a waiver of any and all future claims against you. Sorry you’re going through this. Wishing you all the best! 

I dont think this is true. I came through i864, went through divorce. After my divorce was done, I filed for support based on i864 at the Federal court, ofcourse was represented by an attorney but I had done all the homework related to evidences, proofs of income and defenses etc, it was a lot of work before I approached attorney to initiate this. My ex had two top attorneys but they knew it was a losing game and finally settled for what we asked. 

The fiduciary duty to support will be governed by the state family law, not the immigration laws or any obligation to support associated with it. In this case as the sponsor withdrew the petition and thus no green card was issued, there is no enforceable contract, simply because the contract did not ripen. The contract says if the immigrant is given a green card based on the marriage then the sponsor has an obligation to support her at a certain % of poverty level. Since the green card was never issued, even though the sponsor would have submitted a signed contract to USCIS , and a copy of which the wife can procure via FOIA, the defense would be there was no green card issued and thus the contracts conditions were never met.  Depending on the length of marriage and the common property generated during that time and the states family laws the husband might be on the hook for some short term support and it largely depends on the income and standard of living during marriage. The wife has no other option to gain a green card via this marriage or any other option. VAWA would require proofs such as reliable testimony or police/hospital/social worker reports etc. Else everyone could use that route to get a GC. She could go back on student visa or get remarried and gain green card via that.  

Hello All, I filed for N-400 and was approved. I got a letter to attend Oath ceremony two of which I had to postpone because I had to remain a citizen of my country while some financial processing was still going on in my home country (it was delayed because of covid backlog) so I request USCIS for a few more months. I mailed USCIS request for postponement ahead of the dates.

I was then scheduled for another Oath which I had to postpone because of health reasons (I required bed rest as advised by doctor for two months.). I send a request for postponement for this as well along with doctors note.

USCIS then mailed me a letter saying they are opening a motion to reopen my N-400 approval with an intent to deny. Reason was if three oaths are abandoned then its treated as the resident has no intention to naturalize and is treated as receiving a derogatory information after N-400 approval, and treated as such. I had 15 days to respond to it, and I responded to it submitting proofs of all the responses I had sent to USCIS requesting for postponement. There was no response from USCIS for several months while I waited to hear from them and when I called the customer service for an update they had none. After two weeks of that call I received a decision on my response denying the N-400. Reasons were as above. I can file for a Request for hearing (N-336) if I can overcome the presumption for denial (which is lack of intent to naturalize) in 30 days or 33 days (if decision was mailed to me). I was travelling and saw this in mail last week when I come back. 

Since it was mailed out I have 33 days and I am preparing the paperwork to file the hearing. I have the following queries if someone who has knowledge on this can help:

1) Because I am so close to the 33rd day I will be able to mail it out on 32 or 33rd day. Is it considered timely filed if I have the USPS seal with date on it (plan to sent this certified mail) or should it actually reach USCIS office and be received before the 33rd day ?

2) Do I count the days including the date on decision letter. It is dated Oct 3 2023. So does day 1 start from Oct 3 or from Oct 4 for calculating the 33 days. 

3) This hearing can take upto 180 days (as per rule) so realistically I am thinking it could be between 4-6 months out. If I get denied then I have to reapply N-400 again and wait out another 15 months. So I was planning to file N-336 now and next week file for N-400 (reapplication) so that even if the hearing doesnt help reverse the decision, I would only have to wait another 9 more months or so for decision on second N-400. I am prepared to pay fees for both, but I wanted to know if filing if this strategy will hold my N-400 in queue (until N-336 is decided) in which case I might as well only file N-336 now. Or filing both can automatically eliminate N-336 (if USCIS thinks reapplying N-400 means I am no longer interested in hearing). 

4) I plan to overcome the presumption that USCIS has (that I have no intent to naturalize) by submitting the responses showing the delay in a process in my home country (because of covid issues) and how I had to remain a citizen of that country till its done. That processing is now over so I can provide proof of that to show there is nothing stopping me from naturalizing. However if USCIS goes by how the law is then the office at hearing can uphold their decision. I am hoping for the discretion of officer and if I can convince him. If anyone has gone through this particular denial please let me know what other points could I use.

Much thanks. I know this is something made worse because of my special circumstances. I have to spend double the money and energy to straighten this now. 

Hello All, 

I had applied for N-400 and went through interview and got approved. I was then scheduled to appear for Oath in August 2022, and I couldnt attend as I was hospitalized and undergoing evaluations, so I send a letter to USCIS field office with doctors notes,reports explaining why I couldnt attend. I also called USCIS customer service and they noted the details. 

I got a letter from USCIS saying they never received a letter and was rescheduling me to December 2022. I was going to be outside US from January till April of 2023 so that I can take care of closing accounts and moving property etc for which I still have to remain citizen of my current county of citizenship (Once I take Oath, I immediately lose the citizenship of the other country and it takes months to process a visa to travel plus closing and moving property etc would become a hassle as I am no more a citizen of that country). Thus I send a letter in early December explaining all this, with copy of my airplane tickets and return ticket and send it in certified mail. 

My friend who was monitoring my mails in US said I received a letter in post (on Apr 15 2023) from USCIS with the heading "Notice of Motion to Reopen". It says I didnt attend oath both times and neither did I submit any correspondence to USCIS expaling why I was unable to appear on scheduled dates. Thus this creates presumption that I am no longer having an intent to become US citizen. This motion by USCIS is to reopen the decision approving my N-400, with an intent to deny the application. 

They asked me to respond in15 days if I wish to purse naturalization. If I dont respond, USCIS will deny my application as per 8 CFR 335.5.

I am still in my home country outside US. The process here is taking much longer and I wont be returning until July end. My friend in US can respond to USCIS on my behalf if I send him what should be response.

I have the following queries:

1) Can I still save my Citizenship and if so what response do I send them - I intend to include the previous responses I sent to USCIS with USPS tracking to show that I had communicated of my request to change oath date. Can I tell them I would need time till July when I am back in the country ? Or do I have to immediately fly back (which will jeopardize the work I am trying to get completed in my home country)

2) Can I have my friend go to USCIS field office (Infopass appointment) and explain this in person on my behalf

I called up customer service but it wasnt very helpful.

3) I did some googling and came across this :  https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-b-chapter-5

It says "USCIS considers multiple failures to appear to be equivalent to receipt of derogatory information after the approval of a naturalization application.. USCIS must not schedule an applicant for the administration of the Oath of Allegiance if USCIS receives or identifies disqualifying derogatory information. USCIS must not administer the Oath of Allegiance to the applicant until the matter is resolved favorably" 

Does it mean this motion (even if they go ahead with that despite my response to this letter) will remove me from current list of oath takers but my application will not be thrown away and they will wait till the matter is resolved ? 

4) Or does it mean this motion will terminate my US citizenship application and I will have to reapply from the beginning. In which case, does this denial create an prejudice for future applications ? 

5) Does this require me to involve an attorney now ? 

I only have 15 days which is April 30th to reply by. I will be much obliged for your helpful advices. 

Is it sure that after two times they will discard everything and one has to start from scratch ? Or is there a way to rescue ones application and still go for next oath ? 

So though other I-751 filers get a physical green card when they are approved, I wont receive it since I also got approved for N-400 ? And I cant request the card if I want to (personally I like the card than a stamp on passport as some airlines have issues with it).

2 hours ago, nastra30 said:

I think USCIS is referring to ADIT stamp through info-pass. Call them again to schedule info-pass.

They are referring to the 6 month I-551 stamp given on a passport. 

2 hours ago, Family said:

Sorry, my contingency I-90 receipt/ payment plan was assuming u had to travel NOW before u received the 10 yr card. 
Your local field office N-400 Supervisor ( address on the oath ceremony notice)

You indicated u needed 60 to 90 days..there is no “ rule” but reasonable requests 

You can reapply at any time, just be mindful of trips outside over 6 months 

Looks like N-400 will be processed under 6 months

I am told I wont be sent a Green card (physical copy) because USCIS thinks I am getting citizenship done. But I need a GC to travel out before citizenship. How do I initiate this ? When I call USCIS they say I can take a stamp on my passport.

17 minutes ago, Family said:

1. You can ask to reschedule oath ceremony ( for valid reasons such as  international/travel/work /health) but you don’t get to choose the date. No harm in asking to be rescheduled in 90 days or after…write out a

Request To Reschedule Oath Ceremony from xx to yy or after ..due to international travel and return date of xyz. 

 

2. You can pay the I-90 fee ( , online and print receipt,  since your old physical card is a 2 year and long time expired) ..but card won’t reach u in 3 months…so make sure u have it sent c/o Friend , especially since u will be out of US.   Get InfoPass and have  your passport stamped .

 

3. When traveling, show ur passport ( stamped I-551), old physical LPR card , I-751 Approval Notice and new  I-90 Filling Fee Receipt . 
 

4. Hopefully you get things wrapped up in time to take the oath . You could even try to get a second Reschedule Request in if u are not back…and sign up for a USCIS account so u can check alerts. 
 

5. It will not affect you negatively if you are unable to or decide to abandon current N-400…but it’s worth the effort to finish it given THE VERY LONG ( 6 yrs and 2xI-751? ) journey u made to get to the Finish Line ! 

 

 

Thanks for the reply.

I got a few more queries:

1) - Whom do I write the request to ? Is there a form for rescheduling that I fill u ? So I cannot extend it to more than 90 days ? 

2) What is  I-90 ? I thought when I-751 is approved, the new Green card is sent automatically and covered in the fees I paid for I-751 ? Or do I have to pay for new GC.

5) When and if I have to reapply for N-400, I guess the waiting period is about an year which is the time it takes to process ? 

32 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

.  What am I missing???  Did you file the I-751 extremely late?

Yes I had filed it while going through my divorce. Because it was delayed, my I-751 was denied once. So I refiled the second time after few years. And it was lagging so I applied for citizenship as I had completed 5 years. 

I had filed for I-751 (petition to remove conditions on my green card) and US Citizenship at the same time. I got my green card and also my citizenship interview on same day. Passed through both. My GC is now approved and thus I qualify to take the Oath. But I have a few things to take care of in my home country before I renounce their citizenship (they dont allow dual citizenship). And the nature of the work will take many months to accomplish. Also requires me travel there in person, sign a few papers etc for me to get this done.  I will not be sent a Green card (since USCIS perceives I am going in for Oath ceremony and becoming a citizen). I talked to USCIS and they said they can give me a stamp (I-551) on my passport. I have also been sent a letter with a Oath ceremony date.

My queries are:

- Can I postpone the Oath ceremony to several months later ? During this time can I get the Green card issued (the physical card instead of the stamp on passport).

- If I cant postponse Oath, and then decide not to take the Oath (as doing that would void my rights to get the property in my home country transferred or sold. Once I am not a citizen I have no rights), can I file for US citizenship again after I get things done at my home country. I dont have to remain there for long time, so I expect to keep my Green card safe by only being out of US for max of 2-3 months.

- If I dont take the oath ceremony and thus abandon  the opportunity to US Citizenship for now, will that mean I can now get the plastic Green Card (10 year). Would  me not taking the Oath jeapardize me future citizenship application ? 

15 hours ago, BioNat said:

1) Medicaid is state based. They usually don't even have their system's info well crossed either way. Also the questions in N-400 asks "Have you ever made any misrepresentation to obtain any public benefit in the United States?" and what you did is NOT that. If you were employed and THEN asked for Medicaid and lying to get it, then you would incur in that. Also, Medicaid is not based on if you are employed or not. It depends on your specific state's requirements, but usually there's a threshold, kids involved and such.
Do not offer information, but if they ask (I doubt, as I said, they don't cross information with State's systems, two different entities), you just say that you discontinued after having employment and able to purchase health insurance through your employer. So don't say things like "I should have discontinued the Medicaid insurance immediately" (even though that is not accurate either way, they work for the federal gov, not state, so they won't even know the details about that).

 

2) Try logging into IRS. Make an account if you don't have one. If you prove you filled your taxes, it's good enough. They just don't want people avoiding their tax duties, but they are not tax specialists.

 

 

Thanks for the clarification

I got my green card via marriage , later was divorced and filed I-751 (To remove conditions on my greencard that was placed due to marriage). As I had completed 5 years, I also applied for my citizenship. Both interviews are coming up on same day (they will first adjudicate and decide on I-751 and then go to N-400 interview).

I have these two queries:

1) I had a struggling phase during and after divorce as I was dependent on my spouse. After divorce I had no job for few years and had to depend on food stamps and Medicaid (government medical insurance). Two years back I started working and I discontinued the food stamp the next month. Since I didnt have an employer based health insurance I continued on Medicaid. I discontinued that after 6 months when the employer included me in their insurance plan. But I hear that once I started workign and earning, I should have discontinued the Medicaid insurance immediately. Would this hurt me in Citizenship interview ? If so what is a way to resolve this, can I pay back the 6 months that  I was using the Medicaid back to county ?

Or will my citizenship be denied ? 
Will this affect my green card (that will be decided based on I-751).

2) During the divorce proceeding I had received alimony and had to pay taxes but I was barely making ends meet so I couldnt pay the tax. I mentioned on my N-400 application (US Citizenship) that I havent filed tax for one year in the past and owes taxes. I have filed that tax last year but IRS is slow in processing (as it was late filing I had to do paper filing and it takes time to reflect in their system) so they have no proof to say they received my filing. Thus when I go to interview, I have nothing to show (except for a copy of the return I filed) USCIS that IRS has confirmed the receipt of my tax filing. I have also paid taxes (adjusted it against previous years refund). Will this delay or deny my US citizenship or would I be given another opportunity to come with the tax proof from IRS (it takes several weeks or months for IRS to start processing).

Thanks

I am going in for my interview. Its a combined N-400 and I -751 interview. I am divorced and thus I-751 is to remove conditions on my green card.

I have submitted a copy of my divorce decree with the application. The interview notice doesnt mention I should go with the original divorce decree, but I read some people mention on VisaJourney that they went with a certified copy of the divorce decree.

Could someone who has been to a I-751 interview (to remove conditions because of divorce) confirm if USCIS needs a CERTIFIED copy of divorce decree or not ? And do I need to go in with an Entry of Judgement too (from the family law court)  ?

Thanks

2 hours ago, Mr Genuis said:

Your N400 can not take place without you having an approval for I751. You must be approved for i751 in order to process your N400. Most cases I have seen have Combo Interview. Meaning they will get N400 interview after I751 interview thesame day and time. 

When you say interview, are these to ask details about my GC, work, why I filed I-751 and to gauge the genuiness of marriage etc  or is it the civics test (in case of N-400 interview).

If one fails the civics test, do they get another chance or does one have to reapply again ? 

5 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

35 minutes ago, Alexmat1 said:

Would my I-751 be also decided at the same interview ?

Not necessarily.

So they would do my N-400 interview but not decide on my underlying green card ? Is this interview also the civics test ? 

I came to US in 2013 through marriage and went through a divorce. I filed for I-751 in 2015 but it was denied as I couldnt submit my divorce decree on time. I later filed a second I-751 years later in 2020 and also N-400 alongwith and I recently got a letter to go for an interview for N-400.

I have the following queries if someone can help me who has similar experience or knowledge on the same:

1) My first I-751 was denied in 2016 and I didnt reapply until 2020 October. The first time I took the help of an attorney for the paperwork , the second time I did it myself and I can explain each evidence submitted and explain my case to the officer. However given that I didnt repally for 4 years after my first I-751 was denied ( no reason other than that I was busy with my family law case and reapplying for I-751 took low priority) do you think its better to go with an attorney as this could be a potential issue ? 

2) I was not working for many years after I married and till recently. Thus I was on Food stamps and Medicaid. Would this create an issue with Green card (though these are not considered public charge),  would it be better to have an attorney present to explain this

3) The interview is for my N-400 (citizenship). Would my I-751 be also decided at the same interview ? Is this the interview where they ask you questions about US history etc and test you on that. What resources can you suggest for me to prepare for this ? 

Thanks

I had filed for N-400 and I-751 in September 2020 and I have been called for an interview for N-400. Does this mean at this interview, they will also decide on my I-751 case ? Should I go in with an attorney ? 

32 minutes ago, HRQX said:

There isn't a public charge determination when adjudicating Form I-751.

If you want you can also file Form N-400 since more than five years have passed since 2013: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3 You can still file N-400 while the I-751 is pending.

Thanks. But if I travel and re enter the country, every time a green card or conditional card holder enters US, they are subject to public charge evaluation. Couldnt the CBP officer see I have been a recipient of these programs and stop me ? I havent travelled for many years because of this.

33 minutes ago, HRQX said:

There isn't a public charge determination when adjudicating Form I-751.

If you want you can also file Form N-400 since more than five years have passed since 2013: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3 You can still file N-400 while the I-751 is pending.

Yes I did that. I applied for N-400 right after I-751 thinking it will speed up the process. 

I came into the country in 2013 on a conditional green card. I went through a divorce and thus had to file I-751 during divorce. It was denied because my divorce case was ongoing and I couldnt submit the divorce decree. This was in 2015.

In 2020, I reapplied I-751 again (the 5 years in between was tough and reapplying was on the back burner). My I-751 is in process and I have been fingerprinted. During this time I had to rely on Food stamps and Medicaid because I couldnt work for a long time. I  assume these are not considered as public charge and wouldnt be counted against me when they decide on my I-751 to issue me a permanent green card ? 
 

Last year and this year I also applied to Covid rent relief program (a program run by Federal and State governments) where they paid for the rent to landlords if tenants were low income or facing eviction. I qualified because I couldnt work. I received rent for about 15 months. Though it is not a cash aid program as in I didnt receive cash in my hand, it still was money paid to my landlord for rent. 

Is this considered as a public charge ? Would this affect my I-751 or issuance of permanent Green card ? 

Hello,

I came into US through a marriage, got divorced before the 2 year anniversary. I applied to remove conditions in 2015. My divorce took a long time in court, so I couldnt submit that divorce decree in time which is required as part of I-751. My conditional green card expired in 2015. My I-751 was denied (because I didnt have the divorce decree in time which was required) in 2016. The letter said my conditional green card is terminated and to expect a NTA before a judge. 

After couple of years, I reapplied I-751 again (after waiting for NTA for those years which never came) in 2020. Its still in process. I have also applied for N-400  (Citizenship) as I completed 5 plus years of being in US as a LPR. I was told N-400 can speed up my I-751 application.

I have got I-797 (Receipt notice from I-751 application). Also receipt notice for my N-400.

I have an urgent need to travel to my home country and be there for about a month to 2 months. My queries are as below:

1) The I-797 extension letter is useless in my case as my conditional green card was expired from 2016, so there was nothing to extend. In this case what document proves my valid LPR status when I re enter ? 

2) I was advised to get a I-551 stamp on my passport before travelling out. Is this good enough to re enter US or would CBP (Border Patrol) still deny me entry

3) Any other safe options to travel and re enter safely - like applying for advanced parole (not sure if this applies for  I-751).

4) Is there a chance that while I am out of the country for 2 months, they take a decision on my case (worst case deny my I-751 application) in which case if I travel back, would I be send back or allowed to enter and produced before a judge ? Given due process ? 

5) In relation to  (4) above, would and is USCIS required to inform me of their tentative decision and give me chance to produce additional evidence/documents before they actually deny my case ? I read that there is a recent rule from last year or so where USCIS doesnt have to do that and can terminate/deny I-751 without RFE (Request for Evidence).

Thanks for your time.