mam521

The children are under 18 and have obtained derivative citizenship through my naturalization. That is not in question. When they became LPR's, I was able to present to the interviewing officer a notarized statement from their father in addition to the informal Parenting Agreement. It was to a human, though, and they could ask questions (they didn't). When I got their passports, I was able to provide the DS-3052. I read earlier today on one of the immigration lawyer sites that a custody agreement is an example of evidence and not necessarily a requirement. In our case, it would be because the Family Law Act for the jurisdiction the father lives in does not require the Parenting Agreement to be filed in court so long as the guardians can make decisions for the children that are in their best interest. It's also important to note the agreement was made prior to obtaining both my PR and naturalization. If this is the case, a notarized letter from their father, like the one we had during our consular interview in addition to our Parenting Agreement, should suffice. It's really frustrating that there are formalized provisions for passports, but not for this. This requirement is really discriminatory against parents who can co-parent effectively and don't require, nor should they pay for lawyers and court time. Honestly, if I had sole custody, I wouldn't even have had to notify their father that I applied for their passports. By requiring the DS-3052, he is fully aware and provided permission for me to do so. It makes more sense to have a provision for a case like this where one can prove both parents are onboard with a simple notarized form.

The N-600 instructions, item 9 refers to Proof of Legal and Physical custody. Physically, yes, they reside with me. But I am not the sole conservator. Their father, who lives in Canada, and I partake in a joint managing conservatorship without a legally binding agreement as issued by a court. As such, I technically cannot prove that I have the legal right to apply for their citizenship certificates. When it came to their passports, Kid1 was old enough to have only 1 parent present. For Kid2, their father signed the DS-3052 and had it notarized for me so I could apply. Communication is an issue! Husband files I-130 to petition for us (USCIS) but our consular processing is handled by NVC (Department of State). Then you have AP which is administered by DOS, but utilizes which ever security agencies are required. It feels like a game of hot potato.

I have a friend who did Invisalign as an adult and she had lots of issues with different trays rubbing gums and causing pain. She said it was great for weightloss because you don't realize how often you want to shove something in your mouth but can't with a tray in! This is where we're at. Kid2 went through the whole process and got the braces off nearly a year ago. Said child needs to be reminded that the retainers need to go in at bedtime (they're essentially Invisalign) because I'm not forking over many $$$ for another round of braces. The end result is pretty amazing though and I was given Kid2's mouth molds in case a retainer goes missing or breaks. Kid1 is now in braces and opted for them because the Ortho said straight up it's faster and more effective to get the braces over Invisalign. Kid1 also knows that they'd not wear the trays properly, especially during sensory moments, which, of course, would correlate with new trays, etc. Getting physical braces meant there was no avoiding them. Luckily, things are moving along a little bit faster than the ortho anticipated, so the braces are likely to come off a month to 6 weeks earlier than anticipated. That said, Kid1 had 4 wisdom teeth removed on Friday. Everything went well, but this kid can be a bit of a hypochondriac. The dentist said text or call of anything is needed, so a text was sent by a complaining Kid1, reassurance given that what was being experienced is normal and that the one side of the jaw where more work had to happen is likely to be far more sore than the rest. Happy Birthday, Mini-B! We discovered yesterday that Kid2 is officially taller than I am, so I feel this! Hopefully nothing froze and broke at your place over these past few days of freezing temps! School was cancelled yesterday due to ice on the overpasses. Someone in our district parents group was saying they should cancel school again today because it was going to be cold. I laughed and said no, you should probably invest in some hats and mitts and a nylon shelled jacket because this is gonna happen again Friday and probably in December and then again next year. Dress your kid in layers and they'll be fine. She was like "but what if a bus breaks down?!". Lady, you're in the 'burbs of Houston and your kid attends one of the largest school districts in the state. The buses are not 50 miles from nothing in west Texas and I can assure you, your precious child will not die when it's just below freezing if they have to stay on the bus for a bit until the bus barn sends another bus. Worst case scenario - the kids take refuge in a nearby business. How does she think the northern states or Canada survive? My 2 nieces and my nephew went to school on Monday and it was -29°C/-20°F with a windchill of -44°C/-47°F. You put on your layers, and then some more layers and you get on with it. Is it fun? Not really. But you can't just stay home because it's chilly!

I understand this. However, did you read what I've written regarding custody? That is the challenge.

In the past, the post office didn't take the greencards. The post office took the greencards and returned them to USCIS, so they know the kids have passports. Like I said, the issue is a custody agreement. We've not needed one in the past. The IO for our greencards accepted a lawyer notarized letter from their father and for the passports, he had the DS-3053 notarized for me. I wonder if yet another notarized letter would be accepted. It's really a headache when people know how to adult in the best interest of their children.

As an LPR, you're still expected to file US income tax unless you formally rescind your US PR. By leaving the US and letting your PR expire doesn't mean you're off the hook, either. That just means your PR card has expired. If you get citizenship, you're still responsible for those taxes, but you can live anywhere in the world without worrying so much about being pulled into secondary or being handed a notice to appear because you're on record as an LPR, stayed out of country for an extended period of time and are attempting to reenter, even just for a visit.

It's cheaper to file for citizenship again! The challenge is their father and I happily adult, so we don't have a court ordered custody agreement. This is a requirement for the N-600. Not sure how to get around that and it seems redundant considering they were allowed their greencards and passports without it.

What are the actual advantages to filing the N-600 for the purpose of obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship for minors who already have a US Passport and a US Passport card? It's an expensive form to file two times and I question the necessity. Maybe this is a question best answered by @Mike E

My oldest will still be required to go take the oath because they're 16. It doesn't make any sense that this form is $1140 but the other is $725!

$540 to file to replace the GC with the married name.

Yup, as long as the names match, it's good. Just be forewarned, its $540 for the greencard. And she'll still have to change the passport. I'd honestly just put the 3 years in and put that $540 toward the $725 filing fee for the N-400!

To legally change her last name in Canada, your wife would have had to have notified federal agencies like CRA, Social Security and the province to update her health card as well as update her passport. If you wanted her greencard to come in her married name, she would have had to have updated her passport to reflect the married name so the visa that is affixed to the passport matches the passport. If married name is important, and for the sake of less headache, can you get a new urgent Canadian passport in her married name? Otherwise, you'll have to file an I-90 once you're in the US to change it at a cost to you. The other option is to do what many others do - they just wait until they naturalize to change their name when they file the N-400. Of possible interest. OP's spouse got a new passport ahead of the interview.

I naturalized at the end of April last year with required work travel booked before my ceremony was even scheduled. Attend your ceremony, get your certificate and then when it's within 10 days of travel, call DoS and ask for an emergency appointment. The caveat here is that you may not get an appointment where you live - you may have to travel within the US for your appointment. Additionally, you may not get a same day passport. It's often next day passport, so you have to be prepared to spend 2 days sitting in a passport office. When you do get your appointment, you will have to provide the passport officer your evidence of travel in addition to your passport application and naturalization certificate. You will get the naturalization certificate back when you pick up your passport. Make sure you CHECK the passport for correctness before you leave the building. Mine had a typo which lead to an additional 3 hours of waiting for a reprint of the passport.

I think the point is you believe in this moment that it is unnecessary, but it could become very necessary and then costly, both financially and physically (time) in the future when you could save the headache and file now.

Final update. We have received the passport cards for the kids. They came from Tucson. The required submitted documents have also been returned. I suppose next stop is to apply for citizenship certificates for the kids.

Not sure on how long NVC is taking to documentarily qualify petitions. Montreal is seeing about a 3-6 month wait between DQ and interview. Montreal does have a seemingly higher instance of DS-5535's being handed out, though.

You should fill out your timeline so people can better serve you. Knowing what consulate you're dealing with will help to understand timelines.

This is how mine was handled in April of 2023. Returned upon receipt of the passport.

Do you already have an approved I-130?

Likely no less than 6 months, possibly more than a year. The thread posted above are all Montreal interviews that were handed the DS-5535.

I naturalized in April and got my passport right away. We just got passports for my kids in Dec. 2023. The post office took my physical naturalization certificate and sent it with their applications. You'll need the actual certificate unless you have certified copies of the original.

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=464705 No expected date and no guarantees it's the 3rd week.

As a person that owned a house and sold it while in the US, sell it before. My word - dealing with CRA is a pain in the rear to begin with, but dealing with CRA NR division is even worse, if that's believable. Tax withholding coupled with clearance certificates...sell before!

It's advised you wait 10 days before you apply for your SSN. After that, it's not long. Register for Informed Delivery and you can watch for the envelope to appear in mail tracking. You can begin working as soon as your visa is endorsed as it serves as proof of identity and employment authorization. If an employer tries to deny you the opportunity to begin work, show them the instructions for form I-9.