IsItLekker

Hi guys! This will be our final check in here. Hubby took his oath today and it was a beautiful little ceremony in a library. He was able to register to vote this evening after we got back and voted for the first time in a US election. They also gave him a full American Flag provided by a local veteran's chapter. Good luck everyone! Your day will be here soon!
 

Hi guys! This will be our final check in here. Hubby took his oath today and it was a beautiful little ceremony in a library. He was able to register to vote this evening after we got back and voted for the first time in a US election. They also gave him a full American Flag provided by a local veteran's chapter. Good luck everyone! Your day will be here soon!
 

Hi guys! This will be our final check in here. Hubby took his oath today and it was a beautiful little ceremony in a library. He was able to register to vote this evening after we got back and voted for the first time in a US election. They also gave him a full American Flag provided by a local veteran's chapter. Good luck everyone! Your day will be here soon!
 

Well, today was the citizenship interview at the Centennial Field Office (Denver). Since the I-751 had not been approved yet, they did a joint interview. I went with hubs and took our young son just in case they needed to talk to me, but they didn't. We made the error of stopping at Starbucks on our way to the interview and I was forced to down the whole coffee in the parking lot since you aren't allowed to bring food or drink inside. 🤢 We passed through security and had to give them his interview letter at the desk in the waiting room. We arrived the recommended 30 minutes early for the appointment and they were about 20 minutes late. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes from when they called him back, so we were there for over an hour. Officer approved both the I-751 and the citizenship application. Hubs was told to look for the oath ceremony scheduling in about a week in our mail, but we were notified the oath ceremony had been scheduled online about two hours later. Oath Ceremony will be November 7th at 11am at a library in Colorado Springs! Hubby is excited and I'm so proud of him. Almost done!!!
 

Well, today was the citizenship interview. Even though our I-751 showed no movement, turns out they had it and did a joint interview. I accompanied my husband just in case they needed to speak with me, but they didn't. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes. Officer approved both the I-751 and the citizenship application. They didn't even ask to see any of the documents he brought with him. He was told to look for the oath ceremony scheduling in about a week in our mail, but we were notified the oath ceremony had been scheduled online about two hours later. Oath Ceremony will be November 7th! Good luck to everyone, our Removal of Conditions journey is over.
 

Well, today was the citizenship interview at the Centennial Field Office (Denver). Since the I-751 had not been approved yet, they did a joint interview. I went with hubs and took our young son just in case they needed to talk to me, but they didn't. We made the error of stopping at Starbucks on our way to the interview and I was forced to down the whole coffee in the parking lot since you aren't allowed to bring food or drink inside. 🤢 We passed through security and had to give them his interview letter at the desk in the waiting room. We arrived the recommended 30 minutes early for the appointment and they were about 20 minutes late. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes from when they called him back, so we were there for over an hour. Officer approved both the I-751 and the citizenship application. Hubs was told to look for the oath ceremony scheduling in about a week in our mail, but we were notified the oath ceremony had been scheduled online about two hours later. Oath Ceremony will be November 7th at 11am at a library in Colorado Springs! Hubby is excited and I'm so proud of him. Almost done!!!
 

Well, today was the citizenship interview. Even though our I-751 showed no movement, turns out they had it and did a joint interview. I accompanied my husband just in case they needed to speak with me, but they didn't. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes. Officer approved both the I-751 and the citizenship application. They didn't even ask to see any of the documents he brought with him. He was told to look for the oath ceremony scheduling in about a week in our mail, but we were notified the oath ceremony had been scheduled online about two hours later. Oath Ceremony will be November 7th! Good luck to everyone, our Removal of Conditions journey is over.
 

Well, today was the citizenship interview at the Centennial Field Office (Denver). Since the I-751 had not been approved yet, they did a joint interview. I went with hubs and took our young son just in case they needed to talk to me, but they didn't. We made the error of stopping at Starbucks on our way to the interview and I was forced to down the whole coffee in the parking lot since you aren't allowed to bring food or drink inside. 🤢 We passed through security and had to give them his interview letter at the desk in the waiting room. We arrived the recommended 30 minutes early for the appointment and they were about 20 minutes late. The whole appointment took about 20 minutes from when they called him back, so we were there for over an hour. Officer approved both the I-751 and the citizenship application. Hubs was told to look for the oath ceremony scheduling in about a week in our mail, but we were notified the oath ceremony had been scheduled online about two hours later. Oath Ceremony will be November 7th at 11am at a library in Colorado Springs! Hubby is excited and I'm so proud of him. Almost done!!!
 

We just received notification today that the interview has been scheduled for Oct 26th! I'm so grateful this process seems to be going more quickly than the other stages. 
 
Applied: 7/15
Re-used Biometrics
Interview Scheduled: 9/18
Interview Date: 10/26
 

Still no movement on our I-751, but we just found out hub's citizenship interview has been scheduled for next month. 
 
July 2022 - Applied I-751
July 15, 2023 - Applied N-400
Biometrics Waived
September 18 - Interview Scheduled
Oct 26 - Interview Date

We just received notification today that the interview has been scheduled for Oct 26th! I'm so grateful this process seems to be going more quickly than the other stages. 
 
Applied: 7/15
Re-used Biometrics
Interview Scheduled: 9/18
Interview Date: 10/26
 

We just received notification today that the interview has been scheduled for Oct 26th! I'm so grateful this process seems to be going more quickly than the other stages. 
 
Applied: 7/15
Re-used Biometrics
Interview Scheduled: 9/18
Interview Date: 10/26
 

Still no movement on our I-751, but we just found out hub's citizenship interview has been scheduled for next month. 
 
July 2022 - Applied I-751
July 15, 2023 - Applied N-400
Biometrics Waived
September 18 - Interview Scheduled
Oct 26 - Interview Date

We just received notification today that the interview has been scheduled for Oct 26th! I'm so grateful this process seems to be going more quickly than the other stages. 
 
Applied: 7/15
Re-used Biometrics
Interview Scheduled: 9/18
Interview Date: 10/26
 

💥Surprising update:
 
Application submitted online on 07/09/2023.
Received a receipt notice 07/09/2023.
Received a biometrics appointment notice 07/14/2023.
Biometrics appointment was on 08/02/2023.
Received a interview appointment notice 09/08/2023. (Separate interview dates for husband and wife 24 & 26 /10/2023.)
Request submitted to cancel appointments 09/08/2023. (Due to conflict with international trip. Called USCIS customer service to cancel the appointment.)
Received 2nd interview appointment notice 09/13/2023.
Interview appointment 30/10/2023. (Husband and wife are scheduled together this time round.)
 
We were very surprised to receive a new interview appointment within a week from cancelling our appointment. We were told to expect the new interview date to be 1-2 months out. Our new appointment date was scheduled 4 days later than our original date and works perfectly for us.
 
I'm grateful for the agent who is performing their work diligently.  

Please update when you get an oath date, I am curious to know how they will handle your timeline for citizenship.

Hey guys!
 
Even though we already knew biometrics were waived from the document online, we did receive a paper copy of the notice to reuse fingerprints in the mail on Monday (7/24).
 
Now we wait!
 

This might be helpful (link).  I have no experience with Denver, but my wife and I did have a combo interview back when she naturalized.  In our case, the IO asked me to come back as well and she went over the I751 with us as well as asking if we wanted to add any additional information (we added updated tax transcripts since submitting the I751).  That lasted about 5 minutes at most, then I left, and my wife and the IO proceeded with the N400 interview.  Back then combo's were fairly uncommon, I am hearing more stories of folks getting their I751 approved without an interview when the N400 is also pending.  It may or may not be because of a complete and comprehensive i751, or other irregularities that an IO may see.
 
Good Luck!
 
https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=&cty=Denver+CO&dfilter=5 

Hi guys!
 
Final stage! Hubs just applied on 7-15-2023 for Citizenship through marriage. Biometrics have been waived, so I guess all we do now is wait and see when they can get us in for an interview (it appears I will also have to be there since we haven't had the removal of conditions interview yet). We also received the 9 month estimate, but I'm hoping it will be faster since others at our field office (Denver) seem to get appointments within four months or so.
 
Good luck to us all!
 

 

If you were married abroad (in this case Canada), you will have to either apply for a court ordered name change (costly, and time consuming) or go to a local county clerk and recorder and get "married" again in the state of Colorado. Getting married again is a lot less painful. Arapaho County totally knew what was up and it was relatively painless once we realized this was the best course of action. I think Denver and El Paso Counties also had the ability to do this, but Arapahoe had the shortest wait times. I would call their office first to confirm they are still doing it this way, and then schedule the appointment for a marriage license online. Make sure you take your original marriage certificate with you and the process should take around thirty minutes. After you get it and the certified copies, you should be able to get your name changed at the DMV.

I am very curious how this turned out for you.   I married my husband in canada but i live in Colorado. He just immigrated here a month ago.  I am trying to change my name and running into the same walls.  You have done a lot of leg work here.  Any help is much appreciated.   

Thank you so much for all of the replies you guys! I really appreciate everyone taking the time to answer. I honestly thought it was just going to fall through the cracks. 😅

So I have continued to reach out, per some of the advice on this thread. Unfortunately, I did not send off to get my passport yet as it required my original marriage certificate and I thought I needed it for the DMV (bummer). If it was a matter of just changing it whenever, I'd go ahead and apply for the passport and deal with the license later, but since my name is already changed federally, I am on a deadline in the state of Colorado to inform them of my name change (within 30 days). That is why I have been in a bit of a panic... that deadline is in less than a week. 

So far, I have sought 2 avenues proposed here. Remarrying in state and court ordered name change.

Remarrying appears to be the fastest method, but I still question the legality of it all. It will officially solemnize our marriage in the state from the date we sign the license, but it supposedly will acknowledge we were previously married.

Court ordered name change seems to also be an option, however since it must be performed in the county where I live, I am less than thrilled with this option as they had no idea what to do when I called them. I was told to consult an attorney. Also, I must submit to finger printing and background checks which could taken a few weeks before I can even apply. 

I contacted the Colorado Attorney General's office and they gave me a canned response about calling my county and asking them for the process to record the marriage (...I have already done this and the result was still rejected by the DMV, probably due to the fact my county has no idea what is going on). However, he did provide me with an email for Vital Records for the state, so I have contacted them to see if they can explain it to me, so that I may in turn explain it to my county clerk and recorder. 

I've determined the word register, record, and certify mean different things to different people. None of the offices are on the same page here. I'll keep you guys updated if I hear anything else, if for no other reason than that there will be an answer to this clusterf**k for anyone else going through this insane process in the future. 

Hi guys!
 
I have no idea if anyone here knows the answer, but I am at a total loss. I have been trying to get my last name changed since my husband immigrated in October. I was able to get my name changed on my Social Security card and my voter registration. I can even get my name changed on my passport. However, when I went to change my name on my driver's license, I was informed that I had to take the marriage certificate to the clerk and recorders office in my county and register my marriage in the US as they couldn't accept my marriage certificate from abroad (Hong Kong). I went and had the marriage certificate recorded by the clerk in my county, and even received a certified copy of the document (noting the marriage). I went back and was told once more that they cannot accept the document. The DMV will not accept the foreign marriage certificate, so... what do I do from here? The US recognizes our marriage, but the state does not. My social security number is no longer tied to the name that is on my photo ID. Do I need to get remarried in the US? Is that even a thing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey July filers! Well, the time has finally come for us to return to Visajourney. We sent our form off via Fed Ex on 7/20 and received notification they delivered it on Monday. Hubs just got a text about half an hour ago confirming USCIS has received the form and there is a pending credit card transaction. We were freaking out because we just moved last month, but the address change didn't go through on my credit card (very long story). I spent the past hour hounding my credit card company to confirm that they were going to process the charge. Now we just await the NOA to find out where we will be headed. Step 1 completed, I guess. 

Oh dang, I realize I forgot to update this thread so people will know the maddening drill. I ended up communicating with a Senior Constituent Advocate for my US Representative. She hooked me up with the head of the DMV for the region of Colorado I live in. 

First, they are well aware of the fact that this issue exists. My perplexed call to them was not the first and it will not be the last. The advocate mentioned that she was trying to garner enough information to be able to push for them to do something about this at the congressional level (other states have similar issues), due to the fact the requirements are discriminatory and unnecessarily burdensome to women (as women are usually the ones to change their family name after marriage).

It turns out there is really only one quick legal channel to change your name on your driver's license in the state of Colorado if you were married abroad. I confirmed this both with the representative's office and the head of the DMV.
 
You must go in to a local county office (does NOT have to be the county you live in) and you have to set an appointment to get a marriage license.

In our case, we brought our foreign marriage certificate and it was noted in the system at the time we applied for the new license that we had been married abroad and the date of that marriage. Apparently, it is totally legal to remarry the same person. We signed the new license in front of the issuing admin and were issued a new marriage certificate from the county. The whole process took less than half an hour. They also issued a couple of certified copies of the marriage certificate at the same time (you want these... they are cheaper if you get them at the same time).

When you go to the DMV you can take the actual certificate or the certified copy with your social security card to the DMV. Apparently this is enough for the name change.

Federal law regulating the issuance of "real ID" driver's licenses are responsible for this giant pain in the behind. As of when I spoke with these offices, there was no active plan to improve the process. Hopefully, this will help you if you are trying to get your name changed in Colorado.

P.S. If you wait for your passport, you can use it to change your name without all this nonsense, however, I only received my passport with my legal name a few weeks ago due to the outrageous backlog. The whole name change process has been a 1 out of 10, do not recommend.