PGA

I lived in Clear Lake for a significant chunk, although it was years ago (I'm sure much has changed), but it wasn't too bad just a lot of traffic.

Seriously, I am waiting to see which city is the first (Portland, Seattle maybe) to erect a statue of the ayatollah in the town square.

I saw this earlier and wasn't sure what to make of it, but I do know that it seems like ANY government program or system somehow seems to become riddled with fraud and abuse.

My criminal law professor back in college: "Bigamy is the only crime that punishes itself."

That is what I thought too until we attempted to make an appointment with Social Security...it seems the battle is far from over.

Ok, so naturalization ceremony went well. The USCIS attendants were all very nice, encouraging photos and videos, making jokes and what not. My wife was allowed to bring 3 guests and in the end got her certificate.

You have a couple of things you need to meet: 3 years of marriage (for filing under 3 year rule) AND 3 years as a permanent resident (special emphasis on the term resident) with no lengthy and/or overly frequent absences from the United States. That said, you can apply for the N400 90 days before the date on your green card and as @Dashinka mentioned, most people caution against filing on the exact 90 day mark, even suggesting to file several days later, such as day 85.

So, our N-400 experience thus far. On, January 27, 2026, we received the notification through the USCIS account that the interview was scheduled for February 6, 2026. We had anticipated having about a month to prepare so were taken aback that it was coming up much quicker than that. The next morning, I went into my trusty google maps to plan our route to the office and thought I would check out those glorious google reviews. As I read through them, they seemed simply delightful “interview officer…was amazing,” “great experience…kind,” “well treated and respected,” and even a few “if I could give more than 5 stars I would!” I read on. Uh oh, I thought, what are these sudden and unexpected 1 star reviews doing here I wondered. “Everyone at the office was kind—except for the officer who interviewed my husband ….. we had the bad luck of being assigned to someone we had already heard negative things about before,” she continues “The only description we can give, since she refused to identify herself, is that she is a Black woman,” and another reviewer notes “This person didn’t introduce herself and ignored my mother when she asked for her name, therefore we do not know her name, all we know is that it’s a black lady.” I immediately thought to myself “uh oh, I know who my honey is gonna get!” Moving on, my wife took to focusing on studying and preparing for the exam while I prepared additional documentation to upload and print, spending the equivalent of a small European country’s GDP on printer ink. The whole week was basically preparing, fretting over what may have been missed, what should be included, which questions will be asked and what physical documents will be requested but by the end of the week, I felt semi comfortable we had everything we needed. On the morning of the interview, scheduled for 7:15am, we awoke at 4:00am to make ourselves look presentable (I had read a review where a guy that sounded a lot like me got scolded for wearing shorts and sandals so I didn’t go that route). We arrived early, and fortunately there was a Dunkin Donuts nearby so I got a coffee while my wife freaked out in the car. Pulling back up to the USCIS office at around 6:50, I could see a few other patrons in their cars had started to accumulate, but fortunately there was a parking spot right in front of the door so I snagged that. As we waited patiently in the car, an officer came out to raise the American flag on the flag pole and I tried to encourage my wife to get out of the car and place her hand on her heart and start reciting the pledge – she was not in the mood for that. About 7am, we got out and were first in line followed by just a couple and their legal rep and a couple others. Went through security and checked in at the window and everyone was very welcoming and friendly. My wife got her number and was told to sit by the door on the other side. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes – they did call a few other people in first and everything was going pretty smooth. Finally, at just about 7:20, the door opens and my wife’s number is called and I look up and see “the black lady” …. I thought, “Oh No!” So, I am thinking there goes my wife, to the back, to be beaten and flogged. Well, the interview lasted about 40 minutes and naturally I sat there the entire time wondering what was going on back there, while also trying to listen to the conversations taking place around me regarding the trials and tribulations of others’ immigration journeys. Finally, the report – she was approved: First, she was asked the questions: -What is an amendment? -What is the “rule of law?” -What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? -What are the two major political parties in the United States? -We elect a US Representative for how many years? -Who is the father of our country? She doesn’t remember what they asked her to read but the writing question was “The US Congress has 100 senators.” The remainder of the interview was going over the questions on the N-400 form which my wife said took up the majority of time with the yes, yes, no, no, no answers. There was also a surprise here where the interviewing officer stopped midway and asked her to repeat the question she had just been asked, which she had remembered (fortunately). She passed and was approved. As for me, I was curious about the interviewing officer and if all the stories were true (My wife had not read the reviews prior to the interview). According to my wife, the IO wasn't that bad but she did understand how people could perceive her as being mean or rude. She was a bit impatient at times (pushing the submit button after the writing portion and my wife trying to read stuff before signing her name to it, for example) and, during the N400 question review, my wife said that the IO was asking the questions in a way that made you “feel guilty” even though you’re not. Anyway....now preparing for the ceremony! Oh, and despite my huge financial contribution the printer ink industry, no documents were requested-not a one.

OK, Oath Ceremony scheduled for February 17th. Speedy Gonzales here in Ft Myers all of a sudden!

Had interview this morning and was approved. If I can gather all the details from my spouse in a coherent manner, I'll try to do a review of the experience later.

Oh my, I really had to laugh at this one. So a Cuban national steals meat from two different Publix, apparently to bring back to his girlfriend, only to find out when he gets there that she is getting her meat from another supplier. The jokes just write themselves which the Flagler County Sheriff made obvious. https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/publix-meat-thief-snatches-nearly-4k-in-beef-pork-from-florida-stores-deputies/

My wife has her N400 interview (no combo and using 3 year rules) next week and obviously since we applied we have additional evidence. Initially, I was just going to print it to take along but I'm wondering if it might be better to upload prior to interview? A quick search showed mixed opinions (I'm sure I'll get the same here) but what are your thoughts and why?

Yeah, this whole thing sounds suspicious. Dad is dying but he can't go to the US for medical treatment unless the children can go? Also, can anyone explain to me what "money in a social security account" is? If dad has worked the required time to be eligible to collect benefits from Social Security but has not signed up for Medicare, particularly Part B, then that is issue #1. If he was automatically enrolled in Part A, but didn't sign up for Part B, that is problem #2. He will need to wait until open enrollment begins (January, 2027) and sign up and pay a penalty each month....Maybe I'm just misunderstanding all of this and need much more clarification.

So my wife got the notification this morning that the interview is scheduled for February 06 (#!*#!) - a lot less final preparation time than we were anticipating. Gonna be a crazy week!

In Peru they had a weird thing with yellow underwear on New Years so I had years of accumulated yellow underwear. I informed my wife I would not be taking part in that tradition this year.

Also, that is an actual question that they do actually ask, it's on the form. So are you changing your answer from "yes" to "it's pretty insignificant?"

First, "Trump's changes" for legal immigration processes so far just seem to be actually following the laws on the books that seem to have been very loosely or not followed at all by previous administrations, by both Democrats and Republicans. Second, if I had a nickel for every lawyer who has given me bad advice, both personally and online, I would be laying on my yacht in the South Pacific asking the steward for my next margarita. Third, "some weird people online" .... almost everyone online is weird and are looking to say the most outrageous things to get clicks, likes and views, which eventually is monetized content for them. Now, will the government shutdown cause some delays, maybe. However, this process is funded by all the fees we pay, so I don't believe it will come to an absolute standstill.

OMG, these are some of the worst answers I could even imagine. First, @MMRF, quit believing everything you see on the news. I want to be an American because I desire to have the freedoms set forth in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution that many other countries just don't offer. I want to have the ability to achieve the American dream and the ability to be successful in that endeavor. I want to participate in my civic responsibilities, as an American, to make a better future for myself, my family, and all Americans.

If you have a joint sponsor willing, then I recommend doing it in advance. If you have a reluctant but willing joint sponsor and try without one, then go to the interview, get the 221g (if they give you one) and submit the joint sponsor's information; realize though that this can add an additional 2-3 months or more.

Yes, but the $330 is only if you actually are awarded correct? An application fee could be some big money. If you're saying $170 to apply and then $330 additional if you actually win, count me in! I like that idea.

Well, I was going to respond that maybe it's this kind of thinking that has us over $37t in debt; but now I'm thinking maybe a $20 fee is more appropriate - speaking of lottery, some scratchers are $50 now. Anyway, $1 definitely seems too low considering there is an application, a web portal, a computer system, database, etc., that all needs to be designed and maintained.

Excellent point. Now, we just need to implement an additional $5000 "adjustment of status fee" so maybe people will stop changing their intent at baggage claim. 😝

Looked up address, it's the Cloud One hotel in NY. In addition to the inaccuracies, my concern would also be if this same agency uses that address for every single client, I would think the COs would start to get a bit suspicious.

Yeah, but if you think about how many applications they receive every year it's some pretty decent bank - 11.8 million applications for 2021. Yes, I know $11.8 million in government terms is not much but maybe it's this type of thinking that needs to be fixed.

OK, as i suspected, the typical accuracy of government timelines we've all come to know and love.