happytree

On 4/9/2022 at 6:04 PM, Carrie123 said:

So when we add things, this automatically increases the time? I just realized I uploaded my "declaration" of marriage and not my "certificate". I had to order a new certificate from the Civil Director. This should arrive shortly. When I do receive it, should I upload in "unsollicited" documents?

I don't know much about that.  I am not sure what are the differences between a marriage declaration and a marriage certificate document. For instance, my marriage certificate says "marriage license" at the top. When we got married we took the license we go from the county office to the ceremony. Our 2 witnesses, the officiator, and wife/I both signed it. The county office then  stamped it. That's the document I give anyone who asks for my wedding certificate.

If your application is already moving along, I would probably just bring the certificate with you during the interview with couple of copies. If you just  filed, then I would upload it.

However, I don't really know. This is just a guess. You can also try googling and asking around if anyone has had success using "marriage declaration" instead of the license.

good luck. 

1 minute ago, Elle Worth said:

Thank you! Im getting anxious because I really want to travel at the end of the month. 

9 minutes ago, Elle Worth said:

Yes i saw that. Im just curious . How many days did she have to wait for her passport?

I think it came pretty quick. I want to say it took a week or less after it was approved. 

However, I've noticed that USPS is taking about 2x to deliver my mail. I used to get my statements about a week after they were printed. Now, I am getting them OVER two weeks after they are printed. So I would give it a week at the very least, if not two. 

2 hours ago, Elle Worth said:

hi! whats the timeline of your wife's passport? we have the same locator. My application was approved 6 days after mailing it. I hope i will get it soon

My wife is a born citizen. Her application was approved 10 days after we sent it in. I received my passport exactly one month after I sent the application. 

Your case is basically approved. You just have to wait for the oath ceremony date. 

Once that happens, you will see another notice named "Oath Ceremony Scheduled.pdf"

I applied for my kid (his 2nd passport) and for my passport (first time). I applied at the same USPS office on the same day. 

It took exactly 3 weeks for it to show approved in the state.gov site.

I just got a text from informed delivery with both tracking numbers (few days after showing approved on the passport tracking site)

I paid regular service for both

I got approved a few days ago. Took exactly 3 weeks. I paid regular service

I just got a text from informed delivery with a tracking number. 

We had a big ceremony in a conference center. There were about  a dozen stations each with a couple immigration officers helping out. I arrived, checked in, and they told me which station to go to.

At the station, one officer took my green card while the other checked my documents and confirmed my name from the list. At this time I was handed a manila envelope with a few brochures and a small American flag. They marked something in the forms and took my green card and forms. 

We went in the conference room. We seated 6ft apart from each other.  I don't remember the order of all of it but at some point we: heard form 2 speakers, recited the pledge of allegiance, national anthem, heard a message from Biden, and finally we took the oath of allegiance. 

Walked out and returned to the same station I had gone before. This time I they were handing out the certificates. 

I left with a bunch of brochures (voting, passport, ssn, etc) and a naturalization certificate.

One of the happiest days of my life so far. 

I became a citizen a few months back and filed for my passport last at the end of last month. My wife is a USC so is my son. Coincidentally, they needed to renew their passports so we all went together to the same USPS office to get our passports. Mine was a first time passport, theirs a renewal.

My wife's passport was approved exactly 10 days from the day we applied at the USPS office. 10 days!! And NO, we DID NOT pay expedited processing. Just regular processing for the 3 of us. Her record locator starts with 42.

My sons and mine's start with 55 both are still processing. 

Is there a list somewhere of the record locator codes? 

Also, with the new passport design coming up, does anybody know which passport offices are issuing the new design? My wife got the old design from office 42. 

On 11/2/2021 at 11:32 PM, Ready to do it said:

Can defaulting on debt, judgments, etc be considered as poor "moral character?"  

 

I don't know if there's a valid rule or not regarding this but I would be concerned too. For instance, (let me play devil's advocate here for a sec) when you say "I am considering stopping paying on a few credit cards" it shows that you have no regard for the bank/company who trusted you were going to pay back. Is this a real concern for a N400? I don't know, but again, I don't think it can help your case at all. This would be neutral at best. 

However, here's couple ideas  you can pursue:

1. Start working with a debt consolidation agency. You can consolidate your credit cards into a single loan/payment which will save headaches and make payments realistic

2. While this is going, if you haven't been late yet, continue to pay the minimum payment at the very least. Typically this will be ~$50 per card unless you've been late already. Owing money in a credit card is NOT the same as late payment. A credit card payment is considered late if you don't pay the MINIMUM payment 30 days past the due date. If you're still within this time, I STRONGLY suggest to try and make the minimum. Being late will surely hurt your credit drastically while owing money wont.

3. Start following recommendations by people like Dave Ramsay. He's pretty popular online. 

^^^ This will not make your debt disappear, but will provide you with proof to show you have great moral character. You have proof that you are trying to meet your responsibilities even thought life threw you a wrench. If the question ever comes up, you can show that you're doing your best. This is a better answer in my book.

And besides immigration... debt consolidation and getting rid of some/all your credit cards will help you improve your quality of life. Having a fixed/known single payment will be much better than 10 bills ever month with collector calls every day. Being debt free will improve your life, believe me.

I vaguely remember reading a post here in the forum of someone who got denied and after quite a lengthy appeal process was finally able to get his case approved. However, it is not worth it. Waiting an extra 2~3 days will save you a lot of headaches, money, and time. 

Most people say that it is not 100% accurate. That number changes all the time. In my case,  it became specially  inaccurate at the end. it said something like 6 or 9 months right before the time my interview was scheduled. I was a US citizen couple weeks later. 
 

what was surprisingly accurate for me was the estimated time in the uscis website. Not the personalized one but the general estimate based on my field office. It took exactly 13 months from the time I sent the documents until the day I got my certificate on hand. That was the estimate for a N400 in my field office. Maybe coincidence  

This page: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

Don’t reschedule your interview. Go to your interview and see what happens. changing your interview is surely going to delay your case for months. 
 

The ceremony is typically scheduled for couple weeks after. However, they can take a lot longer. So there’s a chance you can be back in time.

On 11/4/2021 at 11:38 AM, RubyMoss88 said:

1)Would it be acceptable to print the PDF version they upload on myUCIS account and return that to the Kansas City field office instead?

Yes. It’s just a notice printed in regular paper with nothing special. I think you should be fine printing it at home and sending that.  
 

On 11/4/2021 at 11:38 AM, RubyMoss88 said:

2) I have no idea whether KC offer a same-day oath ceremony, but if they do, is it mandatory to complete it that day, or can you opt to receive your oath ceremony date in the mail?

Not sure. But that’s a good idea. Even if not, I’d still become citizen and figure a passport at an embassy abroad or try to get an emergency passport appointment at a passport office before your departure. To me, personally, becoming a citizen was my top priority even if it meant cancelling vacation plans, etc. However, I understand it may not be for you and that’s ok. 

On 11/4/2021 at 11:38 AM, RubyMoss88 said:

 

3) Am I correct in understanding that I retain possession of my green card until the oath ceremony?

you are a permanent resident until you take the oath. Do not make the mistake of claiming you’re a US citizen in ANY way before you’ve completed the oath. So yes, you will keep your green card and continue to be a permanent resident just like before. You have to surrender your green card when they give you the naturalization certificate.  
 

1 minute ago, bunkx said:

It still says "interview was scheduled" never changed. The notice they gave me after the interview had the "a decision cannot yet be made" box checked. Which I thought was strange because the interview went well and they said I'd hear about it in a couple weeks. I tried calling the 1-800 number and they just told me to wait out the 120 days and then take action if needed. I'll be at the 120 day mark November 27th.  

 

I just looked it up on the USCIS website, it says I can request a judicial review at a district court after 120 days. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. 

Good luck. I hope you hear back soon. 
My guess is that you will have to wait for the 120 days before you can do anything. Not ideal, but the positive thing here is you have a deadline and you know what that deadline is. Stay positive 

@bunkx what does your online status say? Did it change after your interview ?

11 minutes ago, bunkx said:

I'm in the same situation - any updates on your side?

There’s a 120 day rule after the interview. If they don’t give you a final answer after your interview within 120 days, you can show up at a federal court and request to be naturalized on the spot or ask that they give you an answer (or something like that) if everything went well in your interview and the officer even made references to the ceremony, chances are your case got misplaced or the officer didn’t click the right buttons to get your case scheduled. 

On 10/7/2021 at 9:43 PM, bing10 said:

 

Yes, you have to go there in person.

 

Also, requesting a new card before you have updated the citizenship is the wrong order. You'll just get another card showing your original citizenship. You need to order that up after you've updated the citizenship in person.

On 10/7/2021 at 12:05 PM, bing10 said:

 

I went to Dayton OH.

 

Looking at the interview locations, it looks like only LAX in California that is listed as appointments only:

 

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers/california

 

To get a replacement card, you can do that online once your citizenship has been updated. I did that from the parking lot, immediately after getting the citizenship updated. They charge $25 for that.

 

Also, if you do any business travel in the Asia/Pacific region, you can apply for the APEC card immediately after as well. I did that too, and went back into the Global Entry office for my 'APEC interview' which they also did without an appointment.

 

I need to update both my name + my citizenship. Since I need to change my  name, I assume I will have to go in.

I can see if I click on "replace card" and provide the reason as "new citizenship" it seems they let me select USA (but I haven't gone through all the way)
However, when I click on "biographic change" for my name change, it just says I need to go to an enrollment center.

Maybe just use the "new citizenship" reason and show up at that interview and bring my name change documents? that way I can do both at the same time? 🤷‍♂️

Based on what you guys said, I would need to go in person anyway

1 hour ago, Pat&Vince said:

Next is global entry and other I9 updates.

That’s a good point. I had forgotten about global entry. I got it while I was a PR. I am now a citizen and my global entry is still valid for an extra 3 years. 
 

do I have to apply again ? Or just update my citizenship somehow ? 

Maybe I should post this as a separate post. 

There's no way of getting the full 5 years from IRS. I requested with an agent over the phone and all I got was a notice saying that IRS does not keep these records yada yada. 

You can get an account transcript from IRS but not the tax return transcript.

I personally took: The IRS notice + IRS account transcript (you can get that online) + 1040 form. That's the most you will be able to get for year 5.

As I understand, if you're applying under the 5year rule you don't have to prove your marriage again. In fact, if you have a 10y green card, you could have divorced along the way and still be eligible to naturalize under the 5 year rule. So, as long as you checked the 5 year option when you filed your N400 you should be good.

I will let other gurus chime in. But that's how I understood it. 

3 hours ago, Jaya D said:

Thanks! I recently moved to Texas from Connecticut so i not sure which service center i should select? And i dont see an option for CT. 

remember you have to reside in your new district for 3 months before applying.  It says it right here:  M-480.pdf (uscis.gov)  "You must wait until you have lived in the state or district for three months to apply."
I know there are mixed opinions on this, but I applied online and had no issues. When you file online, you just upload documents without having to worry about mailing it someplace, etc. Also, you know your documents are not going to be lost in the mail. 

If you file online, use internet explorer and/or make sure you're not running ad blockers or cookie/privacy blockers, or browser extensions/addons etc. Those are the type fo things that create issues when filing online. You can even use chrome in incognito with all your plugins disabled. If you have a security suite software that monitors network/browser traffic, disable it temporarily. All in all, you want to ensure  nothing is blocking USCIS during your application.

12 hours ago, Jaya D said:

Thanks much for your response! I will also not select name change during filing n400 and also i hv to wait two more months now due to my move to a diff state. How long does it take any idea to get thr whole thng completed? 

Use the USCIS link to check the times. It is based on your field office: Processing Times (uscis.gov)

As for the name change, you should be fine adding the name change request to the N-400. During your interview you may be able to ask the officer the status of judicial ceremonies. Due to covid things are changing all the time. For example, my field office is not doing judicial ceremonies (the ones you need to change your name), others have reported changing their names without an issue, others have reported waiting for months without any news from USCIS after passing their naturalization interviews. 

I guess I would add the name change request on your N400 and change your request during your interview depending on  how things are moving around the time when you get your interview. 

On 9/13/2021 at 2:05 PM, stillbaffled said:

4. I use a mail service being I move often, is this also a red flag to USCIS?
 

I heard some lawyers talk about this in a youtube video. If I remember correctly, the recommendation here is to use the address where you sleep. Using a forwarding address might not be a good idea here since is not where you actually live. Do note that you have to provide a list of addresses where you have LIVED in the past 5 years.  I assume your mail service address could go in the mailing address question. 
 

just have them get certified copies in their respective countries. They can scan these copies and send the PDF to you. You can then file your naturalization using these scanned copies.

Then have them mail you these certified copies in the mail. That way you will have them on hand for your interview date. 

I do have to say that I was not asked to see the originals during my interview.  However, I would rather pay the mailing cost and have these documents on hand during my interview. 

If nothing has changed in your life, then don't upload anything. There's a post here of an applicant who uploaded his latest tax returns there and it increased his estimated wait time dramatically. 

If your interview is next week, just bring any new documents with you to the interview. 

You have the opportunity to update things at the interview (marriage /divorce, birth or a child, place of work, address, travel out of USA, etc) during my interview, the officer asked me if any of these things had changed since I applied.

If something major happened since you applied, like a conviction or something like that, you may want to check with a lawyer.