miniAussie1

Hi all, I just successfully completed my 319(b) process. A big thank you to everyone on this forum especially @Qian. 

Here are the timelines of my journey:

• Long time H1B1 holder
• Married Nov 2017 to a US citizen
• Received conditional green card Aug 2019 (lawyers took awhile to apply)
• Filed i-751 (Removal of conditions) June 2021
• Received i-751 noticed of receipt August 2021 with 18 month extension of Green Card
• Received additional extension for Green Card to 24 months due to backlog for i-751 in September 2021
• US citizen husband received work contract overseas in Nov 2021 (non-military)
• Applied for Rentry Permit Dec 2021
• Wasted time with immigration lawyers and then found this amazing forum and help from a co-worker who recently did it the year before
• Applied January 7th, 2022 via online to the Washington DC field office and used spouse's parent's address in the US as mailing address
• Previous biometrics notice of acceptance January 21st, 2022
• Left the US on Feb 1st, 2022
• Received email February 5th, 2022 to pick interview (options were Feb 20 through May 1).
• Received confirmation for interview scheduled on March 7th in Washington DC field office //Still in shock of the speed of this process//
• Flew to the US on March 5th
• Naturalization Interview on March 7th
• Oath ceremony on March 8th
• Flew back to Portugal on March 9th
• Passport appointment with the US embassy in Portugal on April 4th

Documents submitted for the online N400 - 319(b) application :

• My international passport
• My 2*2 passport photo
• My international birth certificate
• My permanent resident card
• I-797 extension notice
• Marriage certificate
• Pictures to evidence the bonafide nature of the marriage
• Personal statement where I provided details on why the application and how I qualify under 319(b) and my intention to come back to the US after my spouse's work assignment abroad is complete, showing several ties in the US (property, bank accounts, retirement accounts, husband's family in the US etc)
• USC spouse's passport
• USC spouse's signed overseas employment offer letter
• Signed letter from USC spouse's employer on company letterhead covering his job responsibilities and that he works for an American firm that is engaged in whole or in part in the development of the foreign trade and commerce of the United States (note make sure to include your family member names and that they are ok to relocate with you)
• Joint bank statements (both names must show on statement)
• Joint health/dental insurance (both names must show on statement)
• Joint mortgage / rental agreement  (both names must show on statement)
• Joint car insurance (both names must show on statement)
• Joint US tax returns for the past 3 years (both names must show on statement)
• Daughters birth certificate

Naturalization Interview @ DC Field Office in Fairfax VA:

• My naturalization interview was scheduled on March 7th at 7.30 am. I got there promptly before 7.15 am and was asked to wait outside the building until 15 mins before the interview time.
• At 7.15 am I was let inside the building and after going through security checks, asked to take the elevator to the interview floor. 
• There i went to the lady at the check in desk. She had a hard time finding my name until I remembered that this forum had mentioned asking them to check in the military interview list. And there it was, I was on the special list. She asked me to wait to be called in.
• The USCIS officer came by around 8 am and escorted me to his office for the interview. (Note that it is normal if others who came after you get called before you as there is usually only 1 officer for 319(b) interviews and hence the wait might be longer than non 319(b) interviewees.
• The interview was pretty straight forward. The officer had reviewed my case and asked me questions to make sure my story corroborated. A few things here:
  • Carry originals with you of any copies you submitted in your application - passport, drivers license, green card, marriage certificate, birth certificates, divorce certificates etc.
  • Since my I-751 (removal of conditions) was still pending, the officer told me that prior to my interview, he had successfully closed my I-751 case. The weird part here was that he said that he had cancelled my 10 year green card so whether I passed or failed this interview, I was not going to get a green card (that was scary).
  • He also said that he had changed my address to Fairfax VA (which is the field office address) so he can manage my application.
  • I had expected him to ask about my USC spouse's employment but the only thing he asked me in relation to that was if i had a letter from my USC spouse's employer saying that it was ok for me to accompany my spouse abroad and that I would not be a hindrance to his job. The only document I had with me was the letter from my USC spouse's employer stating they were providing relocation/immigration services to me and my daughter which was acceptable to the officer. (note I would make sure the letter clearly states each family member name and that they are ok to stay or somehow included in the relocation though this is uncommon nowadays)
  • There was some confusion on name change since my green card was on my maiden name while my application was on my married name. However my marriage certificate had the name change approved by the state and was accepted by the USCIS officer. (This was key as only a judge can do the name change and the oath ceremony would have been greatly delayed)
  • Then we moved on the civics test and the english test.
  • And then the magical words from the USCIS officer "You have passed the interview and I would like to add you to the oath ceremony the next day March 8th!"

Oath ceremony :

• Make sure to fill the green paper that the officer provides you (very important : the date you sign should be the date of the naturalization ceremony)
• Also I was asked to add the Washington DC field office address as my address on the green paper.
• Bring your green card(s) and any other EAD cards with you since they will be taken away when you check in
• Due to Covid, no one was allowed for the oath ceremony but the applicants. It was short and sweet :) (extra special since this was on international women's day)

Passport Dilemma:

• I had been calling and trying to get the expedited passport appointment for weeks before my interview but there were no dates available.
• So I decided to fly with my international passport since I could not get any expedited appointment and was not willing to wait the 5-8 weeks of normal processing times for regular passport processing (note that you are required to fly back to your spouse within 45 days of your naturalization) ( @Qian gave me the confidence on this due to their experience)
• I scheduled the passport appointment with the US embassy in Portugal on April 4th. They were very nice and I was in and out within an hour and was told I will receive my passport within 2 weeks by mail. Hooray!

Good luck with your journey and please let me know if you have any questions!

Hi All - Thank you so much for posting your experience and a special BIG THANK YOU to @Qian for giving us hope to get this through ourselves, even after multiple immigration lawyers stated they did not want to help.

Context:

• Long time H1B1 holder
• Married Nov 2017 to a US citizen
• Green Card Aug 2019 (lawyers took awhile to apply)
• Filed i-751 June 2021
• Received i-751 noticed of receipt August 2021 with 18 month extension of Green Card
• Received additional extension for Green Card to 24 months due to backlog for i-751 in September 2021
• US citizen husband received work contract overseas in Nov 2021 (non-military)
• Applied for Rentry Permit Dec 2021
• Wasted time with immigration lawyers and then found this amazing forum and help from a co-worker who recently did it the year before

Current status:

• Applied January 7th, 2022 via online to the Washington DC field office and used spouse's parent's address as mailing
• Previous biometrics noticed of acceptance January 21st, 2022
• Left the US on Feb 1st, 2022
• Received email February 5th, 2022 to pick interview (options are Feb 20 through May 1) //Still in shock of the speed of this process//

A few questions for this amazing group:

1. Does my US Citizen spouse need to accompany me to the interview? (I have seen no but want to double check)
2. I would like to leave right after the oath ceremony, do you receive a physical naturalization certificate right away?
3. I know someone have done this, but email from USCIS clearly states that I need a "valid passport" to leave the US. Has anyone recently left on their old passport and applied to their overseas embassy? (Also it does not say valid US passport to leave the US but I am assuming here)
4. Do I need to notify USCIS about my pending i-751 or something about putting them together? and if so how do I do this?

Thank you for the help!