BioNat

On 7/23/2022 at 2:49 AM, AnJay said:

Congrats! Could you bring a family member to the ceremony? 

Nope, family members only outside.

Also, since Milwaukee is currently with high level (https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-visitor-policy) you have to wear a mask (if you forget, they give you one). The guy coordinating the ceremony mentioned that they just had to go back on wearing masks that week due to Milwaukee going from medium to high level (again).

Milwaukee field office, oath done.

Interview was on June/24th. Oath was scheduled on June/27th for July/20th, 09:15.

I arrived at 09:00, by 09:30 I was out the door already. Whomever needs to go to the Milwaukee one, no need to wait long.

On 7/1/2022 at 12:43 PM, Penelope_Dujardin said:

OMG are you in Milwaukee? Me too and exact same position. Have my interview in a few weeks, which I’m guessing will be a combo interview. What day of the week is your oath ceremony? Just wondering if there’s any chance that I could have same day ceremony… my interview is on a Wednesday but can’t find on line which days they do it in Milwaukee. I have a trip already paid soon after the interview and unless the ceremony is the same day, I might not have time to get my new passport. 

I was not given same day option, I think they just don't do it, by the way the officer said. She said they schedule for the next available spot (not exactly with those same words).

My oath ceremony is scheduled for a Wednesday, the 20th. So they might do those daily (just a guess), but the chances of there being an open spot for the same day as you are there is slim (someone would have to ask to reschedule, thus, opening the spot). You can try to plea or something, because of your trip. But most likely the officer will say they that you should ask to reschedule the oath for after the trip.

Passports might take some time to arrive:
 

I've seen posts about people getting way before those times, but not everyone, so don't count on that. That text says 3 business days, but I saw in the same site mentioning 14 days. Also, the closest agency is in Chicago.

3 hours ago, Muhammad369 said:

 

How did the interview go? Did you gave a choice to be oath on same day vs later day or you requested it?

I think your quote came out wrong. Either way, answering your question... No, they don't have that option. The officer said they schedule for the next time available, which is usually about one month from the interview. 
Also, officers might work differently. Yours might be taking longer than mine. Also, submitting extra documents might (just a guess) have delayed a bit, for that means they would have to stop and look at the new document. That's why for me, even though there had been changes (employment), I let it be taken care of during the interview, not before.

Thanks to N400, this will soon be over.
I applied to I-751 on 2021-03. Last update was on 2021-04-30 saying biometrics were reused. After that, only other communication was the 24 months extension letter received on 2021-10.

I then applied to N400 on 2022-03, and finally had my interview last Friday (2022-06-24). Even though there had been no communication or change on the I-751, nor any mention of a combo interview, I went prepared for it anyways.

I brought my spouse, just in case, but the officer ended up not needing him to come in. We basically went over the forms, updating it when needed, along with some basic questions. 

Even though there has been an interview and I was approved, they didn't change the case status on the I-751, just on the N-400; but that's ok.

My post on N-400 March 2022 Fillers has a bit more details
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/779951-n-400-march-2022-filers/page/9/

13 minutes ago, alfred0v said:

I just became a US Citizen today after the interview at the Hialeah, FL in the Miami area, right after I passed the test I was given a paper and waited to be called to take the oath among other 15 more people, looks like this office does everything on the same day. I was just asked for my passports so make sure you bring those the day of your interview if you have travel overseas, also make sure you go over your application as far as dates of employment and addresses where you have lived because the officer might ask you those good luck to all of you!

Application sent: 03/11/22

Interview and Oath: 06/15/22

If you are applying on the 3 year rule, did you have the ROC interview together? If so, did they update the ROC case before the interview to show it had been scheduled?

An important reminder is that if you don't qualify for the premium-free Part A, you still can have it, by paying. And having or not Part A (and having it free or not) does not impact your eligibility to get Part B.

Also, if you have never contributed to Social Security, you will NOT be able to enroll online (you won't be able to create a login), and you'll have to schedule with your local Social Security Office to do it (not sure if it's the same with spousal eligibility). Another thing is that sometimes the person from Social Security might be a tad dense and not know their own regulations, so be sure to be well informed before talking to them. Here in WI we had to talk to other agencies from the state that help seniors with benefits. Even though my mom did not qualify for financial help, they helped a lot with getting us the right rules and such to talk to Social Security (information that Social Security person we talked to didn't know).

So, if you are 65 and has 5 years of legal residency, you are eligible to purchase Medicare, even if you have never contributed or worked in the US. You will have to pay for Part A if you want it, but you can just skip it and get only Part B if you want.

For my mom, she never worked in the US (she came after retired), so she was unable to enroll online and would have to pay for Part A. So, when she completed 5 years of legal residency (and having more than 65 year old), she became eligible for Medicare. She decided NOT to get Part A and only get Part B and D. Bad thing is, that you can only get Medicare Advantage if you get Part A and B; but still, we put all on paper and for her situation, it was not worth it.

4 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Piece of (unsolicited) advice: hold off citizenship until his I-751 is approved.... Sometimes it delays the process.

I-751 might delay the N-400, but not the other way around, and the total amount of time still ends up being less than if you would wait for the I-751 to be done before filling the N-400. So, no need to wait for one to be done, if your end goal is to minimize wait.

Finding out is not that much of an issue at least. So far the replies are all positive. Here I had zero issues with my DMV in WI.

If you come by a DMV that the agent and their supervisor are unsure or unwilling, just say thank you and march over a different DMV. In that case, the issue is with the DMV employee, for you meet the criteria, and going to a different DMV you'll get to talk to a different employee that might just do their job.

On 5/20/2022 at 1:39 PM, Penelope_Dujardin said:

Oh wow that’s quite fast. My understanding is that they approve both the same day. Please, let us know if that’s true 

Well, for what I've heard, it depends if the I-751 process is at the local office. They need a final position from I-751 to be able to finish the N400. With the delay those are having, I'm not even sure/confident that it will be there already. At the same time, some people have already received their card, without any notice of interview waver or whatever... So who knows what's gonna happen! Just in case, I'm bringing my husband to the interview (the letter didn't say anything about him).

Ok, let's go with definitions and what the law says

8 CFR 316.10 Good moral character.

(b) Finding of a lack of good moral character.

(2) An applicant shall be found to lack good moral character if during the statutory period the applicant:

(iii) Violated any law of the United States, any State, or any foreign country relating to a controlled substance, provided that the violation was not a single offense for simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana;

Now we have to go with the definitions to know what is a controlled substance

21 USC 802: Definitions

(6) The term "controlled substance" means a drug or other substance, or immediate precursor, included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part B of this subchapter. (...).

I looked at Part B and I saw marihuana in §812 Schedule I (c)(10)

Ok, let's continue looking more definitions in §802:

(44) The term "felony drug offense" means an offense that is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year under any law of the United States or of a State or foreign country that prohibits or restricts conduct relating to narcotic drugs, marihuana, anabolic steroids, or depressant or stimulant substances.

Now we have marihuana mentioned in two different definitions tied to situations that would bar Naturalization.

Let’s see what they consider to be “marihuana”, still in §802:

(16)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term "marihuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin.
(B) The term "marihuana" does not include-
(i) hemp, as defined in section 1639o of title 7; or
(ii) the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.
 

So here we have some direct definitions from which you might be able to tell if your situation would fall within that category or not. Let's just make sure we have the definition of hemp, which is one of that exclusions:

7 USC 1639o: Definitions
(1) Hemp
The term "hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.
 

Well, CBD products usually fall into that hemp category (not marihuana, not a controlled substance). However, you mentioned that there’s medical marijuana research. So I’d presume that it’s not CBD, but THC or other endocannabinoids (which are not mentioned, thus not controlled). A Biopharmaceutical company usually likes to stay on the good side of the law, and probably have the necessary permits to do research on controlled substances (remember, controlled substances are the bread and butter of pharmaceutical companies).

I could not find the specific law, cos it would require more digging, but you can see from this report (https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11503) that “The Schedule I status of marijuana means that it is strictly regulated by federal authorities, regardless of state regulations and laws, and its growth, distribution, and possession (regardless of recreational or medicinal purposes) are prohibited under federal law aside from activities related to lawful research”
Otherwise, anyone working for almost every pharmaceutical ever or lab would be in big trouble.

If you are not comfortable or used to read and understand laws (or think your company is doing unlawful research), seek legal council.

On 5/9/2022 at 12:33 PM, Penelope_Dujardin said:

Any LIN filers from March 2021 still waiting? I haven't heard back since they sent the 24-month extension in December.

Nope, all quiet since then.

On the other hand, my N400 interview is next month already.

23 hours ago, elmers said:

This too is a neck breaking speed lol for a field office with 13.5 months to complete 80% of the cases. Congrats!!

The funny part is that in the online account it still says 13.5 months. They really should have a better ETA, one that updates depending on your status at least.

5 hours ago, AnJay said:

Congrats, Super fast! My office is Milwaukee also and I applied in April 

Yeah, I've been seeing waiting times ranging from 4 to 7 months lately, even for Milwaukee (at least for the very few I've seen for MKE), hopefully yours will update soon. ROC on the other hand... that's a completely different timeframe, mine still hasn't updated since April 2021. Most likely will be a joined interview, but I'd very much like if they would do a favor of updating the I-751 to show that... I don't want to risk like a couple of cases I've seen here where it was not a joint interview and they could not move forward with N400 approval cos they had to wait for the I-751. 

12 hours ago, BioNat said:

Got the interview letter today, dated as May 6th. I filled on 03/03. Milwaukee office

Oh, forgot to say the date. It's schedule for June like most of others that have been updating their status in the thread these past few days; June 24th.
Mine is marriage based.

Got the interview letter today, dated as May 6th. I filled on 03/03. Milwaukee office

I would contact them prior to the interview. They might make the changes in the actual interview as others mentioned, but you never know what is the personal preference of the officer that is handling your case, so it is always better to notify first. Also, looking at some of the errors you mentioned:

Part 2, point 2 (Given name) - Seems like an important info. Filling it online, the resulting form is showing mine all in upper case, so if the error is something like that, or some space or special character that was added/removed, it's their system; you can ignore it.
Part 2, point 13 - this one the system might look based on age; if you are less than 50 years old, it is probably blank by default. If that's the case, it's also not an error; ignore it.
Part 9, point 1 - it sums up automatically based on the dates provided in Part 9 point 3; so if there's an error it should be in 9.3.

Part 10, point 8 - some people think that if they are currently married, it should be "1"; but no, it should be "0". The question is for previous marriages prior to the current (the way they word it when filling online makes more sense, than in the resulting pdf); if that's the case, it's not an error, ignore it. If your case is the other way, you forgot to count a previous marriage, than it's a real issue, go after correcting it.
Part 12, point 13 - another one that goes based on age; if you are not old enough for that to be relevant, yours should be blank (considering you filled it online); so, again, not an error, you can ignore it.
Part 14 preparer information - Part 14 is for interpreters, if you used an interpreter (I would not think so, since you are here, in a forum in English), then it is important that it is filled, if not, it should be blank (when filling online).

So, for almost all of the points you mentioned, I would point out they came as different for me as well. If I had filled in by paper, they all would have been a bit different, specially the Part 9, where they seem to count the amount of days in between the departure/arrival dates, thus counting one less day per trip. But is just how their logic works, those are not random glitches, that is consistent behavior (for the system), but just not what some would expect, thus some get surprised when they see the filled form after.

Dashinka already shared this link, so I reiterate, read that part of the manual:

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3

And this other link goes straight to the law/regulation:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-316/section-316.5

"The requirements of “continuous residence” and “physical presence” are interrelated but are different requirements."

- continuous residence: 3 years for marriage based

- physical presence: minimum of 18 months for marriage based

Breaks in Continuous Residence / Disruption of continuity of residence

• The applicant is absent from the United States for more than 6 months but less than 1 year; or
• The applicant is absent from the United States for 1 year or more.

An officer may also review whether an applicant with multiple absences of less than 6 months each will be able to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. In some of these cases, an applicant may not be able to establish that his or her principal actual dwelling place is in the United States or establish residence within the United States for the statutorily required period of time. An LPR’s lengthy or frequent absences from the U.S. can also result in a denial of naturalization due to abandonment of permanent residence.

      8 CFR 316.5(c)(1)(i)  - For continuous periods of between six (6) months and one (1) year:

(...) shall disrupt the continuity of such residence for purposes of this part unless the applicant can establish otherwise to the satisfaction of the Service. (...) The types of documentation which may establish that the applicant did not disrupt the continuity of his or her residence in the United States during an extended absence include, but are not limited to, evidence that during the absence: 

(A) The applicant did not terminate his or her employment in the United States; 

(B) The applicant's immediate family remained in the United States; 

(C) The applicant retained full access to his or her United States abode; or 

(D) The applicant did not obtain employment while abroad.

About the 3 months of residence within the Local Office's jurisdiction: 

Residence during absences of less than one year

8 CFR 316.5(b)(5)(i) - An applicant's residence during any absence of less than one year shall continue to be the State or Service district where the applicant last resided at the time of the applicant's departure abroad.

Bottomline

• physical presence: 6 months + 10 months < 18 months; so she would satisfy the minimal requirement
• continuous residence: you will have to gather sufficient (I'd go with abundant actually) proof that she did not disrupt the continuity of her residence in the US
  • note1: this goes for both the previous and the future trip
  • note2: make sure all of her taxes are up to date and saying that she was a resident; if any of those she put as non-resident, that is proof of break of the continuous residence: 8 CFR 316.5(c)(2) "An applicant who is a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States, but who voluntarily claims nonresident alien status to qualify for special exemptions from income tax liability, or fails to file either federal or state income tax returns because he or she considers himself or herself to be a nonresident alien, raises a rebuttable presumption that the applicant has relinquished the privileges of permanent resident status in the United States."

Possible Consequences

Denial.

However, that is not a permanent denial. Any disruption in the continuous residence basically just restarts the clock: she would have to start counting from when she came back from the last disruption.

If you think you cannot gather enough proof to say that she indeed did not disrupt her continuous residence in those trips, treat the situation as they say for 8 CFR 316.5(c)(1)(ii):

"An applicant described in this paragraph who must satisfy a three-year statutory residence period may file an application for naturalization two years and one day following the date of the applicant's return to the United States to resume permanent residence."

So, if it is the case, she might have to wait for two years and one day after coming back to be able to apply for the N400.

No one is forced to be employed once having residency, much less they would complain about someone that was indeed employed and now is just focusing in self employment (having a business is considered employment).

Aside that you know it's not uncommon for one spouse not to work here in the US. You are more than fine, just don't forget to put about your business in your taxes.

I'll paste here part of a comment I did in another thread about this subject:

I started my application before the legibility (before 90 days to the 3 years), just so I had everything there and ready before sending. So I put a fake date (for purpose of being able to start filling, then correcting it before sending the petition, of course) as my "date that became a permanent resident" (or however that question was worded). One thing I noticed was, depending on the date, it would show me the option to upload taxes and marriage certificate, but not the spouse proof of US citizenship and proof of relationship.
- When I put a date that was exactly 90 days from the 3 year mark, I could fill, it would recognize my marriage based eligibility, but it would not show me the questions to upload spouse proof of US citizenship and proof of relationship;

- When I put a date that was more than 90 days to the 3 year mark, it would complain that I am not eligible

- When I put a date that was 89 days to the 3 year mark, I would have all the upload options (spouse proof of US citizenship and proof of relationship)

So, even though it recognizes you are eligible when filling at 90 days mark, it seems suspicious that there are things that change in the petition. Therefore, I sent with 89 days to avoid this suspicious situation and don't get caught in a technicality or whatever that is.

Looking at your timeline, you must have applied under the three year rule. Therefore, I'd bring her along. Even though you had the ROC done already. Since you had the ROC interview waived, they never got to talk to her, so you never know what the officer that has your case has in mind.

I applied for ROC less than 4 months after you did, but haven't heard anything since last April lol. All I got is a 24 month extension. Even being the same office, each officer has a different way of doing things.

Please keep us posted, for there's not much info about Milwaukee office around here.

1 hour ago, Marieke H said:

Working 3 fulltime jobs would mean working 3*40=120 hours a week. That would leave you 48 hours a week (or less then 7 hours a day) to sleep, eat, move from one job to the other, etc.

 

You could potentially be asked about the practicality of that. If you really are working all these jobs yourself (so you don't have someone else fraudulently working in your name), I am sure you will be able to explain how it all works out for you. And, as said before, paying taxes on these 3 incomes is important as well.

Not necessarily 40h each, it depends on the company and policies. Many places consider 30h as full time as an example. 90h/week is tough but highly feasible.

Also OP can just be mistaken and they are not all full time (given that OP hasn't many any more comments nor explained the situation) 

If you apply for the 3 years rule, in separate questions they ask for taxes, marriage certificate, spouse proof of US citizenship, proof of relationship.

I started my application before the legibility (before 90 days to the 3 years), just so I had everything there and ready before sending. So I put a fake date (for purpose of being able to start filling, then correcting it before sending the petition, of course) as my "date that became a permanent resident" (or however that question was worded). One thing I noticed was, depending on the date, it would show me the option to upload taxes and marriage certificate, but not the spouse proof of US citizenship and proof of relationship.
- When I put a date that was exactly 90 days from the 3 year mark, I could fill, it would recognize my marriage based eligibility, but it would not show me the questions to upload spouse proof of US citizenship and proof of relationship;

- When I put a date that was more than 90 days to the 3 year mark, it would complain that I am not eligible

- When I put a date that was 89 days to the 3 year mark, I would have all the upload options (spouse proof of US citizenship and proof of relationship)

The way they count seems to be inclusive (thus the day you are + 89 days make the 3 year period). So, try again when you are sure you are within that date and see if the options to upload appear.

46 minutes ago, NatalieP136 said:

Just filed today online under the 3 year rule. I also am waiting for my i751 interview. 

Submitted the below documents: 

Marriage certificate 

Last 3 years of taxes filed jointly

Last 3 years of bank statements for joint accounts

Last 3 years of mortgage statements showing both names at same address

Drivers licence for both of us showing same address 

Proof of medical insurance showing my husband and I share the same plan and I am his life insurance beneficiary.

 

Good luck everyone can't wait to be done with this process !

Wow, that's a lot. I just got samples, two statements per year (opposed to all statements), cos I thought that would be just too much (and a pain for me to get all of the docs, rename, upload...). So I forgot about the DL, I was already tired, I was like "we already have a kid, all taxes together, bank account, all vehicles we are co-owners in their titles...". Aside that they have access to the I-751, where there are even more proof, affidavits and such (considering that usually they end up with both petitions together).

2 hours ago, alfred0v said:

I just sent mine this morning 03/11/22. Receipt and Biometrics reuse notice at the same time. Service center NBC. Estimated time 13 months but I know this isn't accurate. Does this depend on where you live? I'm in South Florida Miami/Fort Laudardale area.

Yep, it depends on your local office. Some might be understaffed or with a huge backlog to go through.

I don't know how useful it is, but there's the latest report with the processing and backlog data for 10/2021-12/2021:
PDF - https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/N400_performancedata_fy2022_qtr1.pdf
CSV - https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/N400_performancedata_fy2022_qtr1.csv

Estimated times also change. Sometimes I log in and it says 12 months, sometimes it says 13 months... go figure... It's just a general average.

If you look at the timelines from other users here, you can have a very different result. (https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/citlist.php?op6=All&op7=Miami+FL&op1=3&op2=&op4=1&op5=5%2C10%2C11&cfl=0 -> timeline for Miami local office)