OldUser

Agreed, I misspoke, I meant certificate of citizenship. Unless somebody wants to jump through hoops proving they're citizens at 50 years of age with parents no longer around, they should apply for N-600. I cannot imagine the pain somebody would have to go many decades later pulling records from everywhere to prove they're a citizen. The alternative is to pay the fee now and have solid proof for life.

And some more And plenty more on Reddit and other messaging boards. N-600 is the best investment in my opinion.

I strongly disagree with this statement. Naturalization certificate is very important to have. Every now and they you can read stories US government asking to re-prove US citizenship when renewing passport or getting other benefits or sponsoring other immigrants later in life. Here's recent story:

Some lawyers (Hacking, few online forums ones) suggest NOT having your sponsor spouse at the consular interview, as it may be converted in mini "stokes" interview for no reason. Not sure how true it is as I never had personal experience.

You can do inquiries, involve your congressman etc. But the other two options are more efficient.

It's normal. Expect 4-6 weeks from April 29 to get extension letter.

One option is to file for N-400. Another is to file Writ of Mandamus on I-751.

I see. 5 year rule is much easier, thought it was worth checking if you were eligible since you were here for a long time. Good luck!

Are you eligible under under general 5 year rule?

People keep forgetting the only forms US citizen files is I-129F or I-130 and I-864. Everything else is beneficiary's responsibility. Even I-751 is filed by immigrant, only requiring one signature from US citizen spouse...

Normal. It will be in few days

Excellent ideas

Congrats! Which service center?

Congratulations! My I-751 got approved in August 2023. I also filed in December 2021. What's your service center?

Right, I expected either RFE or RFIE, but not RFI

By the way, what's RFI? RFE?

I didn't realize you have interview so soon. It's not suspicious, but I think you got no time left to receive new DL. I always got new issued whenever I changed addresses. I believe this was also free, only paying for renewal every 5 years. I replaced it, because that's what you show to employer with SS card when going through I-9. You also show DL to law enforcement if stopped, bank employees etc etc. I didn't want to be in ackward situation explaining why my address on ID didn't match the address where I live. You may need to bring some proof you updated address at DMV but didn't replace DL. This may be one of the first questions at the interview. Also make sure you have compelling answer as to why you don't comingle finances. Bring everything you have when it comes to evidece. Practice answers with spouse. May be you'll have a nice officer and none of the stuff I mentioned would matter. But you never know who you get.

I would just believe it and show up on time. USCIS works very hard recently reducing N-400 backlog. I'm not surprised. Coffee might be a good idea if you can / want to drink it. Good luck! P.S Which field office?

The very first thing me and my spouse comingled was money for rent. Couldn't be easier. Most of landlords won't accept credit cards and expect checks / bank transfers. Both of us set up automatic deposits to joint account covering the basic needs: rent, utility bills, car payments. Then we'd just pay from it for those expenses. Whenever we'd get tax refund (it was bigger when filing jointly), we'd also route it to joint account. And when we started saving for downpayment, we'd deposit money into joint high yield savings account. It provided transparency into how we managed money as a couple and gave us opportunity to track progress on savings towards common goal. Yes, we still kept some reasonable funds aside to cover for credit card payments and other items we may purchase individually. As a positive side effect, my I-751 sailed through without RFE or interview. We're very happy with this setup and now save towards renovations, kids, other goals. I think it helps to comingle finances at least on a basic level.

So you're marrying because if that? It's not going to look good if USCIS ever suspects it. "Illegals" (I wouldn't use the term) do get deported. "Illegals" get stuck in limbo or go through a lot of effort getting waiver. The ones committing fraud get permanent bar.

That's not what happens. They separate you and grill for few hours asking questions about random things and compare answers after. They show up at your place at 7am and go through personal items. They issue RFEs, NOIDs, threaten to take away LPR status.

Are you looking for approval? If yes, go replace DL to show up to date address. Also, financial comingling is a very important component of I-751 / N-400 under 3 year rule. You can see it as an outdated thing, but USCIS sees it differently. In their view, for the most part, married people file taxes together to get bigger return. Married people make big purchases from joint accounts, save for house downpaynent in joint savings account. You may have a tough ROC / NAT interview because of that.

My thoughts are... You are very optimistic in thinking marriage solves everything. It's not true. The best case scenario - employment will never come up. But because you got GC based on employment, the chance is it may come up. A slightly worse case scenario - USCIS will try to take the GC away. If succeeded, you'll have to become an LPR again and may have to go through waiver process to become admissable. The worst case scenario - you will lose the status, will be ordered to leave the country and will get a forever ban for getting any immigration benefit if fraud was found. Immigration benefit is a privilege, not a right. USCIS, if can prove there was fraud involved, may strip all immigration benefits and never issue them again. Marriage to a US citizen is not a silver bullet solving all problems, especially if fraud is involved. I'm not accusing you of anything, just listing potential bad scenarios and their outcomes.

Officer is not going to investigate your eligibility. As nice and polite as he may have sounded on the day of interview, I can bet $10 he's not going to do anything. RFE was issued and if you do not reply in time your case will go towards denial. Do as much as you can - call places, go to relevant institutions in person and speak to people, hire attorney if needed, work with mother. Get and submit as much evidence as you can. Do not think what is the bare mininum. Think what is the maximum you can get. It's your case after all. Good luck and keep us updated!

USCIS always revisits prior decisions when granting new benefits. Just because something was approved before doesn't mean it will get easily approved later in the process. Cases similar to yours is the reason I always shake my head whenever somebody says N-400 is the easiest part of becoming a US citizen.