harry.st

...probably worth talking to an immigration lawyer, too.
 
You will be able to tell him/her the reasons of your absence, (s)he will (likely) tell you how much weigh those carry with the immigration officers at the aiport, etc etc (basically how solid your case is/how likely you are to run into trouble).
 
Likely worth the consultation fee (don't pick the cheapest one. Also choose one with experience, who only does immigration law).

May be ok - may be not.
 
You have to understand how the immigration officer at the airport thinks (in addition to the law that says less than 6 months absence you are presumed to not have abandoned... more than 6 months - ie your case - you are presumed to have abandoned... etc etc).
 
S/he has to make sure you have not abandoned your US residence. If s/he sees you are spending a looong time overseas, then come back for a few days, then again departing...  s/he will say "what the heck is going on here. What kind of permanent residency is that? Looks more like a joke! In any event, I do not have time for you now, there are tons of people waiting in line, go to secondary and sort it out w/ them".
 
Secondary (ie secondary inspection) is another room where they send people, you have to wait (could be hours) and then they ask you some more probing questions. They CANNOT take your green card away - only an immigration judge can do that (but they can ask you to surrender it voluntarily - just say no. In which case they will send you home but also refer you to an immigration judge... this is another process that may take months/years). As you understand, it is not a good idea to be sent to secondary. But... from your travel history, you are sort-of asking for it.
 
Now, you know better than us here how urgent is the trip. What I am telling you is what may happen (it also may depend on the immigration officer, his/her mood that day, what you are going to tell them when asked etc).
 
If you think your case is solid, all the above - even in the worse-case-scenario - will just be an inconvenience (except I am not sure you are allowed to travel before you see the immigration judge. Hopefully you will not end there. But nobody can guarantee you that you won't).

...probably worth talking to an immigration lawyer, too.
 
You will be able to tell him/her the reasons of your absence, (s)he will (likely) tell you how much weigh those carry with the immigration officers at the aiport, etc etc (basically how solid your case is/how likely you are to run into trouble).
 
Likely worth the consultation fee (don't pick the cheapest one. Also choose one with experience, who only does immigration law).

May be ok - may be not.
 
You have to understand how the immigration officer at the airport thinks (in addition to the law that says less than 6 months absence you are presumed to not have abandoned... more than 6 months - ie your case - you are presumed to have abandoned... etc etc).
 
S/he has to make sure you have not abandoned your US residence. If s/he sees you are spending a looong time overseas, then come back for a few days, then again departing...  s/he will say "what the heck is going on here. What kind of permanent residency is that? Looks more like a joke! In any event, I do not have time for you now, there are tons of people waiting in line, go to secondary and sort it out w/ them".
 
Secondary (ie secondary inspection) is another room where they send people, you have to wait (could be hours) and then they ask you some more probing questions. They CANNOT take your green card away - only an immigration judge can do that (but they can ask you to surrender it voluntarily - just say no. In which case they will send you home but also refer you to an immigration judge... this is another process that may take months/years). As you understand, it is not a good idea to be sent to secondary. But... from your travel history, you are sort-of asking for it.
 
Now, you know better than us here how urgent is the trip. What I am telling you is what may happen (it also may depend on the immigration officer, his/her mood that day, what you are going to tell them when asked etc).
 
If you think your case is solid, all the above - even in the worse-case-scenario - will just be an inconvenience (except I am not sure you are allowed to travel before you see the immigration judge. Hopefully you will not end there. But nobody can guarantee you that you won't).

The ARC stamp means NOTHING. I used to get those every time I flew back to the US - no matter how long the trip was (as a green card holder).
 
Over the years I must have had  more than a hundred of them - maybe closer to 2 hundred.

The ARC stamp means NOTHING. I used to get those every time I flew back to the US - no matter how long the trip was (as a green card holder).
 
Over the years I must have had  more than a hundred of them - maybe closer to 2 hundred.

No idea about children (I never desired, nor had one :-)). But I have seen several questions about them in this forum.... You may want to search a bit (also on reddit - with the caveat that I have seen answers there which are HIGHLY inaccurate). 

No, you are good (for your peace of mind, google  "continuous residence naturalization". Also read here https://www.visajourney.com/guides/us-citizenship-requirements/ (under Residence and Physical Presence))
 
Make sure the trips are disclosed (the form asks about them - including dates).
 
 

You can try shabby-chic.

You can try shabby-chic.

I tend to do this to those that ask what a term means, instead of googling it. Or anything that is trivially searchable, really...
 
You are very welcome.

You can try shabby-chic.

The OP's wife does not have any visa.
 
She needs only 1 visa for the Common Travel Area. Whichever country they land at, first.

The thing to stress about is your passport - not the interview. Now, this can get in the way of your vacation. Easily.
 
As a US citizen, it is next to impossible to fly back without one (the airline will likely not let you board the plane). Last summer, with all the post-COVID revenge travel happening, it was taking 4-5 months to get a new one (things have improved... but again, fewer people are travelling in the winter. You do not have to believe me - just search on reddit). 
 
Now there are ways around it (either while still in the US or at the consulate in Bucharest), but is it neither easy nor pleasant. You've got some reading to do - information abounds.

Yeah it was at a courthouse. My invitation was at 9am, and there were a LOT of people. 160 folks were getting their naturalization. They dont start anything until everyone is there, so nothing really started until 9:45am or so. Then they check everyone in individually, take your green card, then you line again to sign your certificate of naturalization. Then you sit again, you wait some more, the judge comes to do a speech, and then you wait for your turn to be called to get your certificate. I was out around noon. I'm not really sure why we had to wait for everyone to have arrived so they could start processing. 

I hope you realize that, in theory, you can be prevented from boarding the plane on the way out, too (small chance, and nothing you can do about it, either => no reason to sweat about it. If you are THAT unlucky + they do not let you board => Moynihan station + train to Canada; entering therein w/ the french passport).
 
Or you rent a private jet (both ways). Then you have nothing to worry about; in this life you can either eat well or sleep well).

If you want absolute certainty... just don't sign an I-407. Even if they ask you at the airport - just say no. They have to let you in.  If you do not relinquish yourself your Green Card, via an I-407, only a judge can take it away from you. The border officer cannot deny you entry.
 
Now, they will probably give you a notice to appear before a judge. If you do not show up (because, say, you are back in Italy), then you will lose your green card (of course you may file an I-407 yourself, before the court date).
 
So, for this trip you, yourself, are fine, pulling the green-card card (ha!) (of course they may get pissed and deny your sister - do not know how likely this is, though). For future trips you will need an ESTA. Because you have a "history" with them, they may not give you one and tell you "go to the consulate and get a visa, please".  Which may be denied, too... but unlikely, as you did not do anything egregious, really...
 
---------------------------
 
You should be fine w/ an ESTA, this time (and in the future), though. And if they start questioning things at the airport, and ask you to sign an I-407, and you want to be a good girl, just tell them "I will sign, if you promise to let me in" (something that the consulate in Italy cannot do). I do not see why they will have a problem.

Depending on where you will be traveling... and for how long... you may be able to get the passport at the US Consulate there. I got mine in 8 days (Athens, Greece embassy, last Ocrober; they only made a copy of my naturalization certificate, too). The hardest part was getting an appointment (had to book a slot 1 month ahead of time). This was for a regular, full-blown passport (+ I did not ask for expedited anything. Apparently, the embassies expedite things by default. Or used to).
 
ALSO: there is an "emergency" service for US citizens, where the consulates will give you an "emergency-limited-duration" passport (valid for either 1 trip or 1 year - not sure. Mind you this is not only for a life-or-death emergency. A lady that was sitting next to me was there just for that. There is tons of info about it if you google). You may want to go for this option vs the Canada->US train trip one (of course, one does not preclude the other).
 
I took Amtrak NY -> Montreal late last September. Lovely trip (the foliage had started to appear). I am sure it would be very fun in the snow, too (assuming the train is still running).

Land border, with a naturalization certificate in hand, is an option (depending where you live, it may be inconvenient. Also expensive). Reason is US citizens cannot be denied entry at the border (but they can sure as hell be denied boarding a flight to the US).
 
Rescheduling the oath ceremony seems the easiest.

Depending on where you will be traveling... and for how long... you may be able to get the passport at the US Consulate there. I got mine in 8 days (Athens, Greece embassy, last Ocrober; they only made a copy of my naturalization certificate, too). The hardest part was getting an appointment (had to book a slot 1 month ahead of time). This was for a regular, full-blown passport (+ I did not ask for expedited anything. Apparently, the embassies expedite things by default. Or used to).
 
ALSO: there is an "emergency" service for US citizens, where the consulates will give you an "emergency-limited-duration" passport (valid for either 1 trip or 1 year - not sure. Mind you this is not only for a life-or-death emergency. A lady that was sitting next to me was there just for that. There is tons of info about it if you google). You may want to go for this option vs the Canada->US train trip one (of course, one does not preclude the other).
 
I took Amtrak NY -> Montreal late last September. Lovely trip (the foliage had started to appear). I am sure it would be very fun in the snow, too (assuming the train is still running).

Land border, with a naturalization certificate in hand, is an option (depending where you live, it may be inconvenient. Also expensive). Reason is US citizens cannot be denied entry at the border (but they can sure as hell be denied boarding a flight to the US).
 
Rescheduling the oath ceremony seems the easiest.

Bring hubby, too.
 
When the interviewer starts asking you the civics questions, he should jump from his seat and yell "I KNOW THE ANSWER - it is <...>", "I KNOW THAT, TOO - it is <...>". To liven up things, a bit.

Bring hubby, too.
 
When the interviewer starts asking you the civics questions, he should jump from his seat and yell "I KNOW THE ANSWER - it is <...>", "I KNOW THAT, TOO - it is <...>". To liven up things, a bit.

Bring hubby, too.
 
When the interviewer starts asking you the civics questions, he should jump from his seat and yell "I KNOW THE ANSWER - it is <...>", "I KNOW THAT, TOO - it is <...>". To liven up things, a bit.

There was a passport office employee doing an AMA on reddit that said that Walgreens was their nightmare - they got it wrong all the time.
 
I went to the USPS (for pics only - will submit the application at the embassy in Athens). A lady took the pics w/ a hand-held Sony camera; they looked fine (have still not submitted an application, though, so am not sure about the final verdict).