T and M

Well.. I hope in Europe think like that. In Mexico sure not !.. I live in Mexico (I'm the US citizen), I have a business in Mexico, my daughther and son attend mexican schools, I have a house in Mexico, All my family and my husband's family are in Mexico, all our friends too. And they denied the tourist visa to my husband just because I am american citizen.

Exactly. Getting a tourist visa to the US is never a straight up case. If you fail once, you can try again, and again, and again. You might want to find a lawyer (no kidding), as he/she should help you identify the best way to fill out the application to maximize your chances of getting a visa.

Another idea would be to get your Congressman or Senator involved. They can write recommendation letters vouching that you are an honest person, etc, etc. This is not supposed to have any weight on the process, but it's worth a shot. Affidavits from people are also good, and you might want to explain that you need to visit for a specific purpose, ie, a wedding or baptism or something like that. Any way to pressure the consular officers to not just "deny" without even considering your case fully. Most people who go in for tourist visas are shocked by the dismissive way rejections are handled. You go in, deposit your documents, answer a few questions, pay $135. Then you go home. Then you get a letter stating your application for a tourist visa was denied. That's it.

I've never known the spouse of a US citizen to get a tourist visa easily. It might happen on the first go, but it is likely to be a long, hard road. Much harder than getting an I-130 immigrant visa, actually.

But as some have pointed out, this differs from country to country. My wife is Latin American, hence the especially bad treatment. She and most people she knows have had many a trip abroad ruined by barriers to US tourist visas. Even flying to Europe is a huge pain in the rear, as one needs a visa just to fly through Miami. Everyone I know - except one - has had to try multiple times before getting lucky. That was my father-in-law, who I guess the US embassy considered too old too work. So surely he wouldn't give up his Bolivian pension, blah, blah, blah. Good luck with your application! Just remember, as soon as you apply for a US tourist visa you are a suspected illegal immigrant. You have to prove yourself innocent of this. It is possible, so think positive, but be prepared.

same with my Colombian wife, but you have to remember, Colombia is not Eastern Europe lol. The OP will probably have no problem with getting a tourist visa, whereas we have to face the fact that our wives will probably never get a tourist visa. Sad but true.

Maybe you're right. Maybe she'll have no problem. Perhaps this depends on the Eastern European country. But again, the fact that she doesn't live in her home country demonstrates an intent to at least leave her home country. Who knows how a US consular officer in Western Europe will interpret this, but Western European countries are not known for their liberal attitudes toward Eastern Europeans.

As numerous forumites have pointed out, it is not always easy for the spouse of a US citizen to get a tourist visa to visit the US. I recommend you start very early, produce as much evidence as possible that you have strong ties to your home country, and hopefully you will get a 10-year tourist visa. This will permit you to make 90 visits to the US.

Since you do not live in your home country right now, the deck would seem to be stacked against you.

Almost every US citizen I know who is married to a Latin American national has not been able to get a tourist visa for them. I have a friend who has been married to a Mexican citizen for 10 years, and she has never been able to accompany him to the US. One very ambitious friend, who is married to a Bolivian, was able to get a tourist visa for her, namely because they bought a house in Bolivia, have a very successful business, and they were able to prove that his Bolivian wife has absolutely no ties to the United States (other than her USC spouse, of course.) They applied 4 times, at $135 a pop, and only got recently got one.

What kind of evidence do you have to show? Property in your home country is nice, but it has to be worth a lot of money. Otherwise, they would assume that you would be willing to abandon it. Children are good, but you have to be willing to leave them behind as a ransom to prove that you won't stay in the US.

If you have a well-paying job in a non-US country, that also shows that you have no economic reason to stay in the US. If you can get a letter from your boss regarding your vacation days, etc, that would be strong evidence that you are not going to stay in the US.

Are your parents alive? Where do they live? If they live outside the US, you could show this to demonstrate your non-intent to immigrate.

As others have said, everyone who applies for a tourist visa to visit the US is suspected of illegal immigration. Consular officers will quote you the stats, but I think the vast majority of illegal immigrants crossed the border legally on tourist or student visas. They then stayed.

One more thing: ties to the US are huge black marks against you. Your spouse is one, your family is another. I have heard some lawyers advise that you don't mention your family in the US, although the visa forms might require that you do. I certainly would not lie or hide anything if asked. That could get you into more trouble down the line, ie a 5 or 10 year ban from immigrating or visiting the US.

US immigration law does not offer constitutional guarantees, ie innocent until proven guilty. Civil rights begin with US citizenship, unfortunately. Good luck. This can be done, but it is not always as easy as human decency would suggest.

We received that letter about 3 weeks ago and were wondering the same thing! But apparently it doesnt need to be notarized! So just get someone to write & sign them and that should be good enough

Good luck!

I would say get the best affidavits you can, regardless of notarization. We did affidavits with friends in London - b/c we wanted them notarized. It only cost 5 quid a piece, but we still get an additional RFE and had to attend a face-to-face interview. At the interview they wanted to know why we didn't get our parents to write the affidavits. Well, duh - we thought they had to be notarized and our parents are in foreign lands!

So, get the best ones you can get and don't worry about the notarization. It apparently matters none.

i got home today and there was a letter for biometrics on june 11 but no noa1... i called and they said they sent it... so where did it go... anyway we have to drive to atlanta next week to get his passport stamped... i guess when we get back home the notice will be in the mail... they said they received it on may 14 so i'm not sure what date to put on here.. can someone update mine...thanks... i pray if we get anything else from there we'll actually receive it

Congrats! See? USCIS was just trying to make you sweat a bit! And to make matters worse, they apparently held a US citizen for three days and threatened him with deportation. What an agency our loved ones are forced to deal with!

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/eduardo-caraballo-puerto-rico-deportion-94795779.html

we haven't received anything yet.. how long does it take.. i called and they said it can take up to 30 days to get a receipt notice... i wanna cry... we sent ours may 11... they didn't send it back so it wasn't to early....i wanna cry .. we are already nervous as it is

Have you seen Swingers? When you break up, your ex-significant-other won't come around until after you've moved on. "Somehow, they just know." USCIS is similar. When something awful happens, they make you sweat. Just when you have given up hope and you are sure the love of your life will be reported, the NOA will arrive. Somehow, they just know. Dadgummed USCIS.

Please include us. Our package goes off in the morning!!! Not sure when it will arrive, b/c I'm not sure whether we will go with the USPS or Fedex.

Good luck to all!

P.S. It goes to VSC.

Same here on USCIS not updating our address after filing an AR-11. Pretty unprofessional. Worked out alright, b/c we had all our mail forwarded as well. Now we are back at our old address and still receiving USCIS mail. My guess is that it is best to file an AR-11 on the web, and/or call after paper filing to confirm receipt.

In other news, I decided to go ahead and calculate our 2009 taxes. (We had originally filed an extension.) Better to spend a few days on it than risk a time-consuming RFE.

The package is almost ready, and now includes:

Copy of daughter’s certificate of live birth

Copy of daughter’s birth certificate

Joint bank account statement

Joint income tax returns for 2007, 2008, and 2009

Joint ownership of DC property

Accident Insurance with wife as principal beneficiary

Health insurance with wife and daughter included

Photos together since our marriage in September 2007

I was hoping to include our joint credit cards, but apparently, the statements are still listed in my name only. Kind of annoying. She's a joint holder. I suppose I could send copies of the physical cards, but that seems a bit weird. Although I did have to send copies of our credit cards when we first applied for my wife's green card.

My suggestion is to include a copy of the extension in the packet. I am not familiar with it but my assumption is it has both your names on it?

Also, have your parents write an affidavit stating that you are living with them and all the utilities are under their names and they can state that you are using their cars and that is why you don't have a car under your names. They should also attest to your marriage and you are both living together and with them and they vouch for your marriage to be in good faith. It is usually wise to disclose everything and tell them about everything. Also, work on your taxes and get them done in case they send an RFE requesting them if they are completed.

hope this eases your mind a little.

Good call on including our extension. It does have both our names on it.

And great call on having my parents file an affidavit. Does that need to be legalized? I suppose they could sign it in the presence of a notary to add a bit of formality. It's also a perfect opportunity to let my parents vouch for the bona fide-ness of the marriage.

Are the utilities in both your names? if yes - these are very good to include; in addition, car insurance would be great. Otherwise, you seem to have a good collection.

Thanks v333k and #######. Unfortunately, we have been living with my parents so we have no utility bill. We also have no car!

That's frustrating to hear we will have an RFE with no 2009 tax return, b/c there is no chance I'll be able to finish it before the ROC filing date. Lots of losses, so it is highly complex. We filed an extension on April 15, and I plan to run all the numbers in September when things slow down with my work.

Would the RFE say that we are required to file for 2009 before the Conditions are removed. I'll look through the threads and see what experience others have had. If I have to file them now, I suppose I can, but it is going to be painful!

Hello fellow May 2010 filers! I'm preparing our materials now. (I'm the USC.) And I'm just wondering what you guys think about our evidence. I am sending:

Our joint bank account and 2 joint credit cards

Tax returns for 2007 and 2008

Joint ownership of an apartment

Photos together over the past 2 years

Our daughter's birth certificate

I'm also trying to find copies of our health insurance from 2009, which was a family plan. And also a life insurance plan I got, with my wife as the principle beneficiary.

Any other thoughts?

I'm planning on sending over the weekend.

Good luck everyone!

I know US doesn't care about dual citizenship. But Japanese law states Japan does not allow dual citizenship basically.

This web site shows it too. http://www.***removed***....-countries.html FYI, your country is on the list too

I think she doesn't want to screw up Japanese citizenship, like pention etc... Me too!

Fascinating. I didn't think about the fact that some countries prohibit dual citizenship. Yes, my wife's country is on the list, but that's under the old law. Since 2002, Bolivia has allowed - and even "recognized" - dual citizenship.

NB: there is some confusion about "allowing" vs. "recognizing." For example, the US doesn't recognize dual citizenship - as far as the USG is concerned, a US citizen is "only" a US citizen. But the USG doesn't prohibit holding other citizenships...it just doesn't consider it its jurisdiction. China recently passed a law (or was that Vietnam) that actually "recognizes" dual citizenship. Meaning these people put "Chinese-American" on the "citizenship" line of any Chinese (or Vietnamese...I can't remember) govt documents.

It's an important distinction. In fact, most countries - like Zimbabwe - who prohibit dual citizenship never really crack down on it, mostly because it is almost impossible to prove.

Thanks also justashooter,

I guess if I ever get that job, then I'll probably run into someone with a similar situation and I can ask them.

If anyone else knows would still appreciate it. I just want to know if I can still apply for her 10 year card (not citizenship) if we are living overseas. With the our 2 year GC, we are not eligible to apply for that until March 2011, but I'm hoping that I can get a job there later this year. Just trying to look ahead.

If you're wondering why we need GC if we are living overseas is because this job will only be on a 3-5 year contract and we will come back to the US afterward.

Thanks again everyone,

vny

The quick answer to your question is yes, you can apply for ROC while overseas, but you'll need to be open about your living situation, explain that it's a US-company. If it's a military contractor, even better. In any case, you're wife may need to come back to the States after 2 years and apply for a second (and even third), re-entry permit that allows GC holders to leave the US for more than 1 year for a good reason. I temporary job contract in another country is a good reason.

You might not get the conditions removed, and your case might be put on overseas hold if you are overseas (with permission) during the I-751 processing. But if you do decide to move back to the US, it will probably be taken off overseas hold at that time.

I don't see what your wife's loyalty to Japan has to do with naturalization in the US. Millions of naturalized Americans maintain their citizenships (and passports) back home, and they would find it strange to claim that by acquiring US citizenship they were somehow renouncing claims to their original nationality (or loyalty to their home country.)

Is your job for a US company? If so, you could apply for expedited citizenship for your wife under 319b. (Search forums.) If not, you should have to demonstrate that your job is temporary in nature, and apply for a re-entry permit, although that would only permit your wife to be out of the country for 2 years before she would have to come back to the US and apply for another re-entry permit. If you apply for removal of conditions while living abroad - assuming she is able to maintain her permanent residence in the US, possible, but not easy - it is likely that you're case will be put on overseas hold. (Again, search forums.)

Bottom line, it would be much easier if you waited for your wife to be naturalized before looking for work abroad. If you don't want to wait, you'll have to weigh the hassle of all the re-entry permits and overseas holds and possible loss of her GC with just going and then re-applying for a new GC when you guys decide to come back. Of course, it is rather difficult for the wife of a USC to get a tourist visa to visit the US, but it might be easier for Japanese than for other nationalities, ie Mexicans.

If you can get a job with the US company in Japan that is "engaged in the development of US foreign trade," I think 319b is your best bet. It is mostly used for military service, but there are also possibilities for missionaries and employees of US companies.

Good luck!

There have been many threads on this very subject.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/234119-best-evidence-in-my-situation/page__hl__overseas (one of several)

To back up just a bit - how long have you guys lived abroad?

Thanks for this thread. As I read through it, I actually remembered where the other threads were hidden away. Under "moving abroad on conditional GC" and the like. So I found the others:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/218085-moving-overseas-while-on-conditional-green-card/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/246481-moving-abroad-after-obtaining-green-card/http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/178132-maintaining-lpr-status-while-working-abroad/

Apparently, we are covered with regard to the maintenance of residency. (To answer your question, we have been abroad most of the 2-year period, but never for more than six months at a time. I have had a series of short-term projects abroad that I never fully expected. As such, we maintain all our bank accounts in the US, filed taxes every year, and maintained our permanent US address the entire time. To be extra safe, I have documentation from my employers that all these jobs were temporary, which is apparently sufficient to demonstrate no intent to abandon US residency.)

As far as the ROC goes, however, it is possible that my wife's petition will be put on "overseas hold," which means that when my short-term work abroad ends - I have yet another job abroad from August to December and then I begin a job in the US in January 2011 - we will have to schedule an Infopass appointment to have the hold removed and the ROC will proceed. There is a chance it will not be put on hold, however, and that it will be adjudicated normally - assuming we are willing to be in the US for Biometrics and any RFE interviews.

According to these threads, the most important things to document are that the jobs were temporary and that we maintain very close ties to our permanent home in the US.

Thanks again for pointing me to a thread. That got the juices flowing, and now I think we are back on track. We'll file the I-751 in mid-May (her GC expires in late July), and we'll see what happens. With USCIS you have to be prepared for anything.

read the 751 instructions carefully. they allow for a special mechanism for overseas filers that does not require stateside biometrics.

Thanks for your response! Actually, I have looked through the instructions, and it looks to me that only individuals who are overseas on Government or Military orders are eligible to file the I-751 with a fingerprint card from their local consulate.

There was once a thread on this, but I can't seem to find it in the midst of so many I-751 discussions. If I remember that thread correctly, non-government and non-military I-751 have to go through biometrics. Which means we definitely have to try to get it to fall during the time we are going to be back in the States in June/July.

Hello everyone,

It has been approximately a year since I have logged onto visajourney. It is a bittersweet feeling. Visajourney is an amazing source of information and moral support, but dealing with immigration takes so much out of me.

So my wife's GC will expire on 25 July 2010. Which means we can file as early as now. We live overseas, thanks to a serious of short-term work opportunities. I failed in my attempt to get my wife naturalized under 319b because self-owned US-based business was not considered "serious" enough to qualify for 319b. So here we are.

We have been back to the US every 4-5 months since my wife received her GC, and we plan to go back again in late June until early July. We will likely then return abroad until January 2011, at which point a work opportunity is opening up for me in the US and our long period of limbo is likely to come to a close.

I was thinking of putting in my wife's ROC application in late April, with hopes that her biometrics appointment would fall in late June or early July, thus saving us an extra trip back to the US. Hopefully, we will not be called in for an interview. But if we are, I have read that we can request repeated postponements until we get back to the US in January 2011.

Thoughts?

A bit demoralized, since our last experience with USCIS was frustrating, humiliating, costly, and ultimately unsuccessful.

Cheers to all...

I should have been more concise.

From the looks of recent timelines:

1. The biometrics take place around 4-6 weeks after filing, no?

2. Few people are being called in for interviews these days, it seems. I guess the trick is to send in sufficient evidence. Thoughts?

Hello everyone,

It has been approximately a year since I have logged onto visajourney. It is a bittersweet feeling. Visajourney is an amazing source of information and moral support, but dealing with immigration takes so much out of me.

So my wife's GC will expire on 25 July 2010. Which means we can file as early as now. We live overseas, thanks to a serious of short-term work opportunities. I failed in my attempt to get my wife naturalized under 319b because self-owned US-based business was not considered "serious" enough to qualify for 319b. So here we are.

We have been back to the US every 4-5 months since my wife received her GC, and we plan to go back again in late June until early July. We will likely then return abroad until January 2011, at which point a work opportunity is opening up for me in the US and our long period of limbo is likely to come to a close.

I was thinking of putting in my wife's ROC application in late April, with hopes that her biometrics appointment would fall in late June or early July, thus saving us an extra trip back to the US. Hopefully, we will not be called in for an interview. But if we are, I have read that we can request repeated postponements until we get back to the US in January 2011.

Thoughts?

A bit demoralized, since our last experience with USCIS was frustrating, humiliating, costly, and ultimately unsuccessful.

Cheers to all...

Didn't you say that you wanted to go throught Washington DC next time since they seem to have the most experience with 319b cases and therefore you should expect the least roadblocks and problems?

When I had my interview at Fairfax the IO even told me about the 319b and told me to let other military spouses know about it (I know, you're not military, but still). He said it's real easy to do a 319b if you have orders. You just walk in and do everything in one day. As I said, I'm a military spouse, so your case is a little different. But it seems like they really accomodate people who file under 319b.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you guys. Why is it so important that your wife gets the citizenship while you're abroad? As far as I remember she filed for a reentry permit. So you could give it another try once you're back and she fulfills all the requirements. But whatever you prefer, I wish you lots of good luck! :thumbs: I still can't believe you got denied after you had been approved and all because the IO didn't file the paperwork.

Yes. Definitely. I read before we filed 319b that Fairfax (Washington, DC) is the best place to file 319b. We took a risk, b/c we wanted to see our family in Georgia. We paid for it.

It's not hugely important that she gets her citizenship now, actually. Even if we don't re-apply via Fairfax/DC, we are going to try to return to the States every 5 months to keep the clock ticking and hopefully apply after she has fulfilled the 18 months of physical presence. The only thing I'm slightly worried about is that I might get a fulltime job abroad some day before my wife gets US citizenship and that could complicate matters, and she could potentially lose her Green Card if I begin to work abroad fulltime, rather than just temporarily as is happening now. Right now I work for myself, a "US-owned company," if you will. But what if I get a job with a foreign firm? She would be risking her Green Card just by living abroad with me. But as long as I am working for myself, she is completely legal living abroad with me.

We did not apply for a re-entry permit, because we would rather keep the 3-year clock running. Once she has been physically present in the US for 18 full months, we can reapply via 319a.

We are really destroyed about the IO not filing our flight itinerary, approving my wife's application, and then denying it two weeks later on the basis that we didn't provide evidence of travel plans. It's almost too ridiculous to be true, and all our Congressmen and Senators have worked on it, but the Atlanta District Office just seems to get madder and angrier and bitterer and more protective of their territory. They have not once given any of the Senators a decent answer as to why my wife was denied. It's sad really to see such poor governance. I love the USA, but I really think we can do better with regard to our government. We deserve a government that works.

Hi everyone,

My wife and I applied via 319b from abroad and requested the Atlanta District Office. We figured we would visit my family and kill two birds with one stone. The Atlanta District Office was very clumsy, however, and denied my wife's N-400 after she passed her interview, arguing that we had not established that we live abroad. What a joke.

They gave us the option to file an N-336 appeal, which costs $605 and takes somewhere around 6 months. We talked to a lawyer who said that it would be much faster, and somewhat cheaper, to file a new N-400.

Now to my question: I have looked through some of the stats and it looks like the Washington, DC DO gives interviews within 3 months of filing. Other offices give them within 2 months of filing. Since we are located in Bolivia, we can go anywhere in the US for our 319b application. Does anyone know which DO is the absolute fastest about getting interviews for N-400 cases? We are tired of flying back and forth and want to close this horrible VJ once and for all. It costs around $1200 round trip to get to the US from Bolivia. Perhaps we could do it at some island in the Pacific near Chile? Guam? The Marshall Islands? Hawaii? The US Virgin Islands?

Thanks for any direction you can give.

I double checked and everything is there (all pages of the form, correct check payment, front and back green card and 2 passport photos). I guess I'll send it again. This is confusing. The rejected letter said it was returned for the following reasons:

"Please ensure you have included the following items when you resubmit your application: A copy of both sides of your Form 1-551, Permanent Resident Card (PRC) commonly known as a "green card" and 2 passport style photos" ---> I included this. I even has a coversheet that detailed all the contents of the package.

"In addition, all applicants with any military service must provide a completed form g-325B..." --> This is not applicable to the case! My husband has not served in the military.

"All applicants whose place of residence is outside the United States must submit a completed Form FD-258..." --> This is not applicable to the case! My husband is currently in the U.S. and has not traveled outside of the States since he arrived over 3 years ago.

Nothing on the form I filled out would indicate that either military service and/or residing abroad is applicable to our case. Is this just a standard rejection form letter or did they make a mistake?

Thanks!

Sorry to hear about this. My wife's N-400 was also rejected, in what we believe to have been a mistake. We are debating whether or not we should resubmit at this time or what until we get back from my work abroad. One thing that might be able to help is going to your Congressman's office or Senator's office. They often have direct lines into USCIS to make inquiries on behalf of constitutions. THey might be able to find out what USCIS's reasoning was so that your re-application will be better. Or they might even be able to get it reversed if it really was a mistake on USCIS's part.

Good luck!

My husband applied for his naturalization back in July. He appeared for his exam/interview in December in Maryland (where I and his parents live). He passed the examination portion but he said his officer was just nasty with him and told him the case needs to be transferred to NYC because he is going to grad school there. We called the hotline in January because we had not heard anything from them and they told us they can only put in an inquiry after 90 days. 90 days pass, we call them, they said an interview letter had been sent to him a while ago and now it had to be reschedule. We asked them where they sent it, and they gave a completely wrong address in NY. So we changed the address to the correct address of his apartment in NYC. they said they will send another letter with a rescheduled interview.

Yesterday he noticed on the floor of the building lobby a letter from the USCIS to my husband, with the wrong apartment number!! And do you know what the letter said? The case has been denied and a letter had been sent to (God knows where) explaining their decision. What should we do??? We called the hotline, spoke to three different reps, and they all give us different answers. One says to make an infopass appointment, another says to appeal (and pay another $605??? For THEIR mistake?), another says to wait 15 days until they can put in another inquiry (so they can royally screw things up for us again?). I wish someone would just give us the right answer. We don't want to spend thousands of dollars for mistakes caused on the government's behalf

We are in a similar situation, actually. As Gerard says, the fault could be considered to be shared, although that doesn't make it any easier on us. The sad fact of the matters is that, under immigration law, the burden of proof rests with the applicant. Although both of our spouses meet the requirements for naturalization, neither of them have received citizenship due to some poor planning on our behalf.

Our denial was sent on March 5, which means it will become final in another week or so. We have had our congressman and senators' offices working hard on it. Basically, they have access to USCIS district office supervisors, who can request that officers reconsider decisions. They cannot consider any new evidence, however, and in your case, it simply appears that you applied to the wrong district office and must re-apply for naturalization. Our lawyer recommended this rather than an appeal since they are the same price and an N-400 will be processed much quicker than a N-336.

I'll be interested to hear what happens. We are probably going to re-apply and provide more evidence next time. It is a very frustrating system, and I think it has something to do with a lack of funding for Homeland Security. Too few officers process too many cases and mistakes can often be made. Once they are made, we have to move quickly to provide new information or file new documents or else we will fall through the cracks.

Good luck, and keep your head up. We have found that there is life without US citizenship. We are moving back abroad soon and will be re-applying under 319b, which is for spouses of US citizens who work abroad for US companies. We will be applying through the Washington, DC office which we have heard is much more professional about letting you know if there are problems so you can provide new evidence BEFORE a denial is made and you are caught in this horrible situation.

I'm sorry about what happened. Just think - it's just a piece of paper. We were really devastated with the denial, but are doing better now.

I need some help guys!!

I am preparing my N400 to apply under 319(B), I called the embassy in Cairo to schedule an appointment for finger prints and they said they no longer do that!!! they stopped doing ink finger prints THREE YEARS AGO!! they told me to head to a local police station where i get a popular finger print card here and use that instead!! would this work with home land security?!? a finger print card done by a police station in Egypt without a single english word on it!!

any ideas!??

HELP!!

The only thing I can say is that I had the same experience in La Paz, Bolivia. They said they were no long doing the fingerprinting. And then someone on VJ recommended that I call the embassy again and ask for the "security" section. I did that, and low and behold, they said, "Sure!" So we went in and they took us upstairs to this double-secret area and didn't even charge!

That didn't stop the Atlanta District Office from denying my wife's application because we didn't send in copies of our fight itineraries proving that we were leaving within 45 days of the naturalization ceremony. I'm not kidding. We have sent flight itineraries to the office, but they refuse to look at them since they weren't in the original file. We have to file a costly appeal or re-apply.

Good luck. I would definitely recommend applying through Washington, DC. But if you are with a big company it shouldn't be a problem. I own my own company that does business overseas.

thanks for your help, my wife will call the embassy again today and see.......

my question to you is, how the hell would you include original tickets, or even copy of your return tickets in your original package when you send it!! you dont even know when your interview will be!!! 3 months, 5 months, 7 months!! Am i supposed to just aim!!

I would just bring travel plans and work orders to the interview. And even if the interviewing officer looks at them and returns them to you saying, "That looks fine," you should request that he keep the copies and put them in the file. What happened with us was that he looked at them, said, that's fine, you pass, and then went on vacation or something. The next officer who took the case off denied it because there was no evidence that we were really leaving to go abroad. We were furious and now have to file an appeal which will probably take so long we will no longer meet the requirement that I be posted overseas for one year after my wife's naturalization.

I would say applying through the Washington, DC office would be best. But either way, just realize that you have to prove everything beyond a reasonable doubt (the burden of the prosecution in a criminal case), and you have to get all that evidence in the file. Because once they deny, it is very difficult to have it reversed without a very costly and very lengthy appeal.

Good luck!

I need some help guys!!

I am preparing my N400 to apply under 319(B), I called the embassy in Cairo to schedule an appointment for finger prints and they said they no longer do that!!! they stopped doing ink finger prints THREE YEARS AGO!! they told me to head to a local police station where i get a popular finger print card here and use that instead!! would this work with home land security?!? a finger print card done by a police station in Egypt without a single english word on it!!

any ideas!??

HELP!!

The only thing I can say is that I had the same experience in La Paz, Bolivia. They said they were no long doing the fingerprinting. And then someone on VJ recommended that I call the embassy again and ask for the "security" section. I did that, and low and behold, they said, "Sure!" So we went in and they took us upstairs to this double-secret area and didn't even charge!

That didn't stop the Atlanta District Office from denying my wife's application because we didn't send in copies of our fight itineraries proving that we were leaving within 45 days of the naturalization ceremony. I'm not kidding. We have sent flight itineraries to the office, but they refuse to look at them since they weren't in the original file. We have to file a costly appeal or re-apply.

Good luck. I would definitely recommend applying through Washington, DC. But if you are with a big company it shouldn't be a problem. I own my own company that does business overseas.

Now I have to ask another question. If your wife can't apply for naturalization under section 319a until early 2012 that would mean that she didn't become a permanent resident until early 2009. How come she was able to apply for naturalization under 319b in October 2008 then? I thought you have to be permanent resident to do so. Or am I off with my math?

18 months physical presence requirement. If we get back to the States after my work abroad in September 2010, and add 18 months to that, that's early 2012. Perhaps we can make the application in late 2011, but she will not be eligible until early 2012, as per the 18 month physical presence requirement for 319a applications.

So does her time abroad now count as a break in residency? But then she couldn't apply until she has been back for at least three years and physically present for at least 18 months, right? All this is so complicated...

Thanks for mentioning this. It looks like you are right. But if we fly back to the states every 5 and a half months while I am posted abroad, perhaps she can maintain continuous residence and apply in early 2012.

Maybe it will be reversed.