celiothrkn

Had our oath ceremony yesterday. For anyone in the Los Angeles area who's wondering, it literally takes about 2 hours to get everyone (5,000 people!) seated. Arrival times are staggered. Per our letter, we were instructed to arrive at 12:10pm. The lady next to us was instructed to arrive at 12:30pm. The judge doesn't arrive until around 1:45pm. We were done and out by around 2:45pm.

Asking for all SoCal filers to chime in with their experience:

My wife passed her naturalization interview and has a scheduled oath ceremony next Tuesday at Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) at 12:10pm. What time can we expect the ceremony to be over? I am trying to coordinate afternoon activities (picking up our kid from preschool back in OC).

They usually schedule within 45 days after approval. I'm still within that time. When was your wife's interview? It doesn't look like there's a scheduled oath at LACC in November, so if I am scheduled for oath in December, I will have to cancel our trip for that month. Kind of makes me wish I lived in one of those small states with same day oath.

When you go to www.uscis.gov and input your case number, what's your status? The website shows we're stuck at the Testing & Interview phase, despite already having passed the naturalization interview.

Nope. No oath letter, and my online status is still the same as your wife.. The IO told me that he's scheduling 2 months out. Going off of what he told me, I'd be scheduled for oath ceremony in.. November? From what I've seen on trackitt, the time frame for citizenship seems to be 5 months in Los Angeles. Do applicants in OC attend oath here in LA, too?

Oh. That's odd. Our IO in Santa Ana told us the oath ceremony would be 1 month out (in Oct). Then again, maybe IOs have no authority over scheduling so he was operating on a guess.

Our N-652 Naturalization Interview Results paperwork says lists three oath ceremony sites: LA County Fairgrounds, LA Convention Center, Anaheim Convention Center. If your N-652 is the same, then I could understand, since Orange County is basically a suburb of Los Angeles.

If what you said about November is true, then there's an oath ceremony scheduled for Nov 20, 2013 in Anaheim Convention Center. If that's the case, then we'd have to postpone our oath ceremony because we'll be leaving the country in mid-November for a 7 week vacation.

happilycontent,

I see that you filed the N-400 in June 2013 and passed your interview in September. My wife's in the same boat actually. She had the interview in Santa Ana, CA.

1. However as of today when I check www.uscis.gov, our case status is still TESTING AND INTERVIEWING. What's yours?
2. Have you gotten any letters to schedule for your oath ceremony yet? Based on this website, it looks like the next ceremony in the Los Angeles area should be either Oct 23 or Nov 20.

We filed the N-400 first week of June 2013.

My wife arrived at 34 Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana, CA at 7:30am today for her naturalization interview. Went through security and waited in line for about an hour and half. Security said that cellular phones were not permitted inside. The actual interview probably took 15 minutes total.

Was asked 6 questions i.e. Who's the commander in chief of military? What are the dominant political parties in the US?

Walked through the N-400 application, particularly the yes/no section. i.e. Have you ever been a member of the Communist Party? Do you support the Constitution and form of government of the US?

The only curveball she got was a result of her traffic ticket (improper lane change). How much were you fined for your traffic ticket? Did you attend traffic school?

IO then gave her a letter stating she had passed and informed her that the oath ceremony will be in October. I checked the USCourts.gov website for our district, and I think the next oath ceremony is scheduled for October 23, 2013.

Out and free to celebrate by 9:00am.

Yes, you should be fine. I'm a USC (albeit by birth) and had our first child in China. Basically after your wife delivers, the local government/hospital should issue a birth certificate (a document which simply states that the birth occurred; has no bearing for local citizenship). You & her & baby will then need to show up at the nearest US Embassy or US Consulate with said birth certificate and apply for a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad." This will act as the official birth certificate from the US standpoint.

My wife's naturalization interview is scheduled for Tuesday, and I found a line in the document checklist asking for two passport-style photos (2x2). It also said that the photos are not mandatory. What is the purpose of said photos?

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I think we will stick with our interview date and ask for a postponed oath ceremony. I've heard that, after the interview (if you pass), you are presented with a choice of oath dates.

At what stages are we allowed to postpone? Is the interview postponable? Is the oath postponable?

We filed a N-400 in June 2013. Earlier this week, I received an email stating: On August 19, 2013, your N400 APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION was scheduled for interview. You will receive a notice with a time and place for your interview.

Let's assume that the interview occurs in either September or October. My spouse is from China, which does not allow for dual citizenship. At what point does my wife have to renounce her Chinese citizenship (and thereby Chinese passport)?

The reason I'm asking is because my wife is planning for a trip to China from mid-November to New Year. She'd like to go under her Chinese passport (as a US Passport won't be ready in time anyways). This will be her last time to China under that passport, and the purpose of the trip is to take care of loose ends (i.e. closing bank accounts).

Should we attempt to postpone the interview (although that doesn't seem wise)? Any advice?

Looking at the stats on VisaJourney, it appears that the Interview's an average of 100 days after NOA. So if our NOAs are June, would it be correct to assume sometime in the September vicinity?

Out of curiosity, what if you can't make it to the interview? We are planning for a vacation this fall but want to make sure we "work around" any possible dates for the Interview.

Oh no. I overlooked this Form M-477 Document Checklist. We are filing based on "3 to 5 years," and I only sent in the bare minimum - photocopy of Green Card, two 2x2 photographs, and a $680 check.

Did not know about needing my birth certificate, marriage certificate, tax returns/transcripts, etc.

Wait a second. I mailed a N-400 for my spouse (LPR) two days ago. We have been married for 4+ years. She's had a Green Card for a full 3 years now.

I looked through the Instructions for Form N-400 and there was no mention of tax transcripts. Is this going to present a problem?

Yes.

First, she isn't eligible to naturalize after three years of marriage to you...she is eligible to naturalize after three years of becoming a PR. And yes, she will have to do biometrics again...everyone does.

Thank you all for the replies!

English Muffin - My mistake on the OP but it's okay. We've been married for 4 years, and as of last week, she's been been a LPR a full 3 years. I will be filing my N-400 this week.

My spouse arrived in the US three years ago (May 2010) as a CR-1. After two years (May 2012), she was able to remove conditions and become a 10-Year Green Card. To do this, she had biometrics done (in NJ where we lived at the time).

According to naturalization laws, she's eligible to naturalize after three years of marriage to myself, a USC. As I'm preparing to file her N-400, I have a question. Does she need to redo her biometrics? Biologically not much has changed since she had biometrics done last year so I question the need.

By the way, soon after she removed conditions, we moved to CA. Not sure if that makes any difference. Thank you.

My wife won't be eligible for naturalization until May 2013 but we're planning ahead! I understand that the applicant must prove "continuous residence" in the US in order to naturalize.

My lawyer tells me that she cannot take a vacation out of the US for more than 6 consecutive months (because USCIS will then presume she's abandoning LPR status). However in some places, I've read that no single absence can be more than 1 year.

Which one is it? 6 months or 1 year?

To my current understanding, being out of the US for more than 6 consecutive months disrupts continuous residence. Meanwhile if she's out of the US for more than 1 year, she loses her Green Card automatically. Is this correct?

My employer is an American LLC incorporated in NJ (private sector). The LLC was recently bought by a Group based in London. The new owners (the Group) wants to permanently move some of our operations (including my department) to their other subsidiary/office in Singapore. I have the option of relocating the entire family to Singapore OR face involuntary termination + look for new a job in the US. If we go to Singapore, I don't know how many years the assignment will be, but we eventually will return to the US (most likely by resigning and finding a new job in the US).

My wife came to the US on a CR1 visa May 2010 (so she's halfway through her 2-year conditional Green Card). We should be removing conditions in ten months or so (May 2012). Further down the road, we also intend on applying for naturalization, which she'll be eligible for after holding a Green Card for at least 3 years.

Questions:

1. Since removing conditions requires biometrics, it appears we must be physically be in the US to remove conditions. We can't do this at a US embassy/consulate. Right?

2.

In certain cases, spouses of US citizens employed abroad may qualify for naturalization regardless of their time as permanent residents. These spouses may qualify if the US citizen is “in the employment of an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof."

If we go to Singapore, my employer will become a locally-incorporated company in Singapore. In other words I will not be receiving a paycheck from the LLC in NJ anymore. Do we qualify?

If anyone has experience with this, please tell me your story. Obviously I will also be consulting an immigration lawyer on this delicate issue.

3. If/when we arrive in Singapore, we can either stay on our visa OR apply for PR permanent residency. If we apply for PR in Singapore, will the US government revoke my wife's PR status (Green Card) on the grounds that she's taken up residence in another country? FYI we can save approximately 10% on local taxes if we take up PR status in Singapore.

My private sector employer is considering sending me (USC) to Singapore to work. My son is also a USC. However my wife has a GC, which she obtained through a CR1 visa. The GC has been valid since her POE in May 2010 (approx 1 yr now). During this time she has never left the US.

If I take the offer, how will it affect her chances of keeping the GC? Bigger question- how would it affect naturalization? If I don't take the job, we would only have to wait 3 years.

Should I apply for a reentry permit I131? Do I need a N470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes?

P.S.

Does Taiwan as part of the R.o.C. allow dual citizenship?

Yes, you may hold both US citizenship and "R.O.C. citizenship."

You cannot hold both US citizenship and P.R.C. citizenship though.

My wife came (POE in NY) at the end of May 2010. So far we've received a USCIS Welcome Letter. No green card yet.

Like what was said before, changing last name during marriage is probably the easiest since the visa is issued according to the name in the passport.

Otherwise you will have to wait approximately 2 years after marriage until you have to remove conditions on green card. At that point, file the I-751 (to remove conditions) using married name. The resulting 10-years green card should then have married name.

We found a joint sponsor so we will be pursuing this route in lieu of appealing. Our joint sponsor says her latest tax returns were 40-50 pages. Would it be OK if we only sent the Form 1040 (2 pages) and W-2? I believe it's basically all the schedules that are creating weight.

Also, the blue slip asked for 2006-2008 tax returns. In theory we can get away with only the latest tax return, right? If we follow their directions word-for-word, the joint sponsor will be mailing roughly 150 pages to China (3 years x 50 pages per tax return = 150 pages).

If we request a tax transcript from IRS, would it be a lot of pages too? I would prefer not going this route because tax transcripts take up to 2 weeks, especially now (end of March) that the IRS is in busy-mode. So I am looking for legitimate ways to get our package to Guangzhou as fast and as conveniently as possible.

What exactly does the blue slip say? You don't appeal blue slips. You comply with them. If you have a salary of 45k from employment and showed recent pay stubs as evidence, it would be unusual to be denied but certainly possible. Again, what exactly does the blue slip say?

Blue slip said Lacking Documents/Further Processing. Need 2006-2008 tax returns/transcripts for co-sponsor. Need original signed I-864.

My wife had her CR1 interview in US Consulate-Guangzhou, China on March 8. The VO said everything looked fine, except for our $45K salary. For whatever reason, it's not enough to satisfy the $22K requirement for a household size of three. The VO gave us a blue slip to get a co-sponsor, which I feel is absolutely unnecessary because I am 2X the required amount.

I have a very ordinary job. Annual salary of 45K. No sales commission or anything. Some people online think that it may be because I only started the job on Jan 5, 2010. But I fail to see how that is a legitimate concern since the government is more concerned on whether my projected future earnings will be sufficient to support our family of three.

Asides from finding a co-sponsor, what other options do I have? I vaguely remember reading that you have 28 days to appeal a CR1 decision in-person? Is that true? I do not mind flying to Guangzhou and having a chit-chat with them.