kg8183

My husband and I do not have the following:

* documentation of joint ownership or property,

* a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence,

* no bills

* documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources.

Don't need any of it, USCIS will not expect you to have such items.

We do have:

* copies of boarding passes for my trips to visit him along with the trip itineraries,

* copies of entry/exit stamps and visas to his country stamped in my Travel Document,

* lots of picture of us together and with others,

* e-mail correspondence,

* skype correspondence,

This is good.

I will include all of the things listed above. However, as one can image, 2 years worth of e-mails and skype correspondence can be a lot, and my package may be thicker than Tolstoy's "War and Peace" if I include all of it. Do I just take 5-10 pages worth of correspondence from different times during the 2 year period that we have been apart?

1) It appears that I can petition with just a copy of the naturalization certificate, which I think should be given to me at the oath ceremony (fingers crossed), and do not need to have a US passport. Please confirm.

Copy of naturalization certificate is sufficient to show proof of US Citizenship, you do not need a US passport.

Thank you for confirming this.

Hello fellow VJ members.

I am starting to put together the package to petition for my husband and I have couple of questions to start with.

A brief overview of my situation may be helpful.

This coming week I will be attending the Oath Ceremony to become a naturalized US citizen.

My husband currently lives and works abroad.

My husband and I got married in January 2010 and he left the US for his home country on February 2010 (about 25 days later). Since he left the US, I have visited him 3 times for the total of about 150 days. After we got married, I did not move to live with him while he was in the US (too much hassle for 25 days) and continued to live with my parents. During my visits to his country we lived together in his apartment.

My husband and I do not have the following:

* documentation of joint ownership or property,

* a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence,

* no bills

* documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources.

We do have:

* copies of boarding passes for my trips to visit him along with the trip itineraries,

* copies of entry/exit stamps and visas to his country stamped in my Travel Document,

* lots of picture of us together and with others,

* e-mail correspondence,

* skype correspondence,

My Questions.

1) It appears that I can petition with just a copy of the naturalization certificate, which I think should be given to me at the oath ceremony (fingers crossed), and do not need to have a US passport. Please confirm.

2) Please advice what document(s) I should submit that may evidence the bona fides of our marriage ?

Thank you in advance

Hello

I wasn't able to purchase a money order that was worth more than $500, so I went ahead and purchased $500 and $180 denominated money orders for a total of $680 for my N-400 application.

1) Will this be OK?

2) The money order doesn't have a "Memo" or "Subject" line where I can enter my A-number. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

I would go ahead and apply now. Just submit the taxes you have and in your cover letter explain that they were filed wrongly (filing status) and that you are in the process of amending them, so they reflect the correct filing status.

For your interview just take the transcript of the amended one with you.

This should not be a big deal for naturalization, I thought more about if you want to sponsor your husband and you did not file married! Most likely the amount of taxes will not change anyway.

Wishing you a speedy journey.

Sib

Thank you for your reply.

Kudos to Sib who points out very accurately that the filing of "Single" was in error and MUST be corrected.

I am not sure I personally would agree with this second advise of going ahead and filing the N400 with a letter of explanation. From my point of view, the more little "hiccups" that you give the Government, the more ammunition they have to make Big Deals Out of Nothing. If it were me, I would file the amended tax return and then submit a copy with the initial N400 application - thereby eliminating any need to "explain" anything regarding this matter.

Warm Regards,

Samby

Thank you. Per my understanding, one is not required to submit the tax returns with the N-400 application and only brings those to the interview. Are you suggesting to submit the amended tax returns with N-400 so that the USCIS is aware of the changes so there is no surprises during the interview and throughout the naturalization process?

Thank you

Your taxes were filed wrong. You are considered married if you are not legally seperated by a divorce or seperation decree at the end of the year you are filing taxes for.

So you had to file married either jointly if you treat your non-resident alien spouse as resident, but then you also have to include his income (which then can be excluded again because it is foreign income) or you had to file married seperate, but never single.

You still can amend the tax return to have it properly filed. I would go back to the person who did the return and have him amend the return to file it properly at no charge!

This is from IRS:

Here are eight facts about the five filing status options the IRS wants you to know so that you can choose the best option for your situation.

Your marital status on the last day of the year determines your marital status for the entire year.

If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that gives you the lowest tax obligation.

Single filing status generally applies to anyone who is unmarried, divorced or legally separated according to state law.

A married couple may file a joint return together. The couple’s filing status would be Married Filing Jointly.

If your spouse died during the year and you did not remarry during 2010, usually you may still file a joint return with that spouse for the year of death.

A married couple may elect to file their returns separately. Each person’s filing status would generally be Married Filing Separately.

Head of Household generally applies to taxpayers who are unmarried. You must also have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and a qualifying person to qualify for this filing status.

You may be able to choose Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child as your filing status if your spouse died during 2008 or 2009, you have a dependent child and you meet certain other conditions.

If you ever want to file for your husband to get LPR it is important that your taxes are filed married!

Sib

I will certainly be amending my 2010 taxes. The question is, can I go ahead and submit my n400 now? I really don't want to amend and wait until I hear back from IRS to submit my n400.

I take it you're applying based on 5 years of residency, not marriage, right? Then it shouldn't matter, as long as you paid your taxes properly.

Yes, I am applying based on 5 years of residency.

Hello,

I am currently preparing to apply for citizenship and wanted to go through my income tax returns to make sure that they are in order.

FYI, I got married in January 2010 and in February 2010 my husband who was an international student in the US left for his home country after he completed his studies here. He did not work and did not earn any income in 2010 in the US.

My guess was that the "Filling Status" should have been "Married applying separately". But the accountant has checked "Single" even after I had told him that I was married but my husband was not in the country.

How big of a problem is this when they call me for citizenship interview?

Can I apply to IRS to have it changed?

Thank you

If you cannot locate his A#, then I would simply leave that field blank. His current status is "other" and "holds currently no US visa"

If the issue about his A# comes up during the interview (which I think is not that much likely), then you can say that you could not locate it.

Thank you very much.

Regarding your earlier questions, you can ask your husband to check his visa stamp in his passport. It should have the A#.

For his status, I would write "has currently no US visa"

Thank you. I just checked the copies of his passport pages and there is no A-number anywhere. It only has a 10 digit "N number" which is also on his SEVIS papers.

I am just curious. One is supposed to surrender the I-94 card (this card has the A-number written on it) when exiting the US (Canada and Mexico might be exceptions). By writing the A-number on the N-400, might it not imply that my husband is still in the USA?

One last thing just crossed my mind. Part 6-A asks information about the residence and the N-400 instructions state "Write every address where you have lived during the last five years (including in other countries)". Since becoming a LPR I have traveled abroad 3 times (total of 163 days) within the last 5 years. Do I put the address where I stayed when traveling abroad (stayed with my husband in his apartment)?

Obviously, she is, since she is here and her husband is in his home country. Could use the 10/??/2011 format for the dates. Also have to be applying for the five year, did one of those for my stepdaughter where many headings didn't apply to her, and recall typing in a bunch of N/A's in all of those headings by using copy and paste, control "V", says in the instructions to do that.

Thank you NickD for your reply.

The instructions for N-400 provide an example stating that May 1998 should be put as 05/1998 without mentioning anything about the day.

Who is filing for naturalization?

You or your husband?

Sib

I am, based on being a green card holder for 5 years.

Thank you nwctzn for the detailed reply. I have two things to clarify.

Part 8-E-2: He had an I-94 paper piece of paper when he came to the US that had an A number. The same number is on his student USCIS papers (I-20, SEVIS papers). Since he is no longer in the country, what do I put in the field? N/A?

- I would write his A number since he is in the USCIS system even if he is no longer in the US.

I went through the copies of the paperwork that I have from him, and I can't find the copy of his I-94 to get the A-number from. Moreover, I thought that his university papers have that number printed somewhere, but they don't. Is it OK if I put N/A in that field?

Part 8-E-3 (spouse's immigration status): Do I check the "Other"? What do I write on the line next to it (he doesn't have a GC)?

- Does he currently have a tourist visa? If not, check "other" in 8-E-3 and write down "holds currently no visa"

He is not currently in the USA and doesn't have any US status. Do I check "Other" and write "Not currently in the USA" or as nwctzn said "holds no USA visa currently"?

Hello all,

Here is a brief info about myself that will help to understand the situation.

I married my husband when he was still in the USA on a F-1 visa (international student status). After completing his studies, he left for his country and has been there for roughly 1.5 years now (FYI, I have visited him 3 times since then). When he was in the USA he HAD a US social security number.

My question:

Part 6-A: Do I have to put MM/DD/YYYY or can I put MM/YYYY? I honestly can't remember the days.

Part 7-C: When counting number of days outside of the US, I don't include the day I left and the day I returned in the count. For example I left on 7/20/2011, returned on 10/08/2011 = 79 days outside of the US. Correct?

Part 8-B-4 (spouse's US social security number): Do I put the social security number that he had when he was in the US?

Part 8-B-5: I am almost certain that I have to put his current address in his home country, correct? Is it OK if I put his home country in the "State" field?

Part 8-D: Since my spouse is not a citizen, I am living this section blank, correct? Should I put N/A in the 8-D-2 field?

Part 8-E-2: He had an I-94 paper piece of paper when he came to the US that had an A number. The same number is on his student USCIS papers (I-20, SEVIS papers). Since he is no longer in the country, what do I put in the field? N/A?

Part 8-E-3 (spouse's immigration status): Do I check the "Other"? What do I write on the line next to it (he doesn't have a GC)?

Part 8-F-G: Since this is the first marriage for both of us, do I put N/A's in the first fields for both sub-sections and leave the rest empty?

Part 9-B: Since I do not have any kids, do I just put N/A in the left upper field and leave the rest empty?

Part 10-B-8-b: I do not have any affiliations to any group, club, etc. I didn't check "Yes"; therefore, do I have to put N/A in the left upper field and leave the rest empty or should I not put N/A.

Thank you all in advance for your suggestions.

Regards,

GA

Lose (gone), not loose (not firmly attached).

What exactly do you lose by becoming a US citizen 3 and a half months later?

Good catch on the word loose.

My husband is not in the US and by becoming a US citizen earlier, I will be able to file for him sooner.

It does seem very risky to apply and leave the country for a month or so. Probably it is better to apply after I return. The bad part is that I was planning to take the trip in 2 months (an important trip I might add). So if I apply now, I can't take the trip and if apply after I return I loose 3.5 months.

Does anyone have experience with rescheduling biometrics appointment, the interview, etc? How did it work out?

Thank

1) Today. No, wait. Tomorrow. Too late for today.

2) On July 17 of this year.

http://www.discipleshomemissions.org/files/RIMRefugeeStatus.pdf

Thank you for your response.

Until I read the Guide to Naturalization on USCIS website and this post, for some strange reason, I was under the impression that one can only apply for naturalization after living in the US for 4 years and 9 months from the day the Permanent Residnet Card was issued and that all the trips that one took during permanent residence had to be made up by living in the US to accumulate the 57 months to apply and 60 to be eligible to become a citizen. But to my delight, that is not the case.......

However, I have 2 more question.

The Eligibiliy Worksheet has this statement "I have resided in the district or state in

which I am applying for citizenship for the last three months", which is to satisfy the Time in USCIS District or State requirement.

For example, what if I were to take a trip outside of the US today for say 45 days and decided to apply for naturalization right after I return to the States, granted that I have been living in that state for over 3 months prior to leaving

1) will I be able to apply right after I return to the States or do I have to wait for 3 months before I can apply?

2) I have to take a trip abroad for about 30-45 days. Can I apply for naturalization and take the trip while thee case is being processed?

I looked at the link that you suggested. It is a bit strange that it doesn't mention anything about applying 90 days prior to the 5 year anniversary and that it states the following "six months in the state where applying" for what I think is for fulfilling the USCIS District or State requirement requirement, which is not mentioned in the Naturalization Guide on the USCIS website.

Nevertheless, I will be looking forward to receiving answers to my questions and comments.

Thank you all

Hello fellow VJ member!

I was doing some reading on the USCIS website regarding the naturalization process and I have couple of questions to make sure I do understand it correctly.

Here are few facts about my case that you may need to know:

* I am over 18 years of age

* I was issued a Green Card on July 17, 2006 (this is the date on the green card) as a result of being admitted to the country as a refugee

* Since then I have taken 2 trips outside of the US using Refugee Travel Document

* During Trip 1, I was absent from the US for 48 days (did not count partial days)

* During Trip 2, I was absent from the US for 36 days (did not count partial days)

My questions are:

1) When is the earliest I can apply for naturalization (sent N-400)?

2) When is the earliest I am eligible to be come a citizen?

Thank you all for your time and take care

Hello forum members!

Beforehand, I apologize if this post is not in the correct section of this forum.

My wife is preparing an I-131 for a Refugee Travel Document. She is an LPR now as a result of being granted a refugee status. We have two questions.

Situation 1:

The I-131 instructions state the following regarding photographs.

"If you are outside the United States and filing for a Refugee Travel Document, or if you are in the US and filing for Advance Parole Document: You must submit two identical color photographs of yourself taken within 30 days of filing of this application".

She is currently in the US and will be filing while in the US. Moreover, I remember we had to submit two photographs when she was filling for a Refugee Travel Document last year.

Question 1:

We are thinking of sending the photographs anyway as part of the application. Do you think this somehow can cause a problem (i.e. not accepting the application, etc.)

Situation 2:

Moreover, the instructions for I-131 has a Note on the lower right corner. Please refer to the document at

My link

The note states something about not having to pay the application fee if an applicant has submitted I-485 and paid full I-485 fee on or after July 30, 2007.

Again, I do not recall seeing this in last year's instructions.

Question 2:

Is she not required to pay for the fee, since she has applied for I-485 after the stated date and, I believe, has paid the full I-485 fee?

We thank you in advance for any input.

KG

Hello forum members!

My wife is preparing an I-131 for a Refugee Travel Document. She is an LPR now as a result of being granted a refugee status. We have two questions.

Situation 1:

The I-131 instructions state the following regarding photographs.

"If you are outside the United States and filing for a Refugee Travel Document, or if you are in the US and filing for Advance Parole Document: You must submit two identical color photographs of yourself taken within 30 days of filing of this application".

She is currently in the US and will be filing while in the US. Moreover, I remember we had to submit two photographs when she was filling for a Refugee Travel Document last year.

Question 1:

We are thinking of sending the photographs anyway as part of the application. Do you think this somehow can cause a problem (i.e. not accepting the application, etc.)

Situation 2:

Moreover, the instructions for I-131 has a Note on the lower right corner. Please refer to the document at

My link

The note states something about not having to pay the application fee if an applicant has submitted I-485 and paid full I-485 fee on or after July 30, 2007.

Again, I do not recall seeing this in last year's instructions.

Question 2:

Is she not required to pay for the fee, since she has applied for I-485 after the stated date and, I believe, has paid the full I-485 fee?

We thank you in advance for any input.

KG

Thank you all.

So it appears that the upgrade will not delay things.

Again, what is everybody's opinion on LPR submitting I-130 roughly 1.5 years before being eligible to apply for citizenship?

A legal permanent resident can file an I-130 for his or her spouse and all they would need to send is a copy of their green card.

I am curious to know how you were able to get married if she's never had a copy of her birth certificate or passport?

Diana

She presented her green card, social security card, driver's license and a travel document that was issued by Red Cross that has her name, birth date, birth location, and parents' names in it. We were told it was enough to issue the license.

Just to confirm. Green card alone (no passport and birth certificate) is enough for a LPR to file I-130, correct?

thanks

Hello,

I was just reading the guide for CR-1 and few things came to my mind.

1) The guide states that copies of birth certificate or copies of passport of US citizen should accompany I-130. I thought a Green Card holder can also submit a petition. Am I wrong?

2) My wife came to the US as a refugee and is currently a green card holder. She fled the country with her parents when she was 3 years old and after many years in a third country, she was admitted to the US as a refugee. Hence, she never had a passport from that country. The only document she ever had was the birth certificate which she has lost.

If she was to submit an I-130, what would you say she must do if she does not have a passport and a birth certificate?

FYI, we are aware that I-130 submitted by a LPR are subject to numerical limit for visa availability and, therefore, can take very long to be approved.

thanks

My wife was denied her K-1 last year because she failed to meet her 2-year requirement by approximately 10 days.

It blew us out of the water. Make sure you meet this requirement or they will deny you.

They didn't care that we had a son or anything else. 30 day notice to leave the US.

I'll add my 2 cents as I was also a holder of J-1 with 2 year home residency requirement. The two years, as stated by others, must be fulfilled by living in Russia. Any time spent outside of Russia does not count. Thankfully, it is cumulative. I still have to fulfill 16 months of residency, and I was told by an attorney that copies of pages from my passport with entrance and exit stamps will be sufficient to show the 8 months of stay in my home country. If your spouse has the old plane tickets, itineraries, bills, etc these can also be submitted in addition to the entrance/exit stamps.

Just to clarify one thing. How many months before the residency requirement will be fulfilled would you suggest an I-130 should be submitted for CR-1?

Thanks