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| Washington DC |  Review on January 12, 2015: |
calengineer
Rating:  | Review Topic: Naturalization
Well, first let me get started by stating that my wife applied for US Naturalization only after 18 months of having received her green card. She initially received the LPR in 2013 with a 2 year conditional green card. She qualified for N-400 naturalization even before applying for I-751: Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence due to 319(b): Spouses of U.S. Citizens Employed Abroad.
Only a year after she became a LPR, we left to the Middle East due to an opportunity that arose with an American company overseas. Due to the nature of the 319(b) application, only very few USCIS offices in the US know the procedure to handle this type of applications. It is mostly reserved for US military and a few US contractors overseas. However, we were advised by different sources to mention in the cover letter to be processed directly in the Fairfax, VA known as the Washington DC office.
In the N-400 application my wife had already submitted certified and sealed copies of her fingerprint cards taken at our US embassy overseas. Then, we sent our application to the Phoenix Lockbox. However, we soon realized only 3 months later that some of their USCIS staff was unfamiliar with the 319(b) statue and therefore were requesting to have my wife show up in the US to have her fingerprints taken at an authorized place. After many failed calls to USCIS, I finally decided to contact the DC office directly to let them know about the situation.
Then, within 48 hours, we received an email response letting us know not to worry about the fingerprints. Indeed, they fix the issue immediately and we never receive any further notification about fingerprints from USCIS. Any question I had about my wife's N-400, the DC office reply immediately within 24 hours. Very useful and responsive professional individuals.
When my wife received an email about her appointment, she was also informed about her situation with the I-751. Here is how it works, because 90 days before her two years of LPR green card expires, she has to apply for removal of conditional residence regardless of her status with the N-400. However, the DC USCIS officer explain that if she had her N-400 test and passed it before the 90 days came into effect, the I-751 application was not going to be necessary anymore. In fact, we took his advice and scheduled her interview only 5 days before the 90 days took effect.
We flew from the Middle East to DC a day before the scheduled interview. When the interview day came, we were greeted very courteous. My wife was called after 40 minutes of arrival.
INTERVIEW: My wife was greeted normally, she says that the guy wasn't too chatty, so I guess its a good and not a good thing but he was very professional. He asked her about my profession, about where we liver overseas, and then right away he moved to the civic and english questions. As expected, my wife passed with flying colors. The officer told my wife, congrats, you have your oath ceremony in 30 minutes.
And in fact, she did have her oath ceremony within 30 minutes which was a very pleasant experience with only 4 individuals becoming US citizens with their families. Obviously all had a similar 319(b) experience, otherwise, you have to wait a month for the ceremony.
That same day, we went to the social security to update her information. The next day, we went to the DC office, and apply for her US passport. She received it within 24 hours the next day.
And that's it, we were only there about 4 days. Best experience ever!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15947