Permanent resident but divorced, want to apply for citizenship

[w1331 2]

My sister has her 10-year green card. She was granted the permanent resident status more than 3 years ago. Since it's been more than 3 years, she was thinking to apply for naturalization to get her US citizenship. The problem is she was divorced. Her husband was the one who petitioned the divorced.

Does anybody have the same experience like my sister?

I also have few questions I' d like to ask:

1.) Since she wasn't married anymore. Can she still apply for naturalization now or she needs to wait for 5 years (5 years from approval of her permanent resident)?

2.) She removed her conditional GC in Texas, but now she lives in california. Does she need to request address change to USCIS before applying for naturalization?

3.) Is it better to hire an immigration attorney for her naturalization case (considering she wasn't married anymore)?

[sirch320 0]

My sister has her 10-year green card. She was granted the permanent resident status more than 3 years ago. Since it's been more than 3 years, she was thinking to apply for naturalization to get her US citizenship. The problem is she was divorced. Her husband was the one who petitioned the divorced.

Does anybody have the same experience like my sister?

I also have few questions I' d like to ask:

1.) Since she wasn't married anymore. Can she still apply for naturalization now or she needs to wait for 5 years (5 years from approval of her permanent resident)?

2.) She removed her conditional GC in Texas, but now she lives in california. Does she need to request address change to USCIS before applying for naturalization?

3.) Is it better to hire an immigration attorney for her naturalization case (considering she wasn't married anymore)?

1. She has to wait 5 years minus 90 days (from the date she was admitted as permanent resident) to apply for naturalization.

2. She has to notify USCIS of her change of address as soon as possible. It's the law. She can get the form online.

3. It is not necessary for her to hire an immigration lawyer. Please have her read and understand the Guide to Naturalization.

[DaniDimo 0]

She can apply for her citizenship at any time, thing that she is divorced doesnt have anything with her citizenship, she is going to need her divorce paper to present to the government with her application. No worries at all!!! Good luck!

[w1331 2]

My sister has her 10-year green card. She was granted the permanent resident status more than 3 years ago. Since it's been more than 3 years, she was thinking to apply for naturalization to get her US citizenship. The problem is she was divorced. Her husband was the one who petitioned the divorced.

Does anybody have the same experience like my sister?

I also have few questions I' d like to ask:

1.) Since she wasn't married anymore. Can she still apply for naturalization now or she needs to wait for 5 years (5 years from approval of her permanent resident)?

2.) She removed her conditional GC in Texas, but now she lives in california. Does she need to request address change to USCIS before applying for naturalization?

3.) Is it better to hire an immigration attorney for her naturalization case (considering she wasn't married anymore)?

1. She has to wait 5 years minus 90 days (from the date she was admitted as permanent resident) to apply for naturalization.

2. She has to notify USCIS of her change of address as soon as possible. It's the law. She can get the form online.

3. It is not necessary for her to hire an immigration lawyer. Please have her read and understand the Guide to Naturalization.

Sirch320,

Why my sister needs to wait for 5 years minus 90 days and not 3 years? I thought since it's based on marriage, the waiting time is 3 years

[Dakine 26]

If you haven't been married to and living with the SAME USC for 3 years then you have to wait 5 years. Even if widowed!

[NickD 203]

If you haven't been married to and living with the SAME USC for 3 years then you have to wait 5 years. Even if widowed!

From that huge stack of evidence we had to submit to the USCIS, it all dealt with the fact that we were married, living together, and sharing all of our finances, this was further emphasized by my wife's interview pushing my wife for more evidence that we were still married in 2008 and she had plenty in front of her.

Of less concern was did my wife meet the requirements for living in the USA that just required her two last passports, that only took a minute or two according to my wife, plus how did she manage to pay all those income taxes when they had her W2 statements for the last three years smack in the center of the USA?

That seemingly important stuff, like did she come her as a spy, to commit crimes, or to overthrow the government, well that was taken at face value and they just took her word on that. Why couldn't they take her word that she was married to me? Why didn't her interviewer want to see me alive and in person? Just commented to my wife after she was ran over the coals about marriage, would have been a lot simpler if we just waited another couple of years.

Isn't it a lot more important that a person should prove they didn't come here to sell drugs, commit crimes, or to overthrow the government? Why not make a person bring in ten character references? She was asked three times if she committed any crimes she was never arrested for or even caught. Have to say that about 98% of her interview dealt with the fact she was still married and living with me. Does this make sense? Not to me, but that is how the USCIS operates. Marriage is based on an assumption back in the 20's that person would be a better US citizen, but so typical of many of our laws, with no provided proof these laws are justifiable.

Citizenship over the last hundred years has grown from 3 months to over five years, conditional residency is only 22 years old again with no proof or statistics that this PITA law is effective in preventing USC from marrying for the sole purpose of bring aliens into this country. But the USCIS owns the ball, so you have to play the game they want you to, or they will take that ball home and leave you stranded.

Just wish they would use logic in this process, but yes, if you are widowed or divorce, you have to wait five years. And you better darn well inform the USCIS of your address change and permanently attach that green card to your forehead.

Thank God this is over for us, over five years of sending essentially the same evidence, wore out my copying machine.

[kmineo 0]

She can apply for her citizenship at any time, thing that she is divorced doesnt have anything with her citizenship, she is going to need her divorce paper to present to the government with her application. No worries at all!!! Good luck!

Nope needs to wait 5 years as stated in other posts and definitely change her address.

[mooninlove 1]

My sister has her 10-year green card. She was granted the permanent resident status more than 3 years ago. Since it's been more than 3 years, she was thinking to apply for naturalization to get her US citizenship. The problem is she was divorced. Her husband was the one who petitioned the divorced.

Does anybody have the same experience like my sister?

I also have few questions I' d like to ask:

1.) Since she wasn't married anymore. Can she still apply for naturalization now or she needs to wait for 5 years (5 years from approval of her permanent resident)?

2.) She removed her conditional GC in Texas, but now she lives in california. Does she need to request address change to USCIS before applying for naturalization?

3.) Is it better to hire an immigration attorney for her naturalization case (considering she wasn't married anymore)?

You have to look at the "permanent resident since" on her PRC and count 5 yrs from there less 90 days. Since she's divorced, she's not obviously qualified for the 3 yrs AND still married to the same USC req't. She has to apply when she meets the 5yrs residency. She has to file AR11 since she moved to another address and she can file this on her own without the help of a lawyer.

[payxibka 10,047]

She can apply for her citizenship at any time, thing that she is divorced doesnt have anything with her citizenship, she is going to need her divorce paper to present to the government with her application. No worries at all!!! Good luck!

It is true that she can apply for citizenship at anytime... However, if the applicant is not eligible (as is the OP's sister), the application will be denied and the applicant will be out the processing fee of $675. From my perspective... WORRIES currently exist!

Edited September 10, 2008 by fwaguy

[moonhunt 1]

Sirch320,

Why my sister needs to wait for 5 years minus 90 days and not 3 years? I thought since it's based on marriage, the waiting time is 3 years

She needs to maintain the marriage to same person to be eligible for 3 year.

You can check M-476 ( http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf ) to check eligibility.

They have yes/no easy following diagram to check eligibility.

[DaniDimo 0]

She can apply for her citizenship at any time, thing that she is divorced doesnt have anything with her citizenship, she is going to need her divorce paper to present to the government with her application. No worries at all!!! Good luck!

It is true that she can apply for citizenship at anytime... However, if the applicant is not eligible (as is the OP's sister), the application will be denied and the applicant will be out the processing fee of $675. From my perspective... WORRIES currently exist!

Didnt she remove conditional GC and have her 10 years GC since then? What are the rules? She does have a right to apply after that, right?

And also, government will not take the money if you apply before the time, they will not cash the check and she will receive a notification for early application.(Happened to friend of mine).

[lucyrich 20]

Didnt she remove conditional GC and have her 10 years GC since then? What are the rules? She does have a right to apply after that, right?

And also, government will not take the money if you apply before the time, they will not cash the check and she will receive a notification for early application.(Happened to friend of mine).

See the M-476. It's all in there.

It may even be more clear if you look at the N-400, part 2. If she were still married to the same US Citizen for the past three years, she could check box 2B. Otherwise, she has to check 2A, and that box requires that she wait until she's been a LPR for 5 years less 90 days.

These rules are explained in more detail in the M-476.

And no, they don't always return your money and application if you file early. If you're lucky, they might. When you send your application in, a low-level clerk makes sure you've included the proper amount of money, and might check for the most obvious of errors. But that clerk is not trained in the law. If that clerk spots a super-obvious problem, like the wrong fee, the application will be returned right away. But otherwise, the check will be cashed, the form will be entered into the system, and it will wait until a trained adjudicator has time to look for it, several months later. If the error isn't spotted until the adjudicator gets it, there's no refund of the money.

[NickD 203]

If you are interested in how the USCIS operates go this this site:

http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?...c3881aaefb1d8d8

This is the section on their policy of fee refunds, other related sites explains the expenses the USCIS has to go through with other governmental agencies to process an application. Basically, if your application is rejected or approved, they are saying they still have the expense in both fees they must pay plus their own manpower costs. I did research on this over five years that caused me to hire an immigration attorney as the fee price to bring in two people was far greater than his rates to make sure all the forms were filled out correctly, plus the loss in time.

10.10 Refund of Fees.

When an applicant or petitioner pays a filing fee on an application, he or she is seeking a decision from USCIS regarding the applicant or beneficiary’s eligibility for the benefit(s) being sought. In general, USCIS does not refund a fee or application regardless of the decision on the application. There are only a few exceptions to this rule, such as when USCIS made an error which resulted in the application being filed inappropriately or when an incorrect fee was collected. For example, if USCIS advises an applicant to file a waiver application for a ground of inadmissibility which is inapplicable to that applicant, the fee should be refunded.

If an applicant or petitioner believes that he or she is entitled to a refund of fee, the applicant or petitioner should call the customer service line or submit a written request for a refund to the office having jurisdiction over their application or petition. USCIS will review the request for a refund and either approve or deny the request based on the information at hand. If the adjudicator finds USCIS made an error, then the officer will complete Form G-266, Request for Refund of Fee. The form is av ailable on the USCIS Intranet. Send the completed form to the Burlington Finance Center (BFC), P.O. Box 5000, Williston, VT 05495-5000 or fax it to (802) 288-1230. Retain a copy for office records, following local procedures. Send only the completed form to BFC, retaining any back-up documents, applications, etc. The BFC will notify you of the disposition of the request. Only a single refund may be requested per form. Complete the form in accordance with the following instructions:

Block Number Explanation of Entry

1 List the office in which the form was prepared

2 Assign a request number for the refund using the FCO-Fiscal Year-Sequential Number format. (For example: LOS-2000-0011 would be the 11 th request submitted by the Los Angeles office during FY 2000.)

3 Enter the requesting office mailing address

4 Enter the area code and telephone number of the person to whom questions regarding the refund may be directed

5 Enter the name and address of the person to whom the refund should be sent. Fee refunds for minors should be sent to a parent or guardian "in behalf of" the child’s name. This information must be displayed in the sequence listed below. Use an additional address line, if necessary - Line 1: First name, middle initial, last name of payee - Line 2: In behalf of ________________ ( if applicable ) - Line 3: Street address or P.O. Box - Line 4: City, state and Zip code

6 Record information necessary to file and retrieve the disposition copy after action by the DMC. (receipt file number, etc, according to local procedures). The requesting office remains responsible for maintaining sufficient information and files for a proper audit trail

7 Use this space to identify (name and phone number) a point of contact in the event The DMC has questions concerning processing of the request

8 Enter the application form number (or "fingerprint fee" if appropriate)

9 Enter applicable section of law, if any

10 Enter the exact amount of the fee to be refunded

11 Circle the reason for the refund: "overpayment", "Service error" or "other". If "other" is circled, there must be a brief explanation. Forms submitted without explanation will be returned by DMC without action

12 Original signature of signatory authority.*

13 - 15 Leave blank – for DMC use only

* If delegated below the office head, the office head must send a memorandum defining the specific delegation. The memorandum must contain the specific authority being delegated (e.g. approval of Fee Refund Requests, Forms G-266), the name, title and signature of each subordinate receiving the delegation and the effective date of the delegation.

[DaniDimo 0]

Thanks!!! ...My friend got luck then.