Travelling during citizenship application

[chikarakobu 0]

Hello,

Not sure if I'm posting in the right board here but I'm Canadian so I'll try

I live in Canada, he lives in the US as a PR.

My US PR-husband just mailed in his application to become a US citizen through naturalization yesterday.

He's going to be out of the country for all of July and most of August.

My question is regarding this (from USCIS Website):

As part of this effort, many naturalization applicants will receive an appointment notice for an interview that will be scheduled after normal business hours on a weekday, or on Saturday or Sunday, at a USCIS office where their application is being processed. This interview is very important, and applicants should make every effort to appear for the scheduled interview since the current USCIS policy for rescheduling of interviews still applies. Please refer to the appointment notice for additional information about the appointment and the rescheduling policy.

His reason for being out of the country is to attend a family member's wedding and visit a sick relative. Is that a sufficient reason?

Does anyone have experience with this? I guess there's a chance he won't get a call for an appointment until after the trip (hopefully). Our other concern is when they'll request for him to get his fingerprints while he's away.

Any suggestions or links to info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

[YuAndDan 153]

I would have suggested that he waited until after his trip to mail that.

http://www.visajourney.com/news/2009/04/09...zen-is-shorter/

Since USCIS is not processing as many applications lately there is a good chance of a biometric or interview while he is out of the country.

Look up processing times for his field office here: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp

If you don't know the field office you can look that up here using zip code.

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of....office_type=LO

This really belongs in the Citizenship forum.

Edited May 7, 2009 by YuAndDan

[chikarakobu 0]

I would have suggested that he waited until after his trip to mail that.

http://www.visajourney.com/news/2009/04/09...zen-is-shorter/

Since USCIS is not processing as many applications lately there is a good chance of a biometric or interview while he is out of the country.

Look up processing times for his field office here: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp

If you don't know the field office you can look that up here using zip code.

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of....office_type=LO

This really belongs in the Citizenship forum.

Yeah, I wish he would have waited, too but the trip was kind of a last minute thing as well.

Thanks for moving it to the appropriate forum.

[moonhunt 1]

His reason for being out of the country is to attend a family member's wedding and visit a sick relative. Is that a sufficient reason?

Does anyone have experience with this? I guess there's a chance he won't get a call for an appointment until after the trip (hopefully). Our other concern is when they'll request for him to get his fingerprints while he's away.

Any suggestions or links to info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

As long as new trip doesn't break residency requirement for N400, he will be o.k.

For fingerprint appointment, USCIS will normally allow walk-in after the scheduled appointment, which is missed by applicant, but it is varied from district office to DO.

For missing interview appointments, he can always to contact USCIS to reschedule it.

Even before the trip, he can mail to USCIS for the reqeust or notification for out-of-country trip schedule to avoid any scheduling during that period.

USCIS may loose the track of that request, but you can notify them for potential scheduling conflict.

Mail to the address appeared in NOA1, or call 1-800 number to ask "service request" for the case.

Edited May 7, 2009 by moonhunt

[chikarakobu 0]

His reason for being out of the country is to attend a family member's wedding and visit a sick relative. Is that a sufficient reason?

Does anyone have experience with this? I guess there's a chance he won't get a call for an appointment until after the trip (hopefully). Our other concern is when they'll request for him to get his fingerprints while he's away.

Any suggestions or links to info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

As long as new trip doesn't break residency requirement for N400, he will be o.k.

For fingerprint appointment, USCIS will normally allow walk-in after the scheduled appointment, which is missed by applicant, but it is varied from district office to DO.

For missing interview appointments, he can always to contact USCIS to reschedule it.

Even before the trip, he can mail to USCIS for the reqeust or notification for out-of-country trip schedule to avoid any scheduling during that period.

USCIS may loose the track of that request, but you can notify them for potential scheduling conflict.

Mail to the address appeared in NOA1, or call 1-800 number to ask "service request" for the case.

Thank you Moonhunt! Very helpful to know.

[asid 0]

My signature below shows the short timeline when I rescheduled the interview. I had to be away for my brother's wedding and I said so in the letter requesting a new interview date.

Your partner does need to mail a request for a new interview date once he gets the letter to avoid further delays (if he's a no show). Hopefully someone is there to pick up his mail in the US, while he's away for two months. Good luck

[cookiee 0]

i sent my application on 23 th march.. had my fingerprints done on 24 th april.. and next week i'm leaving for 2 months for my sister's wedding

honestly,i'm not expecting interview notice till august, cause things go so slow down here in miami.my spouse is going to check mails.if i receive inetrview notice,just going to cut off vacation early and come back..mostly they send interview notice a month before..

i just don't want to request anew interview date cause it might take forever

[AusCal 3]

Hello,

Not sure if I'm posting in the right board here but I'm Canadian so I'll try

I live in Canada, he lives in the US as a PR.

My US PR-husband just mailed in his application to become a US citizen through naturalization yesterday.

He's going to be out of the country for all of July and most of August.

It is important your husband have someone at home checking his mail.

It is very likely he will receive his biometrics appointment date before he is scheduled to leave - they are normally within 30 days of application receipt. If he misses his appointment, it can be done as a walk-in - but, I am unsure if this is permitted if it is longer than 30 days since the scheduled date - you can check on this more if it becomes an issue - I doubt it will. Same if he receives the notification before he leaves, but, is scheduled for after he will have left - do a walk-in before he leaves.

If he receives notification for his interview while he will be/is out of the country, he can request to have his interview rescheduled. I did this myself last year while I was in Canada for five months after my biometrics. When he receives the interview notification letter, it explains the procedure to follow it you are unable to make the appointment )basically write a letter explaining why - being out of the country visiting relatives is an adequate reason, also advise them when he will back in the USA . Make sure you send it to the exact address , including a room number etc if it is given, and, make sure this letter is sent with delivery confirmation. He should then received a rescheduled interview. Unfortunately, my "please reschedule" letter disappeared into the black hole of the USCIS, two weeks after the scheduled date i received a "please explain why you missed your appointment " letter. I re-wrote to them, including a copy of the original letter, and the USPS delivery confirmation advice. I received my rescheduled interview 6 days after the date I had advised them I would be available.

You coudl do as Moonhunt suggests and notify them in advance that he is unavailbale during a particularr period, but, personally i thin kit is unlikely such a letter would ever match itself to his file.

The bottom line is that it mayhaven been more convenient f your husband had waited until after the trip, but, regardless, it is still possible to do it now. Don't worry too much about it, and things will chug along :-)

[chikarakobu 0]

Thank you for all of your responses! I think I'll be able to get some sleep tonight