319(b) experience

[manoynmonic 0]

So we had our interview at the Seattle office. The interview was for 9:20, my wife's name was called at 9:40. She had an acquaintance there whose interview was for 9:30, and she was called at 9:50.

After a bit of a wait, the officer came out and called me in as well. We are filing under section 319(b) based on my assignment as an overseas missionary, and the officer was concerned that my wife had never filed an N-470 during previous extended mission trips abroad, and had never stayed one contiguous year in the U.S. since she entered the U.S. We gently insisted that section 319(b) waived that time requirement (as well as the three year requirement). He had us read the wording of N-470 (it specifically mentions clergy and missionaries), and we insisted still that 319(b) waives that. He got down his HUGE book of immigration law and looked up section 319(b) for himself, and then said ok, lets proceed with the interview.

Questions asked (I got to stay there and listen, woot!):

Read the following:

When is Columbus Day?

Write the answer after he reads it aloud:

Columbus Day is in October.

How many Supreme Court justices are there?

How long are U.S. senators elected for?

What did the Declaration of Independence accomplish?

If the president and vice-president are no longer able to serve, who becomes president?

Name one branch of the government.

And one other, but we both forget...

After the interview, my wife was given an N-652 that was marked that our case could not yet be decided, and was to be submitted for further review. The officer said he would call us today so that we could do the oath tomorrow if he rules in our favor. He didn't call.

So the next day I did some calling and internet searching only to find that it is impossible to call or get a number for a particular USCIS office, let alone contact a particular officer at that office. So I made an educated guess as to what the officer's email address would be (most corporations follow the same formatting for internal email addresses), and sent off a polite note reminding him of the case and of the precise wording of section 319(b). Around 3 p.m. that day, the officer called to tell my wife to come in tomorrow with all of her paperwork, that he got my email, and to say "congratulations".

We went in at the time he told us to show up, and at the check-in counter we said we had an appointment with <name>, and the guy at the counter called upstairs to check if that was the case, then sent us up.

Once in the waiting room, the io came out, we shook hands and he thanked me for my persistence, then he collected my wife's green card and gave her a form to check and verify that none of her information had changed since her interview. It took about an hour, but then a lady came out and called my wife and another guy in the waiting room to follow her into the office. The two of them came out about a half-hour later with naturalization certificates. I guess that wasn't the day they typically do oath ceremonies at Seattle, so they did a small ceremony in one of the interviewer's offices.

Thank God we've finally got all the visa hassle stuff behind us. Now back to work in about a week and a half.

[bonnerbonner 6]

Oh whow!!! Just like that, without knowing his email address you figured it out. Quite interesting and persistent at that. Two thumbs up for you. Congratulations to your wife.

[nyhazmat 2]

Congrats. . . .Persistence does payoff. . .

[w8inglongtime 29]

Congratulations.. I must say I'm mostly impressed by your email "configuration". Way to go. There's no way that would have crossed my mind.

Edited February 2, 2011 by w8inglongtime

[NickD 203]

I got this for the St. Paul office:

firstname.mi.lastname@dhs.gov, but couldn't for the life of me make out my wifes' IO scribble, so just called my senators office. Ironically they tell you to contact your IO if you have any questions, but with zero contact information.

Care to share how you got that information?

[manoynmonic 0]

I got this for the St. Paul office:

firstname.mi.lastname@dhs.gov, but couldn't for the life of me make out my wifes' IO scribble, so just called my senators office. Ironically they tell you to contact your IO if you have any questions, but with zero contact information.

Care to share how you got that information?

I got it by a bit of guesswork. All of the generic emails on the USCIS website are at the dhs.gov domain, so that part was easy. Then I just figured their IT guys set internal email up the same way IT guys set up internal email for private companies. So I tried both <firstnamelastname>@dhs.gov, and <firstname>.<lastname>@dhs.gov - the former bounced back from the dhs mail-server within a minute, the latter did not, so I figured I had a hit. Our IO had a rather unique name, and thankfully I was called in to join my wife for her interview, or I wouldn't have had a chance to stare at the nameplate on his desk for twenty minutes. I imagine for more common names they have to resort to including the middle initial as well. Thankfully that wasn't the case with our interviewer.

I don't think there would be much reason to contact an officer under normal circumstances, but it seemed to help in ours. Our interviewer seemed like a truly nice guy, who was really concerned with the precise letter of the law. That was nice, since the precise letter of the law was on our side. My biggest concern was that in his daily grind, our folder might have gotten set aside and forgotten, while our travel date drew nearer and nearer. So we thank God we were able to get in touch with the officer. Hope this thread proves helpful to others filing for 319(b), or for those who for some reason need to contact their io.

[OBX 51]

Congratulations!

[Narad Muni 0]

FYI, I also got my citizenship a week ago. Was not 319(b) exactly, but similar.I applied from abroad with an approved N-470. My interview and oath were on the same day at the San Francisco USCIS office. Mine was an administrative oath in front of a USCIS official in his office.

Bottom line:

1. If you have an approved N-470, and have accumulated the required physical residence, you CAN apply from abroad.

2. When applying, you can submit fingerprints on the FBI FD-258 cards and save a trip to the US for biometrics. I did not do this myself as I was not aware this was possible.

3. The 90-day residence requirement is NOT for the 90 days immediately preceding the filing of the N-400. Basically, you should have resided in that district for that period at SOME time in the past.

4. USCIS takes the view that an approved N-470 preserved BOTH continuous residence in general AND residence in the last district you lived in before leaving the US.

[TBoneTX 46,334]

What a story, and what persistence. Congratulations, si man!

[mozplay 29]

I love that your persistence, positive thinking, and usage of your grey matter paid off. Congrats!