Citizenship of separated married

[RS232 0]

Hi my friends,

I moved to US by IR1 visa but after a while our relationship didn't work and we are separated now. So I didn't apply for my citizenship after 3 years and I waited for two more years. I want to apply for my citizenship in a few months from now but we are still married and we didn't register divorce paperwork yet.

My question is that, should I apply for my citizenship on the basis of marriage and send all related documents with n-400?

Thanks

Edited April 27, 2011 by RS232

[katiemanny 64]

You're separated you can't send N-400 on basis of marriage, now you are free to apply for citizenship regardless. 5 years mark is way easier because you wont need evidence of relationship.

Edited April 27, 2011 by katiemanny

[NickD 202]

According to the five year check list:

"All applicants must send the following 3 items with their N-400 application:

1. A photocopy of both sides of your Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as the Alien Registration Card or “Green Card”).

If you have lost the card, submit a photocopy of the receipt of your Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident

Card; and

2. 2 identical color photographs, with your name and Alien Registration Number (A-Number) written lightly in pencil on the back

of each photo. For details about the photo requirements, see Part 5 of Form M-476, A Guide to Naturalization, and the Form

N-400, Application for Naturalization instructions. If your religion requires you to wear a head covering, your facial features

must still be exposed in the photo for purposes of identification; and

3. A check or money order for the application fee and the biometrics services fee for fingerprinting, as stated in the M-479,

Current Naturalization Fees, enclosure in the Guide. (Applicants 75 years of age or older are exempted from fingerprinting and

the biometrics services fee). Write your A-Number on the back of the check or money order."

This all you have to send in, did have my stepdaughter bring in four years of transcripts and proof she is attending college, her IO didn't even want to see those after she told him she had that. Not even why the two passport photos, took her photo at biometrics and used that.

All she had to bring to her interview was her interview letter and green card, said to bring her drivers' license too, but the never asked to see that either. What a difference between my wife!

Have to fill out part 8 of the N-400 about your spouse, nothing asked about being separated, just divorced or an other for how the marriage ended. Yours hasn't legally ended, but can tell your IO you are considering a divorce to be perfectly honest. Most attorneys tell you not to volunteer information, just honestly answer the questions asked. No advice from me on this subject. But feel you should be fine.

[LastSurvivor 0]

Well, now I have a question. If you are married and have enjoyed the benefits of a 10 year green card for a while and have crossed the five year mark should you still apply based on marriage or go the easier route and do the 5 year requirement? We are done but I think we were only a couple of months away from meeting the 5 year part and it does sound a WHOLE lot easier.

LS

[katiemanny 64]

Well, now I have a question. If you are married and have enjoyed the benefits of a 10 year green card for a while and have crossed the five year mark should you still apply based on marriage or go the easier route and do the 5 year requirement? We are done but I think we were only a couple of months away from meeting the 5 year part and it does sound a WHOLE lot easier.

LS

You could apply for citizenship regardless, after hitting the 5 years mark. I would personally go the 5 years mark since I wouldn't be required to submit proof of relationship anymore. Its stressful to have to prove to USCIS that your marriage is legit.

[RS232 0]

Thank you for your useful information. I thought maybe even after 5 years if I'm married they still need my marriage or divorce documents.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You need to understand something important.

If you apply for naturalization before you have been a resident for 5 years, you do this based on marriage.

If you apply for naturalization after you have been a resident for 5 years, you do that based on the 5 years, whether you are married, divorced, crazy, stupid, smart, have sex with men, women, or love your dog more than anything in this world. Doesn't matter.

I hope that answers your question.

[NickD 202]

Read this a long time ago, at one time in this country there was unlimited immigration, but with a prejudice toward the Irish, Chinese, and the Africans. Prior to 1927, had to be a resident for five years, but with the wisdom of congress in 1927, was thought that an immigrant married to a US citizen would make a much better citizen, so for married to US citizens, that was shortened to three years. The proof of that marriage at that time was just to show your marriage certificate.

In 1986, under the Reagan administration severe limits were placed on immigration with a lottery started of only 50,000 persons per year. Work visas could lead to getting a permanent resident status if you had greatly needed skills, multiple degrees, or happen to be a movie star like big Arnold. For the more common people, marriage was the only way to bring a person here. This led to fraud, with over 2 million applicants in 1986, was a huge percentage of marriages just to bring that person here. Really stiffened up on the AOS requirements, and in 1988 started the conditional residence for the coming by marriage here immigrant.

Because of this fraud, they really stiffened up the requirements for that three year marriage privilege as it was called. That requires a lot of evidence that that couple is living together in a marriage state.

This kind of seemed crazy to me, already went through hell with the AOS, two year later with the I-751, then the same thing again for the three year marriage privilege. wife said her evidence file was over 3 inches thick. Since I helped compiled these, can tell you there is a lot of redundancy in our evidence. How many marriage certificates do they want, or how many of the same copies of our previous marriages and divorces, etc.

We applied for ROC exactly 90 for the green card expiration, may have been a lot different if we received those cards like we should have before my girls conditional cards expired, but it ended up to be 14 months and two weeks after we sent in that application. This was highly stressful, we are a family! So we applied for the three year that required another inch thick of evidence, practically all were printed double sided to save on weight. We just wanted to get the USCIS out of our lives! Stepdaughter had to wait the full five years, she barely turned over 18, but she didn't care, was too busy with her friends and college. Then when she received a scholarship to attend a university in Liverpool, it became a panic for her, she needed that US passport. Wife could have waited another two years to be in the same boat as her daughter, had a fresh ten year card and a renewed foreign passport. But for Venezuela, not her home country, Colombia.

Also thought it was ironic, since they were so damned concerned about us being married, why didn't they talk to me for at least a second. But again, this is the USCIS.

Yes, the five year is a great deal simpler. With the three year, here we go again with being guilty of fraud.