Waiting for I-751 to be approved, can I just go ahead and file for Citizenship?

[mosacorp 2]

Hi, It has been 6.5 months since I filed for my removal of conditions. That is with the CSC who are normally quite fast with these matters. We went to the Info Pass and spoke to an officer who said "Nope, nothing yet. Your package is pobably just waiting there for someone to deal with it, anyway you have your GC extended for 1 year so you just need to wait". We also phoned the customer service number since it is beyond 6months, hoping they could get the Service Center to take notice of our still pending package, they did do a service request, but 2 weeks later and we have still not heard anything from them either.

So now here is my question, since we have been married for almost 4 years, could I just go ahead and file N400(citizenship)? Would they then just be able to consolidate my I-751 with my new application? Thank you.

[Inky 1,111]

Not based on your marriage its based on your green card.

Look at the date on the green card 3 years minus 90 days and you file for N-400.

[Exasperated 5]

I'm in the same situation of applying for N400 with I-751 pending(though I applied with Vermont so maybe a bit less surprising). But yes, you have to go by the three year anniversary of the date on your green card, and subtract 90 days to get your first available filing date (NOT three months, that isn't exactly the same thing, and you end up risking filing just a few days too early).

The USCIS actually has an early filing calculator on the website which lets you see exactly when you can first file the N-400: http://www.uscis.gov/dateCalculator.html

[~happyndinlove~ 540]

So now here is my question, since we have been married for almost 4 years, could I just go ahead and file N400(citizenship)? Would they then just be able to consolidate my I-751 with my new application? Thank you.

I wish that is the case but it is not. As others have stated, you have to wait on your GC's 3rd anniversary, then file for N-400.

Edited November 14, 2011 by ~happyndinlove~

[HelloMiffy 1]

I'm in the same situation of applying for N400 with I-751 pending(though I applied with Vermont so maybe a bit less surprising). But yes, you have to go by the three year anniversary of the date on your green card, and subtract 90 days to get your first available filing date (NOT three months, that isn't exactly the same thing, and you end up risking filing just a few days too early).

The USCIS actually has an early filing calculator on the website which lets you see exactly when you can first file the N-400: http://www.uscis.gov/dateCalculator.html

This is a great link. Thank you for posting. Do you know if we have to subtract the time/days during when we were travelling abroad?

- Miffy

Edited November 14, 2011 by HelloMiffy

[Exasperated 5]

This is a great link. Thank you for posting. Do you know if we have to subtract the time/days during when we were travelling abroad?

- Miffy

Hey Miffy,

No, you don't have to substract them per se when calculating the earliest filing date. They may be relevant when it comes to actually approving your petition (i.e. if you have been out of the country for too long to be eligible yet), but it doesn't affect the date when you can file, provided the time abroad is not close to the "danger threshold" (I may be wrong here, but I think if you apply under the three year rule, you can't have been outside the country for more than 6 months during the last three years - again, I'm just telling you this off the top of my head and I may be off).