second interview

[niki 0]

The officer told me we usually deny cases like you.I live in Ny and my husband is in Maryland.He comes every 2 wks.Sometimes he stays for a month.We have 2 residentials.This was my second interview.Does a lawyer can help me at this point?

[Jupiter07 12]

Sorry, I don't have an answer but am just curious what happens when you are denied? Does that mean you will face deportation or, you can apply based on five instead three years?

[niki 0]

Sorry, I don't have an answer but am just curious what happens when you are denied? Does that mean you will face deportation or, you can apply based on five instead three years?

They say apply not base on marriage.I guess 5 yrs rule.I have to pay the application fee again though.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I am agreeing with the I.O.'s assessment. Basis for RoC and express naturalization is that you live in harmony with your lawfully married husband under one roof, share everything. You don't do that.

I wouldn't even have filed an N-400 before the 5 years are up, as you now opened the door to more scruteny, even in regard to your RoC (if you had to file).

[niki 0]

I am agreeing with the I.O.'s assessment. Basis for RoC and express naturalization is that you live in harmony with your lawfully married husband under one roof, share everything. You don't do that.

But, I have been living with my husband under one roof for the past 10 years.It is almost 5 months because of job situation that we are experiencing this life style.

I wouldn't even have filed an N-400 before the 5 years are up, as you now opened the door to more scruteny, even in regard to your RoC (if you had to file).

But, I have been living with my husband under one roof for the past 10 years.It is almost 5 months because of job situation that we are experiencing this life style.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

But, I have been living with my husband under one roof for the past 10 years.It is almost 5 months because of job situation that we are experiencing this life style.

If they have arranged for a second interview, go well armed with evidence that shows the two of you maintained a joint marital home until the recent separate addresses. Provide evidence of the loss of previous job that necessitated looking for new employment, and the employment search he/you undertook that led to the current situation. Did you move or did he move? Show the route the one who didn't move took to try and find new employment in the same location as the one who did move. You are trying to show that extraordinary circumstances beyond your control necessitate the two of you to live - temporarily - in separate addresses. You should plan on showing that this is beyond your control due to the need for employment, and also show how you are trying to mitigate the separation. If the one who moved is on a short term contract or a specific contracted period of employment - show a copy of the contract to show it is temporary. Are both of you are sharing the costs to maintain both residences? Show evidence of how you are managing the joint finances to show that they are still, indeed, joint.

Conversely, you could withdraw the application based upon marriage as you do qualify based solely on permanent residency. It will cost you more, but frankly, I am surprised, given your circumstances, that you didn't choose to follow this route in the first place - unless those previous 10 years of marriage were not all in the US.

Good luck.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Kathryn41

[nwctzn 55]

Conversely, you could withdraw the application based upon marriage as you do qualify based solely on permanent residency. It will cost you more, but frankly, I am surprised, given your circumstances, that you didn't choose to follow this route in the first place - unless those previous 10 years of marriage were not all in the US.

Good luck.

Looking at the OP's signature, she became an LPR in June 2008. So she does not qualify for the 5-year rule, yet.

[niki 0]

If they have arranged for a second interview, go well armed with evidence that shows the two of you maintained a joint marital home until the recent separate addresses. Provide evidence of the loss of previous job that necessitated looking for new employment, and the employment search he/you undertook that led to the current situation. Did you move or did he move? Show the route the one who didn't move took to try and find new employment in the same location as the one who did move. You are trying to show that extraordinary circumstances beyond your control necessitate the two of you to live - temporarily - in separate addresses. You should plan on showing that this is beyond your control due to the need for employment, and also show how you are trying to mitigate the separation. If the one who moved is on a short term contract or a specific contracted period of employment - show a copy of the contract to show it is temporary. Are both of you are sharing the costs to maintain both residences? Show evidence of how you are managing the joint finances to show that they are still, indeed, joint.

Conversely, you could withdraw the application based upon marriage as you do qualify based solely on permanent residency. It will cost you more, but frankly, I am surprised, given your circumstances, that you didn't choose to follow this route in the first place - unless those previous 10 years of marriage were not all in the US.

Good luck.

I came to states in 2003 and got my greencard in 2008.They say reapply in 2013 base on 5 yrs rule.If they do not believe my marriage how they did approve GC 3 years ago.

There is nothing wrong with paper documents that show my husband comes and stays with me in NY.That was the reason for second interview.Apparently they seemed quite convinced with this part.Now they are saying there is not enough documents that show you have been with your husband since 2008.Joint taxes/Utilities bill/car insurance/life insurance/My husband business account with my name as cosigner.Are these not evidence? Anything I showed him,he said that is a strong evidence.But at the end said that another officer should review your application and we usually deny cases like you.

[Jupiter07 12]

If they have arranged for a second interview, go well armed with evidence that shows the two of you maintained a joint marital home until the recent separate addresses.

That was the second interview.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

That was the second interview.

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood.

You know your relationship is real, but the crux of the matter is, you have to convince USCIS. When you apply for Naturalization based upon marriage to a US citizen you have to re-validate the bona fides of your marriage all over again. As unreasonable as this may seem, these are the rules that are set by the Immigration Act. While USCIS believed that the marriage was valid when they granted permanent residency, they need to be reassured that the marriage is still valid as demonsted through documentary evidence and to some degree, societal norms, right up to the time you take your oath. Your marriage does not fit the societal norms so it seems they are requesting more than usual documentary evidence from you. They seem to feel that this extra degree of documentation is lacking and they are evaluating whether it is sufficient or not. Granting Naturalization is a big step and difficult to revoke without egregoius violations, so they are being cautious.

Since they didn't deny you outright, they may still decide in your favour. If they do deny your petition because they are concerned that your marriage may not be viable now, it will be a disappointment, yes, but it will not be a tragedy. You will still be a permanent resident. You will still be with your husband. You will still be living and working in the US. You will still be eligible to apply for citizenship in the future. If your circumstances change and you and your husband are able to live once again in the same household all the time, you may be able to re-apply again under the 3 year category as you now have additional evidence that your marriage is viable and strong and the separation was temporary. At the very worst, you will be able to apply in 2 years time through the 5 years as a permanent resident qualification. In the meantime, nothing will have changed from your current situation, other than the disappointment of not yet being allowed to become a US citizen yet.

I do not see how a lawyer would be able to help you in this matter. He would have to prove that they did not follow the law, and their defense would be that you did not provide the necessary evidence to satisfy them beyond a reasonable doubt. If USCIS doesn't make a decision for a long period of time either one way or another, then you may find a consultation with a lawyer of use. It may be that if they deny the petition or delay on a decision, the best choice, when all is said and done, would be to wait them out and re-apply 2 years from now when the status of your marriage is no longer relevant to the petition.

Good luck. I hope you hear something positive soon.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Kathryn41

[niki 0]

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood.

You know your relationship is real, but the crux of the matter is, you have to convince USCIS. When you apply for Naturalization based upon marriage to a US citizen you have to re-validate the bona fides of your marriage all over again. As unreasonable as this may seem, these are the rules that are set by the Immigration Act. While USCIS believed that the marriage was valid when they granted permanent residency, they need to be reassured that the marriage is still valid as demonsted through documentary evidence and to some degree, societal norms, right up to the time you take your oath. Your marriage does not fit the societal norms so it seems they are requesting more than usual documentary evidence from you. They seem to feel that this extra degree of documentation is lacking and they are evaluating whether it is sufficient or not. Granting Naturalization is a big step and difficult to revoke without egregoius violations, so they are being cautious.

Since they didn't deny you outright, they may still decide in your favour. If they do deny your petition because they are concerned that your marriage may not be viable now, it will be a disappointment, yes, but it will not be a tragedy. You will still be a permanent resident. You will still be with your husband. You will still be living and working in the US. You will still be eligible to apply for citizenship in the future. If your circumstances change and you and your husband are able to live once again in the same household all the time, you may be able to re-apply again under the 3 year category as you now have additional evidence that your marriage is viable and strong and the separation was temporary. At the very worst, you will be able to apply in 2 years time through the 5 years as a permanent resident qualification. In the meantime, nothing will have changed from your current situation, other than the disappointment of not yet being allowed to become a US citizen yet.

I do not see how a lawyer would be able to help you in this matter. He would have to prove that they did not follow the law, and their defense would be that you did not provide the necessary evidence to satisfy them beyond a reasonable doubt. If USCIS doesn't make a decision for a long period of time either one way or another, then you may find a consultation with a lawyer of use. It may be that if they deny the petition or delay on a decision, the best choice, when all is said and done, would be to wait them out and re-apply 2 years from now when the status of your marriage is no longer relevant to the petition.

Good luck. I hope you hear something positive soon.

Had I known they are so particular ,I would have applied base on 5 yrs.I'd like to get a lawyer now to avoid the application fee and all the time I spent for paperwork.I thought Greencard approval is the most important part.They never asked me for evidence at that time.I just mailed them my joint taxes.

My assumption is they do not expect a marriage would last for 10 years.I mean they believed my marriage at the time of green card approval which I was married for 6 yrs.Now I am married for 10 years, it is too long for them to be believable maybe.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Had I known they are so particular ,I would have applied base on 5 yrs.I'd like to get a lawyer now to avoid the application fee and all the time I spent for paperwork.I thought Greencard approval is the most important part.They never asked me for evidence at that time.I just mailed them my joint taxes.

My assumption is they do not expect a marriage would last for 10 years.I mean they believed my marriage at the time of green card approval which I was married for 6 yrs.Now I am married for 10 years, it is too long for them to be believable maybe.

Why on EARTH would you waste thousands on a lawyer when you complain about not wanting to pay the fee again when it's less than $1,000?

A lot of things can change in your relationship between GC approval and when you file for USC so that is why the 3 year rule requires proving your relationship again. That's what the instructions state as well.

[niki 0]

Why on EARTH would you waste thousands on a lawyer when you complain about not wanting to pay the fee again when it's less than $1,000?

A lot of things can change in your relationship between GC approval and when you file for USC so that is why the 3 year rule requires proving your relationship again. That's what the instructions state as well.

I am getting a lawyer mostly because of time I spent on this.I had to prepare for the exam just for the night before interview in such a stress.They sent my interview letter to wrong address.I was able to have them fax the interview letter night before.

Then I had to make info pass appointment after the first interview to change the date of second one.Then took a half day off the work.

It is almost 40 miles drive for me to get there.It is very stressful when time is not flexible.

[Jupiter07 12]

My interview is on the 01/27/12. If the worst that could happen is that am asked to re-apply based on 5yrs of marriage, I will still come home and have a glass of wine (2 if am approved). What is 2 more years?? You can wait. How much effort, really, does it take to memorize those answers. It's not like you even have to do some higher level thinking. All you have to do is regurgitate the answers! Did you ever go to school and take exams? And if you didn't do well did you blame your teachers because you spent time preparing anyway?

A lawyer will not say no to you, will do nothing to help you, but will take your $. He will not reverse time and have your husband have stayed with you under the same roof all the time - that is what USCIS has a problem with your case. In the end, you will spend your $ on that lawyer, spend even more time and end up more frustrated. How about you save that money and energy for your next application?

The drive, they time away from work etc etc, hun, that's a very small price to pay for USCitizenship! Think about it this way, would you be willing to have them reimburse you for the stress, drive, inconvienience and all, and take away your opportunity to be a citizen? In life, we invest. Think about it this way... when your husband was looking for a job, am sure he sat down, dusted his resume, perhaps updated his knowledge of trends in his field, made applications, maybe more than one interview... If he didn't get the job, should he have looked for a lawyer because of all the time and drives, etc he spent on that job opportunity? I personally drove 4 hours to get FPs, 10 hrs for my AOS interview. The gas, the mileage, the time off work. I look at it as an investment. They will let me live and work in this country - yet I wasn't born here. I have a job, yet there are natural-born citizens without jobs. Sorry, I don't know how to sugar-coat things. Just be realistic.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Jupiter07

[niki 0]

My interview is on the 01/27/12. If the worst that could happen is that am asked to re-apply based on 5yrs of marriage, I will still come home and have a glass of wine (2 if am approved). What is 2 more years?? You can wait. How much effort, really, does it take to memorize those answers. It's not like you even have to do some higher level thinking. All you have to do is regurgitate the answers! Did you ever go to school and take exams? And if you didn't do well did you blame your teachers because you spent time preparing anyway?

A lawyer will not say no to you, will do nothing to help you, but will take your $. He will not reverse time and have your husband have stayed with you under the same roof all the time - that is what USCIS has a problem with your case. In the end, you will spend your $ on that lawyer, spend even more time and end up more frustrated. How about you save that money and energy for your next application?

The drive, they time away from work etc etc, hun, that's a very small price to pay for USCitizenship! Think about it this way, would you be willing to have them reimburse you for the stress, drive, inconvienience and all, and take away your opportunity to be a citizen? In life, we invest. Think about it this way... when your husband was looking for a job, am sure he sat down, dusted his resume, perhaps updated his knowledge of trends in his field, made applications, maybe more than one interview... If he didn't get the job, should he have looked for a lawyer because of all the time and drives, etc he spent on that job opportunity? I personally drove 4 hours to get FPs, 10 hrs for my AOS interview. The gas, the mileage, the time off work. I look at it as an investment. They will let me live and work in this country - yet I wasn't born here. I have a job, yet there are natural-born citizens without jobs. Sorry, I don't know how to sugar-coat things. Just be realistic.

The problem is not my husband is not full time with me.There are tons of evidence that he stays with me every 2-3 weeks.They are quite convinced with this part.Now they want extra evidence that I was with my husband 2008/2009/2010.joint tax,car insurances,health insurance, life insurance, loan statements,utilities bill,bank accounts.Every single of these has both names on it.My name is also as a cosigner for his cooperation since 2003.

Still they want to deny the case?

I already talked to a lawyer she said you have done everything we just can write them a letter ask them explanation why this case is not approved yet.