N-400 Naturalization, apply after 3 or 5 years?

[dndvtrnfa 0]

My spouse will be eligible to apply for citizenship soon and I am interested in everyone's opinions on applying within the three year period or waiting till five years. We are not really partial towards either at this point. Besides for voting and jobs that require your spouse to be a citizen, what other reasons may have led to you to apply within the three year period? Or is there any certain reason why you waited or would prefer to wait till five years? We would just like to make an informed decision and would appreciate your thoughts, thank you!

[The Mean Lady 604]

Apply earlier so you can be eligible for benefits that you were previously not supposed to receive as well as be allowed to leave the country for as long as you want.

[apple21 953]

Filing a petition (IR-5) for their parents.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I don't know why you jump to 5 years.

If you're eligible at 3 years, then nothing magical happens at 5 years.

So really, I believe you want to ask 'did you apply right when you could, or did you choose to wait longer and why?'

[dndvtrnfa 0]

Yeah, we just want to know the pros and cons to either option. It seems that I have read a lot of posts on VJ where it says after five years it is easier as there is less documentation needed. However, it seems that either option, whether for three or five years, does not require near the same amount of documentation as it did for I-751. Again, just trying to get a good perspective of the pros and cons for three or five years. We appreciate the input.

[newlyweds2010 208]

It is really up to you and whether you want to do it sooner rather than later. I thought about it, I am 2 months away from filing under the 3-year rule, and I think I will go that way. Sure, it requires some extra work and doc collection, but as you mentioned, it's nothing like ROC. I already started gathering the required documents (transcripts, my wife's bc, bank statements, etc.). I don't think it will be over complicated, and frankly I can't wait to be done dealing with the USCIS. Good luck.

[Autumnal 25]

5 years: Much less documentation required, for one. I wasn't in a great hurry to naturalize, as there were no serious advantages other than voting and getting a nifty passport with eagles and Mount Rushmore in it.

Financial considerations can influence whether you wait or not too.

[Omeka 14]

What i don't understand in the 3 years rules of acquiring a citizen is Must you be married to your US spouse for a period of 3 years to file or Wait 90 days to your 3 years of being a legal permanent resident of the united states?any update on this topic will be appreciated

[Asia 2,498]

What i don't understand in the 3 years rules of acquiring a citizen is Must you be married to your US spouse for a period of 3 years to file or Wait 90 days to your 3 years of being a legal permanent resident of the united states?any update on this topic will be appreciated

Both...

Naturalization for Spouses of U.S. Citizens

In general, you may qualify for naturalization under Section 319(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) if you

• Have been a permanent resident (green card holder) for at least 3 years
• Have been living in marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse during such time
• Meet all other eligibility requirements under this section

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=a0ffa3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a0ffa3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

[NickD 203]

Sure a lot of extra work with that three year. One good reason for going through all that extra work is getting free of the USCIS and that I-864 contract. Another good reason is getting that US passport that opens a lot of new doors for visiting a whole new bunch of countries that your home country may not have.

But may learn that US passport is good for every other country except your own.

We would have waited if my wife had her ten year card, but she didn't, applying for US citizenship was just about the only way to work around that. What teed me off the most, was making yet another copy of my 50 page double sided divorce, a hundred pages to copy, again! And since we had to update our I-751 application with more evidence due to their long delays, they already had all of that evidence they wanted again.

Wife's first comment when she got into the car after her oath ceremony, I can't even travel now! More things to do, more money to spend.

[suzeegb 0]

5 years: Much less documentation required, for one. I wasn't in a great hurry to naturalize, as there were no serious advantages other than voting and getting a nifty passport with eagles and Mount Rushmore in it.

Financial considerations can influence whether you wait or not too.

I am applying 9 years after I could have - pretty much for the same reasons Autumnal stated. Voting was the big one that I was missing out on other than that there was no hurry for me. My only reason for applying now is because my green card expires next year and I didnt want the hassle of going through all that again in another 10 years.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

My spouse will be eligible to apply for citizenship soon and I am interested in everyone's opinions on applying within the three year period or waiting till five years. We are not really partial towards either at this point. Besides for voting and jobs that require your spouse to be a citizen, what other reasons may have led to you to apply within the three year period? Or is there any certain reason why you waited or would prefer to wait till five years? We would just like to make an informed decision and would appreciate your thoughts, thank you!

I personally don't understand the comments about "a lot of extra work" or "more paperwork" because it was simply form, money, and tax transcripts. That's hardly a chore :S

Anyway reasons for doing it sooner:

1. Being done with USCIS asap (and not having your relationship judged anymore)

2. Being able to travel freely/return to home country if needed without immigration/status concerns (my father passed last year so I only have my mum left aside from my siblings and if something were to happen, I woudn't need to worry about my status)

3. Being able to claim benefits when/if needed (though the USC is eligible if required, we avoid anything like that at all costs to make sure there are never any questions about it)

4. The fee is currently $590. Who knows what it will be in 2+ years (and that doesn't include the passport fee which must be used to exit the US so is needed asap).

Honestly it's up to you. The USC doesn't need to go to the interview if it's based on 3 year. Reports from the interviews show they don't ask for relationship proof in most cases so it's not really a lot of work. It's just over sooner.

I'm really looking forward to not having to worry about my GC (carrying it when traveling, being unable to apply for "USC only" jobs that I'm otherwise qualified for), or worry about having my relationship judged, or be treated differently just because I'm an immigrant. It will all be over and I'll just be like everyone else.

[BigDaddy28 228]

If I became eligible today I would've applied today. My file would be in their office yesterday lol. I honestly hate waiting because you don't know what will happen in the future. Your husband might need to go to his home country for more than 6 months. If you are a PR you would worry about that, if you are a citizen nothing to worry about. There benefits also that a US citizen would have and a PR cannot have. You know them. I wouldn't wait, the only extra papers he needs are taxes, marriage certificate, photos some bills and that's it. Nothing big as AOS or ROC. MY advice do it now so you wouldn't have to worry about it later. Good luck.

[Hedi 24]

I have to second what Vanessa said. We applied for my husband's citizenship based on 3 years because we wanted to be done with USCIS and not have to worry about gathering more documentation. Since we had just completed the ROC process last summer, we had a lot of our evidence already organized, and only had to update some items for citizenship. My husband also really wants to vote, so becoming a citizen will allow him to do so. And as Vanessa said, who knows what the fees will be in a few years. We have spent so much money in this process that we just wanted to be done with it, and not have to deal with anything immigration related.

The naturalization process was the easies tfor us. My husband was eligible to apply on January 26th. We sent in his paperwork on February 6^th and he had his oath ceremony on May 15^th.

Edited July 7, 2013 by Hedi

[besaangel 18]

There really is little evidence required. The only "proof" of our relationship that we submitted with N400 was our past 3 years tax transcripts. That's it!

I NEVER wanted to be a US citizen but things change. My mom is still on F-1 visa and cannot get another job to petition her H1B (even though she is more than qualified and the last job offer for such was moot because her lawyer pretty much used her) so I'm doing it to file for her because it'd be selfish of me not to help while she struggles to make ends meet after residing in the states all this time.