My wife can file N-400 anytime starting next week. Any last minute tips, advice, gotchas, etc. before filing.

[ryna 132]

My wife can file her N-400 starting next week. She's already downloaded the form/instructions and started filling it out but she has a couple questions (as do I).

We've been married for 3 yrs, 7 months, and I've been a USC all of my life (way more than 3 years), so no problems there in meeting the 3-yr marriage requirement. Since she's filing based on a 3 year period of being married to a USC (me), what should she do when the form asks to go back 5 years with her information? She's only been here in the U.S. for 3 yrs, 8 months and only been an LPR for ~2 years, 9 months (3 years - 90 days). Should she go back to her LPR date, her U.S. arrival date, or the full 5-years, including her time in Colombia before she arrived in the U.S.?

What documents should we be gathering now? Birth certificates, tax returns/transcripts, passports, etc. What will they ask of me, the USC (I'm assuming something since the 3-yr benefit is derived from being married to me) - birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate, etc.?

She'd obviously like to file ASAP but, since it's not like ROC, there is no rush to get it in before the 90-day window closes and it's better to gather anything and everything first before sending it off.

Thanks for any tips you can give us!

[JimmyHou 611]

My wife can file her N-400 starting next week. She's already downloaded the form/instructions and started filling it out but she has a couple questions (as do I).

We've been married for 3 yrs, 7 months, and I've been a USC all of my life (way more than 3 years), so no problems there in meeting the 3-yr marriage requirement. Since she's filing based on a 3 year period of being married to a USC (me), what should she do when the form asks to go back 5 years with her information? She's only been here in the U.S. for 3 yrs, 8 months and only been an LPR for ~2 years, 9 months (3 years - 90 days). Should she go back to her LPR date, her U.S. arrival date, or the full 5-years, including her time in Colombia before she arrived in the U.S.?

What documents should we be gathering now? Birth certificates, tax returns/transcripts, passports, etc. What will they ask of me, the USC (I'm assuming something since the 3-yr benefit is derived from being married to me) - birth certificate, passport, marriage certificate, etc.?

She'd obviously like to file ASAP but, since it's not like ROC, there is no rush to get it in before the 90-day window closes and it's better to gather anything and everything first before sending it off.

Thanks for any tips you can give us!

Only two tips:

-Read everything on this link. That's the best way to determine if there's anything you're missing or if you need to prepare for any potential obstacles.

http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12.html

-Use the filing calculator to check the eligibility date and don't apply too early.

http://www.uscis.gov/early-filing-calculator