File too soon? 90 days met?

[4izenough 3]

I think you're saying that the date of the marriage listed on the application was not correct... am I understanding you correctly? If that's what you're saying, then you're absolutely right!

To clarify for others regarding the 90 day early filing when applying under the 3 year rule:

Let me try to explain my understanding and back it up with USCIS text and other VJ experiences.

For the 3 year rule the applicant can apply 90 days before the "resident since" date on the green card provided that these two other conditions are met on the day the applications is filed:

The applicant has to have been married to a US citizen for 3 full years

The applicant's spouse has to have been a US citizen for 3 full years.

Once again, to be clear, applying 90 days early applies only to the resident since date... you cannot apply before you have been married for 3 years.

Here is the wording from the USCIS policy manual. A spouse applying under the 3 year rule must meet the following:

"Living in marital union with the citizen spouse for at least three years ​preceding ​the time of filing the naturalization application​ (the citizen spouse must have been a U.S. citizen for those three years)​.​"

"Continuous residence​ in the United States as an LPR for at least three years immediately preceding the date of filing the application and up to the time of naturalization​.​"

Note that there are 3 requirements:

3 years as an LPR

3 years of marriage

3 years of the spouse being a USC

Now a little further down, there's an exception:

"The spouse of a U.S. citizen filing for naturalization on the basis of his or her marriage may file the ​naturalization application ​up to 90 days before ​t​he ​date he ​or she ​would first ​me​e​t the ​required three-year period ​of continuous residence."

The exception is very clearly only to the continuous residency requirement and not to the marriage or USC spouse requirements. Note that the 3 years have to be "immediately preceding the date of filing the application and up to the time of naturalization". So the continuous residency requirement is coutned all the way until naturalization. But there is no similar rule for the marriage anniversary. It just says "Living in marital union with the citizen spouse for at least three years ​preceding ​the time of filing the naturalization application".

The full text can be found here:

http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartG-Chapter3.html

That's pretty clear to me, but here's a case of someone who actually experienced this issue and was denied:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/322175-n400-denied-based-on-eligibility/

Here is further discussion of the issue.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/496815-married-3-years-or-3-years-90-days-to-file-n400/#entry7017398

I've come across several other similar cases where applications were denied for the same reason, but to for completeness, I did also come across a case of an applicant last year who's application was not rejected even though she applied early; so it appears that the rule (while clear to me) isn't always applied consistently.

WOW that's a lot info to digest.

They issued her 2 years and later 10 years green card with a resident date of 1/1/2013. We were married here on 1/7/2013, that's the date I put on the N-400.

I've met all the requirement for myself.

So why would they reject the dec, 28,2015 N-400? it falls in the 90 days requirement?

thanks and sorry for sounding dumb.

No... that's exactly what I thought you were saying... and as I said I think you are correct. I didn't think you were saying they didn't have to be married for 3 years.

The problem is that the applicant wrote down a marriage date on the application that was LESS than 3 years before the application date. The application was filed in October 2015 and the date of the marriage on the application was January 2013. The OP has confirmed this several times. I don't know why that was done, but it was.. You're right of course that that can't be right, but USCIS will go by the dates on the application; they will not correct the information based on their previous case records.

I suspect that the applicant had more than one wedding and wrote down the date of the second wedding on the application.

As I said above, the rest of the response was for others who may not be aware of all the details of the 3 year rule.

But why would they reject the December 28,2015 N-400 application file?

[Alaska2012 462]

Your first dates don't add up! If you got married on 1/7/13 and she entered on cr1 the date on the green card is wrong. An error made in the card production or something but she can't have been here on 1/1/13 if you weren't married until 1/7/13... but then you throw in you had a ceremony in her country in 2011....? When did you actually get married!?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Yes the dates are correct. Marriage is 1/7/2013 Filed with this (N-400)

Her 2 yrs GC was issued with a resident date of 1/1/2013

We were married in her country, ceremony in 2011. she came her on a cr-1 visa

thanks for responding.

The mistake is yours.

You were married in her country in 2011. You got a foreign marriage certificate. You used that marriage certificate to get her a US visa as your wife. The US acknowledge she was your wife and gave her a CR-1 spousal visa. There was no need for you to remarry in the US.

DO NOT LIST THE 1/7/2013 MARRIAGE. THAT IS NOT THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE YOU SHOULD USE. One does not enter the US as a wife, get a green card as the wife of a USC, and then get marry. That's the wrong order. This is probably what is causing the problem. You didn't send the correct marriage certificate and probably gave the 2013 date as when your marriage started.

Refile using the foreign marriage certificate. Ignore the US marriage certificate.

Edited January 12, 2016 by aaron2020

[NikLR 13,227]

Aaron2020 ia correct. There was no need to remarry in the USA. Use the date from your original foreign marriage certificate. The US one is invalid, you were already married.

[JimmyHou 611]

WOW that's a lot info to digest.

They issued her 2 years and later 10 years green card with a resident date of 1/1/2013. We were married here on 1/7/2013, that's the date I put on the N-400.

I've met all the requirement for myself.

So why would they reject the dec, 28,2015 N-400? it falls in the 90 days requirement?

thanks and sorry for sounding dumb.

But why would they reject the December 28,2015 N-400 application file?

Because using the date you listed on the N400, you weren't married for 3 years on December 28 2015! You have to be married for 3 full years before you apply. So your wife was not eligible to apply either both times because you had not reached your 3rd marriage anniversary of 1/7/2016.

So that's the first mistake...Now let's set that aside... the second mistake is that you're listing the wrong marriage date.

You can't have two wedding dates... the second marriage is meaningless for immigration purposes; your legal marriage date is the day you got married in her country and that's the date you should have used.

Refile and use the correct marriage date: the day you actually got married outside the US... that's your marriage date.

Edited January 12, 2016 by JimmyHou

[newacct 688]

You can't be married in one country and not married in another (at least as far as the US is concerned, except for things like polygamous marriages). If you are married anywhere, you are married. Your second "marriage" was invalid because you were already married, so you were not eligible to get married.

[4izenough 3]

Because using the date you listed on the N400, you weren't married for 3 years on December 28 2015! You have to be married for 3 full years before you apply. So your wife was not eligible to apply either both times because you had not reached your 3rd marriage anniversary of 1/7/2016.

So that's the first mistake...Now let's set that aside... the second mistake is that you're listing the wrong marriage date.

You can't have two wedding dates... the second marriage is meaningless for immigration purposes; your legal marriage date is the day you got married in her country and that's the date you should have used.

Refile and use the correct marriage date: the day you actually got married outside the US... that's your marriage date.

Thank you for responding.

Yes we were married in ceremony in her home country, but i left that out intentionally when i applied for her CR-1 visa because she was denied a visa by marriage.

So i reapplied for a fiance Visa (approved) and we were legally US married on January 7,2013. (she arrived 01/1/2013.

It should be OK now, since its past January 7th. I will try again.

thanks

[JimmyHou 611]

Thank you for responding.

Yes we were married in ceremony in her home country, but i left that out intentionally when i applied for her CR-1 visa because she was denied a visa by marriage.

So i reapplied for a fiance Visa (approved) and we were legally US married on January 7,2013. (she arrived 01/1/2013.

It should be OK now, since its past January 7th. I will try again.

thanks

You need to be careful about the legality of what you are doing... I don't totally understand whether the ceremony in her home country was legally binding or not, but if you lied about being married to get a fiance visa, then you committed a federal crime. Again, sorry if I misunderstood what you were saying.

But you should know that if your wife ever lied to get an immigration benefit, both of you could get into trouble and she could be denaturalized and deported even after she becomes a citizen.

If this doesn't apply to our case or if I've misunderstood, please disregard it!

[newacct 688]

Thank you for responding.

Yes we were married in ceremony in her home country, but i left that out intentionally when i applied for her CR-1 visa because she was denied a visa by marriage.

So i reapplied for a fiance Visa (approved) and we were legally US married on January 7,2013. (she arrived 01/1/2013.

It should be OK now, since its past January 7th. I will try again.

thanks

Wait a minute; it should NOT be "okay now". If she entered on a fiance visa, then she had to go through Adjustment of Status after the marriage in the US to become a permanent resident. Only when Adjustment of Status is approved does she become a permanent resident. Adjustment of Status for K-1 takes up to a year. It's basically impossible for her to have been a permanent resident for 2 years 9 months at this point (the AOS would have to be super fast), if the situation is as you say. What is the "resident since" date on her green card?

Edited January 13, 2016 by newacct

[Maria2012 16]

Thank you everybody for responding.

I check my form N-400 everything is correct. date, 3 years marriage etc..

Her GC resident date is 01/01/2013 ( same day she arrived in the US).

He Adjustment of status GC resident is also 01/01/2013 to 04/01/2025

Our US marriage certifcate is 01/07/2013.

I think USCIS read the date wrong or their date of resident does not match was GC issued.

Even though, we've met the 3 years requirement and 90 days rule.

I'm just gonna keep submitting it every month.

thanks

I

YOu can apply as early as 01/07/2016 which is the 3 year anniversary of your marriage. They probably looked at your US marriage ( which shouldn't have happened) when they calculated the date

MY situation Greencard date 03/21/2013 minus 90 days would have been sometime in December 2015 but because my marriage anniversary is 01/05 I only

qualified to apply on 01/05/2016

Edited January 14, 2016 by Maria2012

[NikLR 13,227]

Thank you for responding.

Yes we were married in ceremony in her home country, but i left that out intentionally when i applied for her CR-1 visa because she was denied a visa by marriage.

So i reapplied for a fiance Visa (approved) and we were legally US married on January 7,2013. (she arrived 01/1/2013.

It should be OK now, since its past January 7th. I will try again.

thanks

This doesn't make sense.

Did she come on a CR1 visa OR a K1 visa?

This makes a difference. And honestly, I think you need an immigration lawyer RIGHT NOW. What you're describing in this post is misrepresentation and fraud. This is very serious.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Thank you for responding.

Yes we were married in ceremony in her home country, but i left that out intentionally when i applied for her CR-1 visa because she was denied a visa by marriage.

So i reapplied for a fiance Visa (approved) and we were legally US married on January 7,2013. (she arrived 01/1/2013.

It should be OK now, since its past January 7th. I will try again.

thanks

You don't make sense. Every new detail makes your case more confusing.

If she came here on a fiancée visa, there is no way for her to receive a green card on 1/1/2013 before your marriage which occurred later on 1/7/2013 and before she can file to adjust her status. It's an impossibility.

You need to get professional help to resolve this matter.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Wait a minute; it should NOT be "okay now". If she entered on a fiance visa, then she had to go through Adjustment of Status after the marriage in the US to become a permanent resident. Only when Adjustment of Status is approved does she become a permanent resident. Adjustment of Status for K-1 takes up to a year. It's basically impossible for her to have been a permanent resident for 2 years 9 months at this point (the AOS would have to be super fast), if the situation is as you say. What is the "resident since" date on her green card?

This.

If she came on a K1 fiance visa, her greencard would NOT have the date of her arrival in the USA as her "resident since" sate.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Penguin_ie