Moving from CA to TN while removing conditions! Advice.

[TMDM 15]

Hello all,

 

I have a question about moving during a pending case of the I751 to remove conditions. My wife and I filed in April 2017 for the removal of the conditions on my Green Card. We are planning a move from Los Angeles to Nashville, TN around June next year. However, with the current wait times, it looks as though our Green Card would be receiving its decision around the same time. Unfortunately, regardless of situation, I have to move at this time as my current address is temporary student housing which I am no longer eligible for as of the end of June 2018. So I have two options: Move to Tennessee with the pending I751 and inform USCIS when I do so or move to another California address (my mother in law's) until the green card is approved and then move to Tennessee with green card in hand.. The reason I come to you all and ask this question is my attorney has said making a move to a different state will cause many months more delay with my case, but moving to somewhere else within California would not because of the service center. Forgive me, but my understanding is that Tennessee is also under the California Service Center? So should there be no additional months added as it is the same center that deals with this? 

 

Could someone clarify the repercussions of such a move and delays involved and whether it is better to remain in California at a different address or just to go ahead and move? Any advice would be great. I very much am planning ahead here! Thank you. 

[nightingalejules 678]

I haven't heard that a move slows down the I-751 (although I suppose it might be true). It does keep you from applying for citizenship until you've been in the new state for at least 3 months, if you're at that stage by the time you move.

Nobody (not even your lawyer) really knows how long it will take, and what effect your move will have. Even if your lawyer had other clients who moved and then it seemed to take longer to adjudicate the I-751, the move may or may not have had anything to do with it, and since USCIS doesn't seem to share any information with anyone, no one would ever know.

 

My suggestion would be to move to Tennessee, if that's what you want to do. Notify USCIS of the move, as you have to, and don't worry about it. Wait times are sooooooooooooo loooooooooong right now that I think it would be crazy to put your life on hold while waiting for USCIS to approve your ROC (which in 90% of cases is really just a rubber stamp - almost everyone eventually gets approved).

 

The reason that the I-751 is allowed to take so long is that your status doesn't change throughout the process. You will get your 1 year extension, and then once that runs out, the best idea is to make an InfoPass appointment and get a stamp for another year, then repeat if necessary. You're legal the whole time, and have all the rights and responsibilities of any Permanent Resident (except apparently that you can't get a job with USPS - random new thing I learned yesterday). 

 

Don't let the ridiculous wait times for your removal of conditions make you wait to start your life. 

[TMDM 15]

17 minutes ago, nightingalejules said:

I haven't heard that a move slows down the I-751 (although I suppose it might be true). It does keep you from applying for citizenship until you've been in the new state for at least 3 months, if you're at that stage by the time you move.

Nobody (not even your lawyer) really knows how long it will take, and what effect your move will have. Even if your lawyer had other clients who moved and then it seemed to take longer to adjudicate the I-751, the move may or may not have had anything to do with it, and since USCIS doesn't seem to share any information with anyone, no one would ever know.

 

My suggestion would be to move to Tennessee, if that's what you want to do. Notify USCIS of the move, as you have to, and don't worry about it. Wait times are sooooooooooooo loooooooooong right now that I think it would be crazy to put your life on hold while waiting for USCIS to approve your ROC (which in 90% of cases is really just a rubber stamp - almost everyone eventually gets approved).

 

The reason that the I-751 is allowed to take so long is that your status doesn't change throughout the process. You will get your 1 year extension, and then once that runs out, the best idea is to make an InfoPass appointment and get a stamp for another year, then repeat if necessary. You're legal the whole time, and have all the rights and responsibilities of any Permanent Resident (except apparently that you can't get a job with USPS - random new thing I learned yesterday). 

 

Don't let the ridiculous wait times for your removal of conditions make you wait to start your life. 

 

Thanks for your detailed response! I appreciate that. I had no realised about the 3 month requirement when filing citizenship. I had not planned on filing until after my move, but in light of that. Do you think it might be better I file here in California where I have lived for 2 years? Or will me moving state mid application still bear that 3 month delay for the residency requirement? 

 

Thanks again.

 

Tim.

[nightingalejules 678]

19 minutes ago, TMDM said:

 

Thanks for your detailed response! I appreciate that. I had no realised about the 3 month requirement when filing citizenship. I had not planned on filing until after my move, but in light of that. Do you think it might be better I file here in California where I have lived for 2 years? Or will me moving state mid application still bear that 3 month delay for the residency requirement? 

 

Thanks again.

 

Tim.

If you're going to move as planned, do not file N-400 before you move. Unlike the I-751, the N-400s are not adjudicated at "central" locations, they are collected at a lockbox and then sent to your local office for adjudication. So if you file in CA and then move, USCIS will (assuming all goes perfectly to plan) pull your file from your old local office in California, send it to your new local office in Tennessee, then hold it until you have established the 3 month residency. And then put it in line for adjudication. More likely it will get rejected or lost and you'll have to apply again. (and pay again)

 

You'd be much better to just wait the 3 months and then apply in Tennessee.

 

If you decide to hold off on the move, go ahead and apply for N-400, but then you won't be able to move out of state until that is approved (look at the USCIS processing times page to see how long it is taking the closest office to process an N-400). 

 

See, this is what I mean about USCIS making us put our lives on hold. I waited a year for my original CR1 visa back in 2013/14, and now I've been waiting since last August for my ROC. And yes, I  want to file N-400 asap, but we also wanted to move to a new state (out of the OR rain (where we landed partly because hubby's mom lives there) to the AZ sunshine (where we can afford to buy a house and can live a lot better on the same income)). Yes, it holds up my naturalization eligibility, but really, we'd been waiting for our lives to really start for 3 years... what's another 3 months for N-400?

[TMDM 15]

5 minutes ago, nightingalejules said:

If you're going to move as planned, do not file N-400 before you move. Unlike the I-751, the N-400s are not adjudicated at "central" locations, they are collected at a lockbox and then sent to your local office for adjudication. So if you file in CA and then move, USCIS will (assuming all goes perfectly to plan) pull your file from your old local office in California, send it to your new local office in Tennessee, then hold it until you have established the 3 month residency. And then put it in line for adjudication. More likely it will get rejected or lost and you'll have to apply again. (and pay again)

 

You'd be much better to just wait the 3 months and then apply in Tennessee.

 

If you decide to hold off on the move, go ahead and apply for N-400, but then you won't be able to move out of state until that is approved (look at the USCIS processing times page to see how long it is taking the closest office to process an N-400). 

 

See, this is what I mean about USCIS making us put our lives on hold. I waited a year for my original CR1 visa back in 2013/14, and now I've been waiting since last August for my ROC. And yes, I  want to file N-400 asap, but we also wanted to move to a new state (out of the OR rain (where we landed partly because hubby's mom lives there) to the AZ sunshine (where we can afford to buy a house and can live a lot better on the same income)). Yes, it holds up my naturalization eligibility, but really, we'd been waiting for our lives to really start for 3 years... what's another 3 months for N-400?

I couldn't agree more with you. I will definitely not be staying in California so that I can apply for citizenship. I think my best option is to wait it out here until I have the Removal of Conditions approved and then make the move. At which point, I will apply for my citizenship 3 months after being in Tennessee. I assume it would be 3 months from the date of something like vehicle registration or drivers license issuance since this is proof of my residency. 

 

On the off chance, I don't suppose you know the answer to this question also. Upon changing address in 2016, I filed my AR-11 but have just now this evening realised that my wife who was one of my sponsors (I had a co sponsor), had not filed the I-865 form. I have since submitted my Removal of Conditions application in April 2017 and now I am concerned that something will go wrong with it because my wife failed to do this! I am truthfully surprised my attorney didn't mention this to me. I have found it out by browsing these forums this evening. Should I have my wife go ahead and file this now? Over a year after the move? We filed the ROC application with the new address for both of us. Thanks so much for your responses. You have been great! 

[nightingalejules 678]

Yes, have her file it - and put the actual effective date of the move on the form. There's a place on the form where you can write notes, so fill out that part and explain that you didn't realize that she had to fill out a change of address form as well, and as soon as you realized it, you wanted to update her information to reflect that she moved with you. Then mail that baby in! 

 

No problem - that's why we have these forums!

[TMDM 15]

Thanks again for your response! One more for you, my AR11 was filed a little late. We moved around 20th September, 2016 and I sent the change of address AR11 on 10/9/16 and there was no option for move date on that form. For the I-865 there is a move date option, so should I use the date of filing the AR11 as our date of move? Or should I use the actual move date?

 

I asked this same question to my lawyer who advised not to even bother sending it at this point. But that makes me feel un easy! Thanks again.