So insecure

[lovethemidwest 28]

 

 

Hi everyone,

 

 

 

i am currently putting together the package for my n-400 based on marriage.

unlike other applications I did in the past like AOS and ROC, I feel surprisingly insecure with how complete or not my application is. I feel like I will sure make a mistake and to not know what I am doing which is very unusual for me.

 

Here is what I have so far, could someone please let me know if it seems complete or not.

 

-Check for the fee

-N-400 form

-Copy of my Green Card, both sides

-2 Identical passport photos 

-copy of certificate of birth of US Citizen abroad of my wife and/OR her passport page.

-Copy of my marriage certificate

-Copy of income tax returns from 2015,2016

-Copy of lease for the last three years,

-credit card pictures and statements,

-Beneficiary statements from our retirement accounts.

 

I never was in trouble with the law, do not have any former spouse or dependent.

 

Does this seem complete ? Thank you for any help. 

:-(

 

 

 

 

Here are my questions:

 

-is it ok to include both fees in one check for DHS ?

 

-Do I need to do the passport photos ? I have been living here the whole time  and only was gone for 7 days in late 2017. Before that the last time I left the country was in the summer of 2016 for 12 days.

 

-Is it a problem that we only have the tax returns from 15 and 16 ? We did not file 17 yet and before we were not married.

 

- Is personal proof if our marriage like photos, plane ticket receipts, affidavits of support etc. not needed this time ?

 

 

-I became a permanent resident at the age of 28 and therefore did not have to register with the selective service. It specifically said that only until age 26 that is a requirement if I remember correctly. Until I became a permanent resident I had a student visa only. Do I still need to request that sheet from selective service ? The visajourney checklist seems to suggest that, but maybe I misunderstood?

 

-Over the course of the years I got one speeding ticket and one for having a headlight out. Plus, 3 or 4 parking tickets. Everything was paid and nothing was a very high cost. Do I still have to report those ?

 

 

thank to anyone who is willing to take the time to answer.

[jkstark 97]

I'll answer a little bit of this, though I did not go through the 3 year process, so I can't say all that much about that side of thing specifically...

 

- If you were here on a nonimmigrant visa (eg F1) until you gained residency at age 28, then no - you did not need to register with SS, and no issue there.  If you were here under any other status than non-immigrant (even if you overstayed your visa) you would have been required to register.

 

- I would advise getting disposition records on the tickets, though if the tickets are below $600, they don't really care about them.  However, you *should* report them regardless.

 

- I believe you can use one check, or you can pay online with a credit card.  You probably want to get further clarification on that, but my understanding is that one check is OK.

 

- Pictures are required per the documentation...

 

- For taxes, you could file now, and thus you'd have the full 3 years...

 

HTH

[Going through 5,671]

7 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

-2 Identical passport photos

If you are applying for the N400 from within the US, passport photos are not required.  Your photo will be taken at your biometrics appointment.

 

7 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

-is it ok to include both fees in one check for DHS ?

Yes.

 

7 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

-Is it a problem that we only have the tax returns from 15 and 16 ? We did not file 17 yet and before we were not married.

Not a problem... By the time your interview rolls around, you can bring the 2017 tax returns with you.

 

7 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

Over the course of the years I got one speeding ticket and one for having a headlight out. Plus, 3 or 4 parking tickets. Everything was paid and nothing was a very high cost. Do I still have to report those ?

Yes you must disclose them on your application.  The application reads EVER been cited, arrested, detained, etc...The traffic tickets are "citations".  If the ticket fines were less than $500 each, you do not need to submit documentation regarding them with your application---however, you are required to disclose them.  It is important that you do disclose them on the application, and they will not be an issue during your process----but could become a HUGE issue if you purposefully didn't disclose them and they were found out (ie. the IO wondering what other information was omitted on the application, depending on the IO you get).

 

I do personally know of one case on another forum where the applicant was denied the N400 because two speeding tickets were not disclosed on the paperwork (the fines were paid,  happened more than a decade ago).  It showed "bad moral character" in the words of the IO since the info was purposefully left out on the application (and brought up during the interview), and she scrutinized the application like a hawk after that questioning everything.  He's still in appeals.

 

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by Going through

[lovethemidwest 28]

Thank you guys for the help. I definitely will add the tickets then, I do not have proof of when they exactly happened anymore or how much they were but they were certainly less than 200$. The last one occurred in the fall of 2014, that I am sure of.

 

Also, this is going to be my very first online interaction/USCIS account ever. I once filed a change of address by email, and I must have named my email address on the ROC form. However, now I have a new one that i use strictly for more serious questions and correspondences, do you think it would be a mistake or confusing to USCIS to use that new email address?

 

I have asked that in another post already but as that was not my topic I did not want to hijack it, I got one answer that adviced it was not an issue but to make sure, I cask again. Thanks a bunch !!!

[Going through 5,671]

7 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

However, now I have a new one that i use strictly for more serious questions and correspondences, do you think it would be a mistake or confusing to USCIS to use that new email address?

It is no issue to use a new email address to file the N400 online.

[lovethemidwest 28]

Thank you for the continued help !!!!

 

I sat down for several hours and put in all the information I got, it was not as stressful as I thought it would be, this online system makes it all very convenient.

There were a few things only I would like to verify to be sure everything is ok and then I should be good to go.

 

1. I have been married to my US Citizen spouse for more than 3 years but have not been a permanent resident yet for 3 years, but am within the 90 day window leading up to those three years. Still what comes up on the screen is this:

"You have been a lawful permanent resident for more than 3 years and your spouse is a U.S. citizen". I have not been a permanent resident for three years yet. Is that a sort of glitch ?

 

2. On my green Card my given name is written as first name plus Middle Name initial. "Mid W" and my surname is "lover" In one of the questions I am asked 

" What is your name exactly as it appears on your Permanent Resident Card?"  Asking for Given Name Middle Name and Surname. Do I write "Mid W" as first name then and leave the middle name blank or do I write my middle name Initital into the Middle Name box ? Do I make sense here ? 

 

 

3. I did NOT register with the Selective Service as I was indeed in the country between age 18 and 26 but only as a NON-immigrant (Student Visa) which from what I understand made me not have to register. When I received my conditional green card I was already older than 26. For some reason I still get this when reviewing my application. and am wondering if this is a glitch as well or if I really have to prove I did not need to register.

 

"Since you indicated you are 26 years old or older, but you did not register with the Selective Service System, you should provide a status information letter from the Selective Service with your application."

 

 

Lastly, two more general questions. Assuming I find answers to the questions above, I think I am good to go. How many of the non mandatory documents like tax etc. should I send right away ? Can I upload them after hitting submit ? Will it slow the process down if I wait until the interview with those documents ?

 

And: What if I accidentally missed something or entered a wrong date: There is one former employer who has a different hiring date on file than I have for some reason (three days off). And there is one trip I took 4 years ago when I am not sure if I returned on the first day of a month or the second and can not seem to find any evidence anymore. Would that become a problem ? Also, I wrote explanations for the two speeding tickets I got a long time ago. I received a few minor parking tickets over the years for returning a few min. late to my meter mostly. I know that I always paid everything but I do not have documentation anymore if it was 5 or 7 instances over the years. I described that in a written explanation in which I also described one of the speeding tickets, is that ok ? I kept all the explanations very short but accurate, unlike this email, I am afraid. I made sure to   include that there were no further consequences other than me paying for the ticket. Should I also apologize in the explanations ?

I think that should be it. Thank you to everyone who contributes time and care ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jkstark 97]

On 2/26/2018 at 1:09 PM, lovethemidwest said:

Thank you guys for the help. I definitely will add the tickets then, I do not have proof of when they exactly happened anymore or how much they were but they were certainly less than 200$. The last one occurred in the fall of 2014, that I am sure of.

 

Also, this is going to be my very first online interaction/USCIS account ever. I once filed a change of address by email, and I must have named my email address on the ROC form. However, now I have a new one that i use strictly for more serious questions and correspondences, do you think it would be a mistake or confusing to USCIS to use that new email address?

 

I have asked that in another post already but as that was not my topic I did not want to hijack it, I got one answer that adviced it was not an issue but to make sure, I cask again. Thanks a bunch !!!

I had two traffic tickets to deal with on my N-400 - one that was relatively recent, and I had all the supporting paperwork for it, but the other was close to 17 years ago, and I knew only that it was dismissed, and that I got it somewhere in Brooklyn... 

 

No questions were asked about either other than if they were under $600, at which point they were deemed to be non-issues.

[jkstark 97]

3 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

Thank you for the continued help !!!!

 

I sat down for several hours and put in all the information I got, it was not as stressful as I thought it would be, this online system makes it all very convenient.

There were a few things only I would like to verify to be sure everything is ok and then I should be good to go.

 

1. I have been married to my US Citizen spouse for more than 3 years but have not been a permanent resident yet for 3 years, but am within the 90 day window leading up to those three years. Still what comes up on the screen is this:

"You have been a lawful permanent resident for more than 3 years and your spouse is a U.S. citizen". I have not been a permanent resident for three years yet. Is that a sort of glitch ?

 

2. On my green Card my given name is written as first name plus Middle Name initial. "Mid W" and my surname is "lover" In one of the questions I am asked 

" What is your name exactly as it appears on your Permanent Resident Card?"  Asking for Given Name Middle Name and Surname. Do I write "Mid W" as first name then and leave the middle name blank or do I write my middle name Initital into the Middle Name box ? Do I make sense here ? 

 

 

3. I did NOT register with the Selective Service as I was indeed in the country between age 18 and 26 but only as a NON-immigrant (Student Visa) which from what I understand made me not have to register. When I received my conditional green card I was already older than 26. For some reason I still get this when reviewing my application. and am wondering if this is a glitch as well or if I really have to prove I did not need to register.

 

"Since you indicated you are 26 years old or older, but you did not register with the Selective Service System, you should provide a status information letter from the Selective Service with your application."

 

 

Lastly, two more general questions. Assuming I find answers to the questions above, I think I am good to go. How many of the non mandatory documents like tax etc. should I send right away ? Can I upload them after hitting submit ? Will it slow the process down if I wait until the interview with those documents ?

 

And: What if I accidentally missed something or entered a wrong date: There is one former employer who has a different hiring date on file than I have for some reason (three days off). And there is one trip I took 4 years ago when I am not sure if I returned on the first day of a month or the second and can not seem to find any evidence anymore. Would that become a problem ? Also, I wrote explanations for the two speeding tickets I got a long time ago. I received a few minor parking tickets over the years for returning a few min. late to my meter mostly. I know that I always paid everything but I do not have documentation anymore if it was 5 or 7 instances over the years. I described that in a written explanation in which I also described one of the speeding tickets, is that ok ? I kept all the explanations very short but accurate, unlike this email, I am afraid. I made sure to   include that there were no further consequences other than me paying for the ticket. Should I also apologize in the explanations ?

I think that should be it. Thank you to everyone who contributes time and care ! 

 

 

I think that the 3 years comes up because of the 90 day window - just make sure you are within that 90 day window and not early...  You may even want to be on the safe side and not file till 80 days before.  However, don't quote me on that one...

 

For 2 - I think you stick to how it is on your GC - exactly as it is on there...

 

For 3...  If you are over 31 now, the point is moot; you would be within 5 years of "good moral character" with that, and it is beyond the statute of limitations, and you'll see no question about it.  If you younger, and were not required to register, you should not need anything, but getting a status information letter is easy, and won't hurt your case.  You should not have to file it with your application, but have a copy on hand for the interview in case it becomes a question....  The scenario is simple - you were an alien admitted in a non-immigrant category during the ages you would have been required to register, and thus you did not.  Interestingly, only aliens admitted in a non-immigrant status are exempt from registering - any immigrant visa holder, citizen and non-documented alien is also required to register...

 

Submit what you have available; if it is not immediately required, make sure you have them available for the interview.

 

As to dates for certain aspects - don't sweat it too much...  A good bunch of my dates were marked as approximations, and as long as the total stay out of country was clearly below any threshold there was no issue.  I did have them as accurately as possible, but then mentioned that there were a number of visits to Canada that I have no record of - each lasting a day or two, occurring roughly, on average, 1.5 times a year over a 10+ year span.  As to a date of hire, I had to call our HR side (which is one of the partners in the small business I have worked for), and after a good amount of searching, they could not come up with an accurate date either.  In the end we put our heads together and estimated the actual date somewhere back in 2000 as best as we could, but can't say for sure when exactly that was either...

 

If there is any question about any of it at the interview - as long as you are honest as to why you don't have the exact date and time, and it is a reasonable explanation, then even if they ask they will typically be understanding.  Just so long as it is not the case for all the dates and so on.  Basically, common sense goes a long way....

[jkstark 97]

On 2/26/2018 at 6:36 AM, Going through said:

On 2/25/2018 at 11:11 PM, lovethemidwest said:

-2 Identical passport photos

If you are applying for the N400 from within the US, passport photos are not required.  Your photo will be taken at your biometrics appointment.

Yup - that is correct...  I had forgotten about that differentiator, and just quickly looked up the instructions...  It has been recommended by many to bring a few pictures with you to the interview, however, since in some cases they have required them there even if it is not mentioned anywhere.  I was not asked for them, so ended up using them for a passport application later on...

[lovethemidwest 28]

Thank you so much !!!!! :-)

[shell20 746]

21 hours ago, lovethemidwest said:

Thank you for the continued help !!!!

 

I sat down for several hours and put in all the information I got, it was not as stressful as I thought it would be, this online system makes it all very convenient.

There were a few things only I would like to verify to be sure everything is ok and then I should be good to go.

 

1. I have been married to my US Citizen spouse for more than 3 years but have not been a permanent resident yet for 3 years, but am within the 90 day window leading up to those three years. Still what comes up on the screen is this:

"You have been a lawful permanent resident for more than 3 years and your spouse is a U.S. citizen". I have not been a permanent resident for three years yet. Is that a sort of glitch ?

 

2. On my green Card my given name is written as first name plus Middle Name initial. "Mid W" and my surname is "lover" In one of the questions I am asked 

" What is your name exactly as it appears on your Permanent Resident Card?"  Asking for Given Name Middle Name and Surname. Do I write "Mid W" as first name then and leave the middle name blank or do I write my middle name Initital into the Middle Name box ? Do I make sense here ? 

 

 

3. I did NOT register with the Selective Service as I was indeed in the country between age 18 and 26 but only as a NON-immigrant (Student Visa) which from what I understand made me not have to register. When I received my conditional green card I was already older than 26. For some reason I still get this when reviewing my application. and am wondering if this is a glitch as well or if I really have to prove I did not need to register.

 

"Since you indicated you are 26 years old or older, but you did not register with the Selective Service System, you should provide a status information letter from the Selective Service with your application."

 

 

Lastly, two more general questions. Assuming I find answers to the questions above, I think I am good to go. How many of the non mandatory documents like tax etc. should I send right away ? Can I upload them after hitting submit ? Will it slow the process down if I wait until the interview with those documents ?

 

And: What if I accidentally missed something or entered a wrong date: There is one former employer who has a different hiring date on file than I have for some reason (three days off). And there is one trip I took 4 years ago when I am not sure if I returned on the first day of a month or the second and can not seem to find any evidence anymore. Would that become a problem ? Also, I wrote explanations for the two speeding tickets I got a long time ago. I received a few minor parking tickets over the years for returning a few min. late to my meter mostly. I know that I always paid everything but I do not have documentation anymore if it was 5 or 7 instances over the years. I described that in a written explanation in which I also described one of the speeding tickets, is that ok ? I kept all the explanations very short but accurate, unlike this email, I am afraid. I made sure to   include that there were no further consequences other than me paying for the ticket. Should I also apologize in the explanations ?

I think that should be it. Thank you to everyone who contributes time and care ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can actually look up your trips out of the country here https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/history-search

[LifeOnHold 186]

On 2/25/2018 at 11:11 PM, lovethemidwest said:

 

 

Hi everyone,

 

 

 

i am currently putting together the package for my n-400 based on marriage.

unlike other applications I did in the past like AOS and ROC, I feel surprisingly insecure with how complete or not my application is. I feel like I will sure make a mistake and to not know what I am doing which is very unusual for me.

 

Here is what I have so far, could someone please let me know if it seems complete or not.

 

-Check for the fee

-N-400 form

-Copy of my Green Card, both sides

-2 Identical passport photos 

-copy of certificate of birth of US Citizen abroad of my wife and/OR her passport page.

-Copy of my marriage certificate

-Copy of income tax returns from 2015,2016

-Copy of lease for the last three years,

-credit card pictures and statements,

-Beneficiary statements from our retirement accounts.

 

I never was in trouble with the law, do not have any former spouse or dependent.

 

Does this seem complete ? Thank you for any help. 

:-(

 

 

5

Not sure if you already sent in your paperwork or if I am too late. However, my husband just went to his interview and even though we did not mail in all of the same things we did for the ROC, but still had them at the interview, the officer did not pass him. She refused to even look at the proof we had from the past 3 years of marriage. I would send in as many things as you did for the ROC and keep copies to bring with you to the interview (as well as updated documents). Also, bring 2 passport pictures to the interview just in case because they were asking everyone for them, even if they did not live abroad and were living in the U.S. Hope this helps!