I-751 February 2017 Filers, Part II

[corvusheart 163]

Remember to bring lots of evidences to the interview. We compiled an entire binder of all our evidences from the last 2 years. IO was happy with it. He took some of the documents to keep and handed everything else back to him.

[corvusheart 163]

Well looks like we got notified that they have submitted an RFE for our N400 for more relationship evidence. Even though his ROC was approved and he got his new GC in the mail. He brought an entire binder of docs to the interview but the IO just glanced at it and didn't take anything. So we resubmitted everything through the RFE response including new information we've collected since filing N400. We are considering withdrawing the application and waiting until he can reapply under the 5 year rule.

[Hpfl 0]

On 3/14/2018 at 5:38 PM, Ck207 said:

I just did a quick search 50 cases from my case number. There is a huge case got their status updated today.

How do you get to see how many cases are in front of yours?

[santiagosilva 8]

30 minutes ago, Hpfl said:

How do you get to see how many cases are in front of yours?

are these all cases that haven't been approved yet?

[thilimaa 42]

Hey folks!

 

I had my combo interview (ROC + N400) in San Jose, CA on January 24th and on February 21st I became a citizen of the United States!

I initially decided not to post here regarding my oath ceremony but as I noticed that this forum became largely a combo ROC + N400 forum, it thought it could be worth sharing. Here it goes!

 

I AM A U.S CITIZEN!

Before The Ceremony: 
  My ceremony was scheduled to take place in Campbell (for San Jose office), CA around 8:30am so, as my wife and I were driving from far away, we decided to leave home early in case of traffic or anything AND we ended up arriving around 7:10am and there was already a lot of people waiting (in their cars as it was cold outside). Around 7:30 (one hour before the ceremony) we decided to head to the front entrance and wait for it and there was already some people waiting over there. A man who apparently works at the theater thing came outside around 8:10 and said that they would open the doors at 8:30 and asked us to form 5 lines. 4 lines were for people that were waiting to become citizens and one line for family/friends and visitors. If you are bringing family/friends arrive early and get in line as the man said that they only had 200 seats for family/friends so some people wouldn't be able come in and that's exactly what happened as some people bring 10+ people for the ceremony!
  Around 8:30 USCIS officers came outside checking green cards and the oath ceremony notice. After checking those two, they write a number on your notice letter and circle it. That has to do with where you're going to seat once inside.
  Around 8:40am they let us in!

The Ceremony:
  Once you walk into the building, the officer waiting for you at the door checks your oath ceremony letter, tells you to go through door "west" or "east" of the theater and give you a white envelope with some cool stuff such as a small U.S flag, a passport application, a citizenship holder for your document and many other things! 
  After going through the "east - west" door, a lady directed me to my seat. When I got to my row, another lady took my oath ceremony notice and asked for my green card. I handed to her and she kept it as she kept everybody else's green card.
  After waiting around 10min (as I was one of the first ones to enter the building, I had to wait for everybody else to find their seat) the ceremony started. The ceremony started with a videoclip that had some awesome pictures of the first immigrants in America and phrases that they said when they arrived. It was very emotional and beautiful.
  The first person on stage was a man who talked about registering to vote and how important it is to actually vote and so on. Right after that, three USCIS officers went on stage and we all sang the national anthem. After that they started to call everyone's country of birth (I think we had people from 42 different countries participating on Thursday) and then we had to stand up and wait for all the countries (after your birth country) to be called. 
  Then, after that, we took the oath and we all became U.S citizens! People were crying and it was a very emotional moment! I will never forget that moment! Following the oath, we watched a videoclip where the President welcome us to America as new citizens!
  After that, we watched a videoclip with the song America the Beautiful and right after the video clip, a lady that works (as far as I understood) for the Dept. of State went on stage and said that we would be able to apply for a U.S passport right there after the ceremony if we would like to so, for those who wanted to apply for a U.S passport she asked us to stand up and she placed us under an oath. I would say that half of the 441 people that were there with me stood up and I was one of them.
  After that, the ceremony was over and they passed around distributing our citizenship certificates! I could finally  say, I AM AMERICAN!

After The Ceremony:
  Right when you leave the building there will be some people asking if you would like to register to vote and I totally recommend doing that! The person who I talked to about registering to vote (really quick right outside) told me that I could not register to vote in Santa Clara county because I live in a different county so I actually have to register in Monterey County. (sorry if it got confusing, haha). If you live in a different county other than Santa Clara pay attention on that. 
  After that, even before meeting my wife that was already outside waiting for me (they first let the family/friends out while they distribute the certificates so most likely, your loved one will already be waiting for you outside the building) I went to another room where I applied for my U.S passport right there! Attention, don't forget to bring blank checks and a passport photo!
  As far as I understand, the passport people are not always there so it could be that you won't be able to apply for a passport right there but you can always go to a post office right after the ceremony (as long as you have all the documents necessary with you) and apply for one. I went straight to the room where the people collecting passport applications were because I knew that the line would be huge if I were to wait a couple of minutes. When I got to the passport room, I was only the 5th person in line! They gave me an envelope where I put my citizenship certificate (I held my certificate of citizenship for less than 5 min as I went straight to the other room so I could apply for a U.S passport but I took a picture of it just so I have it, haha!), a passport photo, a check and my passport application! The walk around stamping applications and making sure that you signed it before submitting it! Also, make sure that you sign your citizenship certificate!
  For the passport, they let you apply for a passport book, a passport card or both! I decided to apply for both passport book and the card as I was like "why not get the card as well", haha! There are also different type of fees, it all depends on how fast you would like to receive your U.S passport(s). I picked the fastest one available and paid around $250 to receive them within two and a half weeks! They also mentioned that I will probably receive 3 separate envelopes: One with my passport book, one with my passport card and another one with my citizenship certificate (they will ship it back to you after processing your passport application, of course). If you write your email on your passport application, they will also notify you about the process of your application! When I left the room after applying for my U.S passports (passport book and card) the line was pretty long (yikes) so I'm glad I went straight there and now I was free to take pictures outside with my U.S flag and celebrate!

  And that was it guys! I am a PROUD AMERICAN CITIZEN! I'm so happy and excited! GO U.S.A!

[AlexNY 9]

My interview for ROC was finally scheduled. Got a letter today. Will have it in 3 weeks.

[santiagosilva 8]

I just got back from my second infopass appointment. (fargo ND field office) The officer said he only dealt w n 400 and that there was nobody else at that office. I said i have a i 751 pending and that I'd have to come here, so he would have to most likely deal with both my cases . He kind of just shrug his shoulders. I told him about my pending divorce, and that estimated timeline would be divorce court in May, final late may. He said I most likely wouldn't qualify for the N 400, that I might as well withdraw it, but that he was going to have to look into the laws. I asked to clarify that "n 400 counts as continuous marriage, all the way through the interview, NOT just application date?" he repeated 2-3 times that that was the case. (but that he would look into it.) He also said that the N 400 are 16 months processing times. (in my case, that would put me at finalizing n 400 a little after my divorce.) But as I said, he didn't seem 100% sure on a lot of things, so I'm not going to take this as gospel for now.I just got back from my second infopass appointment. (fargo ND field office)  The officer said he only dealt w n 400 and that there was nobody else at that office. I said i have a i 751 pending and that I'd have to come here, so he would have to most likely deal with both my cases . He kind of just shrug his shoulders.

I told him about my pending divorce, and that estimated timeline would be divorce court in May, final late may. He said I most likely wouldn't qualify for the N 400, that I might as well withdraw it, but that he was going to have to look into the laws. I asked to clarify that "n 400 counts as continuous marriage, all the way through the interview, NOT just application date?" he repeated 2-3 times that that was the case. (but that he would look into it.)

 

 

He also said that the N 400 are 16 months processing times. (in my case, that would put me at finalizing n 400 a little after my divorce.)

[erinandahmet 9]

18 hours ago, santiagosilva said:

I just got back from my second infopass appointment. (fargo ND field office) The officer said he only dealt w n 400 and that there was nobody else at that office. I said i have a i 751 pending and that I'd have to come here, so he would have to most likely deal with both my cases . He kind of just shrug his shoulders. I told him about my pending divorce, and that estimated timeline would be divorce court in May, final late may. He said I most likely wouldn't qualify for the N 400, that I might as well withdraw it, but that he was going to have to look into the laws. I asked to clarify that "n 400 counts as continuous marriage, all the way through the interview, NOT just application date?" he repeated 2-3 times that that was the case. (but that he would look into it.) He also said that the N 400 are 16 months processing times. (in my case, that would put me at finalizing n 400 a little after my divorce.) But as I said, he didn't seem 100% sure on a lot of things, so I'm not going to take this as gospel for now.I just got back from my second infopass appointment. (fargo ND field office)  The officer said he only dealt w n 400 and that there was nobody else at that office. I said i have a i 751 pending and that I'd have to come here, so he would have to most likely deal with both my cases . He kind of just shrug his shoulders.

I told him about my pending divorce, and that estimated timeline would be divorce court in May, final late may. He said I most likely wouldn't qualify for the N 400, that I might as well withdraw it, but that he was going to have to look into the laws. I asked to clarify that "n 400 counts as continuous marriage, all the way through the interview, NOT just application date?" he repeated 2-3 times that that was the case. (but that he would look into it.)

 

 

He also said that the N 400 are 16 months processing times. (in my case, that would put me at finalizing n 400 a little after my divorce.)

Yes, I think you need to stay living together until the Oath.  See this recent USCIS memo:  https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/20181012-MaritalUnion.pdf?token=AWy6RZ2xkIBMCjekm4uWngN6OqgM3YZZNkxEwuPogy9vSSGiAjGwKSVPiPigXleaEEU3KpPcZgPGo1ibiyv0SAhwbrmOoh8RO9ok8hVvhxRwGq6k0O1txZne5s60hZiCpFBSnt0h395UNlxfr497ScVP

 

 

Also, sometimes they just do the one. For example, he could do your N-400 and then leave it pending. So what would happen is that you would have to wait until the I-751 is approved from whichever office it is at. This occasionally happens. They cannot approve the N-400 without concurrent or prior approval of the ROC. 

The thing is that you don't want them to make a mistake in your process because it could come back later to bite you. They can make a mistake and then take away your status later, so then it becomes more of a mess. They have been denaturalizing people that they say were given their status (mistakenly or fraudulently) so you are better off just waiting if that is what happens. Good luck!

Edited March 19, 2019 by erinandahmet
add info

[santiagosilva 8]

2 hours ago, erinandahmet said:

Yes, I think you need to stay living together until the Oath.  See this recent USCIS memo:  https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/20181012-MaritalUnion.pdf?token=AWy6RZ2xkIBMCjekm4uWngN6OqgM3YZZNkxEwuPogy9vSSGiAjGwKSVPiPigXleaEEU3KpPcZgPGo1ibiyv0SAhwbrmOoh8RO9ok8hVvhxRwGq6k0O1txZne5s60hZiCpFBSnt0h395UNlxfr497ScVP

 

 

Also, sometimes they just do the one. For example, he could do your N-400 and then leave it pending. So what would happen is that you would have to wait until the I-751 is approved from whichever office it is at. This occasionally happens. They cannot approve the N-400 without concurrent or prior approval of the ROC. 

The thing is that you don't want them to make a mistake in your process because it could come back later to bite you. They can make a mistake and then take away your status later, so then it becomes more of a mess. They have been denaturalizing people that they say were given their status (mistakenly or fraudulently) so you are better off just waiting if that is what happens. Good luck! 

 

 

 

I'm more concerned about the i 751 to be honest.

 

my worry being that I show up for an interview, and because he doesn't know about the i 751 process, that seems to be more about "so long as you fulfilled the dates before applying, you're good", as opposed to "oath dates... that could've happened 20 years later ...", i don't want him to deny my i 751 based on n 400 principles

 

 

[erinandahmet 9]

On 3/19/2019 at 2:38 PM, santiagosilva said:

 

 

 

I'm more concerned about the i 751 to be honest.

 

my worry being that I show up for an interview, and because he doesn't know about the i 751 process, that seems to be more about "so long as you fulfilled the dates before applying, you're good", as opposed to "oath dates... that could've happened 20 years later ...", i don't want him to deny my i 751 based on n 400 principles

 

 

I am not sure that I understand what you mean. The I-751 does have higher standards as far as proof and is more up to their discretion. We are seeing more RFEs it seems like lately. If he doesn't approve your ROC in a combined case, then your N-400 would just sit in pending until the ROC was approved. The N-400 has different standards, and in some ways is easier, than the ROC. People are sending in hundreds of pages in their folders for the ROC, but the citizenship is if you meet the requirements for being in the country, pass the tests, good moral character (no legal issues). The Removal of Conditions is not hard per se, but they want proof of co-mingling of assets and all kinds of marriage proof. You definitely should bring your spouse for the interview. 

[corvusheart 163]

23 minutes ago, erinandahmet said:

I am not sure that I understand what you mean. The I-751 does have higher standards as far as proof and is more up to their discretion. We are seeing more RFEs it seems like lately. If he doesn't approve your ROC in a combined case, then your N-400 would just sit in pending until the ROC was approved. The N-400 has different standards, and in some ways is easier, than the ROC. People are sending in hundreds of pages in their folders for the ROC, but the citizenship is if you meet the requirements for being in the country, pass the tests, good moral character (no legal issues). The Removal of Conditions is not hard per se, but they want proof of co-mingling of assets and all kinds of marriage proof. You definitely should bring your spouse for the interview. 

Our ROC was approved after combo interview. But we got RFE for N400 wanting more relationship evidence.

[santiagosilva 8]

1 hour ago, erinandahmet said:

I am not sure that I understand what you mean. The I-751 does have higher standards as far as proof and is more up to their discretion. We are seeing more RFEs it seems like lately. If he doesn't approve your ROC in a combined case, then your N-400 would just sit in pending until the ROC was approved. The N-400 has different standards, and in some ways is easier, than the ROC. People are sending in hundreds of pages in their folders for the ROC, but the citizenship is if you meet the requirements for being in the country, pass the tests, good moral character (no legal issues). The Removal of Conditions is not hard per se, but they want proof of co-mingling of assets and all kinds of marriage proof. You definitely should bring your spouse for the interview. 

 

My understanding is that ROC, is based on conditional GC date, not the final interview date. I've even heard of ppl having gotten remarried before interview date, and passing, not to mention not being with their spouses on the day of filing i 751.

I filed I 751  feb 2017, and n 400 feb 2018, my wife left late june 2018. I fulfilled the bare minimum requirements in regards to filing dates, just not the final dates.

(i haven't seen nor spoken/reached out to her since she left, on account of her being mentally ill, and a danger to herself and others.)

 

in terms of commingling things, i'm not worried.. to this date , we have about 5-6 accounts and assets in both names, that she left me paying for and taking care of . (including  3 houses)

But in terms of bringing her with me, that's obviously not going to be an option. (+ she ran back to her home state of NJ, and we lived in ND )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[erinandahmet 9]

1 hour ago, corvusheart said:

Our ROC was approved after combo interview. But we got RFE for N400 wanting more relationship evidence.

What evidence did they ask for? Was it at the interview? They only ask for a few basic items in the file which are located in the document checklist.  I actually spoke with the officer here specifically about each type of file when I was checking on our ROC. 

[erinandahmet 9]

19 minutes ago, santiagosilva said:

 

My understanding is that ROC, is based on conditional GC date, not the final interview date. I've even heard of ppl having gotten remarried before interview date, and passing, not to mention not being with their spouses on the day of filing i 751.

I filed I 751  feb 2017, and n 400 feb 2018, my wife left late june 2018. I fulfilled the bare minimum requirements in regards to filing dates, just not the final dates.

(i haven't seen nor spoken/reached out to her since she left, on account of her being mentally ill, and a danger to herself and others.)

 

in terms of commingling things, i'm not worried.. to this date , we have about 5-6 accounts and assets in both names, that she left me paying for and taking care of . (including  3 houses)

But in terms of bringing her with me, that's obviously not going to be an option. (+ she ran back to her home state of NJ, and we lived in ND )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not sure that I understand, what interview date? The ROC is for people who are married less than two years when they enter the United States.  You mean people who  got divorced and then remarried someone else? They could have gotten a waiver for violence against women act or a divorce waiver. In that case, they need to prove that the original marriage was bona fide. Most ROCs do not have an interview, unless they are divorced or suspected of fraud. 

Generally, the ROC is huge with tons of proof to show that the relationship continues, that you are living together. They seem to especially focus on joint taxes, bank accounts, etc. 

 

Sometimes when people do not file the N-400, then their ROC can slide through without getting flagged. By filing for citizenship, you are forcing them to interview you. Do you still even qualify for the citizenship? If you are doing the 3 year rule, then you don't. 

Btw, we filed 2/2017 also and were approved 7/2018 from CSC. Which office were you at? 

 

[santiagosilva 8]

8 minutes ago, erinandahmet said:

I am not sure that I understand, what interview date? The ROC is for people who are married less than two years when they enter the United States.  You mean people who  got divorced and then remarried someone else? They could have gotten a waiver for violence against women act or a divorce waiver. In that case, they need to prove that the original marriage was bona fide. Most ROCs do not have an interview, unless they are divorced or suspected of fraud. 

Generally, the ROC is huge with tons of proof to show that the relationship continues, that you are living together. They seem to especially focus on joint taxes, bank accounts, etc. 

 

Sometimes when people do not file the N-400, then their ROC can slide through without getting flagged. By filing for citizenship, you are forcing them to interview you. Do you still even qualify for the citizenship? If you are doing the 3 year rule, then you don't. 

Btw, we filed 2/2017 also and were approved 7/2018 from CSC. Which office were you at? 

 

 

 

I'm also a CSC applicant 😕   .. I've spoken to some ppl in my geographic area, and they all seem to to have to wait longer than the rest of the country, weather it's N400, i751.. etc.

 

 

The different ppl who got ROC without being married on or after filing i 751, the ones i've spoken too, made no mention of domestic violence.. Heck, i have tons of police reports against my ex, not to mention she spent months at a time in the mental ward for self harm, strangling our cat, trying to kidnap me and our friend at knife point... just to name a few things.

 

 

I'm only basing my "overthinking", on if the person making the decision, isn't used to i 751, as the officer at fargo specifically said, and thus goes by "since you're not in an ongoing relationship", even thou as i 751, you're only supposed to prove that it was a bonafide relationship, AT TIME OF GETTING YOUR I 511... (at least that's what everyone who's gotten their i 751 / various articles say.)

 

If my i 751 is to be denied, I will appeal it, and hire lawyers etc. In terms of proof, we submitted literally everything in their list of proof of relationship, except having a child. Other than that, we literally ticked all the boxes, including foreign assets in both names. (well, my assets that I foolishly added her name to, before we got married)