Online filing N-400-5 year rule-questions about specific parts

[Alamo Cat 1]

Hello everyone. I been reading these forums for a while, but registered just now. 

 

I been searching for my answers here and in the wild web, but I am still a bit confused. I wonder if someone here can give me a bit of help. 

 

I have been a LPR since 1996. I am finally going to go ahead with filing for Naturalization. I understood reading lots of posts that filing under 5 year rule would mean less evidence required. I will be doing the online filing. 

 

I just filed for I-90 as my green card is running out. Already did the biometrics for that on august 24th. So that is in process. I just didn't want to be without some sort of identification for LPR while I then do the N-400. 

 

So my questions are about the section with the children. I married my second husband in 2008. Its the 2nd marriage for both of us, He has an adult daughter of a previous marriage. She was born in 1983. Now it asks me if I have any children, including step. So I figured I have to put her in. But they wanted to know everything about my current husbands ex, names, citizenship, address of step child and all that. I guess I assumed I didn't need all that for 5 year rule. But since you can't leave it blank I filled it in. What I have for now. He doesn't know some of the dates. I am not filing yet, just filling out at this point to see what I need. 

 

But at the end now in additional evidence, they want all kinds of stuff. Now they do say on the top that if you don't want to upload now you can bring to interview.

Exact wording here. 

 

Quote

Additional evidence to support your application

Including these documents now can help make the application process easier, but you can also bring them to your naturalization interview if you do not choose to upload them now.

They even ask for current spouse previous marriage divorce and all that. Now he has none of that stuff right now. He can get the divorce degree I think calling next week to the county. But they also now want me to show proof about my "child". Birth certificate. I have no contact to her, only seen her twice. Is grown with own kids and I don't have any such info. 

 

Have they recently changed the evidence required for 5 year rules or did one always have to go through all the stuff for previous marriage of current spouse and their children? I don't want to not upload something and then get denied, but they do say I can choose not to upload them. This is really confusing for me right now. Here I thought 5 year rule is easier. Yikes. 

 

Can someone that had a similar issue maybe give me their 2 cents on that and how that went with their application? I assume I am correct I have to put his daughter in as a child of mine under stepchild, right? Even though she never lived with us and was an adult by the time we married. 

And do I have to figure out how to get a hold of my current spouse previous ended marriage also?

 

Sorry if I rambled a bit. 😳

Edited September 2, 2018 by Alamo Cat

[highHopes 17]

On 9/2/2018 at 12:02 PM, Alamo Cat said:

Hello everyone. I been reading these forums for a while, but registered just now. 

 

I been searching for my answers here and in the wild web, but I am still a bit confused. I wonder if someone here can give me a bit of help. 

 

I have been a LPR since 1996. I am finally going to go ahead with filing for Naturalization. I understood reading lots of posts that filing under 5 year rule would mean less evidence required. I will be doing the online filing. 

 

I just filed for I-90 as my green card is running out. Already did the biometrics for that on august 24th. So that is in process. I just didn't want to be without some sort of identification for LPR while I then do the N-400. 

 

So my questions are about the section with the children. I married my second husband in 2008. Its the 2nd marriage for both of us, He has an adult daughter of a previous marriage. She was born in 1983. Now it asks me if I have any children, including step. So I figured I have to put her in. But they wanted to know everything about my current husbands ex, names, citizenship, address of step child and all that. I guess I assumed I didn't need all that for 5 year rule. But since you can't leave it blank I filled it in. What I have for now. He doesn't know some of the dates. I am not filing yet, just filling out at this point to see what I need. 

 

But at the end now in additional evidence, they want all kinds of stuff. Now they do say on the top that if you don't want to upload now you can bring to interview.

Exact wording here. 

 

They even ask for current spouse previous marriage divorce and all that. Now he has none of that stuff right now. He can get the divorce degree I think calling next week to the county. But they also now want me to show proof about my "child". Birth certificate. I have no contact to her, only seen her twice. Is grown with own kids and I don't have any such info. 

 

Have they recently changed the evidence required for 5 year rules or did one always have to go through all the stuff for previous marriage of current spouse and their children? I don't want to not upload something and then get denied, but they do say I can choose not to upload them. This is really confusing for me right now. Here I thought 5 year rule is easier. Yikes. 

 

Can someone that had a similar issue maybe give me their 2 cents on that and how that went with their application? I assume I am correct I have to put his daughter in as a child of mine under stepchild, right? Even though she never lived with us and was an adult by the time we married. 

And do I have to figure out how to get a hold of my current spouse previous ended marriage also?

 

Sorry if I rambled a bit. 😳

Hopefully I can help out with a few.  For previous marriages and kids as additional evidence u need birth certificate and marriage certificate and that takes care of it.  As far as step child they never lived with u and are old so that portion u can leave documents blank and can explain during interview or best way is to type a word document explaining the circumstances the child never lived with u etc convert to pdf n upload as additional evidence. I uploaded my wife's divorce certificate and that was it since she is my only n 1st wife.  So I hope that explains ur question in regards to that. 

[Alamo Cat 1]

4 minutes ago, highHopes said:

Hopefully I can help out with a few.  For previous marriages and kids as additional evidence u need birth certificate and marriage certificate and that takes care of it.  As far as step child they never lived with u and are old so that portion u can leave documents blank and can explain during interview or best way is to type a word document explaining the circumstances the child never lived with u etc convert to pdf n upload as additional evidence. I uploaded my wife's divorce certificate and that was it since she is my only n 1st wife.  So I hope that explains ur question in regards to that. 

Thank you very much for your answer. His divorce papers, he can request I am sure. But like you said, the step "child" was already an adult when we married and I have no way of getting any docs there. I have no contact to that woman.  She was already 25 when we married. But since they asked about any and all children in any shape or form, step or dead or missing and all that, I had to put her in here in. It just puts a yellow flag up in the additional evidence flag on all the items you don't upload something. And that is one of those yellow flags. Its not required evidence as that is just my marriage docs and the green card scans. But I just want to have no delays or RFE's if I can. 

 

I have to wait anyway until husband can get the divorce degree from the county. I have all my papers, but he's a bit less, how to say it, on top of his paperwork. 😋

 

Thanks again. I wish there had been a site like this when I went through all my initial immigration stuff back in '95. Heck, I didn't even have internet then. Now one can look up so much stuff. I had to do so much on my own back then. And I can't remember half of it since its been so long.