319b Expeditious Naturalization (INA319B)-A Complete Experience Report

[Qian 33]

8 hours ago, DCAC said:

Thank you for your post Qian,

I understand post naturalization process is complete the applicant spouse would resume at job location with 30-45 days. But do they have to stay there for whole period of time i.e. if the assignment is for a year, for a whole year? Can they not come back to US and resume their job/work/business?

Hi there

It's an interesting question!

Applicant needs to state their intention of residing with the USC spouse overseas and returning to the US upon competence of assignment, and to convince USCIS with relevant proof.

 (Enabling the immigrant  spouse to live with the USC spouse overseas without losing GC is one of main purposes of 319B.)

Work history is on the N400 and related questions would be asked at the interview.

Letter from the employer should mention the immigrant spouse accompanying the employee to relocate overseas.

If the applicant has the intention of going back to the States resuming their work after naturalization but states otherwise, it would be a lie to the government and to the company too.

 

So to answer your question, No, the applicant is not supposed to come back to US and resume their job during spouse's foreign assignment.

Also, if there's no concern of losing immigration status and it's okay to live separately during the assignment, why not just go with the 3 year rule.

 

Hope it helps!

 

 

 

 

[DCAC 0]

Thank you for the reply.

 

Oh so it's optional to go abroad with the spouse or not? Guess my understanding was applicant must leave to abroad with spouse in all cases.

Do we have a separate number to call or email for these kind of cases, Will take clarity from government on this?

[Qian 33]

Certainly, it’s a personal choice if the immigrant spouse joining the spouse employed overseas or not. However, if the immigrant spouse applies for citizenship under 319B, then “departing the US to join the spouse employed abroad within 45 days after naturalization” is one of the requirements. 

 

Military ( & spouse) applicants have a special hotline to call but not for other 319B applicants unfortunately. 

 

It’s getting more familiarized by USCIS and I think they do an excellent job handling these cases from my own and other applicants’ experiences that I know of. 

 

Good luck!

[Rozmari 0]

Hi Qian, thanks for all the info! Did you have to apply for a re-entry permit before you left the US? I'm not sure whether or not I need to apply for one...

[Qian 33]

7 hours ago, Rozmari said:

Hi Qian, thanks for all the info! Did you have to apply for a re-entry permit before you left the US? I'm not sure whether or not I need to apply for one...

Hi Rozmari, I didn't apply for the re-entry permit, because during the 10 months from obtaining the GC to naturalization I visited the States 3 or 4 times, never been away for too long to raise an eyebrow. So I guess, depending on how long you are going to be away from the States, you may or may not need the document. Good luck!!!!

[Janiejane 8]

Hi Qian, 

 

Thanks for posting this topic, my situation is quite similar. Husband and I lives here in Germany as we are base here for his work, he works for the military as a contractor. I actually just got my green card a week ago and now I’m filing my n400. So my situation is we don’t have a house in the US, we only use my mother in law’s address since we started this whole thing, can I use my foreign address though when filing this n400? Since I’m not going to go to the US for fingerprinting and we can do it here in the base. And then just fly in the US for my interview and Oath? Is that possible? Did you send all your supporting documents along with the n400 via mail? And which USCIS did you send it?

 

Thanks!

[Qian 33]

9 hours ago, Janiejane said:

Hi Qian, 

 

Thanks for posting this topic, my situation is quite similar. Husband and I lives here in Germany as we are base here for his work, he works for the military as a contractor. I actually just got my green card a week ago and now I’m filing my n400. So my situation is we don’t have a house in the US, we only use my mother in law’s address since we started this whole thing, can I use my foreign address though when filing this n400? Since I’m not going to go to the US for fingerprinting and we can do it here in the base. And then just fly in the US for my interview and Oath? Is that possible? Did you send all your supporting documents along with the n400 via mail? And which USCIS did you send it?

 

Thanks!

Hi Janiejane

Happy to help.

 

1. If you mean Part 5. Information about your residence, A. current physical address would be your Germany address, and B. Current Mailing Address would be your mother-in-law's address (Assuming you used her address when applying for GC?)

 

2. You mail in your fingerprint cards along with your application from Germany. You attend interview and take Oath at the field office of your choice

 

3. I did mail all supporting documents in. You will be asked to bring the necessary originals to the  interview.

 

4. Again if you used your mother-in-law' address for GC, that would be shown/considered as your US permanent address. Find the mail address on "where to send" on the N400 instruction. 

 

Incidentally, don't worry if the office is not where you want to be interviewed, they would route your file there. 

 

Good luck!

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Qian

[Janiejane 8]

6 hours ago, Qian said:

Hi Janiejane

Happy to help.

 

1. If you mean Part 5. Information about your residence, A. current physical address would be your Germany address, and B. Current Mailing Address would be your mother-in-law's address (Assuming you used her address when applying for GC?)

 

2. You mail in your fingerprint cards along with your application from Germany. You attend interview and take Oath at the field office of your choice

 

3. I did mail all supporting documents in. You will be asked to bring the necessary originals to the  interview.

 

4. Again if you used your mother-in-law' address for GC, that would be shown/considered as your US permanent address. Find the mail address on "where to send" on the N400 instruction. 

 

Incidentally, don't worry if the office is not where you want to be interviewed, they would route your file there. 

 

Good luck!

 

Hi Qian,

Do you know if we can use our APO mailing address so they can be able to send it directly to us?

How did you answer the Part 9 though? I have no idea how to answer that because I've been living here in Germany the whole time we're processing our immigration. I literally just visited the US once for 10 days for our green card.

 

Thanks, Qian.

[Qian 33]

18 hours ago, Janiejane said:

 

Do you know if we can use our APO mailing address so they can be able to send it directly to us?

How did you answer the Part 9 though? I have no idea how to answer that because I've been living here in Germany the whole time we're processing our immigration. I literally just visited the US once for 10 days for our green card.

 

I believe the APO address would work. A US address is needed for USCIS to send you notices. 

 

The continuous residence and physical presence requirements are waived for 319B applicants. (You can find it on USCIS policy manual, Chapter 4)

When you indicate 319B at the beginning of the form, the officers are expected to be aware of that. And that part would not matter.

In your case, you would just need to put the dates around those 10 days. You could also put an additional note about Part 9 as a reminder in case the officer is not familiar with 319B.

Good luck!

 

18 hours ago, Janiejane said:

 

 

[Janiejane 8]

On 2/25/2020 at 8:05 AM, Qian said:

 

 

Thank you so much for all the information you have provided. So much appreciated.

Edited February 29, 2020 by Janiejane

[R&OC 371]

Thank you for posting this awesome summary. I tried to do the same but it wasn't nearly as precise as this one.

 

I am hoping to get an answer: I filed for citizenship before ROC via Washington DC. I am now wondering, if the processing times take as long as they are indicating on my USCIS account - do I have to file for ROC as soon as I become eligible or is the N-400 application sufficient? I had hoped that my N-400 application is processed and done with by the time my GC card expires but this may not be the case. Does anyone have any experience? Am I falling out of status or is the N-400 application keeping me in status?

Edited March 2, 2020 by R&OC

[Qian 33]

5 hours ago, R&OC said:

Thank you for posting this awesome summary. I tried to do the same but it wasn't nearly as precise as this one.

 

I am hoping to get an answer: I filed for citizenship before ROC via Washington DC. I am now wondering, if the processing times take as long as they are indicating on my USCIS account - do I have to file for ROC as soon as I become eligible or is the N-400 application sufficient? I had hoped that my N-400 application is processed and done with by the time my GC card expires but this may not be the case. Does anyone have any experience? Am I falling out of status or is the N-400 application keeping me in status?

Hi there

Thank you for appreciating the report!

I believe you will have to file ROC within the 90 days window if your oath doesn't happen before the 90 days end.

You need to have a valid GC to naturalize. The silver lining would be you might get a combo interview, as I have heard of similar case before.

Hopefully, it won't take as long as being indicated. It took me less than 3 months.  

All the best!

[Tom_AL 0]

Thank you all for the details shared!

I am researching 319(b) as I may get a transfer to work in Europe for the same, American, company. My spouse is a conditional GC holder. Her 90-day I-751 windows opens in December. We both live in the US.

You are right, 319(b) is a rarely used clause. I found a few attorneys specializing in filing N-400 with this clause. Most of them were in DC or near. I guess because 319(b) is typically used by the military (Pentagon proximity?)

 

If I understand https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-5 correctly, if N-400 approved and Oath taken BEFORE 90-day I-751 opens, then no need to file N-751. However, if window opens up and N-400 is still pending, then I-751 need to be filed. That may delay the review process and there is no way to estimate the processing time 

 

One point is unclear though...I understand spouse is expected to leave the US to join the husband/wife overseas in 30-45 days following the Oath. However, how would authorities know if this doesn't happen? I am NOT advocating not following through the regulations but I am curious as to the process. 

 

Finally, it is a bit difficult to expect an applicant to produce an airline ticket if there can be 6-8 (or more) weeks between N-400 interview and the Oath with no set date.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Tom_AL

[Qian 33]

On 3/7/2020 at 3:02 PM, Tom_AL said:

If I understand https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-5 correctly, if N-400 approved and Oath taken BEFORE 90-day I-751 opens, then no need to file N-751. However, if window opens up and N-400 is still pending, then I-751 need to be filed. That may delay the review process and there is no way to estimate the processing time 

 

One point is unclear though...I understand spouse is expected to leave the US to join the husband/wife overseas in 30-45 days following the Oath. However, how would authorities know if this doesn't happen? I am NOT advocating not following through the regulations but I am curious as to the process. 

 

Finally, it is a bit difficult to expect an applicant to produce an airline ticket if there can be 6-8 (or more) weeks between N-400 interview and the Oath with no set date.

Hi there

Thank you for reading!

I can tell you have done plenty research, I think you ought to be able to do it without using attorneys.

 

Re I-751, I have the same understanding as you do.

You can't skip I-751 if the 90-day filing period starts, or you have a pending ROC already. But I have heard people in similar situation got a combo interview- N400&I-751. 

 

And you raise a very interesting point regarding how it's enforced. Honestly I personally, can't think of anything at the moment either, other than there might be something in the future that we can't see yet.

Also, the whole point of 319B is to promote family reunion, maybe the consequences are more on a personal level- say if somebody decided not to follow their spouse to overseas, it will become a long distance relationship and that might be challenging. i.e. for tax reasons, the expat spouse cannot be in the States for more than 30 days a year.

 

As you said, it's not practical to purchase a plane ticket to show your intention of departing the US. I believe at this point, all they need it's a statement from the applicant to state so. 

 

 

 

[klmnl2000 18]

On 3/7/2020 at 2:02 AM, Tom_AL said:

Thank you all for the details shared!

I am researching 319(b) as I may get a transfer to work in Europe for the same, American, company. My spouse is a conditional GC holder. Her 90-day I-751 windows opens in December. We both live in the US.

You are right, 319(b) is a rarely used clause. I found a few attorneys specializing in filing N-400 with this clause. Most of them were in DC or near. I guess because 319(b) is typically used by the military (Pentagon proximity?)

 

If I understand https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-5 correctly, if N-400 approved and Oath taken BEFORE 90-day I-751 opens, then no need to file N-751. However, if window opens up and N-400 is still pending, then I-751 need to be filed. That may delay the review process and there is no way to estimate the processing time 

 

One point is unclear though...I understand spouse is expected to leave the US to join the husband/wife overseas in 30-45 days following the Oath. However, how would authorities know if this doesn't happen? I am NOT advocating not following through the regulations but I am curious as to the process. 

 

Finally, it is a bit difficult to expect an applicant to produce an airline ticket if there can be 6-8 (or more) weeks between N-400 interview and the Oath with no set date.

You're correct. If you take the Oath before 90 days window opens for I-751, then you don't need to file I-751. If the window opens and N400 is pending, then you must file I-751. The processing time will be as per your filing office timelines. 

 

Here: 

"A CPR spouse of a U.S. citizen employed abroad may naturalize without filing a petition to remove conditions if:

• The CPR spouse has been a CPR for less than one year and nine months; and

• The CPR spouse does not reach the 90-day filing period for the petition to remove conditions prior to the final adjudication of his or her naturalization application or the time of the Oath of Allegiance. ^[11] "