Can I file N 400 and skip I751

[WhatAWait! 31]

Just curious, My wife would have lived here for 3 years by January 10th 2022,  She has held her Green card for 2 years.  Based on the USCIS website, her residency duration in the US fulfils the requirement for being eligible to apply for naturalization- N 400. My question is can we directly file form N 400 and skip I751? The fee for both is incredibly high. Please guide me. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

Your wife is not eligible for naturalization.  The 3 years rule is 1) be a green card holder for 3 years, AND 2) be married to a US citizen for 3 years, AND 3) live with the USC spouse for 3 years.

Your wife has a 2 years green card, so she does not meet the requirements for naturalization.  She failed the first requirement.

 

Your wife MUST file an I-751.  There is NO WAY around this.  

[WhatAWait! 31]

Yeah, The way I look at it is it will force me to pay the fee twice- one for I751 and then for N-400. Thank you for your help. I have another question for I 751. What is the fee I have to pay if I am filing for my wife as well as her son. Do I pay X2 for the I751 and X2 for the biometrics?

[aaron2020 11,651]

23 minutes ago, WhatAWait! said:

Yeah, The way I look at it is it will force me to pay the fee twice- one for I751 and then for N-400. Thank you for your help. I have another question for I 751. What is the fee I have to pay if I am filing for my wife as well as her son. Do I pay X2 for the I751 and X2 for the biometrics?

How are you paying the fee twice?  Which fee are you being forced to pay twice?

 

It's one fee for the I-751.  It's a different fee for the N-400.  Different things.  Different fees.  

Read the instructions.  It's all in there.  

Edited November 20, 2021 by aaron2020

[And_Sam 44]

2 hours ago, WhatAWait! said:

Yeah, The way I look at it is it will force me to pay the fee twice- one for I751 and then for N-400. Thank you for your help. I have another question for I 751. What is the fee I have to pay if I am filing for my wife as well as her son. Do I pay X2 for the I751 and X2 for the biometrics?

Have you looked at the guidelines here on this site? Trust me, they are good, they are wise. Immigration is not cheap, hence why there is a poverty guideline.

[nastra30 2,298]

4 hours ago, WhatAWait! said:

Just curious, My wife would have lived here for 3 years by January 10th 2022,  She has held her Green card for 2 years.  Based on the USCIS website, her residency duration in the US fulfils the requirement for being eligible to apply for naturalization- N 400. My question is can we directly file form N 400 and skip I751? The fee for both is incredibly high. Please guide me. 

The answer is NO. Actually if you will end up paying 3 fees if you do this. One for a N400 rejection (ineligible), followed by one for filing I751, followed by N400 when eligible. 

[Marieke H 2,520]

If money is an issue, just focus on the I-751 for now. The N-400 is not mandatory, and she can apply whenever it works for you financially after she becomes eligible. 

[LKMK 85]

10 hours ago, And_Sam said:

Have you looked at the guidelines here on this site? Trust me, they are good, they are wise. Immigration is not cheap, hence why there is a poverty guideline.

Isn't that the truth. Too bad we couldn't be compensated for time waiting.  haha

[Scandi 4,173]

2 hours ago, LKMK said:

Isn't that the truth. Too bad we couldn't be compensated for time waiting.  haha

The filing fees may be slightly on the steep side for some, personally I'd even pay extra if it meant a quicker processing. 🤪

[Rocio0010 5,580]

No, you can’t. If you could, what would be the purpose of I-751?

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

No, the N-400 filing rules specifically require a pending I-751 if an LPR still has conditions on their status. On top of that for married cases, I-751 joint filing must be done up to 90 days prior to the 2nd anniversary of gaining LPR status. N-400 filing can be done up to 90 days prior to the 3rd anniversary of LPR status providing certain other requirements are met (i.e. eligible marriage to a USC, maintained continuous residence etc).

 

There shouldn't be a circumstance where someone would otherwise be eligible for citizenship but not having filed I-751 if they were required to do so, as this would be a very late filing and would need to be justified to USCIS why it was late. I-751 waivers can file anytime, but it's best not to leave it and get issued a NTA.

 

You and your wife should have filed the I-751 up to 90 days prior to January 10th 2021. You are 10 months late and will need to explain to USCIS why you are late, I imagine financial issues would be an acceptable reason. You and your wife must file I-751 ASAP as she could be put into removal proceedings if you don't do it. N-400 can wait if you're struggling with the cost.

Edited November 21, 2021 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[WhatAWait! 31]

22 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

Your wife is not eligible for naturalization.  The 3 years rule is 1) be a green card holder for 3 years, AND 2) be married to a US citizen for 3 years, AND 3) live with the USC spouse for 3 years.

Your wife has a 2 years green card, so she does not meet the requirements for naturalization.  She failed the first requirement.

 

Your wife MUST file an I-751.  There is NO WAY around this.  

Thank you for clarifying. 

[Mr Genuis 91]

On 11/19/2021 at 9:56 PM, aaron2020 said:

Your wife is not eligible for naturalization.  The 3 years rule is 1) be a green card holder for 3 years, AND 2) be married to a US citizen for 3 years, AND 3) live with the USC spouse for 3 years.

Your wife has a 2 years green card, so she does not meet the requirements for naturalization.  She failed the first requirement.

 

Your wife MUST file an I-751.  There is NO WAY around this.  

Even if the wife meet the 3 years rule. It is a must to file I751 to remove condition from Green card.

[Cheschirecat 176]

On 11/19/2021 at 9:56 PM, aaron2020 said:

Your wife is not eligible for naturalization.  The 3 years rule is 1) be a green card holder for 3 years, AND 2) be married to a US citizen for 3 years, AND 3) live with the USC spouse for 3 years.

Your wife has a 2 years green card, so she does not meet the requirements for naturalization.  She failed the first requirement.

 

Your wife MUST file an I-751.  There is NO WAY around this.  

With the extension of the 2 year green card    By 24 months  shouldn’t we able to file for N400  when we reach the 333? We already filed the I-175 

[Scandi 4,173]

1 hour ago, Cheschirecat said:

With the extension of the 2 year green card    By 24 months  shouldn’t we able to file for N400  when we reach the 333? We already filed the I-175 

There's no "we", the N-400 is the applicant's petition. Anybody who is otherwise eligible (taking into account ALL the requirements), can file the N-400 after being an LPR for 3 years (minus 90 days), no matter if there is an i-751 still pending or not.