Citizenship...If there is a chance to get it

[Mari181 30]

2 hours ago, WeekendPizzaiolo said:

FWIW, I hired a lawyer for my K-1 and they were slow to respond to USCIS and consulate messages, and we had an e-mail back-and-forth to remove transcription errors in the forms they were going to send. My lawyer is hard to reach because he is often either in court or at a USCIS office. Though many members on this site are diehard DIY types, I am probably going to do SimpleCitizen for my AOS, https://simplecitizen.com/ just because it is a pain to populate a lot of the same information across lots of PDF forms and I don't like to miss anything. They are TurboTax for immigration. You fill out a bunch of web forms and then an attorney reviews your data. When you are ready, the software generates one big PDF for you to print and sign without the human transcription errors.

 

When I looked into it, SimpleCitizen appears to be backed by the same investors investors as DropBox and Airbnb (YC) and they were recently acquired by Fragomen, which is the company that a lot of the Fortune 50 uses for employment immigration. Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with the company or their investors at all. I am just very pro-automation when it works because I have a busy schedule.

 

That's great! Thank you for the option! I will consider it! I've never heard of it before. 

[Cathi 5,746]

You can apply without an attorney, most people on this site who have gone through naturalization have done it by themselves-plus it will save you quite a bit of money if you DIY. There are guides at the top pf the page to help you out and if you have any questions, people in this forum will be happy to help. Good luck and keep us updated. 

[CMJuilland 485]

I would second what everybody else said.  If you’ve had a straight forward case so far, you can file for naturalization yourself.  I personally found the N400 form the clearest and easiest to fill out.  If you feel more comfortable with an attorney, go that route.  Maybe you just have to nudge your attorney again as messages can easily get lost. 

 

The fact that you’re from Russia isn’t relevant for U.S. citizenship; there is nothing that prevents approval for naturalization based solely on that circumstance. 

 

On a somewhat related note, I just want to say that I feel for Ukrainians and ordinary Russians.  I wish you all the best. 

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

17 hours ago, Mari181 said:

Thank you for your reply. Obviously it does not say about Russia, but I just feel bad after my attorney does not even want to talk to me..... Who knows, may be people at the interview will be the same...

attorney may or may not have feelings about what is going on between Russia and the world

or just be busy

or know he can't charge a big fee for the N400

but immigration officers can not express prejudges in interview or hold anything of the kind against a person (kinda against principles of the Bill of Rights which is where the right against discrimination as posted in the Constitution) 

 

U.S. permanent residents have the right to be protected by all laws of the United States, the state of residence and local jurisdictions, and can travel freely throughout the U.S. A permanent resident can own property in the U.S., attend public school, apply for a driver's license, and if eligible, receive Social ...Feb 2, 2021

[African Zealot 1,455]

Your Russian citizenship has nothing to do with your ability to procure American citizenship at this time. Don’t get sidetracked seeing ghosts that don’t exist.

[Vengatore 53]

18 hours ago, Mari181 said:

Thank you for your reply. Obviously it does not say about Russia, but I just feel bad after my attorney does not even want to talk to me..... Who knows, may be people at the interview will be the same...

 

Why do you need an attorney?

[Mari181 30]

2 hours ago, African Zealot said:

Your Russian citizenship has nothing to do with your ability to procure American citizenship at this time. Don’t get sidetracked seeing ghosts that don’t exist.

Thank you for your reply!

[Mari181 30]

9 hours ago, Cathi said:

You can apply without an attorney, most people on this site who have gone through naturalization have done it by themselves-plus it will save you quite a bit of money if you DIY. There are guides at the top pf the page to help you out and if you have any questions, people in this forum will be happy to help. Good luck and keep us updated. 

Thank you! yes, I think it is better to do it myself.

[Mari181 30]

43 minutes ago, Vengatore said:

 

Why do you need an attorney?

My husband just wants to feel safe. He said it is always better to do it with an attorney. But I do not think so, because in accordance with my own experience, people who do it themselves always get approved without any issues, but attorneys only make it troublesome and longer! 

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

22 hours ago, Mari181 said:

I wanted to apply for my citizenship. I am a Russian citizen. I called my lawyer who did all my paper work before (from fiance visa to my permanent GC), his secretary did not connect me with him, she said that they will call me back to make an appointment. But they never did. I guess it is because of the situation between Russia and Ukraine. I can file it myself, but now I am not sure if I get rejected or not....because I am from Russia....

dont panic.. you wont get n-400 rejected because you are from Russia. you can complete paper work and come here and ask questions. some one here will be able to help as many have gone through the process.

 

 

[millefleur 5,046]

**One post edited for containing language filer bypass.**

 

VJ Moderation

[mam521 2,060]

2 hours ago, Mari181 said:

My husband just wants to feel safe. He said it is always better to do it with an attorney. But I do not think so, because in accordance with my own experience, people who do it themselves always get approved without any issues, but attorneys only make it troublesome and longer! 

I personally think your husband feels a false sense of security in the lawyer and you're spot on with DIY'ers who take support from forums like this seem to have less issues.  And, well, more money in their pockets!  

 

I'm sure you could manage it yourselves.  We managed hub's citizenship and  my kids and I's greencards and the greencards weren't straight forward (F2 category to IR before we made it to interview!).  Citizenship is arguably one of the less complicated applications to oversee!  

 

Good luck!

[Mari181 30]

54 minutes ago, mam521 said:

I personally think your husband feels a false sense of security in the lawyer and you're spot on with DIY'ers who take support from forums like this seem to have less issues.  And, well, more money in their pockets!  

 

I'm sure you could manage it yourselves.  We managed hub's citizenship and  my kids and I's greencards and the greencards weren't straight forward (F2 category to IR before we made it to interview!).  Citizenship is arguably one of the less complicated applications to oversee!  

 

Good luck!

tHANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing! I agree, my attorney which cost us thousands dollars made my green card process very long and complicated! But my case was very simple to begin with. I do not understand why does my husband trust them. 

[Mr Genuis 91]

On 3/3/2022 at 3:03 PM, Mari181 said:

Thank you for your reply. Obviously it does not say about Russia, but I just feel bad after my attorney does not even want to talk to me..... Who knows, may be people at the interview will be the same...

File by  yourself. It's very easy to do it online. If you need any help in the process post I here we will help you.  The Russia situation  has nothing to do with your case. You don't need a lawyers to file citzenship 

[huy_le 32]

Most everyone said it so I am going to add my support for DYI. N-400 can be filed online now, and that simplifies A LOT! You can upload documents there and respond to RFE pretty quickly.

 

AND, most importantly, don't STRESS. N-400 does not have deadline, unlike i-751. So if you don't feel comfortable with the current situation, wait a few months. You don't lose status or anything. That's pretty nice!