What do I do now? (LPR denied citizenship)

[Boiler 45,484]

The only way of finding out what happened is to ask Sarah.

 

Sounds like she removed conditions on the basis of being in a valid marriage but wasn't.

[Timona 4,207]

1 hour ago, sotnem said:

David applied for her and she got her 2 years LPR on 08/2011, which expired on 08/2013.

Sarah and David got divorced on 11/2013 resulting in a marriage period of 2yr 8months.

Sarah, before letting her LPR expire on 08/2013 proceeded to attempt to renew her LPR online for an additional 10 years and received it. 01/2014-01/2024

 

Her N400 was rightfully denied because (1) below. At N400, an applicant's history is reviewed. 

 

1. GC dates are from the first GC issued, regardless of whether it was 2 that was issued first or a 10 that you get at renewal. As you can see, her 2 year GC expired on Aug 2013. The new one should still read "Resident since 08/2011." There shouldn't be a gap as is seen on your dates. The key term is Resident since.

 

2. Going with (1) above and your dates, she was long divorced (Nov 2013) before her GC came in (Jan 2014). So she should have sent a letter to USCIS asking to convert her petition to a divorce waiver.

 

3. I don't think I-751, the application to move from a 2 to 10 years GC has ever had online filing. Seems she filed I-90 online and USCIS may have given her a 10years GC by mistake thinking that that's what she was trying to replace for multiple reasons eg lost blaa blaa blaa..A lot of people confuse and use I-90 in attempting to convert to a 10 year GC.

 

IR6 is the right visa category for 10 years.

 

What are the Resident since & expiry dates on her 10 year GC? Read it exactly and tell us. These will help us sort this issue. 

Edited July 21, 2022 by Timona

[Timona 4,207]

And it'll be your best interest to remain under F2-B as it's a year ahead of F-1. So, even if you sort this issue of your mom's, don't change it unless visa bulletin dates become beneficial to you

Edited July 21, 2022 by Timona

[sotnem 3]

@Timona new GC reads "Resident since 08/2011"

What does she need to do now to change her status from a LPR to citizen? does she need to convert her petition to a divorce waiver?

[Timona 4,207]

1 minute ago, sotnem said:

@Timona new GC reads "Resident since 08/2011"

What does she need to do now to change her status from a LPR to citizen? does she need to convert her petition to a divorce waiver?

 

And expiry date?

[sotnem 3]

2 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

And expiry date?

1/24

[sotnem 3]

39 minutes ago, Boiler said:

The only way of finding out what happened is to ask Sarah.

 

Sounds like she removed conditions on the basis of being in a valid marriage but wasn't.

she removed the conditions when she was still married.

[Timona 4,207]

2 hours ago, sotnem said:

David applied for her and she got her 2 years LPR on 08/2011, which expired on 08/2013.

Sarah and David got divorced on 11/2013 resulting in a marriage period of 2yr 8months.

Sarah, before letting her LPR expire on 08/2013 proceeded to attempt to renew her LPR online for an additional 10 years and received it. 01/2014-01/2024

 

Sarah passed her naturalization test, but got denied her citizenship as mentioned that she cannot prove that she was married until 01/2014.

 

Is Sarah banned from ever getting her citizenship? How can she re-apply? What is the next steps that she needs to undergo to change her status from LPR to citizen?  

 

 

27 minutes ago, sotnem said:

1/24

Read my number (2) on my first post which is the same as what @Boiler is saying. This is exactly why her application got rejected. She was divorced LONG BEFORE her 10 years GC was issued. So, it was upon her to update her filing by converting to ROC with divorce waiver option. This is exactly what USCIS alluded to when they denied and said "she cannot prove she was married until 01/2014." As you can see, she filed her petition rightfully as "joint petition" because they were still living together. However, if divorce is finalized before ROC, one needs to update USCIS by requesting to switch to divorce waiver. So, she needs to fix this. She wasn't married on 1/2014.

To me, I think the best course is to file a new and proper ROC with the divorce waiver option. Make sure to included a copy of the divorce certificate. That should now prove she's divorced. One that is sorted, apply for N400 BUT only when she probably has the new and properly updated IR6 GC on her hands. Don't file N400 before that because a successful N400 rides on a successfully concluded I-751 petition as you have now learnt. 

Edited July 21, 2022 by Timona

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

14 minutes ago, sotnem said:

she removed the conditions when she was still married.

 But what do you mean she applied for a 10 year green card online 08/13? Did she file an i90? The normal process is you file, you have an interview for removal of conditions, then they send you the ten year card.
Can you please carefully give us the following dates:

- date i751 was filed

- date of i751 interview 

- date of notice of approval of removal of conditions 
if she has a myuscis account all the above info should be easily available.

 

- as well as clarify what you mean by she filed online for a new green card in 08/13 - did she file an i90? If so, what reason category did she give for filing the form? (Also note that if she filed i90 at that date she ignored the instructions right at the beginning that say “Conditional permanent residents may not use this application to replace, for any reason, an existing Permanent Resident Card that is expired or will expire within 90 days.”)

[Timona 4,207]

8 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

 But what do you mean she applied for a 10 year green card online 08/13? Did she file an i90? The normal process is you file, you have an interview for removal of conditions, then they send you the ten year card.
Can you please carefully give us the following dates:

- date i751 was filed

- date of i751 interview 

- date of notice of approval of removal of conditions 
if she has a myuscis account all the above info should be easily available.

 

- as well as clarify what you mean by she filed online for a new green card in 08/13 - did she file an i90? If so, what reason category did she give for filing the form? (Also note that if she filed i90 at that date she ignored the instructions right at the beginning that say “Conditional permanent residents may not use this application to replace, for any reason, an existing Permanent Resident Card that is expired or will expire within 90 days.”)

 

I also suspected she filed I-90. It's a common trap. 

 

For what reasons she gave, I don't know. Maybe "lost" 🤷🏽‍♂️.

 

@sotnem 
When you file a new ROC, explain why you're filing it late. I'd just say I forgot to switch to divorce option. Additionally, since I suspect she filed I-90, just add that too. Current wait time for ROC adjudication is 1.5 years from date of filing

Edited July 21, 2022 by Timona

[sotnem 3]

hmm this is all making some sense now.

I honestly do not understand the full scope of her immigration file, but will relay all of this information on to her and inform you of any updates.

[Daphne . 1,852]

3 hours ago, sotnem said:

hmm this is all making some sense now.

I honestly do not understand the full scope of her immigration file, but will relay all of this information on to her and inform you of any updates.

Or better yet, ask Sarah to join.
 

Always easier to talk straight to the source and we’ll be able to provide better help once we know exactly what happened! 

[Adventine 3,196]

@Timona and @SusieQQQ did a much better job that I could analyzing this case.

 

It would help a lot if the person with the actual issue joined this thread.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Adventine

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

8 hours ago, sotnem said:

Yes, she applied for the remove of conditions but it got denied.

Does she just proceed to apply for a citizenship after 01/2019 which technically proves that she's been an LPR for 5 years after renewing her LPR back in 2013.

None of this makes any sense.  Your friend needs to join us.

[etrangais 947]

what was the basis of the N400?

If she applied before 5 years of being LPR, on the basis of being married to a USC for 3 years, then the denial was normal.

She needs to apply only after being LPR for 5 years (she can apply after being LPR for 4 years and 9 months).