Time Between Interview and the oath ceremony... Can it be pushed out at all?

[Me and her 279]

4 minutes ago, walran1963 said:

My wife has her interview on September 27th in Salt Lake City.

 

From the timelines, it looks like it is about a month between the interview and the oath ceremony in the Salt Lake City Utah Service Center.

 

We have a charity in Nepal and the yearly trip with many other guests is scheduled for the 8th of November & we have a two-month-old baby so need both of us to make the grueling 40-hour trip.

 

This will not leave us time to get her a passport before we leave to re-enter the US as I would assume that her Green Card will not work after the oath ceremony.?  It looks like the interview is almost exactly one month after the i nterview.

 

There appears to be no way to extend either the interview or oath ceremony until January 2nd when we will return that I can find on theUSCIS site.

 

Is there something that I am missing here, is there a way to postpone this?

 

If we cancel this process will we be able to pay the $750 again and start it when we return?  Will it be harder the second time?

 

She is essential to our charity and I can't do it for her in Nepal. If we have 21 people going who have bought airfare it looks like we can't reschedule them either.

 

Looking for real answers here and I hope that I have missed something.

You will not have to reapply.

[powerpuff 6,697]

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[walran1963 2]

On 8/26/2023 at 8:46 AM, Mike E said:

If it sets the oath date to say Nov 15 snd she asks to move it to Jan 15, no.

 

if it sets the oath date to Jan 2, and she asks to move it to Jan 15, yes.

 

 

They will give you a rough idea. In my wife’s case she was told 30 days. It was 24 days.

 

Some FOs do same day or same week oaths as a typical practice, usually at the FO.

 

Depending on the FO, zero percent or 90 percent.

 

11 minutes ago, Me and her said:

You will not have to reapply.

What does that mean exactly? " You will not have to reapply"?

 

 

[Me and her 279]

52 minutes ago, walran1963 said:

 

What does that mean exactly? " You will not have to reapply"?

 

 

I put it in bold above about paying the $750.  I assumed you were talking about applying for n-400 again.

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, walran1963 said:

My wife has her interview on September 27th in Salt Lake City.

 

From the timelines, it looks like it is about a month between the interview and the oath ceremony in the Salt Lake City Utah Service Center.

 

We have a charity in Nepal and the yearly trip with many other guests is scheduled for the 8th of November & we have a two-month-old baby so need both of us to make the grueling 40-hour trip.

 

This will not leave us time to get her a passport before we leave to re-enter the US as I would assume that her Green Card will not work after the oath ceremony.?  It looks like the interview is almost exactly one month after the i nterview.

 

There appears to be no way to extend either the interview or oath ceremony until January 2nd when we will return that I can find on theUSCIS site.

 

Is there something that I am missing here, is there a way to postpone this?

 

If we cancel this process will we be able to pay the $750 again and start it when we return?  Will it be harder the second time?

 

She is essential to our charity and I can't do it for her in Nepal. If we have 21 people going who have bought airfare it looks like we can't reschedule them either.

 

Looking for real answers here and I hope that I have missed something.

You can withdraw the N400 application or you can re-schedule the N400 interview.

If you withdraw you will need to re-apply and pay again. If you re-schedule you will not have to pay the fee again. 

There should be a number on the N400 interview notice telling you which number to call if you wish to reschedule the interview. 

As your wife needs to travel with you to Nepal you need to figure out which path works best for you. 

I do not believe you can choose the date for the re-scheduled interview or oath ceremony which means your wife might still be out of the country when she is called to interview/ take her oath. 

So, you need to figure what is best for your wife. 

Additionally, do you plan to take this trip every year? Or is it only this year with the idea you will be in the US for an entire year next so if this issue will not occur again and  you won't have to reschedule the interview/oath ceremony?

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Redro

[harry.st 62]

If you live in one of the 5 states that issue enhanced ids, your wife can get one within 2 weeks of applying (she needs to have taken the oath), and then travel via Canada/Mexico (needs to drive there first + board the flight at, say, Toronto. Basically she can only use land border w/ the enhanced Id).

 

But from Sept 27 -> Oct 24... there is no time even for that.

Edited August 27, 2023 by harry.st

[little immigrant 801]

On 8/26/2023 at 4:43 PM, walran1963 said:

In Utah is it normal to have same-day oath taking?  Does it ever happen?

SLC usually schedules the oath one month after the interview 

Edited August 28, 2023 by little immigrant

[walran1963 2]

14 hours ago, Redro said:

You can withdraw the N400 application or you can re-schedule the N400 interview.

If you withdraw you will need to re-apply and pay again. If you re-schedule you will not have to pay the fee again. 

There should be a number on the N400 interview notice telling you which number to call if you wish to reschedule the interview. 

As your wife needs to travel with you to Nepal you need to figure out which path works best for you. 

I do not believe you can choose the date for the re-scheduled interview or oath ceremony which means your wife might still be out of the country when she is called to interview/ take her oath. 

So, you need to figure what is best for your wife. 

Additionally, do you plan to take this trip every year? Or is it only this year with the idea you will be in the US for an entire year next so if this issue will not occur again and  you won't have to reschedule the interview/oath ceremony?

 

Yes this is a problem as we go every year for several months and it takes about 40 hours flying to get there.  Thanks for your suggestions as it is very helpful.

[Mike E 11,739]

On 8/26/2023 at 6:06 PM, Loren Y said:

The US has no exit checks (no matter if you leave by land, sea, or air)

That is in general, but only because CBP generally chooses not to. It has the legal authority to do formal exit controls and IME it will at times.

 

* On Saturday August 26, CBP was stopping at least a third of the cars entering Mexico from Nogales, AZ. It was a first for me to see it in person, though I have read about CBP sometimes doing it on land exits to Canada.

 

* I have seen CBP post itself in jetways of flights departing U.S., “randomly” stopping passengers. Pro tip: count your money before flying from the U.S. 

[carmel34 3,621]

On 8/27/2023 at 10:34 AM, walran1963 said:

My wife has her interview on September 27th in Salt Lake City.

 

From the timelines, it looks like it is about a month between the interview and the oath ceremony in the Salt Lake City Utah Service Center.

 

We have a charity in Nepal and the yearly trip with many other guests is scheduled for the 8th of November & we have a two-month-old baby so need both of us to make the grueling 40-hour trip.

 

This will not leave us time to get her a passport before we leave to re-enter the US as I would assume that her Green Card will not work after the oath ceremony.?  It looks like the interview is almost exactly one month after the i nterview.

 

There appears to be no way to extend either the interview or oath ceremony until January 2nd when we will return that I can find on theUSCIS site.

 

Is there something that I am missing here, is there a way to postpone this?

At my husband's oath ceremony a few weeks ago at the Atlanta USCIS field office, the person in charge asked if anyone had travel plans to leave the US in the next few months.  One person held up his hand.  They took him aside to (presumably) reschedule the oath ceremony.  In your case, I recommend that you call the number on the oath ceremony interview letter (there should be wording on the letter and a phone number to call if you need to reschedule), explain the situation regarding upcoming travel to Nepal, and see what they say.  It may be possible to schedule the oath ceremony for after January 2nd, maybe not.  It's up to each USCIS field office.   Another option would be to go ahead with the oath ceremony as scheduled, and then prepare a passport application with proof of upcoming urgent travel, call the passport agency to set an appointment, and the passport may be ready before the trip in November.  Good luck!

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

Edited August 28, 2023 by carmel34

[Loren Y 2,755]

4 hours ago, Mike E said:

Pro tip: count your money before flying from the U.S. 

Pro tip to add to this, I know from experience that the dogs they use are not only looking for drugs as everyone thinks, and they probably are, at LAX I see them in use quite a bit, and one time upon return when I had about 50K cash on me in my carry-on backpack from a car I had sold and transported to Hong Kong, the dog hit on me. Luckily I had already filled out the entry form declaring the cash, but I ended up escorted to the dreaded " Blue Glove" room for many questions and violations of my personal space. So yes, know how much you have on you at all times. If you are traveling with someone you trust, divide the money between you.

[Redro 4,611]

6 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

Pro tip to add to this, I know from experience that the dogs they use are not only looking for drugs as everyone thinks, and they probably are, at LAX I see them in use quite a bit, and one time upon return when I had about 50K cash on me in my carry-on backpack from a car I had sold and transported to Hong Kong, the dog hit on me. Luckily I had already filled out the entry form declaring the cash, but I ended up escorted to the dreaded " Blue Glove" room for many questions and violations of my personal space. So yes, know how much you have on you at all times. If you are traveling with someone you trust, divide the money between you.

FYI: If you are traveling with a person who is a family member the $10k limit you have to declare is $10k total. Not a total of $20k.

Unless this protip is to help people avoid a fun trip to secondary. 
 

[OldUser 6,624]

2 hours ago, Redro said:

FYI: If you are traveling with a person who is a family member the $10k limit you have to declare is $10k total. Not a total of $20k.

Unless this protip is to help people avoid a fun trip to secondary. 
 

AFAIK the way it works...

1. Whether you travel alone or as a family, $10k is the total threshold. E.g. the $10k applies to entire family, not per individual.

2. The whole amount must be declared. Not the difference between $20k and $10k limit. E.g. you'd have to declare $20k.

People can correct me, but that's my understanding.

Edited August 28, 2023 by OldUser

[Redro 4,611]

8 minutes ago, OldUser said:

AFAIK the way it works...

1. Whether you travel alone or as a family, $10k is the total threshold. E.g. the $10k applies to entire family, not per individual.

2. The whole amount must be declared. Not the difference between $20k and $10k limit. E.g. you'd have to declare $20k.

People can correct me, but that's my understanding.

Correct. This is what I meant. I was referring to @Loren Y’s suggestion to give money to a trusted friend if traveling with a lot of money. I’m not sure why he suggested it?