Scandi

It took me 8 months to get a biometrics letter for my N-400. Yes you get the biometrics notice under the "documents" tab in your online account (at least if you filed online).

Same, no such requirement at all at the oath ceremony. I would take a chance and upload a new copy, that has the signature.

There were no such requirement at my naturalization either. They just handed out the certificates AFTER we had naturalized and everyone was on their way. I signed mine a few days later when I went for my passport appointment.

Why are you filing on paper anyway? All you need to do is fill out the form online and upload your documents, and then just click "submit". Easiest thing in the world, and you don't have to worry about it getting lost in the mail and you don't have to wait for weeks to hear anything back. You receive your receipt notice the minute you pay for your petition.

Correct, for the i-129f and for your specific country, you don't need to send any evidence at all with the petition (other than proof that you have met in the last 2 years), USCIS doesn't care about your evidence. That's the stuff you bring to the interview later on, that's where they will determine if your relationship is real or not. The Swedish embassy is super easy to deal with, so no worries at all. If you decide to send extra evidence with the petition, make it only 5 or 6 pages at the most. Bring the rest to the interview.

We didn't send real photos, we just printed them on regular printer paper and added names/dates/places etc underneath each photo. These items are being scanned into their system and they may or may not scan the backside of each photo, so better have everything (photo and text) on the same side. It was only two or three photos max, USCIS doesn't care about photos anyway. Bring the photos to your interview instead.

Not true, you can still become a citizen even if you owe back taxes. You just need to show USCIS your payment plan with IRS, which is what the IO asked for. Perfectly normal, they ask this of anyone who owes taxes from previous years, to make sure they're doing what they can in order to pay it off.

Sounds like very normal things to ask for, just send what they need and you'll be good.

Up to you. Personally I kept my conditional greencard as a cool memory of my immigration journey.

Wait for three months after you're back in the US, whenever that'll be. Technically a five month vacation shouldn't be an issue, but there was a thread just a week ago about someone who visited their home country for three months and was denied because the IO determined that the applicant didn't live in the state three months before filing. From my understanding, the applicant didn't change anything in the US (still same address for several years, driver license, etc) and yet the IO denied him. So if it was me, I wouldn't take the risk of getting a nitpicky IO and just stay in the US for three full months before filing.

Picky and picky, it makes absolute sense that they need to see some kind of proof that it IS actually a reason for an expedite. Otherwise everyone could use it as an excuse to get an expedite without actually having anything wrong with them, no proof needed. With that said, go get yourself tested. The sooner the better, even if it means doing it alone. Waiting will only make it worse if it is indeed something bad.

Wholeheartedly agree with this. It's hard to feel sympathy for someone who made their own bed and now complains about having to lay in it. I mean, nobody forced this on them, this was their own decision all along. And complaining about 3 months??? Wow, that's like a drop in the ocean compared to how long most of us were separated from our fiances and spouses.

That doesn't change anything, they still made the wrong decision for their situation if working and being able to do other things right away were important. People jump into things too quickly without doing research, without planning and without any regards as to how things will work out practically. If money was important, then OP would've stayed in his/her country and worked and saved enough to last a year or so in the US before moving here. If working right away was important then OP would've stayed in his/her country and waited for the CR-1 visa to be processed. So either they did a very bad decision, or money and work simply weren't that important after all.

Sounds like you chose the wrong visa, should've applied for the CR-1 instead. The K-1 was perfect for me in that regard, I LOVED having months off doing nothing. Playing games, reading, taking the dogs for walks etc. And we were married of course, so it was OUR money, not his or mine. So I always had money even if I didn't work, I could order things online and take a taxi/Uber/whatever to places I wanted to see etc. The best times, miss it a lot. 😄

I would hate to be in your poor fiancé's shoes. Leaving everything behind for a guy that only MIGHT marry her and then MIGHT file for AOS. Sounds to me you just want to "import" someone and not actually taking it seriously. Like you just went to the shelter and decided to foster a puppy to see if it works out.

I forgot to add that the extension letters are currently valid for 4 years, so that would be how long your DL would be valid, most likely.

I don't know about AZ, but in CA I sent in my DL renewal form via mail after receiving the renewal reminder letter from DMV. I "forgot" (yeah I did it on purpose) to send a copy of the i-751 extension letter with the renewal form, and when I hadn't heard anything from DMV in a few weeks I called and was told my case had been transferred to the "legal presence unit" in order to figure out my status. They gave me the phone number and I called that unit, a super nice guy answered and knew exactly what ROC/i-751 was - he approved my renewal right there and then over the phone, without seeing my extension letter or anything. When my DL showed up it was valid for the full 5 years, not only the 12 or 24 months that the extension letter would've granted me. So in my case it was a good thing to "forget" sending a copy of the extension letter. But otherwise, yes you can absolutely renew your DL with the extension letter, but maybe in AZ you need to do it in person, I wouldn't know. So you definitely don't need to wait for the ROC approval, that can take years.

Sounds like you started the K-1 journey without having any plans on moving to the US anytime soon. I'd say cancel the K-1 and let her stay in her country until she is done with what she needs to finish up (work, was it?), however long that takes, and reapply after.

The UK also has a government, meaning a UK passport is a government issued ID.

The I-693 is only needed for those who adjust from within the US, OR those who didn't fully complete their medical abroad. For instance, as a K-1 applicant, you don't need to finish all the vaccines abroad in order to get the visa - but they are required for the AOS once in the US. So if the vaccine requirement was not met abroad, then you will have to do the vaccinations inside the US and that's why the i-693 is needed. In some cases, USCIS have even asked the AOS applicant for an i-693 even if the medical was fully completed abroad if the IO feels that there has been too much time in between that medical and the AOS review/interview (or if they have somehow misplaced the abroad medical report). So instead of arguing with USCIS and their sometimes wrongful decisions, it has been easier for the applicant to simply have another medical within the US for the AOS, hence the i-693. Definitely send a copy of the DS-3025 with the AOS package, just in case. I don't know the procedure in South Africa, but in my home country there have been several people forgetting to ask for the DS-3025 at the medical, so they just asked for a copy from the embassy instead and that was sent to them with the visa packet and passport. I personally asked the doctor for the ENTIRE medical report (i'd say it's my right to get my own medical journals), so I got the entire report, not just the vaccination work sheet.

Either the IO DID conduct the N-400 interview and just skipped the civics questions (I have seen others witnessing that they were only asked 2-3 questions, but never completely skipped, but maybe this is the first time), OR the message you received is a generic one that goes out to everyone who had a pending i-751 and N-400 when they went for the interview (whether the N-400 part ended up canceled or not).

I changed mine when I got my EAD, but if you didn't apply for the EAD then yes, you can change your name with the greencard. I moved here in October 2016 and started filing taxes "right away", long before having any status in the US. For tax year 2016 I did NOT bring up any foreign income or the selling of my condo in my home country. I probably should've, but seemed easier to just skip it. We were only filing my husband's numbers/income etc, and the tax guy had me down as a "non-resident" of course, so we didn't get any penalties for not having health insurance for me at the time.

I filled out a few fields by hand on every single form I ever sent to USCIS, no issues. I did what I could on a computer, printed that and filled out the rest by hand.

You use your current legal name, you can't use an old name. Only your current legal name - which is your new name if you decided to change it when you got married. The marriage certificate is proof of your name change, doesn't matter if your married name is on it or not (that's the case in many states).

Right, and this discussion is about taking the spouse's surname, something you don't need to go to court for (not in any state that I'm aware of). USCIS may still want you to change your name through the N-400 form even if it's only a matter of taking your spouses last name, we have seen that before. So that should definitely be added on the form when applying either way, for OPs information. Need there be any corrections to the form, it happens at the interview.