Scandi

Of course, you can start using your married name anytime you want, the marriage certificate is proof if your name change. But for you to have the name on your naturalization certificate USCIS still needs to change the name in their system if the greencard is still in the old name, and that can require an actual name change during the N-400 process. Otherwise you'll still end up with a NC in your maiden name, even if you have your married name on everything else.

Correct, because the marriage certificate IS a legal name change document. Whether the IO will argue about though, is a different matter. We have seen other posts on here where the IO insists that you have to file in the same name that is on your greencard as that's what is in their system. So while the marriage certificate is all you need in order to change your name with SSA, DMV, the bank etc - often USCIS sees it differently.

Very easy. I had a name change with my N-400 as well and didn't even have a judicial ceremony, just a regular one at USCIS. Could potentially have been because of covid and maybe the courts were still closed at the time (March 2021). You get your certificate in your new name and you also get a name change document called N-662. When you go to your passport appointment and to SSA after becoming a citizen, bring the name change document too.

They love to small-talk - the entire time from when the IO comes to get you in the waiting room is a test. They want to small-talk with you to see how good your English is, so don't be afraid of talking. They could ask anything, and you will answer honestly, so there's nothing to prepare in the small-talk department. They will ask you up to 10 out of the 100 civics questions that you need to know before going to the interview. Before or after the civics test they can also ask questions about your entire immigration journey, they look into everything to make sure you didn't get your greencard/LPR status in error. The N-400 interview is super easy if you know English. The entire citizenship process is by far the easiest process of the entire immigration journey.

Your passport information where it asks for "passenger information" on the airlines website/app. You show your passport with the visa at the airport when you check in and get your boarding pass.

Good post, credit score is so important in this country, something I wasn't quite aware of before moving here. I have to say though, it has been A LOT easier building a credit score than I could've ever imagined. It seemed like a daunting task when I first moved here, I was under the impression that you pretty much had to have loans/mortgages and what not in order to get a good score. Luckily it was a lot easier than that. I have never had a loan or debt in my life, and especially didn't want to have any once I moved here. Between my (1) first credit card (a secured cc that I got a couple of years after moving here), my (2) only current "real" credit card and (3) on-time payments, I have an credit score of 815/850 after having a credit history for about 6 years. But even with a good score I still haven't had a credit history very long, so it would probably still impact me in certain ways if I were to apply for a larger loan or such. Nothing I can do about that. Bank of America has been super helpful with both credit cards. After having my secured card for about a year I just walked into my local BoA and applied for a cash back card and was approved while till seated in front of the bank lady. It was the easiest thing, took a couple of minutes - never asked to see SS card, tax returns, nothing. Have only ever dealt with Chase through my MIL and her accounts there, and they have been absolutely horrible on all accounts. Never ever will I have any kind of business with Chase myself after what we have had to deal with with them. Advice to newcomers - don't close a credit card if you're trying to build credit. If you started out with a secured credit card and are now moving on to a "real" credit card, just call the secured cc company and have the yearly fee taken off (if the card has one) and keep the card active by spending a small amount with it every now and then. It is part of your credit history and if you close it, it will impact your score.

That seems to have been a very rare case, most people can travel just fine as long as they don't move.

Personally, I would go to the interview to have that done, and tell the IO which dates you will be gone, that way you won't get an oath letter while gone.

Yes you can, I always filled out a couple of fields by hand after printing the forms (I did this on all paper forms). No issues.

The second the tracking status says delivered and you didn't receive it - you go to your local USPS and talk to the post master. They can check the GPS coordinates to see exactly where the card was delivered and they can go an retrieve it.

That sounds annoying, but as long as she doesn't register to vote until she is a citizen, she's fine. I have my Blue Shield insurance through Cover California as well, but have never received any letters or cards about voter registration.

The "one meeting in the last two years" rule is to get your petition approved. For the K-1 visa, it can take A LOT more than that to get approved, depending on the embassy. OP is going through an easy embassy and might be fine with just one visit, while at other embassies you still get denied even after having met multiple times. OP: I would visit again. You'll know each other better the more time you spend together in person. Not only does it strengthen your relationship, but it also gives you an even better chance at a visa approval.

You can travel just fine, it's perfectly allowed. When you receive your oath ceremony letter, there is also a form that you fill out in regards to any changes between the interview and the oath ceremony. So you need to mention that you traveled, married/divorced, any traffic tickets etc that happened between those two dates.

I just realized it takes 2 months for many to get their NOA1 nowadays, so nevermind the "take a month" part. It's apparently 2 months.

Doesn't matter when you file your AOS (whether it's within the 90 days or 3 years after the 90 days), what matters is the date you got married. If you got married within the 90 days, you're fine, no i-130 needed. Also be aware that it can take a month for USCIS to accept your AOS, so if it's "only" been 3 weeks I'd give it some more time.

Totally, the best advise. While some have luck doing it after marriage, many don't. So definitely the best course of action to focus on applying for a SSN as soon as you land in the US, you only have a limited time to do so. After that you have no choice but to wait for the EAD which can take many, many months.

Is there a reason she doesn't have a SSN?

Refused means he was refused the visa, but he can still be approved once the embassy gets all the documents they need. I had the same exact thing happen to me, there were hardly any available appointments for the medical, so I had to take what was available. I had my medical on August 18, and the interview was on August 22. When I left the interview my status changed to "refused" because they hadn't received the medical report yet, it took the usual 2 weeks for them to get it. Once they received it on September 1, my status changed to "issued" the next day. It's normal. The other K-1 applicant that was at the embassy at the same time as me hadn't even done his medical yet, he went for his interview before even having a scheduled medical appointment. 😄

Two very different things. 1. To not loose her LPR status: She can stay outside of the US for up to 1 year without a re-entry permit, she will not loose her greencard if she still has ties to the US (valid drivers license/ID, name on lease/deed, insurances etc). 2. To naturalize: If she plans on filing for citizenship in a near future, then trips of 6 months or longer in a row in the last 3/5 years are considered "breaking the continuous residency", so preferably she shouldn't stay outside for 6 months or longer. BUT, if she doesn't plan on naturalize (anytime soon) then this rule doesn't affect her at all if she decides to stay outside of the US for up to 1 year. Also, it IS possible to naturalize even if you have been outside of the US for more than 6 months in a row - but it is your burden to prove to USCIS that you didn't break your continuous residency by showing evidence that you kept your ties to the US.

For the i-751, yes, absolutely. Just like the OP, your spouse had a combo interview as well. VERY important for the USC spouse to come along for that (even in the cases it turns out they're not "needed"). Whether the i-751 is a stand-alone interview, or it's combined with an N-400 interview doesn't matter - the USC spouse should always be there in those scenarios.

When you have a pending i-751, your spouse should ALWAYS attend the interview with you - even if you don't receive an interview letter for the i-751 but only for the N-400 (this is the most common scenario, most people only get a letter for the N-400 and nothing for the i-751, but they get interviewed for both at the same time). I too am curious to see the denial letter/reason for the i-751 - it seems a bit extreme to terminate your status just because your wife didn't attend, when they could have rescheduled your interview instead. While yes, they absolutely CAN do that, it still seems unusual. Are you and your spouse no longer living together? Did you give the IO enough evidence of your marriage? Did it seem the IO suspected the marriage wasn't bonafide? Your N-400 is a non-issue here, the N-400 denial is solely based on your i-751 denial.

A combo (i-751 and N-400) interview is a completely different matter. If you have a pending i-751 the spouse should absolutely ALWAYS be there, doesn't matter that you only receive an interview letter for the N-400 and not the I-751.

Go back home and have your spouse start the process of getting you to the US. And do NOT hire a lawyer, at least not without reading up about the process yourselves first. Because here on VJ, we see tons of posts about lawyers messing things up, you and your spouse should instead read up on the process and do everything yourselves. Nobody cares as much about your future than you do yourselves.

For the N-400 alone - in most cases the spouse is not allowed to attend, no. My husband wasn't even allowed in the waiting room, they sent him down to the first floor lobby.