RamonGomez

An entry refusal, even for something as black-and-white as an improper visa, can take 2-4 hours of processing/paperwork by customs and immigration. Then the passenger needs to be held, fed, and cared for medically in a secure facility (not all airports have one onsite), and finally a return flight needs to be arranged. It could be days before one is available. This is very costly and can be avoided by a gate agent doing a two minute cursory check. And there is a central database called Timatic which all airlines use for determining entry eligibility (e.g. what visa do Indians need to enter Panama). But as we found out, there are edge cases and nuances which are not 100% obvious, as happened in our case. CBP also has a hotline which airlines can use 24/7 to resolve any potential issues before a passenger boards.

I have some sympathy for the airline employees. There are close to 200 countries in the world. So you take a random traveler that goes up to your desk. They have one of (roughly) 200 passports. And they can be flying to one of 200 countries. That's 40,000 nationality/destination rule sets. Now throw in different statuses and visas (naturalized citizen, permanent residents, student/work visas, extension letters/stickers) and it gets even more complicated. After my Chinese mother-in-law visited us, she wanted to go to South America for a few weeks to visit my wife's sister. Her US visa was in her old expired passport. At the time Peru had a very specific brand-new rule that allowed her to visit visa free. We were at the Delta check in desk for almost 30 minutes with 4 employees googling/calling/checking their databases to verify that she was eligible to enter. Finally the manager overrode the warning and told us that he was going to trust us and that we "better not let him down", because if we were wrong, Delta would be fined $10k and he would get a warning for the refused entry as his name was on the override. 🥵 She entered without even a single question from customs in Peru.

I am currently running into this issue. My stepdaughter got her US passport automatically when my wife became a US citizen. We are applying for another country visa and that country's embassy is asking for my stepdaughters certificate of citizenship as the date she acquired US citizenship is not on her passport. They are not accepting her mom's naturalization certificate as proof. Now I know why the N600 fee is so high - it's probably because the only people that file the N600 absolutely need it in a handful of edge cases. Even if it cost $3000 we'd probably have to bite the bullet and pay. Really bummed about this. But the point of me posting here was to provide another case where a US passport might not be sufficient (applying for visas as a naturalized US citizen).

Right now N400s are being processed lightning fast, especially if you file online and already have an approved I751. By fast I mean 6-8 weeks from submission to oath. There's no guarantee that'll happen going forward the process could go back to the 1-2 year grind it was a few years back. So I'd apply now. It's not that much more paperwork.

This seems crazy to me. There are illegal immigrants that live decades in the US and have had interactions with police and haven't ever dealt with ICE. Others who do get caught wait months or years for their removal hearing, and these are people who entered illegally, not on a visa or VWP. I'm also not sure your attorney is correct - afaik you will have issues adjusting status once removal proceedings start (which is ICE basically just telling you to leave if you're here on the VWP). Assuming all this is real, buy the ticket, and talk to 2-3 of the best attorneys you can find before your 30 days are up, at the very least, to confirm that you absolutely must leave and that there isn't some technicality/loophole that can buy you time or an appeal.

We went through this and it was super simple. My wife naturalized around November 2023. Wife got her passport a few weeks later. Then applied for stepdaughter's passport with mom's naturalization certificate and custody document as part of her divorce decree (two parents need to sign if the kid is under 16). Stepdaughter's passport arrived in a few weeks. Under 18 - adoption is one option. When we looked into that, it was NOT cheap. but that's because the biological dad has been MIA for 12+ years, and we'd have to show that we tried to find him in China and get his permission by hiring a PI, posting in newspapers, etc. I think we were quoted around $6-10k and 6-12 months by a few attorneys. Otherwise, when he is 18, he can file the N400 on his own. That's pretty much it.

You're doing the right thing by researching this. But I think you are going to drive yourself crazy. If 4 lawyers all told you the same thing, including very experienced ones, I would make peace with it, DOCUMENT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN NOW about what happened at the interview, who you spoke to etc. and move on with life.

My information is super out-of-date, but it took 3-4 days for the passport/visa to be delivered post CR2/IR2 interview via courier, and that was to a city 300 miles away from the consulate. But this was in 2019... basically an eternity ago. And there was no administrative processing.

How much have you dealt with USCIS lol? People have had massive difficulties with simple name typos, reprinting notices, changing addresses, etc. Even getting in touch with a USCIS can be frustrating. This is likely going to be a massive undertaking.

Based on how many mistakes USCIS makes that are not in the applicant's favor, there are probably a non-trivial number of mistakes they make in the applicant's favor. Things like someone getting a 10-year green card instead of a 2-year card are reported here somewhat frequently. Oddly enough I'm surprised that something like this isn't fully automated and the "Schedule Oath Ceremony" button isn't greyed out until the applicant is eligible or some sort of warning message is thrown up when USCIS tries to print the naturalization certificate. Going forward, this is a tough one. Dealing with USCIS is going to be costly, frustrating, and may even create more issues if they bungle things further. If it were me I would, in writing, try to contact USCIS about it - maybe write the field office a letter, fill out a service request online, etc. Chances are they are not going to do anything about it, but at least you'll have proof of trying to fix this in case you are ever accused of wrongdoing down the road (which is insanely unlikely). I would not spend thousands to fight USCIS tooth and nail on this. Good luck.

BTW the best luck we had with this type of situation is sending a letter (an actual snail-mail old school letter) directly to the service center explaining the situation. Make sure to include copies of all relevant documents.

My wife submitted her N400 September 10 2023, her interview was Nov 7 2023, and oath was Nov 15 2023. So basically 2 months + 5 days from submission to naturalization certificate in hand. It legitimately might be faster to go through the N400 process than deal with an I-751 NOA issue (don't ask me how I know...) Just be aware of the dual citizenship issues with mainland China if you do go forward with the N400. Good luck to you!

Getting a passport is easier. N600 is optional but usually recommended as a backup. I think there are a few edge cases where COC or US birth certificate is required (usually involving federal employment).

I entered China several times on a tourist visa with my wife when she was still a Chinese citizen/US green card holder. Never got asked anything at the airport and we always went through together in PEK.

I know this is kind of late but moving that much #######, especially irregularly-shaped heavy stuff like bikes and couches and tables, is going to cost a fortune. If it's just boxes, there are "agents" in most metro US areas that basically rent space on a cargo ship, once there is enough demand on the Chinese side (e.g. China -> Chicago), they ship from China to the US to a central point in your metro area, where you need to pick it up. Often it's someone's house or a random warehouse. The speed can be highly variable, and it's somewhat unreliable and prone to theft. But it's very very cheap. Sell or toss whatever you can. Take as many suitcases with you as possible. Do the math so see if paying for extra checked bags and/or overweight bags is worth it. Save the less important stuff and bring it back home with you on a future visit if you can store some stuff in China.

If it doesn't arrive by December 8, it will probably never arrive. I think you will be fine. Once you have the card in hand, file the AR-11.

How is abolishing non-immigrant AOS going to solve the problem. Per the DHS, about 11% of "overstays" adjust status. That includes students on F1 visas that studied here for 4 years and met someone. So B2/ESTA adjustments represent a small proportion of overstays (which are perfectly legal BTW if the guidelines are followed). This is based on actual data not anti-B2-AOS emotions.

Can't answer about the I751 since my wife already had her 10-year card when she filed the N400. Regarding the oath, it depends on the field office. Some don't do same-day oaths. Some give you the option of a same-day oath or waiting for the bigger ceremony (usually at the end of the interview). At other offices it seems like same day oath is SOP. Best thing would be to ask the officer about it once you pass the interview.

Wife finished the interview yesterday, interview was about 10 minutes long - basically by the time I parked and got coffee, she had already texted me that she was done. Passed on the spot, and a few minutes later got a paper to attend the oath next week. So about 8-9 weeks from submission to oath - not bad!

We've used the same attorney on and off over the years. For the N400, my wife filled out the forms. The attorney is charging $600 to familiarize herself with the submitted N400 (1 hour), a 1-hour strategy/prep session before the interview, and the interview itself. So basically $200/hr for 3 hours of her time. We definitely want a witness there in case the USCIS officer acts of line (rare, but happens, and much less likely to happen with an attorney present), if we ever get into a "USCIS's word vs. our word" type of situation, etc. Plus the attorney knows pretty much all the officers there and knows how to handle the few oddballs. And if we run into the rare problem post-interview, like a denial, we already have an attorney that's familiar with the case and can get working on next steps ASAP.

My wife filed mid-September and just got an interview notice in the mail this morning, looks like they sent out the notice 18 days after she submitted the N400. She filed the N400 online and she already has a 10-year green card so this will be only an N400 interview. interview is 4.5 weeks from today.

My wife just filed her N400 about 2 weeks ago. Estimated time is showing at 10 months which actually would be fine (she already has a 10 year green card)... but our lawyer said she's seen some interviews get scheduled as soon as 2-3 months out. Have there been any cases that fast? But my wife is pregnant and our baby is due mid-December. How lenient is USCIS with rescheduling interviews in case we get scheduled 3.5 months after submission? Same question for the oath ceremony.

We were not asked to show any documents, they only asked her one question at the exit immigration desk ("where are you going?"). I don't think I've ever heard of anyone running into issues. But yes, better be safe than sorry especially with the latest exit control tightening and take what @RandyW suggests. She'll need all those documents in the US anyways.

Wife just filed her N400 yesterday, got the receipt and re-use letter immediately. Estimated time of 10 months which is perfectly fine, but our attorney told us she is seeing interviews in the 4-6 month range at our office. Man... this online interface is so nice compared to having to send in reams of paper.

Lol literally 0% of this turned out to be true. Just goes to show the loudest and most confident aren't always the most correct. Congrats OP.