OldUser

I think your chances of getting this I-751 approved are pretty slim. It's is very unusual to remain married if you do not live together as a married couple, do not plan living together as a married couple and don't have any romantic connection. I'm sorry if you find this question offending... Why are you still married? This is a question that an officer will have in their head. And most likely the answer in officer's head will be - married for immigration. If you divorced in 2020 or 2021, you could have removed your conditions on your own. With evidence that you lived together etc it seemed realistic. But now it's much more complex situation. You'd likely need to divorce and refile I-751 on your own. Your case will look very suspicious to USCIS. Also, don't forget, since you're still married, you still may be liable for any debts your spouse accumulates. I just do no see a reason to remain married?

For I-751: You do not need to expain anything. It was a temporary trip to visit family. As long as you load the application with evidence (joint finances, joint leases, joint tax return transcripts etc ) - you will be fine. You didn't terminate lease etc before going to the UK, right? For N-400 under 3 year rule: You will provide all the trip dates etc. Officer may asked whether you travelled with your US spouse or not. Technically, you can be denied by a very picky officer. The likelihood of this is not too high. You can always file under 5 year rule and it wouldn't be a problem at all. P.S. I might have misunderstood your post. If you had some marital issues, I strongly advice NOT to file N-400 under 3 year rule. Wait for full 5 years and apply at that point. Of course, you have to go through I-751.

Nothing will be decided without paperwork. You need to get all the divorce decrees, get all dates for all marriages and divorces etc etc. You can certainly hire a lawyer, but will still have to do a lot of work yourself.

Yes. The only exception it doesn't save you from I-751 denial due to not showing to interview or missing RFE, as far as I know.

I'm not sure you can provide a foreign address in AR-11. The form is not designed for that. I doubt USCIS can send these notices and especially green card overseas.

This is not a simple situation. It requires some thinking. In general, permanent residency works exactly the same way, whether somebody has a 10 year GC or 2 year GC with pending I-751. A GC holder cannot spend more than 6 months outside of the US on any given trip. Once outside for over 6 months, GC holder is breaking continuous residence. Once outside of the US for over a year, residency can be deemed abandoned, especially if you sell everything in the US, break the lease etc. A conditional resident can file for reentry permit too. But the resident must return to the US for biometrics appointment, interview, etc. Otherwise I-751 will get denied. If you know for sure you'll be leaving the US for several years, you can always withdraw I-751, file I-407 and leave the US. In the future, can apply for IR-1 visa again. Travelling back to the US may be a challenge before getting immigrant visa again.

Make sure to check application multiple times before submitting. There may be some glitches in software resulting in incorrect entries. I don't have experience with online N-400, but occasionally people make some mistakes. I wish there was a list of common issues.

The original documents (passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates etc) should be brought to the interview, in addition to new evidence of bonafide marriage or paying taxes since filing.

Expedite request is one option. Writ of Mandamus is another. For the first one - you gotta have a valid reason why your case should be handled before other cases.

I-130 can be filed online. Not sure about I-130A

Awesome that it worked. Each case is unique. My friend, living in the same city, with pretty much same immigration history, same country of origin, same occupation, same age submitted I-751 two weeks later than me - got approved 4-5 months earlier than me. Neither of us had interview, nor RFE. Same case pattern - different timeline. The USCIS processing time changed from 7 to 12, then to over 14 months, then to 17. Took 20 in my case. I could have tried VJ estimates, I doubt they would be anywhere accurate.

It's possible that you'll never receive a 10 year GC and you'll be naturalized before that. Once you submit N-400, I-751 will still be worked on in the background. It's just very low priority for USCIS.

I'd be the devil's advocate and suggest filing under 5 year rule at the in October this year considering proximity. It's much easier application, no need to reprove marriage. No US citizen spouse required at the interview. Yes, the fee may be slightly higher, but it'd take it for an easier case.

I-130 is worthless without I-485. Until they can be both filed electronically, my preference would be filing both together on paper. Of course people file I-130 electronically and get approved every day. There's pros and cons to each approach.

Hi @Henrinawrocki thanks for the update. I think the smart thing to do before filing N-400 is to file FOIA request asking for ALL immigration files. In the response, if you see your request and documentation about divorce in the file - it's pretty safe to proceed with naturalization. If you don't get any info about divorce in FOIA response, as if they never took it into consideration, then I'd lawyer up and proceed very carefully with N-400. You may need to prove you sent the docs etc etc and it would not be a simple case. Good luck!

Neither is accurate. Past processing times cannot guarantee future processing times. It's like predicting stock prices.

No longer married, applying under 5 year rule. It's not required in your case.

If not biometrics reuse, the letter he was sent I-797C could have had the code...

That was unfortunate timing... He should have filed after moving using new address. USPS forwarding works 50% of the time. I was moving as my I-751 got approved. Nothing worked. USPS forwarding, mail intercept, hold mail... All failed and GC showed at old address. If he has connection to somebody living at / managing old address, he should reach out and see what mail they received. It's possible to USCIS to send further notices to new address after they process AR-11. It's also possible for them to keep sending everything to the old address. I guess son put old address in I-751?

Yes, nowadays it's rare. Before they used to come together as a combo card.

I assumed OP's son already has extension letter (I-797). I-797C might be for biometrics reuse. I only received a copy for that one (C)

Strangely enough OP seems to be filing I-130. I thought he was a petioner. If beneficiary, I agree, he should not be filling these forms.

Did you commit some crime in the past? Typically that's when a petitioner would be requried going through biometrics.

Good luck! I think it's worth investigating how to obtain US citizenship certificate. You never know when you can get asked for that in the future. It's much more solid proof for some things, especially if your mother loses her documentation proving how you are a citizen. Or when she passes away and you won't get all the papers. Technically, any time in the future, like 30 years later you may be asked to reprove how you are a US citizen when renewing passport. At that point you'd have to find the same docs your mother used to get you a passport OR just show the citizenship certificate.

They cannot just board the plane and come without visa unfortunately. What are others doing in the same situation? I cannot advice, it's not a usual case. Maybe their files need to be transferred to an embassy in another country where they can attend the interview. Not sure...