You're not above other US citizens regardless of their origin. The processing times show USCIS treats "real" and "naturalized" citizens equally, like they should according to law.
By starting the divide, are you implying your Swedish wife is also lesser than you since she's foreign?
This is a valid concern. If she wants to naturalize, she has to stay put in the US. 5 months trip is OK, but it it's followed by other trips shortly after, this can affect things negatively.
Don't forget, LPR cannot spend unlimited time overseas. They cannot be out for 6+ months without breaking continuous residence for the purposes of naturalization. They cannot be out for 1+ years for purposes of keeping green card. They can lose the status and would have to start immigration from scratch.
1. Yes, you don't get to select office. It gets picked based on your residency address.
https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-a-uscis-office/field-offices
Put a ZIP code and it will tell you where your LFO is located.
Yes, typically they don't need you.
I noticed the following patterns though :
- You bring spouse => they're not needed
- You don't bring spouse => some officers get worked up and ask where the spouse is
- You bring extra evidence => nobody cares
- You don't bring extra evidence => officer asks for it
Looks like delay is on your end? Your case would have been decided, but USCIS lacked information and had to issue RFE? I would give them few more months. What was the basis for expediting the case?
OP's future interviewer may be different to your interviewer. There's been definitely cases when USCIS needed to see US citizen spouse. I wouldn't risk entire immigration and bring the spouse
Yes, it's highly recommended your US citizen spouse comes with you. Most likely they won't get interviewed. But it would look very bad if officer asked where your spouse is and your spouse was in Mexico at time of your interview.
I wonder if this is new, e.g. verification.
I never dared updating expiration date on TTP while on extension letter. It was never an issue for me. Just had to see officer when using GE lane.
Couldn't agree more. I've seen somebody reporting "MyProgress" estimating 7 months to decision on day of oath!
And somebody else getting worrying about "Your case is taking longer than expected" 9 days after filing N-400.
This is what I think happens behind the scenes of estimates algorithm: