OldUser

Not naturalizing?

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Only mention / give them if USCIS officer asks for it. By default just give your current GC and passport. Good luck!

Yes, it's acceptable. I used affidavits in one of my petitions. I drafted them and the people signing them made a few corrections. My case got approved.

So you're OK living limited life with possibility of deportation in the future? That's an uncertain future most of people are scared of.

Well, RFE was issued nevertheless. While optional, USCIS can issue RFE to see all 3 if they doubt the sponsor is eligible.

Yep. Don't volunteer it but take just in case. I'll take US passport over expired GC any day. I'm secretly hoping I'd get to keep my old too lol.

You cannot cancel I-130. It belongs to petitioner. It's also approved, not sure if it's possible to withdraw it. Also, the probability of another J1 after approved I-130 is low.

All cards issued by USCIS. This could be Advance Parole, Employment Authorization Document, Re-entry permit, Refugee Travel Document, Green Card etc. The reason why is because it's not your property. It's a property of US government. The chances are small that immigration officer will ask for all of it, but he / she has the right.

You can, but joint accounts etc are expected when adjusting status in the US, not consular processing CR1 / IR1 visa

If you think into the future, I-485 requires birth certificate. I-129F without Adjustment of Status is not really useful. I'm flagging this so OP can prepare for the next steps, which is easier when beneficiary in their country of origin and can request / find / translate Birth Certificate.

Yes, I would be worried.

The countdown to decision is a made up number. I wouldn't rely on this.

May 2004 to August 2024, only 20 years, sounds blazing fast for USCIS! Jokes aside, good timeline if it's 2024. Thanks for sharing.

You cannot get naturalized in the 90 day winsow. So add that to wait time. Plus if you have pending I-751 that could slow things down a bit

I would start looking for a joint sponsor.

How well above is your income the 125% of poverty guideline? It's not unusual for USCIS to ask for 3 tax returns in this process. You may consider finding a joint sponsor with 3 years of income exceeding the guideline. You either provide W2s and bank statemements OR tax return transcripts , as far as I know

There's real distinction based on the rule you applied. What box is checked for Question 1 - Reason For Filing on N-400 form?

I wonder how asylum applicants with pending applications from 2016/2017 feel about others filing after 2020 already getting approvals... USCIS is known to adjudicate newer cases to improve processing times on paper...

Yes, this spouse visa is the cheaper and faster way to get GC compared to Adjustment of Status. The day spouse enters to the US on this visa they are LPR. Compared to potentially a year of waiting for adjustment with restrictions related to travel and work...

That's a very good suggestion, given OP is LPR from 2017. If big trips can be paused for 6-9-12 months, this gives enough time to naturalize and have ultimate flexibility.

Another thing to keep in mind is physical presence. You need at least 30 months in the last 5 years (or 18 months in the the last three years if applying for citizenship based on marriage to US citizen). The best advice I can give: Create Google Sheet listing all of your trips since becoming LPR. Date you left, date you returned and which countries you visited on that trip. All of this will be handy at your N-400 stage. Also, it's best not to think in categories of maximum time outside the US. If you keep trips to few months a year, that would make it easy for naturalization. If you're traveling outside the US too often and for long periods, this will eventually trigger more scrutiny from CBP. Green card is for living in the US, after all.

Any trip over 6 months affects your timeline for naturalization. Every time you spend over 6 months overseas in one trip, you're breaking continuous residency (with some exceptions). This means, you start counting 3 or 5 years for naturalizing not from the time you became a resident, but the date you came back to the US from 6+ months trip. There's nothing particular about 9 months, but if you stay overseas for over 12 months, you risk losing LPR status. Upon entry to the US, it's possible the officer would offer you to give up GC voluntarily by signing I-407 OR refer you to immigration court.

No need to update with IRS. But you need to update it with SSA.

Yes, things happen at USCIS field office. There may be people out of office or increased workload requiring them to move your interview. If anything, you have more time to prepare.