ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
US Citizenship General DiscussionNaturalization for Military Spouse
I officially stand corrected, and was misinformed by the USCIS in Frankfurt, in regards to the lodgement of the I-751 after expedited naturalization. Everything else I said in regards to the naturalisation, such as you physically being stateside for the process, lodging it stateside, and that we qualify is still correct.




ok,..I did a LOT of searching and found this,...firstly, read in particular the part I have put within ***** and ******* (stars),..

INA: ACT 319 - MARRIED PERSONS AND EMPLOYEES OF CERTAIN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS



Sec. 319. [8 U.S.C. 1430]


(a) Any person whose spouse is a citizen of the United States, 1/ or any person who obtained status as a lawful permanent resident by reason of his or her status as a spouse or child of a United States citizen who battered him or her or subjected him or her to extreme cruelty, may be naturalized upon compliance with all the requirements of this title except the provisions of paragraph (1) of section 316(a) if such person immediately preceding the date of filing his application for naturalization has resided continuously, after being lawfully admitted for permanent reside nce, within the United States for at least three years, and during the three years immediately preceding the date of filing his application has been living in marital union with the citizen spouse 1/ (except in the case of a person who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a United States citizen spouse or parent), who has been a United States citizen during all of such period, and has been physically present in the United States for periods totaling at least half of that time and has resided within the State or the district of the Service in the United States in which the applicant filed his application for at least three months.



*****( B) Any person,


(1) whose spouse is


(A) a citizen of the United States,


( B) in the employment of the Government of the United States, or of an American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General, or of an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof, or of a public international organization in which the United States participates by treaty or statute, or is authorized to perform the ministerial or priestly functions of a religious denomin ation having a bona fide organization within the United States, or is engaged solely as a missionary by a religious denomination or by an interdenominational mission organization having a bona fide organization within the United States, and



© regularly stationed abroad in such employment, and


(2) who is in the United States at the time of naturalization, and



(3) who declares before the Attorney General in good faith an intention to take up residence within the United States immediately upon the termination of such employment abroad of the citizen spouse, may be naturalized upon compliance with all the requirements of the naturalization laws, except that no prior residence or specified period of physical presence within the United States or within a State or a district of the Service in the United States or proof thereof shall be required. *******


Then,...read this in between the stars****** and *******

******(k) Naturalization Issues Relating to Conditional Residence .



.(1) Form I-751 Filed by a Naturalized Citizen . If, prior to the second anniversary of his or her date of admission or adjustment as a conditional permanent resident, an alien naturalizes (such as an alien who qualifies under sections 319( B ) , 319© or 319(d) of the Act), the requirement to apply for removal of conditions no longer exists. Should a naturalized citizen file a Form I-751, either jointly with his or her spouse or individually as a waiver under section 216©(4) of the Act, the naturalized citizen should be advised in writing that, as a citizen of the U.S., the removal of conditions provisions do not apply to him or her. If there was Service error involved in the Form I-751 being filed (for example, if the citizen received a computer-generated notice from the Service that he or she had to file such petition), the filing fee should be refunded. The Form I-751 should be counted as a statistical denial. *******

YOU or more importantly, WE qualify under 319( B).

I am going to send an email to the USCIS Frankfurt quoting these laws, and see what they say. The only stipulation in reading it, is that is YOU must be physically present in the States when applying for it, just as I stated before, in previous posts.


Ok,..there you go,...

Jodee

editted to note: wherever you see a smiley face a "b" should be there,..i tried editting to suit but the smiley kept coming up,..

Edited by jodee, 05 January 2007 - 01:50 PM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2007-01-05 13:46:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionNaturalization for Military Spouse
Cathy,..I can tell you right now,..you can NOT lodge your application for naturalization in Frankfurt, Germany. I took the time to ring the USCIS there, and naturalization is not an option there. You have to send it back stateside. And you do have to go back to the States for your test, and ceremony, which more commonly than not are on different days.

The only part of the information given to you above, valid to us as spouses of US military deployed, is we qualify to lodge early. And you still, need to apply to lift conditions, regardless, if you have already been Naturalised.

JAG cannot help you with the application.

I would really suggest you ring the USCIS in Frankfurt to confirm this.

Jodee
jodeeFemaleAustralia2007-01-04 18:59:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionLiving in Germany applying for USCitizenship
Cathy,..I am cutting and pasting below an answer I gave you in another post where you asked the same question in January, Just in case you couldnt find it,...


*****( Any person,


(1) whose spouse is


(A) a citizen of the United States,


( in the employment of the Government of the United States, or of an American institution of research recognized as such by the Attorney General, or of an American firm or corporation engaged in whole or in part in the development of foreign trade and commerce of the United States, or a subsidiary thereof, or of a public international organization in which the United States participates by treaty or statute, or is authorized to perform the ministerial or priestly functions of a religious denomin ation having a bona fide organization within the United States, or is engaged solely as a missionary by a religious denomination or by an interdenominational mission organization having a bona fide organization within the United States, and



© regularly stationed abroad in such employment, and


(2) who is in the United States at the time of naturalization, and



(3) who declares before the Attorney General in good faith an intention to take up residence within the United States immediately upon the termination of such employment abroad of the citizen spouse, may be naturalized upon compliance with all the requirements of the naturalization laws, except that no prior residence or specified period of physical presence within the United States or within a State or a district of the Service in the United States or proof thereof shall be required. *******


Then,...read this in between the stars****** and *******

******(k) Naturalization Issues Relating to Conditional Residence .



.(1) Form I-751 Filed by a Naturalized Citizen . If, prior to the second anniversary of his or her date of admission or adjustment as a conditional permanent resident, an alien naturalizes (such as an alien who qualifies under sections 319( B ) , 319© or 319(d) of the Act), the requirement to apply for removal of conditions no longer exists. Should a naturalized citizen file a Form I-751, either jointly with his or her spouse or individually as a waiver under section 216©(4) of the Act, the naturalized citizen should be advised in writing that, as a citizen of the U.S., the removal of conditions provisions do not apply to him or her. If there was Service error involved in the Form I-751 being filed (for example, if the citizen received a computer-generated notice from the Service that he or she had to file such petition), the filing fee should be refunded. The Form I-751 should be counted as a statistical denial. *******

YOU or more importantly, WE qualify under 319( .

I am going to send an email to the USCIS Frankfurt quoting these laws, and see what they say. The only stipulation in reading it, is that is YOU must be physically present in the States when applying for it, just as I stated before, in previous posts.


Ok,..there you go,...

Jodee

editted to note: wherever you see a smiley face a "b" should be there,..i tried editting to suit but the smiley kept coming up,..


SO yes you can, as a Military spouse apply for Naturalisation, and not have to Lift conditions, in the circumstances listed above.

Just to add, I did contact USCIS frankfurt, and the above law is utilised, and you do have to be in the USA to do your Naturalisation, you can apply from here but have to go back for the test and oath..they said if your lucky, you get your test and oath the same day...probably could be organised if they knew you were coming from Overseas....


Bitte!
Jodee
jodeeFemaleAustralia2007-03-09 15:17:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionNaturalization of Military Spouse
QUOTE (GoBruins! @ Oct 24 2007, 07:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Expeditious naturalization for PR/CPR spouses applies when your husband receives his official orders to move to a foreign base. You have to be included on his orders. The application is usually lodged after the orders are received and before departure overseas, but NO EARLIER THAN 90 days before the intended departure date. For example, if your scheduled to depart on Dec. 1 to your husband's foreign base, you would have to have filed the N-400 application on or after Sept. 1 while you are still in the US.

For those of you who are already overseas, you can still file N-400 in the Service Center that has jurisdiction over your Home State. However, your Active Duty Spouse's foreign assignment should be at least 12 months on his current overseas base. The N-400 for military spouses cannot be adjudicated overseas, so be prepared to fly back to the US for the interview and oath.

Good Luck!


Thats basically what I said and have said everytime that question is asked in this forum. It has been asked on more than one occasion. Except I said you must go back stateside to lodge it,..But the point is, it must be lodged with the relevant stateside service centre associated with your resident state,whether you mail it there or you mail it while your stateside and you do indeed need to go back stateside for interview and oath.

I think the people just dont like the answer they are hearing , and dont want to do the research themselves, and would rather have other people do it, hoping that the answer that they want is going to pop up.

I even went so far to find the ruling in the INA laws and guidelines once, but that was taken with a grain of salt.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2007-10-24 04:56:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionNaturalization of Military Spouse
QUOTE
And you can't apply for naturalization if you've been living outside the US in orders, for more than 1 year. So you should submit your application during your 1st year outside the US
QUOTE




I think you should contact the local USCIS office to your post overseas,...because I know for a fact,..even though Frankfurt will do DCF or spousal visas, and or immediate relatives. ie... step kids,..they do NOT process Naturalization for Military spouses regardless of whether you have been overseas less than one year or not. They will only process Natutalization for Military member,...

If you do decide to do Naturalization, you will have to go stateside to lodge it, and await there til after you have had your interview and ceremony!!

I am not saying what the other poster yhanie is saying is wrong,...I am saying,..check first,..as different rules may apply in different overseas areas.


I learnt this the hard way,..We has AOS papers lodged in 2004, before we left for Germany. i had to go back to the states to do my AOS interview(they were still doing them then). I also had to file my I-751 from Germany.

The option to apply for naturalization before I left wasnt offered, nor was it readily common knowledge or available back then. Not that we could of anyways,...because like I said, we left before i was even AOS approved...with an AP of course to allow me re-entry when I had too..
jodeeFemaleAustralia2007-10-04 14:25:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionNaturalisation for military spouses
!You must do it before you leave the States, Mil spouses CAN NOT apply for and get naturalised whilst overseas. You can certainly file from Overseas, but it MUST be filed with USCIS office the closest to you, in terms of what State You use in the US for residency purposes. When you get called up for testing, you must return to the USA for this, and also wait stateside for your Naturalisation ceremony.

This was taken from the Guide to Naturalisation


If you are at least 18 years old and:
Are the spouse of a U.S. citizen who is one of the following:
• A member of the U.S. Armed Forces;
• An employee or an individual under contract to the U.S.
Government;
• An employee of an American institution of research
recognized by the Attorney General;
• An employee of an American-owned firm or corporation
engaged in the development of foreign trade and commerce
for the United States;
• An employee of a public international organization of which
the United States is a member by law or treaty; or
• A person who performs ministerial or priestly functions for a
religious denomination or an interdenominational
organization with a valid presence in the United States
and

You will be proceeding to join your spouse whose work
abroad under orders of the qualifying employer will
continue for at least 1 year after the date you will be
naturalized. Form N-400 should be filed prior to departing

You do not need to meet residency requirements!!

I have been living overseas in a Military base since March 2004. We were only married a month when we left to come overseas. Before we left, we applied for an expedited EAD, and Re-entry permit for myself, which were both approved same day. Also lodged AOS at the same time. The re-entry permit was used to ensure I got re-entry to the USA to attend my AOS interview. I went k-1!

That being said, you are going CR-1, and so should have your green card issued in plenty of time before you go overseas with your husband. That will allow you to come and go as you please. I travelled to the states and from Germany and the States many times after my Greencard was issued without a problem. I do carry a copy of my hubbys Military orders, everytime I travel to, to avoid any hassles.

You will have to Lift conditions though if you have been married less than 2 yrs, at the time your Greencard is issued.

I had to lift conditions, and managed to do all that from Germany.
I now have my 10yr green card, and have had no issues whatsoever.
I could of applied for Citizenship back in July, but haven't done so, becasue, I would need to go back to the USA for interview, and Ceremony, and I couldn't stay there for a long period of time, due to having school aged kids with me here in Germany.
So i am just wating to return to the States, next year.

We have been here for nearly 4 years now, and the option to file before you leave the country for Military spouses came out, around 8 months after I left the states, and about 2 months after I got my 2 year Green card.

Read the Guide to Naturalisation, it will tell you everything you need to know.

There have been several threads on here on the exact same subject. I actually pulled up the INA laws in some of them pertaining to all this. do a search, see what you can find!!

And lastly,..

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!!

Edited by jodee, 30 November 2007 - 11:10 AM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2007-11-30 11:07:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionUS Naturalization abroad
Could you please provide proof of this!!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2008-03-06 13:57:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionNaturalization from overseas
I know they dont do spouse Naturalizations at Frankfurt for a fact!! Military or no military,..I would of had to fly back stateside for test, and oath ceremony as a military spouse!

Naturalization (Form N-400):
Immigration offices overseas do not accept or adjudicate naturalization applications. We are unable to receive or process naturalization applications from U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) living overseas. See the USCIS website on Naturalization for eligibility criteria and proper filing procedures.





Thats straight form the page yu and dan sent you

Edited by jodee, 01 February 2008 - 04:59 PM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2008-02-01 16:57:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionUSCIS Updates Projected Naturalization Processing Times
Typical,....my processing office is supposed to be San Bernadino,...but it's not listed on this update,..it was on the last one they did!!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2008-08-12 09:59:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionIt's all over ...
Congratulations!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2008-08-17 10:07:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionPASSED MY NATURALIZATION INTERVIEW
Congratulations!!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2008-08-21 20:05:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCitizenship questions
QUOTE (Kajikit @ Dec 25 2008, 06:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (AusCal @ Dec 19 2008, 09:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Kajikit @ Dec 17 2008, 03:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
. It really cheeses me off that Australia refuses to recognise foreign marriages as a valid name change - I'm in America, not outer Mongolia!


This comment confuses me. Can you explain what you mean. I am an Australian citizen who married in the US, and am currently a permanent resident. After marriage, I went to the Australian Consulate in Los Angeles - I applied for and had my Australia passport re-issued in my married name. (using my US marriage certificate, at no charge, and with the same expiry date my passport currently had). I have also used my US marriage certificate to have my name changed on bank accounts in Australia.


I don't know how you managed to pull that one off - on the Australian passport website it clearly says that if you were married overseas they will NOT change your name for you unless you register it seperately as a name change. And that's too much hassle...


Kajikit is right,.....I had to do just that. I went home to Australia, and whilst on my visit, had to lodge a formal change of name, wait for the change of name certificate to come through before the passport office would change my name.



Edited by jodee, 26 December 2008 - 12:40 AM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2008-12-26 00:40:00
US Citizenship General Discussionquestion about photos
Thanks for that Nick! I was only going on an experience a friend of mine had hmmm 4 months ago I believe it was, maybe they forgot to get her to sign the pic at the Interview, i dont know....But glad you could clarify!
Either way,..yep, the photo has to be signed...:)
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-09-28 22:06:00
US Citizenship General Discussionquestion about photos
Yes Bob, Signature.
ON the day of your ceremony, you are asked to sign your full name on your photograph attached to the Cert. of naturalization.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-09-28 20:44:00
US Citizenship General Discussione-request....
The final step...woo hooo! Soon there will be no more USCIS for you!..:)
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-20 12:24:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionOath today @ 2pm!!!!
Awesome news, Congrats!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-20 12:27:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionAbout Bio.

Hi Jodee, Thanks alot. now i got to ask u about Bio. being cleard by the FBI. is that mean you were cleared from the FBI Name Check?? I mean if i go to have my bio. done and i call them to see if the result was send back to USCIS that means my name was cleard from the FBI name check?? sorry i dont have enough experience with this. but all what i know when i went to take my bio. for my green card. in 2007 and i went to my Interview i was told my Name still under name check and after my Interview in 2 months and 10 days i was approved.


Sand,....no, it does not mean name check is complete. Just fingerprinting. I have heard the same thing applies that you mentioned in regards to your green card, they will go ahead and schedule your interview pending a name check, and if it is still pending on the day of interview, they will tell you, they will let you know of the results of the interview after they receive the name check back. Most of the time, they will approve you, and just notate your file pending name check.

There are a few people who have been to interview in the previous month(s) thread(s) who have had interview and are still waiting for a oath date. I believe the pending name check is most likely the case.

It's not that I have had plenty of experience, I have just done lots of research, and am not afraid to ask questions at appointments etc....with that said, I have been around here on this site, since only a few months after it's inception,..and watch lots of changes take place over the years. I a;ways pay attention to changes in case I can help others later on.

I have had experience, in K1, AOS, AP (due to military orders), ROC ( i applied from overseas by mail), did I-130's for my kids whilst on Germany, and now finally Naturalization. So, I have been through the whole scope, and have done many things that others haven't . Such as getting the AP, and AOS applications submitted as a walkin in Los Angeles, and having the AP approved the same day, so I could leave the country on Mil orders before AOS was approved. I then flew back for my AOS interview minus husband (due to deployment), was approved and flew back to germany again.

There are lots of knowledgable people on this site, with lots of different situations. Some cases are straightforward, some are unique,...you just never know when you will be able to help others with your experiences.

Edited by jodee, 30 October 2010 - 11:54 AM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-30 11:54:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionAbout Bio.

I must have accidentally sent 4 photos with my N400. At the interview she asked me to choose which one I wanted on my naturalization certificate. I chose the colourful one. So the photo they do at BIO time is just for the FBI



Refer to what poster heatDeath wrote after your post, just for knowledge purposes. It seems you squeezed in just before they changed it.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-29 23:00:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionAbout Bio.

They just changed this. See the news item on the front visajourney.com page. Starting in a few days, if they haven't already, they're going to start using biometrics photos for Naturalization Certificates instead of the passport photos.

They're still gonna make us send passport photos for some reason. Backups, I think, according to their FAQs.


Thanks for that heatDeath, that explains why exactly I had fingerprints, photo, and signature done if they are going to embed them into the new style certificate.

I have provided link from front page...new style naturalization certificate with security features

Edited by jodee, 29 October 2010 - 10:58 PM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-29 22:57:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionAbout Bio.

Hi and Thanks alot for ur help and all of u guys. and that was good 1 about the coding things i looked at my Bio, letter and i found code 3 on the right corner, Now what i dont understand is.. did she tell u that ur fingerprint was cleared?? why does she work with the FBI or how she knew it was cleard?

by the way, its a good idea to Contect the FBI to check if my PF was cleared or i should leave it without to bother them?? if i can .. what's their number and what should to ask them??

Thanks alot


No she works for the USCIS, and the machine that takes the prints is connected to the FBI database directly,....she presses send,..and it comes back with a green check mark or something like that confilrs accepted and cleared. I think thats what she said, and i was walking away,..I was out of site of the machine, when she said they had been accepted and cleared...

As for the FBI number,..I don't know it,..but i did see it listed on either the july, or august filers threads,..someone posted it....
And like I said today, I called up the USCIS, and they told me too, that prints had been received and cleared by FBI, and my file had been sent....but that was the Military hotline,...you would have to ask to be put through to an IO on the normal uscis number....
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-29 19:40:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionAbout Bio.

How long was that woman working there? Or did the USCIS just change the procedure?


She has been there a fair while apparently. I was asking her about if she liked the work, and she said "why you ask"...I mentioned that it seemed a bit mundane of that was the only job she did all day. She said she loved it, and over the years, she has enjoyed the conversations she has gotten to have with the various people. I asked about problem fingerprints, and she said the only problem fingerprints she has seem to be with people that work with a lot of chemicals, or doctors, nurses etc...basically anyone that has to wash their hands upteen times a day...she said the constant water exposure especially to the hands, wears away fingerprints over the years, and thats when she has to resort to manual fingerprinting.

I even asked how long it take for the FBI to get the fingerprints, and she said about 30 seconds or so...by the time I had put my sunglasses back on my head, and picked up my wallet,..she had said,..all good, fingerprints sent and cleared!

Thats why I ultimately called the Military hotline this morning, just to double check what she said was correct as fingerprinting is a 2.5 hour one way trip for us. The dude on the line said, yep fringerprints cleared by FBI, and file alreay sent to my interviewing office.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-29 15:25:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionAbout Bio.
I went and had Biometrics done Wednesday. On your NOA, it actually states for the fingerprint tech what is required. There's a little box that says Code. Mine was code 3, which is fingerprints, photo and signature capture. Code 1 is just fingerprints, code 2 fingerprints and photo.
The lady asked me if I wanted to see my pic, and asked if the one taken was ok, or did I want her to take it again?...I said it was fine. She said she always asks, because that's the pic that goes on the Naturalization certificate,..even if you have sent in pics....

Edited by jodee, 29 October 2010 - 02:15 PM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-29 14:12:00
US Citizenship General Discussionseprate application for all family members?

Thanks for the reply. His all childrens are under 18? And what about his wife?



If his wife is going to apply for US citizenship based on marriage to a US citizen,...her husband needs to be approved first, and be a us citizen.
If they are applying under the 5 year rule after AOS, the wife has to do a seperate application.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-30 16:45:00
US Citizenship General Discussionseprate application for all family members?
I am applying for citizenship for myself presently. My children are under 18, and in my case as long as they are still under 18 at time of approval they automatically acquire it, because one of their biological parents (me) will be a US citizen. So, therefor, I only sent in one fee for myself, and listed my children on it!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-10-30 16:16:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionUSC test
When you have your biometrics done, they will also give you a study guide!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-01 22:36:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 & N-600 filing

Hi chuckycheese,
The basis for filing N-400 is from the date that she became a greencard holder, check her GC for that date and she can file 2 years and 9 months prior that date. It is not based from your wedding anniversary. Hope this info helps.

Lexlee is correct sort of (Not prior but after ),..it is 3yrs less 90 days, from date of "legal permanent residency", not marriage!

But, you must of been married 3 years in order to be able to file based on marriage, otherwise 5 years if not based on marriage..

Edited by jodee, 18 November 2010 - 09:50 PM.

jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-18 21:49:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 & N-600 filing
umm....as long as kids are under 18, they will automatically acquire citizenship when Mom does,....
I am going through this right now,...2 kids under 18,.. I am.at interview stage. N600 is not really required as child is entitled to passport as well.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-18 21:47:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCheck the New application and petition Fees before you file!!!
good info!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-24 15:15:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCharges & Fees For Citizenship
Hey guys,..just a heads up
bio fees are in fact going up by $5 to $85...

so total for n400 and bio is $680 as of yesterday...23rd november!
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-24 15:18:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCharges & Fees For Citizenship

WOW thanks for the good information Jodee <3 I really appreciate it!



Your so welcome,..when I read your original post, i thought to myself, "wow, that went quick",..as I was here reading up on you guys when you started the process....:)
secondly, glad to help a fellow Aussie...:)
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-22 13:32:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCharges & Fees For Citizenship

Hi all!!
I'm sending my N400 today...do I have to pay the old biometrics fee or the new one?
Thanks in advance for your help ;)


fee for N400 is $595 for application and $80 for biometrics, so you send in a total of $675. One check, or one money order, whatever you use.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-22 13:30:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCharges & Fees For Citizenship
And the passport photo thing. You really only need two.

You still need to send two in, but they do not use the ones you send in anymore.

As of 25th October, when you have fingerprints done, they also take your pic, and capture your signature. The pic and signature are digitally impregnated to the certificate. That is what they will use. When you get your biometrics appt letter, it will have a code in the top right of the letter, if you have code 3, that means you will have fingerprints, picture and signature capture.

Also, it is normal to receive an RFE during this process, but most of us have worked out that this is sent about a week before you get an appt. letter for fingerprints. 95% of the time, the RFE is exactly for that, fingerprints! If they require anything else from you, you will get a yellow letter asking you to provide set items, most likely on interview day.

So, for any nay sayes out there, who will question this,..I suggest you go check out news items on USCIS website.
Anyone who got biometrics done prior to Oct 25th will have old style certificate and will use photos sent in, andone after that date, will get new style...

jodee


jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-21 18:21:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionCharges & Fees For Citizenship
ok,..i just filed mine in Late Sept, and already up to the interview stage..

fees for me were $675 in total,..$595 for the application pluss $80 for biometrics.

fees are dues to increase Nov 23rd,..BUT,....N400 fees WILL NOT increase ....

So, fees are still $675.....
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-21 16:15:00
US Citizenship General Discussion2 Questions please!

I checked this out and while I'm still not sure if even pending applicants will get the new style Certificate or not, I still suggest to get 6 passport photos at once.

1) You will have to submit 2 with your N-400. Those were never the photos they used for the Certificate. Those are simply the photos they use for your file

2) Despite the digital photo being the default photo for your certificate, as it has been for a long time, the applicant is allowed to submit a "nicer" photo for the Certificate at the interview. If the photos looks like a current photo of you, it will be used instead.

3) There are still 2 photos needed for the passport shortly after.

Therefore, it really makes sense as it saves time and money to get 6 of the same photo done at once, to cover all of the bases. Last time at AAA I opted for getting only 2 in order to save money, and now I have to go there again, all dressed up.


Ummm,....BOB,..you get to see the photo and they take it again if you don't like it. the lady asked me if my pic was ok, if not she would take another one. I was TOLD that any BIometrics taken after the 25th October will be NEW style certificate,..even says that on the press release, the lady that took my Biometrics told me that when I asked why my pic was being taken...... The pic,...is Not attached,...but printed onto the certificate....thus the use of the "impregnated" on my previous post,...you are not able to submit a nicer pic anymore.

Like i said, if you had the biometrics done prior to 25th Oct that is still the case,..like with your case,..but any after can not do that...

But, you may have a point for the passport pics,...
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-22 19:41:00
US Citizenship General Discussion2 Questions please!
I copy and pasted this from another thread I was replying too:


And the passport photo thing. You really only need two.

You still need to send two in, but they do not use the ones you send in anymore.

As of 25th October, when you have fingerprints done, they also take your pic, and capture your signature. The pic and signature are digitally impregnated to the certificate. That is what they will use. When you get your biometrics appt letter, it will have a code in the top right of the letter, if you have code 3, that means you will have fingerprints, picture and signature capture.

Also, it is normal to receive an RFE during this process, but most of us have worked out that this is sent about a week before you get an appt. letter for fingerprints. 95% of the time, the RFE is exactly for that, fingerprints! If they require anything else from you, you will get a yellow letter asking you to provide set items, most likely on interview day.

So, for any nay sayes out there, who will question this,..I suggest you go check out news items on USCIS website.
Anyone who got biometrics done prior to Oct 25th will have old style certificate and will use photos sent in, andone after that date, will get new style...

jodee
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-22 17:22:00
US Citizenship General Discussionwhat did you wear to interview??
Glad you asked this Danny,..because I was going to ask the same thing considering I have my interview the same day..:)
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-11-25 22:19:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionIs this even possible?
I agree with others. Make an infopass appointment for your local office and take the biometrics letter that has been stamped as proof of your attendance fro biometrics with you.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-12-02 13:25:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionHOW HARD CAN THIS BE?????

Thanks for the quick reply appreciate it...I wasn't worried really that they needed more evidence as it was pretty detailed... more that... while it is in this "status" it is delaying my moving forward to the next step...ie..Losing a month because click click while they move to the next BLUE dot..

Thanks for the info!Just like old times with them when I first came form Canada...a real treat to be sure...

Kev


Just so you know, they dont always update online or do you get emails or texts.

I still have the biometrics status up on mine. And I have since been for interview, and am about to take my oath next week. Still says date of last action was oct 13...so don't fret, as others have said, the RFE was just your biometrics.
If they require any additional inof they will send you a yellow coloured letter detailing whats required, and you bring the evidence with you to your interview.

other than that, if you get no yellow lwtter, just wait for your interview letter, and bring the few things that they do request on that, which is mainly just orifinals of any copies you may have sent in as evidence, your d/l, passport and greencard.
I took in everything that was sent in originally, and they asked to see nono of it,..only my d/l and greencard.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-12-10 12:55:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionApplying for N-400, Maiden name & Marriage name advice needed PLS!
No, it wont be a problem...because it asks on the N400 form anyways if you have ever gone by any other names. I had four variations of my name due to previous marriage and hyphenation/combination of names that I had to list. They just simply ask you at interview time what other names you have gone by to confirm what you out on the application is true. One of my names was my maiden name.
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-12-12 17:00:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionFinally a US citizen!!!
Wonderful recount Danny..Congrats again dude.

Guess I should write my story too....
jodeeFemaleAustralia2010-12-18 15:35:00