Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	To have Russian citizenship for US born children with Russian mother or not?	QUOTE (lee08 @ Dec 2 2009, 07:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think everyone is missing a very important fact here and that is Russia will not allow dual citizenship. My wife checked into this a while back just to be prepared for our future children. It's possible for the child to obtain Russian citizenship but the American father has to renounce the child's U.S. citizenship on his behalf. Not a smart thing to do. Typical mistake. Both Russia and the US don't RECOGNIZE dual citizenship, but they don't BAN it. Meaning that US will only treat you as a US citizen and Russia will only treat you as a Russian citizen, but other than that there is nothing on the books prohibiting having 2 citizenships. Actually, even above is not enitrely correct since US WILL ask you about other citizenships you have on most background check forms and decising on whether to grant you security clearance might be influenced by this depending on circumstances. Russia, in it's turn, will not allow you to run for any high office in the country if you have any other citizenships other then Russian. If I remember correctly, this law was passed in 90s when many Russian Jews would go to Israel, get citizenship (very easy, you basically become a citizen of Israel once you step your foot on Israel's soil, as long as you can prove Jewish descent), then come back to Russia as a dual citizen, get elected into one position or another and start stealing money or whatever else was there to steal, and when it gets too hot for them they would go back to Israel without any fear of prosecution.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-03 10:30:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	To have Russian citizenship for US born children with Russian mother or not?	Hey, it was pretty entertaining to read you guys attack each other for several pages straight... Other portions of this forum are more civil but boring too. Hey, how do I join the Russian forum? Let me qickly introduce myself. I'm actually quite the opposite of most of you - I'm a Russian male (not fat and not bald ) married to an American woman (also not fat and not bold ) of Russian decent. Have to clarify about the Russian decent though. She was born in the US and so were her parents and even grandparents. Her great-grandparents immigrated from Russia/Ukraine (not sure since they lived right at the border) in the 20s. She does speak good Russian though (with mistakes and accent, but rather fluent) but from living and working there for 4 years, not from family. She also cooks and cleans and dresses up and likes being girly, which doesn't prevent her from having a professional career - something many American woman should learn by the way... Oh yeah, even though I'm not bald or fat, I own a bunch of guns too! Guns are fun! Not a big fan of pie though... And since we touched politcal affiliations here, I'm also right-of-center conservative libertarian/constitutionalist. Pro-gun, pro-choice, pro-freedom. Anti-big government, anti-welfare state, pro-personal responsibility. Ok, sorry for being for a while. As for the dual citizenship issue... Yes, there are clear benefits making it easier traveling to Russia. Also, if your kid ever decides to live or work in Russia for some time, it will make his life A LOT easier. Easier to own property too. But there are major downsides too. Military service being the biggest one, but general situation where US embassy technically cannot assist you whatever happens, shouldn't be overlooked either. And by the way, Russia is much stricter than Ukraine in terms of military draft. Russia doesn't recognize any other citizenships you have (just like the US) and will treat you as Russian citizen only. If your kid is a boy and turns up in Russia during conscription age, he CAN be drafted. You can register with however many foreign Selective Services, hell, he can even be active duty in US Army, it wouldn't matter. Will embassy step in? Maybe, but they don't have to. Will it help? Maybe, but don't count on it. Will money help? Likely, but not for certain. So, DON'T RISK! And for those who say "army is a school of life, it wouldn't hurt anyone if you serve" - get a grip! Russian army in it's present state is probably worse than most US prisons and more dangerous too. Hazings are getting more and more violent and living conditions are comparable to those of WWII concentration camps. If you make it out alive and well, consider yourself lucky. Don't listen to those who served 20 years ago - army was different back then, it's been getting worse and worse in recent years. Sure, there were hazings (dedovshina) in Soviet army 20-30 years ago. Sure there was physical abuse. Sure the food was terrible and so was medical care. But there was some control, some limits to what can and cannot happen. In present state of general lawlessness in Russia, army truly turned into a prison. As many people say "maybe army is a school of life, but it's better to study off-campus".	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-30 12:16:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	N-400 question	Hi everyone! There is a question on N-400 regarding affiliation with communist party. It reads like that: "Have you ever been a member of or in any way associated (either directly or indirectly) with the Communist party?" I grew up in Russia (i was about 10 years old when Soviet Union collapsed). I was a member of "Oktyabryata" in elementary school and then became a "Pioner" in the end of the 3rd grade. Soviet Union collapsed when I was about to start 5th grade, so I obivously never been a member of "Komsomol" or the Communist Party (KPSS) itself. Should I just answer "no" or should I answer "yes" and provide the explanation? Thanks!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-06-26 13:01:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Job	QUOTE (NickD @ Jul 29 2009, 10:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> But on the other hand, how is a brand new shiny immigrant to this country suppose to know all this stuff? Recalling back when my gal said yes to marriage, did hear rumors about the INS up to that time that led me to the USCIS. After I saw that long list of forms, screw this noise, going to find a good immigration attorney. Why does everything dealing with the government in this country have to be so damn complicated. Would hate to read their instructions on how to open a peanut butter jar, more than likely will be 10,000 pages long. So true! Imagine what they will do with the healthcare system if that ###### passes!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-07-30 09:03:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Not sure if my application is properly recieved...	QUOTE (wannabe_texan @ Jul 29 2009, 06:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes it will be picked up tomorrow. USPS doesn't seem to update its status till late in the day sometimes. This freaked me out during AOS, so much so that I Fedexed a new package that day, thinking the packet had gone into some black hole that USCIS would not pick it up from. But I was wrong, they got the next day, and somebody nice at USCIS sent back my duplicated Fedex package without cashing the check.... We live and learn Thanks everyone! I just checked and the package was in fact picked up later in the day. Now waiting. Is there a master list where we put our dates like there was one for I-751?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-07-30 08:41:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Not sure if my application is properly recieved...	QUOTE (Redneck-NOVA @ Jul 29 2009, 04:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi again everyone. After a nice little break after getting my 10 yr GC, I'm back to USCIS hell for the Naturalization. So we sent the application yesterday to the TX address (not PO box, the real address) by USPS Express Mail (overnight, signature required). The message on USPS site now says the following: Class: Express Mail® Status: Notice Left We attempted to deliver your item at 10:25 AM on July 29, 2009 in LEWISVILLE, TX 75029 and a notice was left. You may pick up the item at the Post Office indicated on the notice, go to www.usps.com/redelivery, or call 800-ASK-USPS to arrange for redelivery. If this item is unclaimed after five days then it will be returned to the sender. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. Is that normal or do I have something to worry about? Come on, anyone!? Did anyone else have this issue?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-07-29 15:55:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Not sure if my application is properly recieved...	Hi again everyone. After a nice little break after getting my 10 yr GC, I'm back to USCIS hell for the Naturalization. So we sent the application yesterday to the TX address (not PO box, the real address) by USPS Express Mail (overnight, signature required). The message on USPS site now says the following: Class: Express Mail® Status: Notice Left We attempted to deliver your item at 10:25 AM on July 29, 2009 in LEWISVILLE, TX 75029 and a notice was left. You may pick up the item at the Post Office indicated on the notice, go to www.usps.com/redelivery, or call 800-ASK-USPS to arrange for redelivery. If this item is unclaimed after five days then it will be returned to the sender. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. Is that normal or do I have something to worry about?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-07-29 15:04:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	N-400 in National Benefits Center	I got my NOA yesterday and it has an NBC-number (I assume it's National Benefits Center). My understanding was that NBC doesnt do N-400s and those are all done in local offices. Is that true or I got something wrong? Anyone else had their application go to NBC?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-08-04 15:58:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	N-400 RFE !?!?!?	QUOTE (satyam @ Aug 24 2009, 02:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Just Ignore it, You will soon get a letter for Biometric Appointment I already did get a letter for biometrics appointment (dated the next day after the date in this online notice) and already completed the biometrics last friday. Did same happen to you?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-08-24 13:11:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	N-400 RFE !?!?!?	I checked my status online and here is what I saw: Application Type: N400, APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION Current Status: Request for Additional Evidence Sent On August 5, 2009, we mailed a notice requesting additional evidence or information in this case N400 APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION. Please follow the instructions on the notice to submit the requested information. This case will be in suspense until we receive the evidence or the opportunity to submit it expires. Once we receive the requested evidence or information and make a decision on the case, you will be notified by mail. If you move while this case is pending, call 1-800-375-5283 to update your address. The problem is that the only thing that I recieved since NOA was the biometrics appointment notice (sent on August 6, notice date August 6). I did biometrics last Friday and haven't recieved anything else yet. Did anyone else have the same issue? I heard that N-400 doesn't have an RFE option but this got me worried. I sent plenty of evidence with N-400 and have no idea what else they may need. And the biggest thing that worries me is that I never recieved any paper RFE notice from them - just this online thing. Can it be biometrics notice? Or just a mistake maybe? Please let me know if anyone else has/had same experience!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-08-24 12:23:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	USC Spouse presence at the interview	I was wondering if USC spuose has to be present at the interview in case of marriage based application (3 years). My wife was going to go with me as she always did for all immigration appointments, but my interview happens to be on the day when she has an extremely important work conference and basically cannot go unless she absolutely has to. I cannot find any info on spouse presence being required, but just wanted to check around. Also, if it's not required, will that be beneficial and are they even allowed to attend? Thanks!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-09-16 06:55:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Positive interview experience in Fairfax, VA (Washington, DC) field office	Passed my interview today in the Fairfax, VA (aka Washington DC) office. It was very quick and easy. Got there about 30 minutes in advance, was called in exactly at the time indicated on interview letter, on the dot. The interviewing officer was a very nice lady, very professional and polite. First swore me in, then went over my whole application, had to change couple of things. She had to correct the spelling of my patronymic (Russian version of the middle name) from what I've been using for the past 3+ years to what I had originally transliterated from my birth certificate for the K-1 interview! Since in Russian we use a different alphabet, there is no 'right' spelling in English - depends on transliteration, so it's kind of pointless. Now that will be a pain though - means that I have to get a new DL again, which I just renewed a month ago. Oh well... Second thing was adding my last week's Carribbean vacation to the list of trips outside the country. Then she made me write some really simple sentence in English and read another equally simple one. Asked 6 questions from the test, I got all of them right. Don't remember the questions since I didn't really study for the test - just looked over the list quickly last night and had my wife quiz me. Knew about 90% of the answers already, the remaining 10% was pretty easy to memorize. She didn't look at any of the massive evidence I brought, just at my DL and GC. Asked for passport too, but didn't even open it. Then she said that I was recommended for approval, but I can't get the Oath today since my GC 3rd anniversary is not until Ocotober 24th. I knew that when I recieved the IL and was kind of bummed since I think Fairfax office often conducts same day Oath. Does anyone know how long does it normally take for the Oath letter to arrive? She seemed to think that they will only send it after the GC anniversary and then the Oath date will be another 2 weeks from then. Kinda hope it will be faster than that, since I'm holding off with my holiday travel plans until the process is finalized and tickets are getting more and more expensive... Anyway, that was my experience - good luck to everyone else with their interviews and will post again when I get the Oath letter!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-10-15 16:58:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Fairfax Office Parking	QUOTE (naiku @ Oct 26 2009, 01:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (jsnearline @ Oct 26 2009, 10:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The only parking I know of there is at the Dunn Loring Metro Station across the street. Since those lots tend to fill up with commuters, you may have trouble finding parking there unless your appointment is quite early. We used Metro to get to the office there and found it was the best way to go. I figured the same about the commuter lot filling up early, my appointment is not until 10:40am and those lots are usually full by 8am. Taking the Metro there is not really an option, closest station to me is Vienna (still a minimum of an hours drive, not including morning traffic) and Vienna fills up real fast on a weekday. Sorry it took me so long to reply, but I hope it's still will be useful for you. I've been in Fairfax office 4 times now (twice for the interviews and twice for the Infopass). When you drive on Prosperity ave. from Rt 29 toward the USCIS office, you will see a turn right after you pass the building - there is a huge parking lot right behind the USCIS building. The first lot you see after turning off Prosperity is free but permit only and the next one to the left is 5 bucks per day but always have availiable spaces. That's where I always parked. It's annoying you have to pay for it, but in the scheme of all immigration expenses 5 bucks for parking is really nothing.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-10-29 15:39:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	N-400: Civics/History Test Game....	Cmon, maybe it's time to give it up. This game is pretty lame and not a whole lot of folks want to (or have time) to play it. Not really efficent way of studying either. No offense, but...come on!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-02 13:57:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	I do not understand the new citizenship test	QUOTE (NickD @ Nov 3 2009, 10:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (~*Dorothy*~ @ Nov 3 2009, 08:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (NickD @ Nov 3 2009, 06:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hopefully, your IO can read and write English, wife did have a problem with her IO in that respect. Funny you mention this! Back in the day (2002) when I took my naturalization test this was exactly my issue...My IO had a pretty thick accent and I had a very hard time understanding him...The test was a breeze and I remember him not paying any attention to my answers - he just kept looking through the paperwork and surly he found an issue on my ex husband's tax returns... To the OP - you should be just fine...Good luck!!! Ever think about applying to the USCIS with your USC to get a job? Heard the benefits are pretty darn good and you get a zillion paid holidays each year. Suggested this to my wife, but feel her IQ is way too high, above 140 and believe the maximum the USCIS will accept is around a ten so she won't be eligible. Also have to be paranoid, redundant, have an ego that you are God, and distrustful, even more qualifications she would have difficulty meeting. But we can dream about it. Hahahaha! I love it!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-03 12:42:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	How long can it possibly take to get the freaking Oath letter ?!?!?!	Finally got my freaking Oath letter yesterday. Oath date is December 10th - almost 2 months after the interview (!!!) and that's in the office that offers same day Oaths!!! Freaking ridiculous. Lets see if anyone can beat my record here on July and August filers thread. Don't think so though...	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-17 15:24:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	How long can it possibly take to get the freaking Oath letter ?!?!?!	So my wife called the Senator's immigration guy today and he told her that the good news is that Oath has in fact been scheduled but the bad news is that it will be only on 10th of December. While I'm glad to find out that my case is not flushed down the toilet which I was suspecting for a week now, I'm thoroughly pissed off at yet ANOTHER delay. I mean my office conducts same day ceremonies for ####'s sake and now after dicking me around for a month after the interview (I'm sure they just misplaced my file and if Senator's office never inquired about it, we'd probably keep waiting), they schedule me for the ceremony which is a whole month away! I'm afraid my Senator's guy wasn't as firm as what NickD described, and they just scheduled me for a late ceremony. I guess, being nice and polite with any government agency doesn't work at all. Unless you have power (such as Senator's office does) and scare them shitless, they will just continue treating you like scum. This whole thing really screws up my holiday plans and I'm really really pissed. I doubt I can do much at this point though. Asked the Senator's immigration guy to try to make them reschedule the ceremony for a sooner date, but he said he is 99% sure it won't work. Any other ideas?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-10 12:58:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	How long can it possibly take to get the freaking Oath letter ?!?!?!	QUOTE (NickD @ Nov 6 2009, 10:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> IO told my wife she would receive her oath letter in two weeks, let four go by, then called my senators office, it was e-mailed to us within two hours, with a letter of apology. Her oath was held three days later. Share your views on dealing with some people on not giving a damn about you. By law, is 120 days, but in the same respect, a promise is a promise. Thanks for advice Nick - looks like your Senator doesn't screw around, that's really a qucik response. We'll try calling our guy too. VA used to have a senior GOP Senator who was a chief of Senate Commitee on Immigration or something. He really had some weight when he stepped in. Now we have 2 younger dem Senators who don't seem to have much influence on US CIS, unfortunately. We'll try calling them though - it's probably better that writing them anyway. Thanks again!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-06 10:32:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	How long can it possibly take to get the freaking Oath letter ?!?!?!	Another week passed, still no Oath letter in sight. 3 weeks since the interview and counting. I'm really losing patience now - already wrote my Senator, but no feedback so far. Any other ideas?	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-06 09:14:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	How long can it possibly take to get the freaking Oath letter ?!?!?!	Here is my frustration. I quickly and successfully passed the interview 2 weeks ago (on October 15th). The problem is that my interview was 9 days too early to take the Oath even though my local office generally performs same day Oaths. I was trying to ask the IO to give me an Oath letter on the spot but she was reluctant and said that it will come in mail. However, she indicated that I should get the letter on or right after my eligibility date (October 24th) and the Oath should be in couple of weeks. So it's been 2 weeks and my mailbox is still empty. I lost patience and scheduled an infopass appointment today. Unfortunately, before you can get to an actual IO at the infopass, you first have to fight your way through the receptioninst who knows as much (if not less) than the disinformation line and whoes main job is to turn as many people away as possible without letting them talk to the actual IO. This receptionist just kept parroting the same phrase over and over again "sir, you have to allow 120 days from your interview until the Oath ceremony. If 120 days pass and you still don't recieve anything you can schedule another Infopass". No calls for reason and asking to talk to a higher level IO who can actually look into my case and figure out what the hold up is and probably give it a push didn't seem to work at all. The other guy at the reception was trying to be more helpful and actually looked up my alien number in their system and said that my Oath hasn't been scheduled yet and there is nothing he can do. Anyhow, I left with nothing. My whole application from the day I sent it to the interview date took 2.5 months and now I'm stuck at the Oath stage when I see most of the people on this board take the Oath within 2-3 weeks after the interview max. Any idea what the hold up may be and how long can it possibly take? Also, at the interview she didn't stamp APPROVED on my application, just gave me a N-652 (or whatever it is) saying that I was recommended for approval. Does it mean that it can still be pending supervisors final approval? What else can it be? I'm really frustrated because I'd prefer not to travel between the interview and the Oath and I cannot make my holiday plans until I know I can get the passport before the end of the year. Any advices, opinions, theories will be highly appreciated!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-10-29 09:52:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Race question in N400	QUOTE (internetkafe @ Nov 20 2009, 11:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I do not understand why the government wants to see Middle Eastern people as white because that is not true. Perhaps in order to keep the number of minority people limited to few privileged groups? Whenever I am asked my race on a form, I put Asian,not white. It is up to you whatever you want to put there.No one (incl. the government) can force you to declare this way or that way. Well, once again, from strict sceintific standpoint there are only 3 races: - Caucasian (Indo-european), which includes native Europeans, Middle Easterners (both Arabs, non-Arab muslims and Jews) and Indians. - Negroid, which includes native Africans (except Arabs of North Africa) and natives of Australia. - Mongoloid, which includes Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans (American Indians), and some small northern Nations such as Escimos. In this strict definition, Middle Easterner would be considered of Caucasian race. However, the way this question is presented on most US forms is not accurate. This list is really a mix of races (such as Black or Asian) and ethnicities/ethnic origins (such as Hispanic or Pacific Islander) which are either part of one of the separately mentioned races or a mix of such. That creates most of the confusion - while people of Mongoloid race get to choose between Asian, Hispanic and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, basically based of their country of origin; Middle Easterners, Indians and people of native European decent get all piled up in one broad category "White". Plus, as Ant+D+A mentioned above, there is no accomodation for people of mixed race. Some forms go even further into the world of PC nonsense and feature such ridiculous terms as "White (non-Hispanic)" or "Black (except Black Hispanic)" and so on. This just makes my head hurt...	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-20 16:02:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Race question in N400	QUOTE (meod @ Nov 18 2009, 11:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Part 5 in N400 that asks about race? I m not White, Asian, Black or African American, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian or other Pasific Islander. im non of the above, Im from Northen African with dark skin. what should i put in there? or should i just leave it blank? Thank you. If you are of Arabic decent, I think you should put "white". If you are of Negroid decent, you should put "african american". I understand you are not american yet, but the term "african american" is misleading at best and outright stupid at worst. The correct antropological term for this race is in fact "negroid", but years of liberal retardation labeled this term as "racist" comparing it to the actually offensive "n" word. That's how politically correct term "african american" emerged. However this term is clearly retarded and a black person coming from Africa who is not an American is clearly not an "african american" so there is no accurate category for him/her to use. Even non-sceintific term "black" is more accurate in this regard and should not be any more offensive than "white" applied to white people. But, PC culture removed even this last bit of sense from many government forms. Sorry for the rant, hope it was helpful.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-18 12:01:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	N-400: Ant’s Citizenship INTERVIEW PASSED.…BUT….(Part 1 of 2)….	WOW! That is a LONG update. Ant, you gotta start looking for a hobby after this is all over because you spent way too much time and attention devoted to USCIS. So, what is your country of birth after all? You make such a big deal out of it - how bad can it be? What is it - Cuba? North Korea? Iran? You give us such detailed description of your day but hide such a simple thing as your birth country... Oh yeah, and what is that special Oath accomodation you asked for? Just curious... Anyway, congratulations on passing your interview and hope your Oath wait won't be as long as mine... QUOTE (Ant+D+A @ Nov 19 2009, 07:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Everyone, Here's the long-awaited update to let all you VJers know that.... (Note: there might be some grammar/spelling errors in the story, as I didn't have time to fully edit it. As long as you can get the gist of it, so be it, I guess….Happy Reading!) On 11/18/09, I went to the Buffalo, NY, local USCIS office for my citizenship interview, and this is what happened that day: 10:00-10:30-I woke up later this morning, feeling nauseous, anxious, and excited about the interview in the afternoon today. I ate breakfast, fed the baby, and was in the midst of checking my e-mail, when all of a sudden the electricity went out. I then took a quick shower, and luckily had enough water, before that ran out too (our water pump is run by electricity). "Oh this is not a good start to the day, despite it being warm and sunny outside!" I think to myself, as my husband telephones the electric company to get the electric fixed. I then got dressed and got the baby dressed for the day. For the interview, I dressed in a red velvet hoodie jacket, dark blue velvet pants, white shirt with three heart-shaped American flags on them (like my online avator), American/Canadian flags lapel pin on my shirt, dark blue socks, black sneakers. My husband dressed in a red and blue striped shirt, tan/brown pants, white socks, and black dress shoes. My baby son dressed in a Buffalo Bills patriotic red/white/blue onesie shirt, dark blue elastic pants, a diaper, a thank-heavens-for-boys white/blue bib (he drools too much..lol..), and matching thank-heavens-for-boys light blue booties (the ones he got when he was born and came home from the hospital with). "Let's get out of here, before something else goes wrong!", I say to everyone, as I gather my documents to bring with me for the interview, and we all decide to leave the house early for our long distance drive to Buffalo, NY… 10:30-1:45-We stopped to the local grocery store to pick up some extra bottled water, in case we needed it later, and bought two sub sandwiches for lunch. We also had to pull over a couple of times, as I had to feed the baby in the car and my husband and I ate our lunch there too. For the next few hours, while we drove to Buffalo, we listened to the "Learn About the United States" CD a couple of times (we went through the entire CD 3-4 times…it was a long drive..), for me to study/refresh last-minute for the test. I admit, the CD made us all sleepy, so we had to stop listening to it for the last hour, and listened to Christmas/Holiday music on the radio for the rest of the way instead. "Lol…Well, now we have a new way of putting our baby to sleep. Just play the immigration CD!", I joked. 1:45-2:30-We got to the city at 1:45 or so, parked about one block away on the side of the street next to a meter (about $1.25 or so, as we paid for 1hr+ of parking), as that was the closest parking space in front of the building. I fed and changed the baby, for the next few minutes in the car, so that he wouldn't get fussy when we went inside. We decided to bring the carseat and baby bag in this time, instead of carrying him in as we didn't know how long that it would take for the interview. When we got inside the USCIS building at 2:10pm, we were the only ones going through the metal detectors/scanners at the entrance. When it was our turn, the same guard as last time at the door asked, "What are you here for?" So I gave the guard my interview letter, and my driver's license, and my husband gives his driver's license when asked for. They then ask us to put our keys and wallets in the tray, and I put my black baby bag (which had baby diapers, baby wipes, my original documents, other documents, and the naturalization study booklet in it) on the conveyer belt to go through the x-ray machines. The guard was friendly and then asked the standard "Do you have any cameras, cell phones, guns, weapons, knives, sharp objects, razors, staplers (huh), etc.?", to which we said "no", and didn't question us any further. As well, the guard asked if the baby bag had any baby food, such as baby formula, in it, to which I said "No" and said "My baby doesn't take formula, and he is too young for baby food", which confuses the guard even more. Oh well. I then walk through the metal detectors with no problems; my husband then walks through the metal detectors with no problems, while leaving the baby behind as he walks through. "Bring the baby with you," another guard says. My husband apologizes, and I explain that in our county government building we have to walk through metal detectors too, but was always told to walk through first and then bring the baby after. "Well, make sure you take the baby, as we're not here for babysitting", the guard jokes around again. So we take the baby in the carseat, the baby bag, and the rest of our belongings, after going through the detectors. The guard then told us to walk straight ahead to the waiting room area and go up to window 6 to sign in for the interview. When we get to window 6, I gave the Infopass letter to the Immigration Officer behind the glass. He then tells us to have a seat and wait, until my name is called. So we wait for a few minutes, and as we wait, I quickly go over some more questions in the booklet and some other questions that I thought that they would ask me. 2:30-2:45- Interview Time! A lady immigration officer steps out of the door marked "employees only" and calls my name. My husband says "good luck", and waits with the baby, while I follow the immigration officer behind the door, bringing my folder of documents and my wallet with me. I was led a couple of doors down to her office, where she introduced herself, on a first and last name basis, and made me raise my right hand and asks me to "Swear to tell the truth, and that anything that you don't tell the truth to is against the law….", to which afterwards I said "I do". She tells me to have a seat behind desk, where she seats on one side behind a computer, I sit on the other side near the door while I put my folder and wallet on her desk, and she tells me to be careful not to accidentally bang my feet on the edge of her desk as the edge of it juts out a bit. She then tells me that "you could leave at any time, and feel free to ask any questions throughout the interview process". She starts the interview, wanting to see my green card and Canadian passport. I put my green card and expired and current Canadian passports on her desk, and say to her, "Umm..there are no passport stamps in my passport (no stamps are needed for travel between Canada and the USA on a Canadian passport), but if you want, you can have a look at it anyways", to which she doesn't even bother looking at the passports. She searches for my file behind a huge locked black metal filing cabinet, marked "locked and secured" in big red letters, and finds my entire immigration file, which is literally 3-4 inches thick, from all of my immigration cases over the past 3 years. On the top of the file, are the papers for my N-400 citizenship case, neatly in order and held together in a big folder with an acco clip. She then takes out the application form, and goes through all of the questions on the form with me, verbally asking me the answer to most of the questions on it, and paraphrasing and summarizing some of the questions on it, while marking it with a red pen as I confirmed the answers with her. Some key questions that she asked and confirmed, regarding my N-400 application form: IO: Is this your name? Do you want a name change? Ant: Yes. And no, I don't want to change my name. IO: (looks at my green card, to confirm my name on it). It looks like you just barely reached your 3 year residency mark today. You're good to go though. (my green card says 'residence since 11-14-2006, and today was 11-18-2009, 4 days after the 3yr mark) IO: Is this your address? (reads my addresses) Ant: The first address is where my house is located, the physical address. The second address is my mailing address. If you want to visit me, use the first address. If you want to send me mail, send it to my mailing address. My mailbox is literally a mile away, and its something to do with small-town/country zoning rules…it's complicated… IO: It must be quiet where you are in the rural area. All you hear is the wind. Ant: Yes, it's very quiet around where I live. Very peaceful and nothing but wind and animals (lol…and the neighbours with their guns out during hunting season…). IO: What is your country of birth? What is your country of citizenship? Ant: Well, I was born in (insert birth country here), but my country of citizenship is Canada, and that's where I grew up in too. I wrote an attachment explaining about this. IO: (Searches for the attachment for awhile, as it is lodged in between the 95 pages of evidence that I submitted and uses a silver 'pokey-stick' metal pen with a rubber thimble attached to the end of it to thumb through the pages). Ant: Umm…Do you need my cover letter to locate where it is? IO: No, that's ok, I'll find it. You sure do have a lot of evidence here… Ant: Well, "better safe than sorry here", as I don't want to get an RFE (request for additional evidence) or anything like that. IO: Yes, good to be overly prepared…(finds the attachment, and reads it….) IO: (Also finds my 2 passport-sized photos that I submitted for citizenship application, and hands them to me, along with a black felt tip marker, and points out exactly where to sign). Can you sign on the front side of the photos, going upwards from the bottom left corner to the top left corner? Ant: Like this? (I sign my name). I guess these photos are ok, as I had bought other ones just in case these ones were not acceptable. I'll just use these other photos that I have for passport purposes later on then. IO: Yes, those are fine. (I give her the back the signed photos, and she puts them back in a small clear plastic sandwich bag). IO: (looks at the 'race' section of the application form, sort of perplexed that I have checked of multiple boxes, and included my own box that says 'prefer not to answer' (they did not have such a box, so I drew one up...lol..), but checkmarks those sections anyways...lol…"I'm multicultural", I like to say…) IO: (confirms my previous addresses) (confirms my employment boxes, but only checkmarks the homemaker/stay-at-home sections I had written down...ummm….I guess she didn't care about the volunteer/unpaid jobs that I had written down too…) IO: (turns to the next page of the application…looks confused as to why I crossed out five years and wrote three years, for trips acquired since permanent residency as I'm applying under the three year marriage rule instead, but figures it out eventually…) Ant: There are too many trips to list them all there, as I go back to Canada for visits pretty often. See the additional attachment for more details about those trips. IO: (uses the 'pokey stick' and finds the additional attachment, and then marks off 15-16 days with her red pen on the attachment and on the application). IO: Are you married? Is your husband D? How many times has he been married? Ant: Yes, my husband is D, married once. He's just married to me. IO: And you? Ant: Just once, to D. In fact, he and my son are in the waiting room, if ever you want to see them. IO: And you have one child, from what I see here? Ant: Yes. Baby Aaron. He was born in July and is only 3-4 months old now, and was born in America, and is an American Citizen already. IO: Congratulations for the baby. Ant: Thanks. He sure is quite a handful though. IO: (goes over the check marked "yes" and "no" portions of the application form, which I have no problems answering and confirming). IO: Have you ever claimed to be a US Citizen? Ant: No. that would be against the law. I'll wait until after I get US Citizenship for such. IO: Have you ever failed to file a required tax return? Ant: I wasn't required to file a tax return, and legally don't have to do such, as a homemaker with no income. But if I ever have to file taxes, I will legally do such. IO: And how about your husband? Does he have a tax return? Ant: No. (and I explain further about my husband's income situation, which she seemed ok about). There is additional attachment explaining about that too. IO: (uses the 'pokey stick' and finds the additional attachment, and then marks it off with her red pen on the attachment and on the application). IO: Have you ever harmed someone because they were different from you? Ant: No, of course not. (as she was referring to the groups against the US part…) IO: (going over the 'good moral character' portion of the form…) Ant: (explains a bit further about that…and yup, you guessed it…another attachment and other court-related documents…and out with the 'pokey stick'…). Umm…that happened such a long time ago; I was very young and stupid back then (the case resulted in being settled in court, but with no jail and/or convictions for that, and I've had no other problems since then either…) IO: (check over the attachment and the court documents, making sure too that the court documents were genuine, with the raised seal on them…). Ok, no problem there. I see that you also submitted and disclosed about this for your previous immigration cases too. (then moves on to more "yes" and "no" questions) IO: Do you support the government of the United States? Ant: Sure, I support democracy..(and gives her a thumbs up for that…) IO: Yes, we like democracy here in America. IO: (reads the oath, and I agree to it) Ant: (signs the application form on the 'signature at interview' portion of the form, and prints and signs my name on the 'oath of allegiance' portion of the form) IO: Congratulations, you passed the speaking portion of the test! Ant: That was easy. We then continue on with the reading and writing portion of the test… IO: (places a piece of paper in front of me). Can you read the first sentence (there were three sentences in all) on the paper? Ant: Reads: "The White House is in Washington, D.C." IO: (places another piece of paper in front of me, and give me a black pen). Can you write the following: "The White House is in Washington, DC." Ant: Writes: "The White House is in Washington, D.C." I hope you can read my writing. IO: Take your time, no need to rush. Ant: Ok, I'm done. (gives the papers back to her). One of these days, maybe I should take a trip down there to see the White House. I heard that it is quite nice and historical there. IO: It's busy, like Toronto (where I used to be from), but with cherry trees on the street. I just went there on a vacation recently. Ant: Nah, Toronto, Canada is a lot busier, I'm sure of that. IO: The population of Toronto is quite big…Guess you're right there.. We then continue on with the civics/history portion of the test, as these questions are asked verbally to me, and she writes down the answers with her red pen on her paperwork on the desk: IO: Question 1: 1) What is the supreme law of the land? Ant: The constitution. IO: Question 2: 34) Who vetoes bills? Ant: The president vetoes bills. IO: Question 3: 44) What is the capital of your state (New York State)? Ant: Albany, NY. Hmm…maybe I should go there sometime. IO: Well, actually I went there recently with my family. Next to the governor's mansion is not a nice area. I wouldn't like seeing that if I were living there. Ant: Yeah, you would think they would do something about that to clean up the city. Someone should have protested about that. It doesn't seem fair there, especially if they have the means to improve such to make the community better. IO: Question 4: 52) What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance? Ant: The Flag and to the United States of America. (the IO writes down both answers) IO: Questions 5: 81) Who did the United States fight in World War II? Ant: Japan. Germany. Italy. (the IO writes down all three answers) IO: Question 6: 83) During the Cold War, what was the concern of the United States? Ant: Communism. And yes we love our democracy here in the USA! (lol…thinking that she chose this question especially for me, as I mentioned something about communism in one of my other attachments…) IO: (she stops at 6 questions, as I got all 6 right, so she didn't need to ask anymore…) IO: Congratulations, you passed your citizenship interview! We then talk about scheduling an oath ceremony….BUT…… IO: Let's see if we can schedule you for an oath date here (looks on her computer). IO: The next date in Buffalo is in January…(and then I cut her off mid-sentence) Ant: Ummm..before you continue, can you read over this letter? (I take a letter out of my folder that I had typed up beforehand, to give after I pass, explaining in detail with some good reasons as to why I would need this accommodation for me and my family…) IO: (reads the letter, that I hand to her)….We'll see what we can do to help you with this oath ceremony accommodation. Meanwhile, I have to talk to the district officer upstairs about this. Can you wait outside in the waiting room, while I discuss such? Ant: (gets up to leave, gathers up my folder and other documents, and waits in the waiting room with my husband and son)….. 2:45-3:00: I wait in the waiting room and tell D, "I passed, but she is going to talk to her supervisor about the accommodations". Meanwhile, I take out my civics/history test study booklet, and quickly circle/write down the questions that they asked me during the test (so that I don't forget..lol..and remember what to report to all of you here online). I also see the 'fingerprint lady' (the immigration officer that did my biometrics/fingerprints for my immigration cases) while I am waiting, to which she says to me, "Good luck on your interview". "Umm..thanks…but I already passed, I'm just waiting for her to get back to me about something." "That was quick. It seems that you were just out here waiting a few minutes ago," she says. She looks at my baby, and says "Oh my, he's grown since I last saw him when you did your fingerprints", and then goes back to doing her job, as more people start streaming into the waiting room to get their fingerprints done. I then ask D if the baby has been cranky while I was in there, and as soon as I say that, the baby starts loudly crying at me. I try to burp him, but that doesn't help, nor does he have a dirty/wet diaper either. "See, that's what I was afraid, was going to happen when we came here, and sure enough it did. I guess I have to feed him again now, even though I just fed him before we came in". So we pick up our belongings, and move to the other side of the big waiting room. I grab my coat to cover up and breastfeed/nurse the baby while we are waiting. I was in the midst of the feeding, when I see the immigration officer from the other side of the room come out the door…. IO: There you are, I was just looking for you. Ant: I'm here, just on the other side of the room. As you can see, I'm feeding him (points to the baby), so sorry that I can't get up and greet you now (continues nursing/breastfeeding the baby, while the IO looks on, but hey, the baby has to be fed, can't do much else about it….awkward moment, indeed….) IO: That's ok.. I see that your husband and baby are here too. Also, just to let you know that the accommodation request in on their desk. They are going to have to contact the judge about this, so we'll contact you further by telephone and mail about your oath date. Ant: That's fine. Thanks for taking my request into consideration too. IO: Which district would you like to have your ceremony in? Buffalo or Rochester? (I live in both districts, oddly enough, as my physical address is in one district, and my mailbox is in another district…). Which one is more convenient for you? Ant: Whichever one is the fastest oath date, really, as both Buffalo and Rochester are the same distance away for us. IO: (explains a bit further about what will happen for the oath for me for my accommodations). You'll get further instructions in writing as to what happens next. And we'll accommodate you and your family as best as we can. IO: Here is the form to say that you passed the interview. (hands over the piece of paper to my husband, D, as my hands were full with the baby)… Again, congratulations on passing your interview. The IO returns back to her office, while I continue feeding the baby for a few more minutes in the waiting room. A few more people walk in and out of the waiting area (including the cleaning crew/janitors..), and then we gather our belongings and head back to the car, with just enough time left on the parking meter. Ant: D, what does that form say? D: (gives me the piece of paper) Ant: (reads the paper): "N-652: Naturalization Interview Results: (checkmarked box) You passed the tests of English and US history and government (checkmarked box) A) Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval. At this time it appears that you have established your eligibility for naturalization. If final approval is granted, you will be notified when and where to report for the Oath Ceremony." Ant: Well, I passed all right. Now I just have to obsessively check the mail and wait for that telephone call, regarding the oath. Let's just hope that all goes well there…. And so Part 1 of my Citizenship interview ends here, with us driving for the next 2-3 hours into the sunset and darkness on the way home. We come home to the electricity already fixed, and celebrate in the evening, with a homemade pizza and some rocket (red, white and blue) festive popsicles (lol…will save the rest of the patriotic treats for later.) Overall, I was happy about my interview experience, and am happy with how the USCIS staff in Buffalo, NY was on that day. And yes, it is especially nice too see too, that they are accommodating to applicants and friendly to children too. I hope you found this story interesting and helpful to read. Thanks for reading about my citizenship interview story! Good luck with the rest of your journeys too. Stay tuned for Part 2 of the rest of my Citizenship Interview story…. Will I get that letter and phone call for the oath? The waiting continues… Ant (Passed the Interview…But still waiting for oath ceremony details….)	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-20 16:47:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	proof of selective service registration	QUOTE (payxibka @ Nov 23 2009, 05:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> you should have received a selective service registration number... if not, or you cannot remember then http://www.sss.gov/instructions.html I knew the Post Offices could do it, but was unaware it could also be done at the DMV, interesting to note Actually, to this day, I have no clue who registered me for the Selective Service. I wasn't aware that I had to register when I got my GC, however about a month after I my AOS interview I got the SS registration card in mail. When I looked up my registration status, it says that I was registered in the end of November 2006 (my AOS interview was in the end of October 2006). The only 2 things that I did after recieving my GC in mail is getting a new DL and updating my status with the Social Security Administration. I don't remember any questions regarding SS registration on either forms. But it seems that one of these 3 agencies - USCIS, SSA or DMV registered me themselves...	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-24 12:26:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Sent my N400 and now I'm worried	QUOTE (mario777 @ Nov 23 2009, 05:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> oath or interview? thanx They will let you interview, but they WILL delay the Oath. For how long - depends on the DO. Some lucky guys got their Oath scheduled for the day after they become eligible, some (most) in a week or 2 after eligibility date, and some (like myself) 2 months (!!!) after. It seems that people from DOs which offer same day Oath can suffer the most. That happened to me and several other folks. Since for same day Oath offices you basically fall out of their normal process, they push you all the way to the back of the line. Here is my timeline: N-400 Submittal - end of July Interview - 15th of October Eligibility date - 24th of October Oath date - 10th of December Basically, if my interview was 10 days later, I'd likely get same day Oath and be completely done by the end of October. But since these idiots scheduled my interview just 9 days earlier of my eligibilty date, I got an Oath date of December 10th, and that after writing and calling our Senator.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-24 10:04:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Fast Question	QUOTE (lucyrich @ Nov 30 2009, 05:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Redneck-NOVA @ Nov 30 2009, 12:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As far as I know, voting itself is NOT a deportable offense. What is in fact a serious offense that may cause deportation, is claiming to be a US Citizen while you are not. See INA 237(a)(6)(A) "IN GENERAL- Any alien who has voted in violation of any Federal, State, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation is deportable." It's ALSO true that falsely claiming citizenship makes one deportable (see INA 237(a)(3)(D)). QUOTE (Redneck-NOVA @ Nov 30 2009, 12:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You don't have to disclose it on the form since you are not asked this question. The only questions on the form are whether you voted in any election and whether you registered to vote in any election. If you all you did is sign a petition, you can answer "No" to both of this questions and stop there. There is no question like "have you ever signed a petition to support a candidate claiming to be a registered voter." See part 10, question A1. It asks if you've ever claimed to be a US citizen in writing or in any other way. I stand corrected on voting statement. But as far as the questions on the form are concerned, I'd disagree. Claiming to be a citizen is claming to be a citizen. Signing a petition that mentioned nothing about being a citizen is NOT claming to be one. The fact that petition is only open to registered voters who in turn must be citizens doesn't necessarily mean that by signing it you claimed to be a citizen. In the worst case, you signed a petition that you had no right to sign, but it doesn't mean that you claimed to be a citizen, unless petition clearly stated "sign only if you are a Citizen" and even then it's a grey zone. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating doing it and it's clearly better to stay away from such actions. All I'm saying is that it's not as criminal as you make it sound. IMHO and IANAL, YMMV	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-01 12:23:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Fast Question	As far as I know, voting itself is NOT a deportable offense. What is in fact a serious offense that may cause deportation, is claiming to be a US Citizen while you are not. But here is the thing. In order to vote you need to register to vote. In order to register to vote you may or may not have to prove your Citizenship, but you HAVE to sign a statement that you are a US Citizen. If you ever signed any paper claiming to be a US Citizen while you were not (sometimes they ask you this question on DL application or other non-immigration and non voting-related forms), then you commited a serious offense. If you signed a petition with a long list of names to put a candidate or issue on a ballot...this is a grey zone... I'm sure many people did since as you mentioned, they often shove these petitions in your face by the store entrance without any explanation and you don't see any requirments as to who can and who cannot sign such petition. Normally most of them say that only registered voters can sign it, but I'm not sure if by signing it without knowingly affirming to be a registered voter you really commit any offense. It seems that it's more of a warning to them rather than to you. It's a grey zone. Realistically, chances are that this will never be discovered and even if it was, chances are that no action would be taken against you. And even if it was, a lawyer can probably get you out of it. Either way, they will have to find it and prove it. You don't have to disclose it on the form since you are not asked this question. The only questions on the form are whether you voted in any election and whether you registered to vote in any election. If you all you did is sign a petition, you can answer "No" to both of this questions and stop there. There is no question like "have you ever signed a petition to support a candidate claiming to be a registered voter."	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-30 15:13:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	waiting for the oath ceremony	QUOTE (amana1 @ Dec 2 2009, 09:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> hi, everyone. thank you for your help. Can anyone give me some information on how to contact a senator? I had my citizenchip interview on Oct 14 and I'm still waiting for the oath letter,when I called this number 1800 375 5283 my file in the interview process, and I must wait 90 days to check again when i told her that i already had my interview. I need to travel outside USA now, is it safe ? thanks Wow, you have it worse than me. I had my interview on October 15th and my Oath is coming up next week - 2 months after the interview. Don't waste your time calling the USCIS disinformation line - they will just read you your online status that never changes after "your case has been sent to local office for stadard interview" and if you get through to an actual human being (not the talking parrot that can read off the website - what a crappy job, by the way) aka 2nd level IO, he/she will tell you that you need to allow 120 days after the interview to inquire about the oath. Infopass will be just as useless. It's all bullshit. While 120 days wait is what law actually says, the reality now is much faster. So if you had no issues on the intreview and were recommended for approval and have been waiting for that long, chances are your case is misplaced. The only way to push it through is to write to your Senator. Be polite, but show that you are pissed off. Even if Senator simply inquires about your case, they cannot give them same bullshit response they would give you - they will have to find it and give him an actual status. It might be all it takes to get an Oath date scheduled. When our Senator did that, he came back to us within a week with an Oath date. The letter itself came in another week . Good luck!	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-02 10:34:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	I'm nervous about our filing	QUOTE (Jonesie @ Nov 24 2009, 11:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Inky @ Nov 24 2009, 08:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You could maybe try making up flash cards with the questions and the answers on the back? Or have him practice writing the questions down and reading them out loud. Maybe put the questions and answers into some kind of song type of thing? Or maybe record the questions and answers then he could play it back and listen to them over an over? Im not sure how your husband learns, everyone learns things diferent but thos are some ideas maybe? The flash cards sound like a great idea. He hates reading, so having him read the book would drive him insane. Thanks Inky He hates studing, he hates reading...no offense but it seems that he just needs to suck it up and do it. I mean this exam is waaaay easier than most of high school tests, let alone college ones. Kids also hate studing, but you kick their #### and take away their toys and they suck it up and study. Shouldn't be that hard to motivate an adult...	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-11-24 12:18:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	I should've registered for selective service?	QUOTE (NickD @ Dec 3 2009, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Not sure if I am amused or bugged about the post cards my boys had received when they turned 18 as natural born USC's. We know your is name is, you live at so and so, you were born on a date so and so, worked out to be 18 years prior to them receiving their card, we know your SSN is, but if you fail to sign and return this card in ten days, you can get up to one year in prison and a $10,000.00. That's pretty stiff... QUOTE (NickD @ Dec 3 2009, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Apparently selective service does not keep track of LPR, would think the USCIS would report them when they first received their green cards. There was just a small message to that effect they have to register that came with a brochure when you first receive your green cards. Actually USCIS does register you with the selective service...sometimes. I got my GC in October 2006 (was 24 at the time) and I revcieved my SS registration card in mail in the end of November. I never registered myself because I had no clue I had to. So in a way I'm thankful to USCIS (or whoever else did that) for doing it for me. QUOTE (NickD @ Dec 3 2009, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Has me wondering if the USCIS keeps track of anything, like giving you a warning your green card is going to expire, or demanding a copy of that green card or USC certificate in case yours is lost or stolen. I never recieved any reminder to file I-751, but I read about the people who did on this forum. I assume that much like with other USCIS stuff it'#######-or-miss. QUOTE (NickD @ Dec 3 2009, 01:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Read that the greatest number of illegals here are due to overstayed I-94's, not everyone crosses the dessert, so apparently they are not keeping track of that either. But they do ask you on your application if you had ever overstayed your I-94, is that because they don't know? Really a screwed up agency like most of our other governmental agencies. That is very true...	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-03 13:41:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	I should've registered for selective service?	QUOTE (NickD @ Dec 3 2009, 06:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Really don't have to sweat it period, if you are a female. Only males have to register. It's interesting than no one filed some kind of discrimination lawsuit about that... I guess you only ###### about equal rights when it benefits you, not the other way around..	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-03 10:34:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Willing to bear arms?	QUOTE (internetkafe @ Dec 3 2009, 02:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> We may need draft if the president keeps sending troops around the world at the current speed and stamina. It is better to spread it than putting the entire burden on a group of people who volunteered for several reasons. In my opinion, being for draft is the definition of patriotism. If you are against draft you are unpatriotic. Patriotism doesn't mean risking your life for the game government is playing. Defeding your country from invasion is one thing, fighting on a foreign soil for the interests of some corporation or government officials is another. While not willing to do the former may indicate lack of patriotism, not willing to the latter indicates...well, inteliigence, common sense and presence of basic instincs like self preservation. Mandatory draft is an awful thing. On the other hand, professional military members, much like professional LEOs willingly picked a job to risk their life according to order of their superiors. Both military and LEOs also get a lot of benefits for that. Civilians, on the other hand, have no such obligation.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-03 15:01:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Willing to bear arms?	QUOTE (saywhat @ Dec 3 2009, 01:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> except that it means that after the ceremony you are still on the hook as a citizen if you leave the country, whereas an LPR can skip off Not that a citizen can't skip off and live abroad during this time... You may be on the hook, but it's not like they will extradite you from a third country just to draft you. Either way, I don't see draft happening unless it is a serious invasion on US soil (which I don't see happening either anytime soon). Yes, during Vietnam there was a draft for a useless war, but that's exactly one of the reasons why it wouldn't happen again. Anti war moods are strong enough now even with volantary draft, if any administration was ever to press for a mandatory one for a war on foreign soil...forget about it.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-03 14:38:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Willing to bear arms?	QUOTE (elishav @ Dec 2 2009, 12:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's a twisted statement. I always thought that honoring any oath is a proper thing to do if you took this oath volounterely and in good faith. The real problem is that the country decayed to the point when no one takes any oaths seriously and even elected officials all the way to the oval office do not honor the oath of office. What happened to "defend and protect the Constitution...against all enemies - foregn and domestic"!?!?!? I am sorry you don't agree. By your statement the country was decaying before the ink was dry on the Declaration of Independance. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..." The enslavement of African-Americans, the decimation of entire Native American populations etc. took place under a government that declared itself using these words. Horrible horrible things have been done in the name of issuing unconditional allegiance. Classical organizational theory has sent millions of people efficiently to slaughter and all they were doing was upholding "oaths" to their government and superiors. NO THANK YOU! By the way, don't assume you know my political stance on anything. Frankly, I could care less about gun control. Have guns, don't have guns. It's all gravy. Just don't force me to use them against the person you pre-ordained the enemy. Actually, I'm not a big fan of oaths like that myself and I certainly don't want to blindly follow government. I was simply saying that "honoring the oath you took in good faith" is a right and honest thing to do. The fact that oaths sometimes make you say retarded things is a whole different story.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-02 10:24:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Willing to bear arms?	QUOTE (elishav @ Dec 2 2009, 01:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Redneck-NOVA @ Dec 1 2009, 11:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (elishav @ Nov 30 2009, 09:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Boiler @ Nov 30 2009, 10:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Justine+David @ Nov 30 2009, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yikes, I didn't realize this kind of question was going to be asked for my future husband. He's from the UK and like a majority of his country, thinks gun control is extremely important and that Americans are too gun-happy. I'm inclined to agree, especially with a Constitution that has amendments for a reason... Now, I come from a strong military family and my dad is a colonel, so I very much support our troops, especially as they put their lives in danger for our country. It's more about Congress that I wouldn't agree with who have the power to involve the U.S. in wars, but I guess there's no stopping them except for voting them out. *sigh* Gun control in the UK is only an issue if you want to own one legally, illegally not a problem. I prefer the US system. Gives you a chance. Please stop jacking threads. This is not about gun control. Your off-topic snide comments to people are all over this board. There are plenty of places on the internet for what you are looking for. People have politely asked you to stop, so please stop. Actually, she mentioned gun control first. As NickD pointed out, the Oath statement about bearing arms has absolutely nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. But when you start talking about morals of bearing arms, these 2 subjects mix and I was partially guilty in taking this thread somewhat offtopic by making comments about Right to bear arms. However, it was Justine+David who mentioned gun control first, so don't scream at Boiler just because you disagree with his statement and agree with hers. We see enough of this tactic in congress and media, it's really not cool I wasn't making any kind of statement regarding his opinions, only that they be given context to immigration issues. She was voicing concern about the oath and giving it context to her future husband in Britain, he was making a comment about gun control laws. Boiler made another comment on a forum about someone discussing the demise of their international marriage with "Just sounds like another latin marriage". Talk about kicking someone while they are down. It's ####### like that I take an issue with. Visajourney is one of a kind site about marriage immigration issues and I hope it stays that way. That's not true. Read the thread again - she was in fact the first one who mentioned gun control and he just replied. As for what he did or didn't post before - I don't know about it so I cannot judge either way.	Redneck-NOVA	Male	Russia	2009-12-02 09:49:00