biggish data

WE HAVE A VISA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent news!!! all the best for your marriage and the future....exciting times ahead! :dance:

Welshcookie

Female

Wales

2006-04-06 08:44:00

interview experience in rio

CONGRATS!!!! :dance:

Welshcookie

Female

Wales

2006-10-05 17:02:00

Read This: YOU WILL NEED A Police Certificate (Subject Access) if you have had ANY Criminal Offenses, No matter HOW small or spent!!!!

QUOTE (sueandbarry @ May 28 2008, 05:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Barry was told by the US Embassy to ask for the Subject Access from the Metropolitan Police. It will have more iformation than the words No Live Trace, which is ALL was on the ACPO report. The PNC report ought to contain the nature of the offense and dates, and then he will have to explain in person. The irritating thisng is that he was asked to only get the ACPO first, and it cost 35 pounds. it was quick, but useless. Now we have to give them 40 days on the outside to process the PNC (.
This just gets better and better. And as as a teacher, I thought I knew paperwork!

Thank you for you help......

Sue and B

arry

Sue...The ACPO has merely replaced the subject access form, it is more expensive because having to include a photo and a signature to confirm ID and takes less time...ACPO is not 'useless' as the the subject access is no longer acceptable at least at the Embassy in the UK, which is why he was asked only to get this in the first place...the Subject Access goes through the same process as the ACPO. which really goes back to my main confusion as to why they asked him to get the SA.

Welshcookie

Female

Wales

2008-05-28 15:23:00

Read This: YOU WILL NEED A Police Certificate (Subject Access) if you have had ANY Criminal Offenses, No matter HOW small or spent!!!!

QUOTE (sueandbarry @ May 27 2008, 10:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE (Welshcookie @ May 27 2008, 01:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm just surprised the consular has requested you get a Subject Access as well as your ACPO...it won't show show any more information than what you have already with the ACPO...He should just be able to get his court records which won't take anything like 40 days.

The ACPO says JUSt No Live Trace, and nothing more!!! However, they ask that he remember everything such as dates, places, fines paid...and he cannot remmeber 20 years back when this all took place. It is nothing more than a library fine and one count of threatening behavior, no blows or anything, just a shouting match.

Why so much Fol De Rol over this? I am not sure......I am thinking that if the Subject Access says nothing more, then where do we get any more info? I am at a standstill here!

How does he get court records then, becasue he is about to send off for the stupid 'one more form' tomorrow!!!!

PLUS Swden has no checks no Post Offices and no Money Orders (!!) so every time he has to send off anything it costs him as much as the fee itself for the check!
Goddess!

Sue

Hi Sue,

Don't be concerned with library fines...that isn't remotely 'criminal'. What he needs to concern himself with is any court appearances that resulted in some kind of conviction (that is something he isn't going to forget)....if he went to court following any arrest he needs to contact the Clerk of the court in which his case was heard, and ask a copy of any record held, if they come back and say that there is no record held anymore get them to put that in writing and send to him.

If he never had any court appearances, and he has admitted to arrests/cautions, he could go through the same proceedure at the police station that dealt with this. When the Subject access form arrives he needs to submit it with a written explanation with anything that he remembers about the threatening behavior incident, it is my guess that the subject access will not say anything more than the ACPO...probably less actually.

Good luck!

Welshcookie

Female

Wales

2008-05-28 04:58:00

Read This: YOU WILL NEED A Police Certificate (Subject Access) if you have had ANY Criminal Offenses, No matter HOW small or spent!!!!

Welshcookie

Female

Wales

2008-05-27 15:04:00

overseas military spouse

It is my understanding that once you are a military spouse any time spent outside the US due to your partners service is counted as 'physical presence'...so all the time you spend in Japan will be counted as if you were in the US. I found lots of info for this in the Guide To Naturalization (page 22) on the USCIS website.

I have only started to do my research on this myself so if anyone knows any different I am all ears too

http://www.uscis.gov...atz/English.pdf

Welshcookie

Female

Wales

2006-07-19 15:32:00

Thanks for everyones comments and suggestions!

My mother-in-law is 79 years old and has stomach cancer. She does not really want to worry my husband (her only child) so I think she is hiding more than we know. She had also told him it is in her chest, not sure if she meant breast or not. She is going back to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully she will learn more and tell us more, but it doesn't sound good. She only has a 75 year old sister alive and her two grandkids (my husband's kids, ages 21 and 23), but she won't let anyone go to the doctor with her.

My husband was laid off in January and has been unemployed since. A horrible situation. I am only working part-time (25 hours a week) and have been looking for a full-time job since we moved here 20 months ago - bad economy. We do not have the money at all right now to apply for citizenship unfortunatley. My parents are going to have to help us by the first of next year as the rest of my reitrement money will run out. My sister and her husband are "donating" his frequent flyer points for my hubby to fly to England. We only rent a house but even he went first and then I went over later and I was gone for more than a month I would have to pack up our house and put everything in storage (as we couldn't afford to pay rent on an empty house and have money in England though we would stay wtih his mum), but I would have to leave my job and then what happens when we come back and neither of us have jobs? It is scary for us but I am also concerned about my mother-in-law. My husband will definitely go but I need to be there to help my husband emotionally and with all that will have to be done. Again, he is an only child with no close relatives exept his mother's 75 year old sister.

So prayers would help us in this situation and the knowledge to do what is right. Thank you all again!

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-30 20:22:00

You were married in the US, so if you go for the full immigration visa you should be able to work immediately if you need to.

Oh, and getting the visa from after all the preparation and making an appointment at the UK Consulate - is done in a day and you walk out with it in your passport if you are approved (and I see no reason why you wouldn't be).

As for the Big "C" ...

Been there, done that and my heart goes out to the two of you. It's never easy, but it looks as if his Mum will have family around her, which matters a lot. Good luck for your journey.

What do you mean by full immigration visa? We don't want to move there permanently as my husband is only a Permanent Resident in the US, not a US citizen, and he can't be out of he country for more than I THINK 2 years without losing his status here. I haven't gone to those sites others have listed above yet so maybe that will tell me something. Thanks so much.

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-29 07:24:00

Thanks.

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-28 21:50:00

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/
This is the UK site that is equivalent to the Department of State or USCIS for people who are coming to the US. It has guides and information for any type of visas for the UK. You might look into a spousal visa, depending on how long you would need it.

Thank you.

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-28 17:31:00

If you want to live there permanently, of course you'll need more than your passport. That's just for people that want to stay up to 6 months.

How long are you planning on going for? If you're planning on settling there for over 6 months, you'll need to look into getting a visa. You cannot work until you have this. Your husband is a UK citizen, correct? If so, he'll be able to work as normal.

Unfortunately I know nothing about UK visas as I only did immigration to the US. But I *think* there's something for couples that have been married for less than 4 years, and another if you've been married for more than that. Someone else can clarify.

Thank you. I don't know how long we would stay - it all depends on my mother-in-law's health status. It could be extended beyond six months but we won't know. And yes, he is a UK citizen.

The UK doesn't require people from the US to get visas to visit for short periods of time, but you can't just go to the UK and stay there for an extended period just because you are a US citizen. You would have to have a visa if you were planning on staying longer than 6 months.

Thank you. Do you know a web site or where to get info on how to get a visa if it will be over 6 months?

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-28 16:07:00

[quote name='Dan + Gemvita' timestamp='1285705168' post='4209560']
1. That depends on what visa ( or status) you plan to visit on and the terms of that visa.

Thanks for the reply. I thought you don't need a Visa to England? I didn't need one when I visited in 2005, just my passport. What did you mean what status you plan to visit on? What statuses are there?

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-28 15:26:00

Questions . . . my husband, a US permanent resident from the UK since 2005 found out his mother (age 79) in England has cancer. If we go over to stay with her until the end I need to find out some things and would appreciate anyone's help.
1. How long can I (US born citizen) stay in England? One place I read 6 months, another I read indefinitely. I don't want to go over for 6 months and then have to come back.
2. How long can my husband (US permanent resident) stay out of the US? I think it is 3 years but now sure.
3. If we were to go over, could my husband find a job over there and work for the duration we are there (if under the allowed time for him to stay)?
4. If we were to go over, could I find a job over there and work?
5. If we were to go over there, would he have to change our address with USCIS to England like you do when you move anywhere in the US? We've moved three times in the past 5 years and have to send them our new address.
6. I heard if we do go over, we should buy an airplane ticket with a return for many 2 weeks even if we plan to stay longer as to not alert immigration over there with questions. Anyone know anything about this.
7. Is there anything else anyone can think of that we need to be aware of if we go over there on a temporary basis?
Thank you so very much!
Shari

Shari

Female

England

2010-09-28 15:00:00

Brits in the USA

Hello. I see I haven't updated my information in over a year as we had moved from Birmingham, Alabama to Tampa, Florida. But don't change mine to Tampa as we are moving to Mobile, Alabama tomorrow, so we will still be in Alabama on the list.

Shari

Female

England

2009-01-22 09:20:00

Benefits/Disadvantages of retaining British citizenship?

Good morning. I have not been on VJ for at least three years since my husband received his 10 year green card. Keith is from England and has been debating whether or not to get his US CItizenship because, like the poster, he does not want to renounce his UK citizenship. I know people have said you don't have to, but is there anything on any UK site that verifies this? He is so afraid if he goes through with this.

A couple reasons he would like to become a US citizien is that he has lived here for almost seven years now (married to me the whole time obviously) and plans to stay here, he has lost at least three job opportunities because he was not a US citizen (he used to have security clearance in the UK for his work), we would not have to reapply for his Permanent Resident card every 10 years, and if we wanted to go back to the UK for over 2 years, he could do it with a US Citizenship and not be restricted by time. Also, I am pretty sure if he becomes a US Citizen he is still guaranteed his full pension (he has put in 30 years in the UK) and will qualify for benefits in 12 years.

Again, my main concern is, is there any written documentation from a UK government site stating that a UK citizen can have dual US citizenship?

Thank you all very much!

P.S. It is 30 years for full pension in the UK and the age has changed to 66 for males. We have been in touch with the pension people in the UK in the last month.

P.P.S. Where does someone go to renew their UK passport? My husband's will expire in less than three years. :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-15 09:03:00

Any disadvantages in a UK citizen becoming a US citizen?

I
How can he have earned all his US credits for Social Security already? It takes 10 years of continuous employment to qualify for SS. I know when he came over cause it was about the same time as my husband, which is coming up on 7 years..........

Wow - just went back and checked this and I was wrong. I thought you had to have 32 "credits" of work (Keith has 28 now) for retirement but it says the 32 is for disability benefits. You are right, you have to have 40 credits of work, which I assume is 10 years as you said, since you get 4 credits a year. Guess I didn't read right so glad you pointed that out. Well, since Keith is about to turn 54 he will definitely have at least 10 MORE years of working. I just wonder what amount of SS he will get then to try to calculate it out. Gee, why can't they just get the money they are due and have paid into? Darn! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-16 11:10:00

Any disadvantages in a UK citizen becoming a US citizen?

Ok Rebecca, so you think that he will only get HALF of his US Social Security then if these all refer to having a UK pension (that obviously did NOT take out US socal security taxes)?

He does have hiis 30 years in the UK state pension and he will meet his credits at the end of this tax year (2012) to get US Social Security. Also, he has a private shipyard pension through the UK when he worked at a shipyard for over 20 years. Can US SS deduct that private pension too from his US Social Security? This is a BUMMER! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-16 08:29:00

Any disadvantages in a UK citizen becoming a US citizen?

He may not want to draw his UK pension.

Because your husband is no spring chicken (like mine so this is not an insult), he won't ever contribute to the US Social Security system for 30 years. But he probably will work long enough in the US (40 quarters of work) to draw US Social Security.

A lot of British citizens have the idea that they will draw their US Social Security and their UK state pension. However, if they haven't worked 30 years in the US, they will be subject to the Totalization Agreement. So for every dollar his UK pension provides, his US Social Security payments will be reduced by 50 cents.

Sometimes the math works out in a person's favor - sometimes it does not.

UK state pension right now is around 104 pound sterling a week. Right now that's about $166, or roughly $719 per month. In this example, the Social Security check would be reduced by $359 (half of $719).

I have never heard this before but needed to look it up. Iwent to the US Social Security site and found this (my questions are in the parentheses at the end of each paragraph):

A U.K. pension may affect your U.S. benefit

If you qualify for Social Security benefits from both the United States and the United Kingdom and didn't need the agreement to qualify for either benefit, the amount of your U.S. benefit may be reduced. This is a result of a provision in U.S. law that can affect the way your benefit is figured if you also receive a pension based on work that was not covered by U.S. Social Security. For more information, call our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, and get the publication, Windfall Elimination Provision (Publication No. 05-10045). If you are outside the United States, you may write to us at the address in "For more information" section.

If you work for anemployer who does not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, such asa government agency or an employer in another country, the pension you getbased on that work may reduce your Social Security benefits. (When it says "an employerin another country", doesn't this mean if you are living in the U.S. nowand work for an employer in another country rather than if you lived and workedin the UK and qualified for UK pension?)

TheWindfall Elimination Provision affects how the amount of your retirement ordisability benefit is calculated if you receive a pension from work whereSocial Security taxes were not taken out of your pay. A modified formula isused to calculate your benefit amount, resulting in a lower Social Security benefitthan you otherwise would receive. (Again, sounds like it is if you lived the U.S. but received a workpension where SS taxes were not taken out. It does not sound like if you livedin the UK, worked in the UK, and qualified for UK pension you were have your USSS reduced).

TheWindfall Elimination Provision primarily affects you if you earned a pension inany job where you did not pay Social Security taxes and you also worked inother jobs long enough to qualify for a Social Security retirement or disabilitybenefit. (And my last comment: Again, it makes sense if you lived in the U.S. and earned a pensionthat did not take out SS taxes while living in the U.S.)

Edited by Shari, 15 May 2012 - 08:07 PM.

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-15 20:04:00

Any disadvantages in a UK citizen becoming a US citizen?

Just some online info for you:

US Dual Citizenship : http://travel.state....s/cis_1753.html
UK Dual Citizenship : http://www.ind.homeo...ualnationality/

Thanks. On the second link, it says:

"If you become a national of another country

You will not normally lose your British nationality if you become a citizen or national of another country."

The word "normally" is a little scary. That was just my first glance. I will read into more later. Thank you.

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-15 15:09:00

Any disadvantages in a UK citizen becoming a US citizen?

Thanks to all of you who replied. :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-15 12:53:00

Any disadvantages in a UK citizen becoming a US citizen?

Good morning. I have not been on VJ for at least three years since my husband received his 10 year green card. Keith is from England and has been debating whether or not to get his US CItizenship because he does not want to renounce his UK citizenship. I know people have said you don't have to, but is there anything on any UK site that verifies this? He is a little worried to go through with it.

A couple reasons he would like to become a US citizien is that he has lived here for almost seven years now (married to me the whole time obviously) and plans to stay here, he has lost at least three job opportunities because he was not a US citizen (he used to have security clearance in the UK for his work), we would not have to reapply for his Permanent Resident card every 10 years, and if we wanted to go back to the UK for over 2 years, he could do it with a US Citizenship and not be restricted by time. Also, I am pretty sure if he becomes a US Citizen he is still guaranteed his full UK state pension (he has put in 30 years in the UK) and will qualify for benefits in 12 years, BUT if losing his UK state pension is questionable at all due to becoming a US citizen, he will not.

Keith still has two children (23 and 25) living in the UK and we may eventually go back to stay for an extended period of time, but we are not sure at this point as I (US-born citizen) would have to fill out paperwork over there in order to be able to stay any longer than six months) and I don't even know if it is allowed unless we plan to reside in the UK permanently which we would not.

Again, my main concern is, is there any written documentation from a UK government site stating that a UK citizen can have both US and a UK citizenship?

Thank you all very much!

P.S. Where does someone go to renew their UK passport? My husband's will expire in less than three years. :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-15 10:34:00

Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

UK vs England

I put the English flag for my hubby just to be more specific. :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-06-09 21:58:00

Visa Granted

CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK!!! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-06-06 15:21:00

Asia: East and Pacific

K1 Visa saga, a journey remembered ...

GOOD LUCK together in your life !!! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-06-06 14:44:00

Africa: Sub-Saharan

After all the stressing

CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK!!! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-06-06 14:42:00

K-1 Approved through London! Passport problem - need help please!!!

Crozzy - what ever happened? Is she still coming tomorrow (the 17th). :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-02-16 09:36:00

K-1 Approved through London! Passport problem - need help please!!!

crozzy - let us know what you find out. I could be wrong, but I thought that at the time of your interview you had to have 6 months left on your passport. Since the interview was December and June is 6 months from then, I think you are okay because I think at the interview they would have warned you otherwise. Of course as I said, I could be wrong. Good luck! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-02-13 13:55:00

Just glad to know that all is well Shari, I remember your posts re Keith having a hard time finding work, how are things going on that front. Hope that he has found somthing worthy

Well . . . he has a job, but not in the field he wants. He has been working since the end of July making about 1/2 what he could, but what can you do? He was a mechanical engineer in the UK and worked for a shipyard and then did subsea work. He is working for a geotechnical company as an engineering "technician" (as he doesn't have experience in this type of engineering). He is constantly looking for other things, gets calls from recruiters who say "we have the perfect job for you" but then never call back, etc. At least his paycheck helps to pay bills! Thanks for asking! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-12-01 09:06:00

Hey Shari, I remember when you got the good to go, so pleased that all is working out for you both. I was going to say the medical is now only done in London and it is not cheap. The one good thing is that your stepdaughter can phone up once she has got the go ahead and make an appointment for mid afternoon which should give her ample time to travel down there. Hope all goes well

Munchkins - that's good to know she can schedule her own time; and yes, I am the happiest I have EVER been with my truly wonderful husband!!! Good luck with the rest of your journey. I hope you soon get your waiver!!! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-11-30 14:44:00

http://www.visajourn...e...&cty=London

Thanks! WOW - that is a fantastic link. They didn't have that link last year when my husband went through this. Unfortunately London is 4+ hours away from Ulverston so I am really bummed that my step-daughter will have to travel that far away twice (medical and then interview). She will have to rely on someone else too to drive her down there. Thanks again! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-11-30 14:08:00

Hello to all! I am back on this forum after over a year's absence since my husband is home in the U.S. and we have been very happily married for over a year now. My husband's daughter now wants to join us in the U.S. We will be filing out paperwork for her after the first of the year. I believe things have changed from when my husband had his medical in 07/05, so could someone tell me the locations in England please? My husband had gone to Birmingham (as he lived in Ulverston-Cumbria) and that was the closest Nunnelly Hospital, but I don't think the embassy contracts with Nunnelly anymore. Also, what is the present fee for the medical? Thank you! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-11-30 13:45:00

Naturilization Interview Today

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Oh my gosh I didn't know you were going for your interview. I'm so happy for you and especially happy that your daughter won't have to do that. I really didn't know about that (not that it applies to us, but it's good to know). And yes, now we just have to get your son taken care of. I wish there was something I could do for you as you have done so much for us. Congratulations again!!! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2006-06-06 15:12:00

I have been to Orange Beach, it's very pretty. We usually end up going to Pensacola so we can go to Publix and get picnic stuff. I love both of those places though, they're so beautiful. OB is usually a lot less busy than Pensacola, which is good too.

I'm from the west country. Love Cumbria though!

I was wondering, how do both of your SO's deal with the heat? The weather forecast says it feels like 88f, which is about as hot as it gets in England, for maybe 2 weeks. I laugh when people back home complain about the heat, they have no idea!!

Hubby HATES the heat! When he first came over I was living in Birmingham which is stil hot as it is only 4 hours north of here. We lived there for 2 years before he got a job in Tampa. He worked in a shipyard so was out in the heat, sun, and humidity all day. We lived there for 18 months when he got transferred here, Mobile. Mobile is just as hot and humid as Tampa was since we are surrounded by Mobile Bay. He is still working in shpbuilding and still working outside. We have been trying to find him a job north. Hopefully this citizenship will help too because he was offered a job in Wisconsin but after they realized he was not a citizen, they had to withdrawal because it was for a Navy shipyard. There are tons of those around that he hasn't been able to even apply for.

I visited England in May in 2005 while awaiting the K1 and it was beautiful over there then. We also went in December of 2010 unfortunately for his mother's funeral, but it was nice and we unexpectedly got snow the day before we left to come back. I wouldn't mind moving to England some day if it wasn't for my kids/grandkids but I also would miss the amount of sun we have here. I think without as much sun as I am used to it would depress me over there. Who knows. :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 17:22:00

Everybody was worried when I moved because I had spent my whole life there, but I am so happy. I have married daughters minutes away, a new beautiful house, and new places to see and discover together. The weird thing is going anywhere and not seeing anybody I know. It used to take me ages to shop because I had to stop and talk to so many people. I still lived in my first home that I shared with my husband of 30 years who died of cancer. Starting over fresh together with my Brit has been a good thing. We've got "our" experiences instead of my town, my cars, my house, my friends...if that makes sense. It made us more equal. The hardest part was finding a new hairdresser, nail place, doctor, etc. Takes some time to settle into a new place. We still drive 75 miles to go to my awesome dentist because I couldn't replace him.

The beach?? I've been so over that for decades. It's dirty brown, salty, and the sand sticks all over you. We still go to Galveston if we get British company.

Oxford area. We spent a several days at Bowness near Lake Windemere on our trip to Scotland. It was very pretty. I like lakes.

Well you girls need to come to the Alabama beaches - snow white, powdery sand. Lovely - though my hubby doesn't care for the beach; he would rather fish but for the carp fishing, we have to go to north Alabama for freshwater lakes or rivers. When my daughter and her family come down to visit we do go to the beach though and I love it.

Nich-Nick, maybe we are around the same age (or you may be younger) as you have married daughters. I turned 51 in March and have a 26-year-old daughter. She and her hubby have a precious 2-year-old daughter and are expecting a baby in November. My twin son/daughter are 20. My son and his GF have a nearly 2 month old baby. All my kids live in North Alabama and Keith has been trying to find a job up that way but no luck lately. He has a 23-year-old daughter and 25 year-old son in England. :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 15:27:00

And we live on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

Wow! Nich-Nick, where did your hubby, and Rocks, were did you live in England? My hubby is from the north-west section in Cumbria in a town called Ulverston. It is beautiful there and close to Lake Windemere. :goofy:

Edited by Shari, 22 May 2012 - 12:53 PM.

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 12:51:00

There might be another office in New Orleans, it is not on the USCIS website if there is though. I'm going to call them and ask. I'll let you know what they say.

Ok. It may just be that they consider the Metairie location the New Orleans location but for some reason I was thinking the biometrics got done in Metairie and the Interview was at a USCIS office in N.O. but again, I could be wrong.

Hubby and I were in Biloxi a few weeks ago at Palace Resort Casino. We have been about three times in the last 2 yeasr. We are not gamblers but only take $50 each and do the penny slots. We won back our $100 and even made $79 last time. It is only about 1-1/2 hours from us. You live near Biloxi? :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 12:29:00

We also live on the gulf coast, over in MS. I'm surprised that they send you all the way to Atlanta! That's terrible! My appointments are always in Metairie, and I thought that was a long way to go. I see that MS has a "satellite" office but that AL doesn't.
I am half expecting my interview will be in Jackson at the satellite office but I'm not entirely sure. I have heard from others that live here that they had their oath ceremonies here in town or in Jackson. I've read on here that someone in Pensacola had their interview in Jacksonville and their oath ceremony in Pensacola, so if Pensacola has them then surely our cities will too? It's very confusing and I wish there was some way to find this information out! I'm tempted to call USCIS and see if they can enlighten me...

We used to live in B'ham and that is where Keith got his biometrics done up there and we had to go to Atlanta for the Lifting of his Conditions interview which was fine living in B'ham. I thought besides the Metairie office for biometrics there was a Field Office (for interview) in New Orelans, but maybe I thought wrong and it is Jackson, MS. Jackson is closer (4 hours) than Atlanta for us too. Who knows! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 12:07:00

It's based on your federal judicial district I think. You have live within the jurisdiction of the court which grants the naturalization. I don't know about all the ceremonies, but ours last week was in a gymnasium with thousands of people (1646 taking the oath). Yet it was a court session...all rise for the judge, he enters in robe and sits at the (raised podium) bench, declares court come to order, and even a court reporter.

Your oath ceremony might not be in Atlanta. Sometimes they schedule them at other places. Here's some news of Oath ceremonies in Alabama.
http://blog.al.com/s...s_take_oat.html

http://blog.al.com/l...but_newest.html

Very interesting. We live nearly in Mobile and that is where the second link you sent me was from. And we have lived in B'ham where my mom still lives so the other one was done there. Wonder how/when they determine who goes where for the Oath Ceremony? I don't suppose there is anywhere on the USCIS site to figure that out. Thanks! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 11:47:00

Agree with Nich-Nick. If your husband is eligible to file based on 5-year residency, he should do that. Much less documents to send and in most cases much smoother process compared to marriage-based cases.

Nich-Nich & nwctzn:

Well as I was putting the packet together yesterday to take to the post office, I re-read everything. I HAD checked the box that said he had been in the US for more than 5 years instead of the one that said 3 years and married to a citizen, but somehow missed the part where he didn't have to include all the stuff with me in it. So I am hoping, after reading your posts (unfortunately after we posted the packet), that the USCIS will realize we just sent too much and perhaps throw the others out (crossed-fingers) so it might go a little faster. Thanks for verifying that though.

I have also wondered how they pick the interview locations because we live on the Gulf Coast of Alabama and we will have to drive to Atlanta which is over 5 hours for both the interview and the Oath ceremonty where New Orleans has a location and it is only 2-1/2 hours from us and Keith's biometrics will even be in Metarie, LA, which is in the New Orleans vicinity. Strange! :goofy:

Shari

Female

England

2012-05-22 08:56:00