Getting US citizenship later in life

A

arjun12

Registered Users (C)
Hi All, I am planning to return to India this year. I have GC since June 2007 and due to some personal reasons, I have to leave this year and can't wait to get citizenship (it might take another 18-24 months). I am planning to take a re-entry permit before leaving.

My wife & kids are planning to be here since I want my wife to get US citizenship (to help her visit the kids when they come here for education etc.).

My questions.

1. When can my wife apply for citizenship? She will be completing 5 years stay after getting GC in June 2012. She has made only 2-3 trips (1-2 months long) to India after obtaining GC.

2. How long does it take usually to get citizenship after applying?

3. If I want to get a spouse based citizenship in future (after 20-25 years), can I get it? I am assuming I will have to come on some type of visa with her and then stay in this country for around 3 years to become eligible for a citizenship. Is that correct?

4. Any clue on how does social security benefits work? Can a non US citizen claim the benefits assumings he has completed 50-60 credits?


Pls advise.
 
1)Up to 90 days before June 2012 (as well as meeting other eligibility requirements)

2)Expect 4-6 months processing.

3) If you abandon current GC, you'll need to reapply for a GC from scratch. You can then apply up to 90 days before you reach 3 years of continuous residence as a LPR under spousal based naturalization (assuming your wife will be a US)

4) http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11051.html
 
Thanks Bobsmyth.

For re-applying the GC, do I again have to go through the long processing timings that I encountered to get my current GC. Shouldn't a spouse of US citizen be able to get a GC quickly?

Pls advise.
 
arjun12 said:
Thanks Bobsmyth.

For re-applying the GC, do I again have to go through the long processing timings that I encountered to get my current GC. Shouldn't a spouse of US citizen be able to get a GC quickly?

Pls advise.
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When reapplying, you won't get any faster processing or special treatment because of having a GC earlier in life. But when applying as the spouse of a US citizen, you will be in the fastest category, so it should be much faster than your original GC (assuming your original GC wasn't obtained as the immediate relative of a USC). Currently the spouse of a USC can expect 6-12 months to obtain a GC through consular processing. That processing time may be longer or shorter 20-25 years in the future, but should still be faster than other categories.
 
I do not want to sidetrack this discussion into negative thoughts, but this was one of the questions our family considered when applying for USC so I see no harm in debating it.

You never know whether one or the other spouse will be around 25 years from now (even if divorce is remote, death is a possibility). How do you plan for that, especially if your children decide to move to US in 10-12 years and you are left behind? You will get a GC through children and that will take years and years.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
I do not want to sidetrack this discussion into negative thoughts, but this was one of the questions our family considered when applying for USC so I see no harm in debating it.

You never know whether one or the other spouse will be around 25 years from now (even if divorce is remote, death is a possibility). How do you plan for that, especially if your children decide to move to US in 10-12 years and you are left behind? You will get a GC through children and that will take years and years.
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years as in till children become eligible to apply for parents GC. processing is lot quicker, usually months. Parents do not fall into any cateogry, and no quota. Currently, it is about 4-6 months for cases without any complications.
 
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