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The "been there done that" thread: life in the US after DV

Thank you all for your replies, they provided the help needed, i passed this information to my sister and she decided to get a tax specialist to help her file her taxes.
 
Hey guys, it's been a while since I've been here... So I entered the US about a month ago for a quick activation trip and also applied for a re-entry permit. Today, a month later, I received the Notice of Receipt from USCIS and apparently my application was forwarded to the Nebraska Service Center. The current processing time there is, according to USCIS website, 8.5-11 months (!). I'm not sure why they sent my case there if my address is in Florida and the Texas Service Center should be handling cases from Florida (where the processing time is just 3-5 months...) But anyway, I now face a problem - it doesn't seem like they will send me the biometrics appointment anytime soon so I wonder if I should enter the US before 6 months pass anyway or just wait for the appointment even if it's gonna be in, say, 7 months from now. What do you guys think?
 
Hi! I would like to start the process of naturalization. Recently I moved from one city to another within the same state. The field offices are different. Should I wait 3 months at my new location in order to satisfy the 3 months residency rule?
 
Hi! I would like to start the process of naturalization. Recently I moved from one city to another within the same state. The field offices are different. Should I wait 3 months at my new location in order to satisfy the 3 months residency rule?
Yes.

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing.

The term “state” includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). [1] The term “service district” is defined as the geographical area over which a USCIS office has jurisdiction. [2]

The service district that has jurisdiction over an applicant’s application may or may not be located within the state where the applicant resides. In addition, some service districts may have jurisdiction over more than one state and most states contain more than one USCIS office.
 
Hi Mom and Susie and everyone,
My son passed the Citizenship interview ( he turned 18 before our oath so he had to apply separate) and now it’s more than three weeks and didn’t hear about his oath ceremony. Is there anything we can do from your view? He needs his new name as he is going to be a freshman collage to update his info and the scholarships too. Some scholarships refuse to help him because he is not a citizen yet.
do you think to our congressman or house representative is a good idea? I tried to call but they didn’t let me talk to anybody.
thank you for sharing your thoughts
 
Hi Mom and Susie and everyone,
My son passed the Citizenship interview ( he turned 18 before our oath so he had to apply separate) and now it’s more than three weeks and didn’t hear about his oath ceremony. Is there anything we can do from your view? He needs his new name as he is going to be a freshman collage to update his info and the scholarships too. Some scholarships refuse to help him because he is not a citizen yet.
do you think to our congressman or house representative is a good idea? I tried to call but they didn’t let me talk to anybody.
thank you for sharing your thoughts
It’s totally dependent on your field office how long after the ceremony they do the oath, and things keep shifting all the time. 3 weeks is not unusually long to wait to hear about an oath date and changing name makes it more complex.

By the way I am very surprised to hear about the scholarships for citizens only. They are usually divided into domestic (which includes green cards) and internationals. Are these some sort of government agency funded?
 
It’s totally dependent on your field office how long after the ceremony they do the oath, and things keep shifting all the time. 3 weeks is not unusually long to wait to hear about an oath date and changing name makes it more complex.

By the way I am very surprised to hear about the scholarships for citizens only. They are usually divided into domestic (which includes green cards) and internationals. Are these some sort of government agency funded?
Yes, he is changing his last name to have same one family name. Our, the parents was faster and mine was at the same day after 5 minutes from my interview and I have name change too.

We got the FAFSA and was no problem with the government scholarships but with 2 of the private scholarships they said no and it’s a big amount specially his collage in aviation is too expensive. So we would need it. We lost both of them because only for the US citizens. We are trying to make the loans our last options :)
 
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Yes, he is changing his last name to have same one family name. Our, the parents was faster and mine was at the same day after 5 minutes from my interview and I have name change too.

We got the FAFSA and was no problem with the government scholarships but with 2 of the private scholarships they said no and it’s a big amount specially his collage in aviation is too expensive. So we would need it. We lost both of them because only for the US citizens. We are trying to make the loans our last options :)
What is the scholarship deadline? I’ve never heard of anyone trying to expedite an oath due to financial hardship but I don’t see anything that says expedite requests are limited by case types so you can possibly try this? https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/how-to-make-an-expedite-request

I understand your timeline was faster but these things don’t necessarily happen the same speed for everyone even at the same office.
 
What is the scholarship deadline? I’ve never heard of anyone trying to expedite an oath due to financial hardship but I don’t see anything that says expedite requests are limited by case types so you can possibly try this? https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/how-to-make-an-expedite-request

I understand your timeline was faster but these things don’t necessarily happen the same speed for everyone even at the same office.T
hank you Susie,we alray missed two o them and there is another small amount of two sholarships with the end of April this month.
some of these is family foundation trust who give to the student who are in High school senior or first year collage.
 
Hey guys, it's been a while since I've been here... So I entered the US about a month ago for a quick activation trip and also applied for a re-entry permit. Today, a month later, I received the Notice of Receipt from USCIS and apparently my application was forwarded to the Nebraska Service Center. The current processing time there is, according to USCIS website, 8.5-11 months (!). I'm not sure why they sent my case there if my address is in Florida and the Texas Service Center should be handling cases from Florida (where the processing time is just 3-5 months...) But anyway, I now face a problem - it doesn't seem like they will send me the biometrics appointment anytime soon so I wonder if I should enter the US before 6 months pass anyway or just wait for the appointment even if it's gonna be in, say, 7 months from now. What do you guys think?
Anyone?
 
Hi everyone!

In this Covid context, I have a question about reentry after a brief activation trip this year.

Have you experienced to have your green card mailed abroad or go back to the US with your stamped passport?

I would be interested to read your experiences!

Thanks in advance.
 
Not COVID specific but:
- re-entry with stamped passport is fine, not all airline employees understand it though so take relevant page of CBP manual and be prepared to go up chain of supervisors if necessary
- if getting GC sent abroad use UPS, FedEx etc company not regular mail
 
Not sure if this is the best thread to post questions regarding global entry but I'm hoping that someone has experience with it.

I've been a global entry member since I was on an F1 visa. I recently just became LPR. How do I update my status linked to the global entry? I couldn't seem to find this information on the global entry FAQ...
 
Not sure if this is the best thread to post questions regarding global entry but I'm hoping that someone has experience with it.

I've been a global entry member since I was on an F1 visa. I recently just became LPR. How do I update my status linked to the global entry? I couldn't seem to find this information on the global entry FAQ...
You’ll need to do it in person, to show them your green card. The last time I looked for in person appointments there weren’t any, not sure current situation, but apparently another option is that you can do it when you re-enter from overseas (which is the next time you’d need it anyway) - there’s a line for appointments on entry or something like that at the GE lane.
 
Not sure if this is the best thread to post questions regarding global entry but I'm hoping that someone has experience with it.

I've been a global entry member since I was on an F1 visa. I recently just became LPR. How do I update my status linked to the global entry? I couldn't seem to find this information on the global entry FAQ...
In addition to the spot on response from Susie, you can also attempt a walk in should you find yourself at the airport (even if you're not returning from a trip from overseas). I've done that a couple of times in the past.
 
In addition to the spot on response from Susie, you can also attempt a walk in should you find yourself at the airport (even if you're not returning from a trip from overseas). I've done that a couple of times in the past.
I didn’t realize this was possible - thanks for the tip!
 
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