Almost ready to send my N-400 form

[Jackolantern]

1) I got my Green Card 5 years ago on "special abilities" as I used to be a well known model back in my Country.
Now unfortunately I am unemployed and on Medicaid, will that affect my citizenship process? I would give up Medicaid if it does.

Did you ever work in your speciality after obtaining the green card? Or at least something closely related (e.g. coach or agent for other models)? If not, that could be a big problem which puts your green card at risk. You may need to provide a good explanation for why you didn't work in the occupation that was the basis of your extraordinary ability green card.

Did you start getting Medicaid before you had a GC for 5 years? If yes, that could be another problem because you're generally not supposed to have Medicaid unless you're a citizen or had a GC for at least 5 years or accumulated 10 years of Social Security credits or you're pregnant.

2) I got married last year in NY with a religious ceremony although I didn't get LEGALLY married 'till this April. What should I put on my form on PART 8, SECTION B - date of marriage?

The date on the marriage certificate.

 

[speakamericano]

Obtaining a police report is premature and only necessary if your FP have failed twice.

so are the tax returns for a 5 year term when you left the country only for 100 days out of 1300+

 

[Mia_ny]

Did you ever work in your speciality after obtaining the green card? Or at least something closely related (e.g. coach or agent for other models)? If not, that could be a big problem which puts your green card at risk. You may need to provide a good explanation for why you didn't work in the occupation that was the basis of your extraordinary ability green card.

I am panicking now .... no, I didn't end up working in my specialty because by the time I received the Green Card I was getting older and getting less job offers.
I worked for a major well known sports cars company when I first got my green card though, where they were using my image although they gave me the title of product specialist.

Did you start getting Medicaid before you had a GC for 5 years? If yes, that could be another problem because you're generally not supposed to have Medicaid unless you're a citizen or had a GC for at least 5 years or accumulated 10 years of Social Security credits or you're pregnant.

I got Family Health Plus in 2008 because I lost my job and became highly depressed and needed to see a therapist.
And I got Medicaid unfortunately again last month (I reached my 5 years in April) because I got depressed again. If I am not supposed to get Medicaid though, why they accepted to give it to me, they should have denied. I don't understand. They knew I was a permanent resident.

Am I in trouble, would it be wiser for me to wait 3 year of marriage to apply for citizenship at this point?

I am panicking.

 

[Jackolantern]

I am panicking now .... no, I didn't end up working in my specialty because by the time I received the Green Card I was getting older and getting less job offers.

How long did your green card process take? Did you really get that much older during the process?

I worked for a major well known sports cars company when I first got my green card though, where they were using my image although they gave me the title of product specialist.

So there were some ads produced with your image? How long was that arrangement? Have you otherwise been involved in the modeling industry?

I got Family Health Plus in 2008 because I lost my job and became highly depressed and needed to see a therapist.

That's different from Medicaid (actually it's specifically for people who don't qualify for Medicaid), so that shouldn't be a problem.

And I got Medicaid unfortunately again last month (I reached my 5 years in April) because I got depressed again.

Did you get Medicaid before completing 5 years?

If I am not supposed to get Medicaid though, why they accepted to give it to me, they should have denied. I don't understand. They knew I was a permanent resident.

Sometimes they just aren't very careful with checking that, or the applicant accidentally or intentionally selected "I am a US citizen" on the application paperwork (which could be a serious problem if you did).

 

[Mia_ny]

How long did your green card process take? Did you really get that much older during the process?

Not sure, don't remember, a year or so maybe less? I didn't get "that much older" but in the "modeling world" every month counts ... and once you are not good enough for them anymore that's it, you are out of the game.

So there were some ads produced with your image? How long was that arrangement? Have you otherwise been involved in the modeling industry?

No ads and no, haven't been involved in the modeling industry anymore as I felt it was too cruel and I was tired of it.

Did you get Medicaid before completing 5 years?

1 month after my 5 years. Based on the date on the Medicaid card.

Sometimes they just aren't very careful with checking that, or the applicant accidentally or intentionally selected "I am a US citizen" on the application paperwork (which could be a serious problem if you did).

No, I did not, I am very careful about that.

Should I start worrying am I screwed? Or wait 3 years to apply through marriage?

Thanks

 

[Mia_ny]

Here is some inforamtion I found about the Special Ability Green Card:

Requirement of Intention to Continue Work in the Field

Aliens of extraordinary ability do not need an employer or other sponsor. However, they must be coming to the United States “to continue work in the area of expertise.” Generally, this requirement can be satisfied by the plans that the alien will continue to work in their field of expertise. Please note that although there is no requirement that they have a standing job offer or pursue the very specific and specialized areas of the field that brought them sustained acclaim, they should be able to at least present their plans to continue their work, and such work will be in their field.

It's a little confusing .... but it says Please note that although there is no requirement that they have a standing job offer or pursue the very specific and specialized areas of the field that brought them sustained acclaim ...

At the time I did want to continue but then a few things happened in my life that I decided/had to stop.

Does it mean that I have some chance that my citizenship application won't be rejected?

 

[Incognegro]

Here is some inforamtion I found about the Special Ability Green Card:

Requirement of Intention to Continue Work in the Field

Aliens of extraordinary ability do not need an employer or other sponsor. However, they must be coming to the United States “to continue work in the area of expertise.” Generally, this requirement can be satisfied by the plans that the alien will continue to work in their field of expertise. Please note that although there is no requirement that they have a standing job offer or pursue the very specific and specialized areas of the field that brought them sustained acclaim, they should be able to at least present their plans to continue their work, and such work will be in their field.

It's a little confusing .... but it says Please note that although there is no requirement that they have a standing job offer or pursue the very specific and specialized areas of the field that brought them sustained acclaim ...

At the time I did want to continue but then a few things happened in my life that I decided/had to stop.

Does it mean that I have some chance that my citizenship application won't be rejected?

Rejected for what? You met the criteria to get the greencard...
You had the intent but it did not work out.....kinda like a long distance runner that gets a back injury after receipt of a gc...I think like a DV winner you don't have any special conditions you have to meet to get citizenship......what do you think forum vets?

 

[sanjoseaug20]

Mia, you are mixing up 2 different things.
#1. Your eligibility for the green card.
#2. Your eligibility for naturalization.

Regarding the green card, whatever happened 5 years back ... happened a long time back. As long as you did not lie on the application, they are not going to re-open that case. Also, from a procedural perspective, USCIS can administratively cancel a green card within 5 years of its issue if they discover a major issue. After 5 years, they need to go and convince a judge. You think for yourself what are the odds of that.

Regarding the naturalization, your worry is whether taking medicaid is going to come in the way. Sorry I am not an expert on this aspect, but
a) you did not take medicaid in 2008 ... as Jack explained.
b) your medicaid for 1 month in 2011 is not such a big deal. You can wait for others to confirm whether you should have taken it or not, but even if you did, it should be a simple matter to a) return the money, or b) ask for forgiveness. This can not be at par with DUI or equivalent crimes in my opinion.

And finally ... look at the worst case. What is the likely extreme scenario? They deny your application. (Deportation is unlikely). You lose $700 and live to file another day.

(There is no need to but) if you want to be extra safe, wait another 6 months before applying. Most of the forms ask for last 5 years information. If you apply in January, you have to talk about 2007-2011 and unless the IO is nosy, he should not be going back and reviewing stuff from 2006.

 

[Jackolantern]

1 month after my 5 years. Based on the date on the Medicaid card.

Good, that wasn't before your 5 years.

If you don't have a good explanation for the lack of work, that could lead them to re-examine your green card case, and if they want to be aggressive with it, you could find yourself having to defend your green card in court.

Ultimately, if you did not fabricate your qualifications you'll be fine in the end. But having to dig up that old evidence and spend time in court defending yourself would be stressful.

It's difficult to revoke after the 5 year mark unless there was blatant fraud. But it's easy for them to deny naturalization, so if they suspect the legitimacy of your green card, the usually don't go any further than denying your naturalization.

Should I start worrying am I screwed? Or wait 3 years to apply through marriage?

Applying as marriage-based wouldn't really help. Your potential problem is that the lack of work contradicts your claim of "extraordinary ability", which raises the question of whether you properly qualified for the green card in the first place. In addition, applying with the 3-year marriage rule makes them apply deeper scrutiny (the scrutiny is focused on the marriage, but while they're scrutinizing they'll sometimes go back to the original application also).

However, waiting a few years would help in another way. Because the N-400 only asks for 5 years of work history, if you apply when it's 7 or 8 years after your GC approval, it won't be blatantly obvious that you didn't work in the modeling industry after GC approval. They might ask anyway, but at least the lack of modeling-related work wouldn't be staring them in the face. So if you waited 2-3 years and then applied with the 5 year rule your chances are better.

 

[Mia_ny]

Basically the whole thing is a gamble at this point ...... they might decide to screw me or they might decide to let me go ........ would it help to hire an attorney?
Thanks

 

[Mia_ny]

If you don't have a good explanation for the lack of work, that could lead them to re-examine your green card case, and if they want to be aggressive with it, you could find yourself having to defend your green card in court.

I have been emotionally drained, and I have been seeing a therapist .... does that count as a reason?

 

[Mia_ny]

One more question, I thought that income wasn't an issue when applying for citizenship as much as it is when you apply for a Green Card ... am I wrong?

 

[Jackolantern]

Income or lack thereof is normally never a problem for citizenship. But in some specific circumstances, a persistent lack of income or unusually high income could cast a shadow of suspicion on the basis of your green card, which in turn could lead to denial of citizenship.

 

[Mia_ny]

I see ... but when I got Healthy Ny, I only got it for 6 months.
Medicaid I am willing to give it up if you believe it's gonna cause me problems.
About income, I worked in 2006 for 7 months then I worked again in 2009 for 8 months or so - the rest of the time my father was helping me out, and later on my fiancèe was helping me out.
I have been looking for a job since 2009 - I got to more than 1 interview where I was in the last 2 candidates they were considering and they always chose the other candidate, talking about being unlucky.
but I tried and every time I failed I got more depressed.

 

[Jackolantern]

Basically the whole thing is a gamble at this point ...... they might decide to screw me or they might decide to let me go ........ would it help to hire an attorney?
Thanks

I don't see any benefit in using an attorney before USCIS gives you a problem with this issue. An attorney could make things worse by drawing attention to this when USCIS might not even care if you didn't shove the issue in their face.

If they actually deny your case, or you leave the interview feeling sure that you're going to be denied for this reason, then you can go and get an attorney.

 

[Jackolantern]

About income, I worked in 2006 for 7 months then I worked again in 2009 for 8 months or so - the rest of the time my father was helping me out, and later on my fiancèe was helping me out.

In 2006, was that the sports car company you mentioned earlier? You said they used your image ... on what? A billboard? A magazine? A brochure?

 

[Mia_ny]

nono, they used my image for marketing purposed but nothing printed.

 

[Mia_ny]

As someone else pointed out, as a runner who gets a special abilities green card and then he gets injured and can't run anymore .... same happened to me, although my injuries were psychological and that's why I didn't pursue that career.

 

[sanjoseaug20]

Mia, you can debate this forever, but it will be hard to get the answer you want. So an athlete gets injured. Now what! Does he go to USCIS and say I still want that green card. He either goes back to his country, or he keeps quiet (if he wants to live in US). If you waive a flag in front of USCIS and disclose your issues (some issues you legally need to disclose, not this one), do you think they are going to care? Unless the evidence you can show is so overwhelming in your favor that they will be forced to accommodate you, it is not going to happen.

Since you are / were a model, I will give you an analogy. Your first question is whether you should walk on the ramp (equivalent to whether I should file N400). Having decided to walk on the ramp, you can worry about tripping, about a wardrobe issue, about 100+ people watching you, and what not, but you please put them in the way back of your mind when you start walking ... because if you keep thinking about this, you are actually going to cause such an incident. What you need to do is to learn how to avoid such issues (best practices) and then just go and do your job.

What this case is about is a) a small risk and b) how to manage that risk. It goes without saying that there will be nervous times, but they have to be dealt with. You need to form a plan, and execute that plan. Jack (and I) talked about how to reduce your risk by filing maybe a year or more later. We also talked about your GC being "relatively" safer after 5 years have elapsed since its approval. Maybe there are other options to reduce risk I forgot to mention. Make a complete list, choose what works for you, and go ahead and walk the ramp (file N400) when it is the most optimal for you.

 

[Mia_ny]

Sanjose, first thanks for replying to my thread.
I read your post 4 times trying to understand if you were helping me or telling me to avoid problems by not submitting the N-400.
U say in the first part of your message that if I don't talk or think about what can go wrong there are less chances that it can go wrong?
I am not sure I understood your analogy with the modeling world but I understand that I would take a risk by filing for citizenship now.
Today I spoke to a family friend who is an immigration lawyer and he didn't seem concerned about this issue but he is a young lawyer so I wouldn't know how familiar he is with these issues.
I might decide to wait another year or so just to make sure.
If there are other things I could do please let me know.
Thanks again.