citizenship

[sanjay narang]

hello! trying this for the first time, as i need help.
I have a few queries on my citizenship.

1. i will be completing 4 and half years in April 2005
(next year ) with a green card. I have been told you
can file your papers at 4& 1/2 years - is this true?

2. my spouse is on an h1 visa in the US. Can we file
for her Green card along with my citizensip papers ?

3. I gather it takes about 2 years to get the
citizenship in NY...but i am told she will get a EAD (work
authorization) in 90 days of filing....is that true?


thanks

 

[ratrat]

Hi Sanjay

1) There are some posts in this forum of people applying 90 days before eligibility. There are also some other websites (try Google Groups) that say you can apply 3 months before eligibility. 6 months before eligibility might be too early...

2) My understanding is that you can only apply for your spouse's Permanent Residence AFTER you become a US Citizen, and cannot do them at the same time...you should talk to a good immigration lawyer about this...

3) The current timeline for Naturalization in New York is about 12-15 months from Priority Date (Your Priority Date or PD is the date USCIS puts on your receipt notice after they receive your application)...

4) Your wife can only apply for her EAD after she starts her GC process...

Processing times for EAD (Application for Employment Authorization) are listed on:

https://egov.immigration.gov/graphics/cris/jsps/index.jsp?textFlag=N#

Look under "District Office Processing Times" for "New York City". It looks like they are taking about 60-90 days...Again, I am not sure if your wife could apply for her GC right now though...

Again, a lawyer should be able to give you more definite answers...

Ratrat

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am not a lawyer, my replies simply reflect my opinion and viewpoint. Please discuss with a good immigration lawyer for accurate information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[sanjay narang]

Re: Re: citizenship

Originally posted by JoeF
No. You are eligible for citizenship 5 years after becoming a PR. You can apply up to 90 days before that.
Note that there is a slight inconsistency: the immigration law says that you can apply up to 3 months earlier, while the regulations in 8 CFR say that you can apply up to 90 days earlier. The safe thing therefore is to use the lesser number, which is almost always 90 days.
You can of course file an I-130 now, but (as you probably know) that would be subject to a quota.
To file without a quota, you have to be a citizen. That is long after filing your N-400. So, these are two completely different applications, and they should not be filed together.
Forget trying to combine two things. She would only be able to get an EAD if she has filed an I-485. For that, she'd either have to wait for the PD to become current, or for you to become a citizen.

that means that she has to continue on h1 my citizenship is thru ...then we apply for her Green Card and in that process she can get and EAD in about 90 days after applying?