Document retention after naturalization

D

del0175

Registered Users (C)
Is there any policy how long documents should be retained and which ones (the way IRS has on tax documents)? My research shows that once you are naturalized, your naturalization document is all you need, but if you get it into trouble for some reason, you should be able to prove that your GC was valid. Now many of us who had company attorneys filing the GC application we do not have a whole lot of documents related to GC, maybe a few notices from USCIS.

So this is what I plan to do.

1. Retain N-400 application and associated documents.
2. Retain important documents related to GC.
3. Shred all documents prior to that, like H-1, F-1, B-1, etc.

Any thoughts?
 
Why would you shred them? Do you need the space so badly? Just archive them and store them somewhere. You can never have too much documentation, but you can have too little.
 
What an excellent question. As for myself, I recently cleared my 3 large immigration folders and merged them into 1 medium one. I disposed of envelopes and useless scraps of paper, ex-wife's NOA (in fact anything relating to her immigration), fingerprint appointments, anything dealing with labor certification, and correspondence to my then lawyer who had handled the LC, I-140, and AOS processes. I see no need to keep these because 1) there is no law saying I have to keep them and 2) my Green Card is proof that I am a permanent resident - the whole point of going through the process in the first place. If in the unlikely need to have proof, I can always contact my lawyer or the USCIS will send you a cd with all that crap on it through FOIA.

Free yourself and your filecabinet, my friend!

--Rafiq
 
del0175 said:
Is there any policy how long documents should be retained and which ones (the way IRS has on tax documents)? My research shows that once you are naturalized, your naturalization document is all you need, but if you get it into trouble for some reason, you should be able to prove that your GC was valid. Now many of us who had company attorneys filing the GC application we do not have a whole lot of documents related to GC, maybe a few notices from USCIS.

So this is what I plan to do.

1. Retain N-400 application and associated documents.
2. Retain important documents related to GC.
3. Shred all documents prior to that, like H-1, F-1, B-1, etc.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
After I got my employment-based GC, my attorney was kind enough to bind all of the relevant documents into two large soft-covered binders. I still have these and don't intend to dipose of them anytime soon.

In terms of naturalization documents, I kept a few things: Selective Service letter (useful if you apply for govt job), tax documents (keep for 5 years or so, then shred), copies of N-400 application. I retained bank statements only because I like to keep these anyway, and of course all the really important docs: SS card, birth certificate etc. I will discard some of my older pay stubs from years ago, but retain more recent ones. Utility bills etc. and thiings to prove your residency can probably be discarded. I retained my old (expired) passports from my previous country, as proof of travel dates.

In general, I would keep a minimum set of documents. I massively over-prepared for the interview, so many of the documents I had are not necessary to keep.
 
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