*HELP* N-400 Application for Naturalization - Citizenship

S

SpanishGirl

Registered Users (C)
Hi Again everyone!! I am spending a few days completing my N-400 as suggested by advisors on this site. I will also be changing my last name through this process opposed to doing it separate, so thank you to everyone for that initial advice on my last post.

It has taken me 2 hours thus far to complete pages 1-3 on the N-400 and now I have reached the daunting page 4 (Part 7. Time Outside the United States). My husband and I met in Mexico in May of 2008, I moved from Canada to the US May of 2009 and since then we have travelled outside the United States together (Mexico, South America, Canada etc..) possibly 12-15 times. My Canadian passport expired 5 months ago so I got a new one that doesn't have any dates stamped. THE BIG QUESTION IS: How can I locate all the dates and countries we have visited?? I don't have that good of a memory.

All help and advice is appreciated.
 
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Did they take away your old passport?

Try to dig up old emails, phone bills, credit card statements etc. to reconstruct your trips to the best of your ability. The trips you took before green card approval are not to be listed.
 
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Jackolantern said:
Did they take away your old passport?

Try to dig up old emails, phone bills, credit card statements etc. to reconstruct your trips to the best of your ability. The trips you took before green card approval are not to be listed.
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Yes they took away my old passport. I had actually gone to Canada to get a new passport, sent it away for renewal, then realized I needed it to get back to the US, so I went to Immigration to get a replacement... ugly situation. I will try to remember all dates and places, but what if I accidentally forget 1-2 times or get the dates wrong, what happens? I mean, who remember the exact date they travelled!

Also, you said only after my green card arrived will I need the details of trips... So for me that would be 4.5 years of trips, correct? Thanks Jackolantern!
 
If you earned frequent flier miles for your trips, you should check the statements to check the flight dates. Most surely USCIS will be informed of your trips as Airlines must report the traveler name and document info, missing one of these trips on purpose isn't a good sign on your application.

If you traveled by road, it should be as exact as possible. be as detailed as possible, like 2 weekend trip by car to canada during month and year. I read somewhere that USCIS is flexible about overnight and day trips where you left and returned USA within less than 24 hours
 
speedyGonzales said:
If you earned frequent flier miles for your trips, you should check the statements to check the flight dates. Most surely USCIS will be informed of your trips as Airlines must report the traveler name and document info, missing one of these trips on purpose isn't a good sign on your application.

If you traveled by road, it should be as exact as possible. be as detailed as possible, like 2 weekend trip by car to canada during month and year. I read somewhere that USCIS is flexible about overnight and day trips where you left and returned USA within less than 24 hours
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Thanks for your comment. I started looking at my reward statements one hour ago, they provide most information but unfortunately I used numerous airlines... thank goodness GMAIL saved trash emails. This will just take many days to research. I would never not include a trip on purpose but I may very likely forget to include a trip. Hope my entire application isn't denied by forgetting one trip.
 
SpanishGirl said:
Yes they took away my old passport. I had actually gone to Canada to get a new passport, sent it away for renewal, then realized I needed it to get back to the US, so I went to Immigration to get a replacement... ugly situation. I will try to remember all dates and places, but what if I accidentally forget 1-2 times or get the dates wrong, what happens?
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Attach a statement saying that the trips have approximate dates based on the best of your knowledge, and that it is possible that 1 or 2 trips may have been forgotten. If you know for sure that certain trips have exact dates, identify which trips have exact dates and which ones are approximate.

Their database will have most or all of your trips. They just ask you for them to check if you're lying, and to get you to reveal trips that they might not know about. If you can match up most of your trips with their records, and you don't pretend that the trips you listed are the full exact picture of everything, they'll let your few inaccuracies slide as long as your trips are not so long and/or numerous that you're pushing the limits of continuous residence or physical presence.

I mean, who remember the exact date they travelled!
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Most people don't remember. That's why it's important for prospective citizens to write down every trip they take when they take them, so it's not a struggle to figure them out when applying for citizenship.

Also, you said only after my green card arrived will I need the details of trips... So for me that would be 4.5 years of trips, correct? Thanks Jackolantern!
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You got your green card in 2009, so for you that's about 3 years of trips. And you don't need to list trips of under 24 hours.
 
Checking your flight records in your email account are your best bet. Do what Jackolantern suggests. I'm just really surprised that Canada doesn't return your canceled passport.
 
Ah, you have both been so helpful. I have successfully found what I think are my trips for the last 2 years (9 trips thus far). September 2009 I received my green card so this means I only need to find one more year of trips! That's not too shabby.

Question 1: November 2010 was a honeymoon, we did not fly, we took a cruise from Florida to 3 countries and back to Florida. Which county would I say we went to since we left the US?

Question 2: Since I received my 2-yr green card on September 22 2009, and I can't file until 3 years after, should I wait to submit the paperwork on October 1st or proceed with submitting it since it's September 27 2012. Maybe a silly question.

Thank you!
 
SpanishGirl said:
Question 1: November 2010 was a honeymoon, we did not fly, we took a cruise from Florida to 3 countries and back to Florida. Which county would I say we went to since we left the US?
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Treat all 3 countries as one trip and list them in the same space, separated by commas. They're only interested in when you left and entered the US on that trip, not the individual exit and entry dates for each country.

Question 2: Since I received my 2-yr green card on September 22 2009, and I can't file until 3 years after, should I wait to submit the paperwork on October 1st or proceed with submitting it since it's September 27 2012. Maybe a silly question.
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You can apply as early as 90 days before completing 3 years as a green card holder (however you cannot be approved for citizenship before completing the full 3 years with a green card). So you could have applied back in late June.
 
This thread should be in the US citizenship section. You can move it there by clicking "Thread Tools" on the bar at the top of the first post of the thread.
 
Ok I'll move it. Last question... Why wouldn't a Canadian citizen want to apply for US citizenship? Any disadvantages? Especially since we plan on moving back?
 
SpanishGirl said:
Ok I'll move it. Last question... Why wouldn't a Canadian citizen want to apply for US citizenship? Any disadvantages? Especially since we plan on moving back?
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As a US citizen you'll have to continue to file US tax returns even when you're living outside the US. It doesn't necessarily mean you'll pay any US taxes, as there are tax treaties and credits and exemptions that can be used to reduce or eliminate the US taxation of your non-US income, but you still need to file the US tax returns and report your worldwide income, then take the available exemptions and reductions.

If you're going to stay in the US, one disadvantage of US citizenship is having to serve jury duty. For some people it's not a problem because their employer pays their salary during jury duty or the trial is over in one day, but it can be a real hardship for others whose employer doesn't pay them during a lengthy trial, or the self-employed person who may lose business as a result of the time away from their customers and the work they do.
 
If you should have begin frequenting this forum the day you got your GC or even before and I would bet you would have been more careful in documenting your trips. I made an excel file for this after my first trip abroad after getting GC and after each trip entered my dates in this excel file (as at at that time your memory is fresh). It saves lot of headache in the end or even if one looses old passport while applying for a new one or just misplacing/ dropping it somewhere. I also took care to remove 1 day form each of my trip since one cant count either first or last day of the stay or visit in USA, I know people will say if it is less than 12 hrs you should count day in USA as full day and less than 12 hrs then day out, but I think better removing one day from you trio automatically takes care of everything and wont hurt your presence unless you have borderline case. Good luck in searching your trip details, also check your airlines records online if you had been booking tickets online, as most airlines keep record of your itineraries online in your account forever. I think most of us remember the airlines due to their good or bad service or experience flying with them or getting stuck in an airport or providing tasteless food or uncurteous flight agents gets embossed in our memories.


SpanishGirl said:
Thanks for your comment. I started looking at my reward statements one hour ago, they provide most information but unfortunately I used numerous airlines... thank goodness GMAIL saved trash emails. This will just take many days to research. I would never not include a trip on purpose but I may very likely forget to include a trip. Hope my entire application isn't denied by forgetting one trip.
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