Interview letter received but I am sad

maisflocon

Registered Users (C)
Hi all, I got my interview letter last week.

Unfortunately, unlike most of you who are happy, I am sad to have received this letter, because I think the interview will likely be the beginning of the end.:(

Long story short, my wife is from China and we were separated for close to a year after we got married. Her health took a toll because of that, and I managed to invite her to Canada via getting a job in Canada. I have been staying in Canada for majority of the past 2+ years (but never more than six months at a time) in order to tend to her. After I filed for N400, I have been away for most of the time as well, making trips back once a month for a day or two and occasionally a week. I continued to pay rent, phone bills, and have all my registered stuff (such as auto license and insurance) in the states. Here is the thing, if I count back five years from the day of the interview (coming up in late Oct), I would have stayed in the US for 43% of the time (or 790 days). If I count the entire time between the time I got GC (Jan 2003) 'til now, then it's more than 50% of physical presence.

Worse, I have also applied for Canada PR and have gotten the stamp on my passport (I haven't landed in Canada yet so technically I am not a PR there). The reason for applying the Canadian PR is just so that it's easier for me to make trips up to Canada to visit my wife and tend to her. I have since learned that it could cast a very unfavorable light on my citizenship application (which's why I haven't landed and am thinking of giving it up). People have asked that I postpone my interview to a later date so I can use that time to stay in the US and it will move the 5-year window and make things look better when it comes time for interview.

What do you think I should do given all this? Should I even bother going? Is there anything I can do to show that we really want to establish in the States (best-written Constitutions - nothing in the world can beat it), and the whole reason for being out of the US (and getting another PR) is because the system doesn't allow closed ones to be together without going through such pain? Will getting affidavits from friends help? (as they all know the reasons for my absence)

Thank you so much for your advice.
 
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good luck, it must be hard...
worst case scenario, they ll tell you to reapply in few years or it can worst than that?
please let us know how it went........
 
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You can't possibly have your N-400 approved if you don't have a minimum of 900 days physical presence over the past 5 years. Its a rolling window, and you have to maintain all eligibility criteria eligibility right up until the day you take your oath.

Aside from that, continuous residence could well be a problem with your travel profile.
 
Obviously you will be denied because you don't meet the physical presence requirement. You are also risking loss of your green card, because you have not only spent most of the last 2 years outside the US, you also were approved for PR in another country.

Withdraw the application if you want to hold onto your green card and restore your chances for citizenship later in life. Or just make up your mind, officially surrender the green card, and settle down in Canada. You're wasting a lot of time and money by keeping your stuff in the US and going back and forth. And your wife is going to have problems getting health coverage if she moves to the US, due to her health history.
 
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My US citizeship has been approved eventhough i've had a Canadian PR stamped on my passport. As long as you satisfy the US residency requirement, no questions will be asked.
 
My US citizeship has been approved eventhough i've had a Canadian PR stamped on my passport. As long as you satisfy the US residency requirement, no questions will be asked.

Did they (US officials) see this stamp and did they realize what it means ?

I doubt if they realize what stamp you have in your passport .... "no questions will be asked".
 
My US citizeship has been approved eventhough i've had a Canadian PR stamped on my passport.
Did you spend over 2 years in Canada in the 5-year period leading up to naturalization?

If you're in the US nearly all the time for the 5 years, they're unlikely to be concerned about residence issues. But somebody like the OP who has been in Canada for 2+ years isn't going to get away with it so easily.
 
Thank you. On the rolling window, I really wish I had known it sooner and I will definitely make sure that is being maintained. The whole time I was only told not to be out for more than six months at a time. Is there a regulatory requirement talking about the moving 5-year window?
 
Yes, i ve been all the time in US and i would travel to Canada for 3 to 4 months and then come back to US. I did maintain my US residency
What i tried to say is that the Canadian PR stamp alone is not ground for US citiz. denial. ( This is per lawyer).
Matter of fact, i was held at the US border because of the canadian stamp. I explained to them that my main residency is US and i have my Canadian PR just to visit my wife.
 
Yes, i ve been all the time in US and i would travel to Canada for 3 to 4 months and then come back to US. I did maintain my US residency
What i tried to say is that the Canadian PR stamp alone is not ground for US citiz. denial. ( This is per lawyer).
Matter of fact, i was held at the US border because of the canadian stamp. I explained to them that my main residency is US and i have my Canadian PR just to visit my wife.

But if you have used your Canadian PR stamp/card to go to Canada after having got American green card it can be interpreted as intention to live in Canada permanently. If it happened and you did not get busted because the information exchange between Canada/US is not regulated.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:
-Move to another country intending to live there permanently.
 
What i tried to say is that the Canadian PR stamp alone is not ground for US citiz. denial. ( This is per lawyer).
That is true. By itself it is not grounds for denial, as you can obtain Canadian PR without leaving the US for even one day. But somebody who has Canadian PR AND spent a total of over 2 years in Canada AND has a wife living in Canada has a huge task to convince the citizenship interviewer of not abandoning US residence.
 
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Thank you. On the rolling window, I really wish I had known it sooner and I will definitely make sure that is being maintained. The whole time I was only told not to be out for more than six months at a time. Is there a regulatory requirement talking about the moving 5-year window?
Yes it is a regulatory requirement. You must meet the physical presence requirement when you file the N-400, and when you are interviewed, and when you go for the oath, evaluated with a new 5-year lookback each time.
 
Hi all, I got my interview letter last week.

Unfortunately, unlike most of you who are happy, I am sad to have received this letter, because I think the interview will likely be the beginning of the end.:(

Long story short, my wife is from China and we were separated for close to a year after we got married. Her health took a toll because of that, and I managed to invite her to Canada via getting a job in Canada. I have been staying in Canada for majority of the past 2+ years (but never more than six months at a time) in order to tend to her. After I filed for N400, I have been away for most of the time as well, making trips back once a month for a day or two and occasionally a week. I continued to pay rent, phone bills, and have all my registered stuff (such as auto license and insurance) in the states. Here is the thing, if I count back five years from the day of the interview (coming up in late Oct), I would have stayed in the US for 43% of the time (or 790 days). If I count the entire time between the time I got GC (Jan 2003) 'til now, then it's more than 50% of physical presence.

Worse, I have also applied for Canada PR and have gotten the stamp on my passport (I haven't landed in Canada yet so technically I am not a PR there). The reason for applying the Canadian PR is just so that it's easier for me to make trips up to Canada to visit my wife and tend to her. I have since learned that it could cast a very unfavorable light on my citizenship application (which's why I haven't landed and am thinking of giving it up). People have asked that I postpone my interview to a later date so I can use that time to stay in the US and it will move the 5-year window and make things look better when it comes time for interview.

What do you think I should do given all this? Should I even bother going? Is there anything I can do to show that we really want to establish in the States (best-written Constitutions - nothing in the world can beat it), and the whole reason for being out of the US (and getting another PR) is because the system doesn't allow closed ones to be together without going through such pain? Will getting affidavits from friends help? (as they all know the reasons for my absence)

Thank you so much for your advice.

Eric

"my wife is from China and we were separated for close to a year after we got married. Her health took a toll because of that, and I managed to invite her to Canada via getting a job in Canada. I have been staying in Canada for majority of the past 2+ years"


Your wife is from china and she became very sick because she was separated from you for close to 1 year?
The story is difficult to believe.

Then you "invited her to canada". Did she just flew on plane and without a permanent visa and came to canada.
Instead of Inviting her to US where you live you decided first to move to Canada? Why?

On top you have been leaving in canada for majority of past 2 + years.

On spur of moment you decided to apply for canadian PR which you got now.

Furthermore,you decided to apply for US citizenship.

Guy,I have heard lots of stories some of which made no logical sense.
Yours seems to me to have some loose ends.
You are not sad but afraid.
 
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Make sure you leave enough money behind for your wife to take care of herself before going to this interview. I don't see a smooth end to this story.
 
"my wife is from China and we were separated for close to a year after we got married. Her health took a toll because of that, and I managed to invite her to Canada via getting a job in Canada. I have been staying in Canada for majority of the past 2+ years"


Your wife is from china and she became very sick because she was separated from you for close to 1 year?
The story is difficult to believe.

Then you "invited her to canada". Did she just flew on plane and without a permanent visa and came to canada.
Instead of Inviting her to US where you live you decided first to move to Canada? Why?

On top you have been leaving in canada for majority of past 2 + years.

On spur of moment you decided to apply for canadian PR which you got now.

Furthermore,you decided to apply for US citizenship.

Guy,I have heard lots of stories some of which made no logical sense.
Yours seems to me to have some loose ends.
You are not sad but afraid.
Sorry I don't think you know enough about US immigration law to know what couples like us have to go through to be together and take care of each other. It's not possible to invite your spouse over to the US if you are a green card holder, at least not within a few years. There is no way I can let her wait for 5 years. 10 months of separation has caused enough angst and stress for someone who is in her first relationship and first marriage. I also didn't say she is very sick (thank god for that), her emotional and physical well-being took a toll. I am not about to wait until she is gravely ill before I do something.

The only option I had at the time is to give up my green card, and invite her over to the US on an H1-B. I had to be in Canada most of the time because the only way I could get her close to me is via getting a job in Canada, as I have said.

I didn't apply for Canada PR on a spur either. I need to do everything within my power to reduce the time of separation. What should I do if I am stuck in the process? More separation? I am doing everything I can to fulfill my duty as a husband -- to be by her side as much as possible and tend to her when I can.
 
Make sure you leave enough money behind for your wife to take care of herself before going to this interview. I don't see a smooth end to this story.
I have enough of that but if I had to give up everything to start from scratch again with her in this great land, I would.
 
Sorry I don't think you know enough about US immigration law to know what couples like us have to go through to be together and take care of each other. It's not possible to invite your spouse over to the US if you are a green card holder, at least not within a few years. There is no way I can let her wait for 5 years. 10 months of separation has caused enough angst and stress for someone who is in her first relationship and first marriage. I also didn't say she is very sick (thank god for that), her emotional and physical well-being took a toll. I am not about to wait until she is gravely ill before I do something.

The only option I had at the time is to give up my green card, and invite her over to the US on an H1-B. I had to be in Canada most of the time because the only way I could get her close to me is via getting a job in Canada, as I have said.

I didn't apply for Canada PR on a spur either. I need to do everything within my power to reduce the time of separation. What should I do if I am stuck in the process? More separation? I am doing everything I can to fulfill my duty as a husband -- to be by her side as much as possible and tend to her when I can.


Your story is very suspicious. Her physical being took a toll - isn't that called sickness? 10 months separation, marriage, and sick! It is exteremly difficult to believe.
On what basis is She living in Canada? You haven't finalized your canadian PR, so on what basis is your chinese wife living in canada?
You haven't answered the vital questions.
Guess you know a lot about immigration, kind of weird since you act as if you didn't knew the requirements to file for citizenship.
Guy we cannot help you, neither can an attorney because all of us have got to follow the rules and requirements, there is no other way.
 
Your story is very suspicious. Her physical being took a toll - isn't that called sickness? 10 months separation, marriage, and sick! It is exteremly difficult to believe.
On what basis is She living in Canada? You haven't finalized your canadian PR, so on what basis is your chinese wife living in canada?
You haven't answered the vital questions.
Guess you know a lot about immigration, kind of weird since you act as if you didn't knew the requirements to file for citizenship.
Guy we cannot help you, neither can an attorney because all of us have got to follow the rules and requirements, there is no other way.

I encourage we help each other on this board, and not criticize the details of the story. I really admire the poeple giving advice with their best knowledge and not poking the "loose ends" (if any) of OP's story.
 
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