Married to US Citizen. Any advantage?

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NWstrnr

New Member
Happy New Year!!

This is my first post........so be kind... :o

I am about to apply for US citizenship.

Is there any real advantage of being married to a US citizen? I am well within timelines specified (re: married/or unmarried) for filing an N-400. My spouse is a US citizen.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!
 
If you already meet the 5yr timeline for regular processing, you should go that route as it involves slightly less documentation. The 3yr route for naturalization through marriage is only a time saver for those who obtained their GC around the time of their marriage to a USC.
 
I am finishing up my process on a 3yr (marriage to USC) timeline. Not really much more paperwork if you got your GC based on marriage. Also, based on responses here, I have had much easier and relaxed interviews and the entire process from Applying to Interview has been 2.5 months - since the Oath line is quite long, I will take the Oath in Jan 26th - in total, it will be just under 6 months (out of that is 3.5 months waiting for a slot in the oath).
 
That’s a very interesting question and I do not believe there is a definitive answer. I got my Green Card in 1983 and married a US citizen in 1987. My job with a US company took me back-and-forth overseas, so my US residency was quite complex until I returned for good.

Even tho’ my “physical presence” for application via spouse (50% x 3 yrs = 18 months) was obviously reached before the “physical presence” for application via Green Card date (50% x 5 yrs = 36 months), I decided to wait and apply via the latter route. In my particular case, my wife had been previously married and that was the primary reason for my decision. Otherwise I would have to go through the additional step of verifying her divorce etc. etc.

If you currently qualify for both routes, I would personally recommend the Green Card date application because the USCIS essentially have all the data they need to confirm your qualification and you do not have to confirm/justify/clarify your marriage in any way. However, if your case is totally lacking in complexity or special circumstances, I am not sure it will make a huge difference.

I am not a lawyer; this opinion is personal and is without legal validity of any sort.
 
depends

From what I have seen posted on this forum over the last few years, annecdotally, I see that if the case is clearly not doubtable, like genuine marriage, kids and so forth, it is a walk through. But if USCIS has reasons to doubt the genuiness of marriage or as some one pointed out the USC has been married before then it attracts more attention. Additionally some applicants think married to a USC gives them some special position and go with a chip on their shoulder then USCIS officer has sent them back with endless requests for evidence (?). But going with an attitude of having some advantage is sure a red rag to a bull. That is my reading.
 
NWstrnr said:
Is there any real advantage of being married to a US citizen? I am well within timelines specified (re: married/or unmarried) for filing an N-400. My spouse is a US citizen.
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The only advantage is that you get to apply within 3 years of marriage even if you have not completed 5 years as permanent resident. Since in your case timing is not an issue, I would also strongly recommend applying under the "5 year as permanent resident" category. That way, you eliminate one dependency. So, to sum it up, if you have completed the 5 year requirement, it is actually advantageous to NOT apply under "3 years as spouse of US Citizen". And as long as you are applying under the "5 year" rule, being married to a US citizen is of NO advantage.
 
harvydonald said:
If your spose has been married before, USCIS needs a lot of information about his/her previous marriage(s).
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You only need divorce decree of your spouse.
 
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