N400 application question

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ledo1611

Registered Users (C)
I got my green card through work about 4 years ago, have been married to my wife for about 10 years, when we got married we did so in our home country's consulate/embassy here in the US but we didn't do the local US marriage license/certificate, my wife had a green card at the time (through her family), now she has been a citizen for a little over 3 years. so I applied for citizenship on the basis of being married to a US citizen for 3 years, used the original marriage certificate from our embassy with a translation. after passing the English & history test, the officer told me he is not sure that a foreign marriage certificate would work for this purpose since we were physically present in the US and should've gotten a local marriage certificate. anyway he said he will send it for review, they called me a few months later to say the case has been approved, gave me an N-652 approval notice and said to wait for the oath ceremony scheduling. However, a couple of weeks later I received another letter again saying they won't accept this marriage certificate and they need a local US certificate as a proof of our legal marriage to proceed with the case!


should I just go ahead and withdraw my N400 application, then reapply later on the basis of being a permanent resident for 5 years? I would be eligible to apply in about 6 months or so. I read some where that I can simply send a letter to the local USCIS office requesting to withdraw my N400 and then re-apply later. it seems easier to do it that way but was wondering if there would be any issues if I withdraw my application now after the interview.
 
If you reapply N-400 with the 5 year rule you still might face problems with this marriage issue, as your marital status goes on the naturalization certificate and has other potential immigration implications. Also, your problems may be bigger than USCIS, as you may face another situation where a government agency or private entity doesn't want to recognize your marriage.

So I would suggest filing a motion with the state court system (you may need the help of a lawyer) of the state where you married, to obtain a court order stating that they officially recognize your marriage as having begun on xx/xx/xxxx date*. As part of obtaining that court order you may also need a letter from your country's government confirming the validity of the marriage.

Then you can show that court order to USCIS or anybody else in the future who doubts the legal status of your marriage. If it turns out the state refuses to recognize your marriage, then at least you'll know that fact and can take steps to marry again.


*if the state doesn't recognize your consular marriage, they might recognize your marriage based on common law, i.e. you can be deemed legally married after living together for X years in a marriage-like relationship, so the date the state recognizes could be different from what is on your consular marriage certificate. What is important is that the date they recognize is at least 3 years before you filed your N-400, so you can qualify for the 3-year N-400 rule.
 
Note that not all states give official recognition to common-law marriages. I just mentioned it as another option to pursue in case the state doesn't recognize your consular marriage.
 
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