Need help with my Citizenship case

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pvelamur

Registered Users (C)
I need advise for the following citizenship issue. This forum kept my inspiration and gave me courage to wait a long long time

I got my GC in Dec 2000 and I stayed in states till June 2003. I went to India to take care of my father who was sick. I was travelling regualrly to USA for every 3 months to retain my GC though I have taken re-entry permit I never used my re-entry permit. After my father passed away I came back to USA in Aug 2007. All my trips are of less than 6 months duration. I filed my taxes regularly as a resident and kept my bank acounts and credit card for all these 4 yrs. During this time I was not working in India.

After staying for 913 days I filed for citizenship in Feb 2010. I had my interview on 23rd Apr 2010. The IO asked me to submit the tax statements for the last 5 yrs, rental lease agreements and details about my father's ill ness and kept my case in pending. Some time around last week of July 2010 I got a certified mail from USCIS mentioning that my case is rejected because I filed for citizenship on 8th Feb 2010 and by that time I have only 911 days instead of 913 days. I checked many times but I found 913 days.

Anyway I filed for a review of my case by filing form N-336. USCIS has deducted the $605 the following week. But its almost 3 months no decision has been taken and I have not received any formal communication from USCIS. Now I almost have 1200 days for the citizenship process.

Now what are the options infront of me. Wait for the decision on N-336 or withdraw the application and file foe another N-400 fresh application
 
From the time your N-336 is properly filed, USCIS has 180 days (6 months) under 8 CFR 336.2(b) to conduct your interview. Under INA 310(c) you may seek judicial review in the U.S. District Court if they uphold the denial following the hearing afforded under INA 336(a).

Although, the regulation states that USCIS has only 180 days to conduct the 2nd hearing, the statute does not impose such a deadline. In fact, strictly interpreted there is no actual deadline for USCIS that would afford judicial review absent a FINAL DETERMINATION under INA 336(a).

However, the existence of a regulatory deadline would allow for the filing of a writ of mandamus in a U.S. District Court, whereby, a judge could order USCIS to do its job and set a deadline to issue a final decision.

The questions remains, can you overcome the grounds for denial? AND do you want to go through that process or just re-apply with a new N-400?

The ultimate decision is yours and yours alone.


P.S. Your N-400 was not rejected, it was DENIED.
 
I would have filed a new N-400 then filing 336. It's only taking 4 months for new application, if I were you I would file N-400.
 
namecheckvictim said:
I would have filed a new N-400 then filing 336. It's only taking 4 months for new application, if I were you I would file N-400.
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You can't file an appeal and submit a new application at the same time. USCIS can only adjudicate one open application at a time.
 
Yes I took the infopass appointment today (01-Nov-2010). The officer told that the interview is pending and I have to wait.
To be frank this citizenship became an obsession to me as got the green card in 2000 and is time for applying for renewal of the GC. Who ever got the GC along with me all became citizens. My stay for 4 yrs in India is hurting me.
I will wait for another 2 weeks and if I donot receive any reply from USCIS, I want to with draw my n-336 and apply a fresh N-400.
I need all the guidence from this forum
 
pvelamur said:
Yes I took the infopass appointment today (01-Nov-2010). The officer told that the interview is pending and I have to wait.
To be frank this citizenship became an obsession to me as got the green card in 2000 and is time for applying for renewal of the GC. Who ever got the GC along with me all became citizens. My stay for 4 yrs in India is hurting me.
I will wait for another 2 weeks and if I donot receive any reply from USCIS, I want to with draw my n-336 and apply a fresh N-400.
I need all the guidence from this forum
Click to expand...
When you filed N-336, what did you present as new evidence that shows that you met physical presence requirement?
 
I provided all the information including my bording passes of leaving the country and entering back. The IO denied my case with just 2 days.
 
pvelamur said:
I provided all the information including my bording passes of leaving the country and entering back. The IO denied my case with just 2 days.
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So you provided the same information with N-336 as you did at interview? Is it possible that you miscalculated any of your travel dates?
 
I checked manytimes. Always I see 913 days. I posted my application on 05-Feb and USCIS received it on 08-Feb. The priority date given was 12-Feb.
But the officer counted the application date only till 05-Feb. I should have waited for some more time before posting instead of hurrying it.
 
pvelamur said:
I checked manytimes. Always I see 913 days. I posted my application on 05-Feb and USCIS received it on 08-Feb. The priority date given was 12-Feb.
But the officer counted the application date only till 05-Feb. I should have waited for some more time before posting instead of hurrying it.
Click to expand...

I think you did another mistake by filling an appeal. You would have been better off by filing n-400 afresh. Now you have to wait for 180 days for their decision and hope it is in your favor.
 
When a form is received, it is physically stamped received, that is the controling date for eligibility purposes. The ONLY circumstance that can change that is a bounced check in which case, the date is supposed to be changed to the date that the check was honored or new payment received.

In reality, often times the date on a notice is the date of the data entry which is automatically popolated in the data entryu screen in the computer. Are there any other dates shown on the receipt notice? How are they labeled?

This could be a point of confusion for others and your answer could help others similarly situated.
 
other thing the officer could have done is to look at the date on which the application was signed. whether he should use that is a different question.
 
Friends, now what do I need to do
1. Wait till the N-335 is addressed. ALready 3 months passed or
2. With draw the N-336 and file N-400 fresh
 
I got the interview date for my N-336. Dec 2nd is the interview date. Any advise and suggetions for the interview
 
Just go prepared with your evidence that shows clearly that you had spent 913 days inside the US. Make two sheets -- one which lists the periods within the US, with the days for each, and another that lists the absences.

If you post your exact departure and arrival dates from 05-Feb-2005 to 12-Feb-2010, maybe we can spot the source of either your error or the IO's error (for each trip, post the number of days outside the US which you calculated, and the number the IO calculated if you have it).

Note that in the system the IO would see the days you left or entered the US, not the dates you left or entered India. If you used the arrival stamps in India to determine the US departure dates, it often would be wrong by 1 or 2 days.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Today I attended the N-336 hearing. The officer was not at all interested in listening to me and kept on insisting that I stayed outside for 913 days out of 1826 days where as I kept on saying I was physically present for 913 days. He said the earlier officer reviewed the case and found I was away for 915 days and he can not revoke that decision. The interview was only for 10 minutes
At the end I felt that I wasted $605 by applying for N-336.
Now what are the options infront of me.

1. Now I have around 1200 days of physical presence in the country in the last 5 yrs and I am staying at the same address for the last 3 yrs and 5 months
2. Can I apply now or wait till I complete 5 yrs.
 
A new N-400 has a new filing date to count backwards from for the physical presence calculation and you stated in your 1st post that you had no trips of 6 months so if that was and remains the sole issue, then it is now moot and you are free to re-apply. If your fingerprints are still current, the preprocessing should fly by faster. With the new N-400, make a point of saying that you are not seeking further review in court. Technically, you do have further judicial review rights under INA 310(c) pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Chapter 7 http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/usc.cgi?ACTION=BROWSE&TITLE=5USCPI&PDFS=YES and see below cut and pasted chapter section headings.

However, to succeed, you would have to actually be correct and fully eligible for the relief sought.

CHAPTER 7--JUDICIAL REVIEW

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Sec. 701. Application; definitions

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Sec. 702. Right of review
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Sec. 703. Form and venue of proceeding

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Sec. 704. Actions reviewable

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Sec. 705. Relief pending review

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Sec. 706. Scope of review
 
pvelamur said:
Today I attended the N-336 hearing. The officer was not at all interested in listening to me and kept on insisting that I stayed outside for 913 days out of 1826 days where as I kept on saying I was physically present for 913 days. He said the earlier officer reviewed the case and found I was away for 915 days and he can not revoke that decision. The interview was only for 10 minutes
At the end I felt that I wasted $605 by applying for N-336.
Now what are the options infront of me.
Click to expand...

Please list all your trips from 05-Feb-2005 to 12-Feb-2010, with exact exit and entry dates. Provide the actual exit and entry dates when you left/entered the US; don't rely on exit/arrival stamps given in India, which may be a day or two different from the date you exited/entered the US, due to the length of the flights and time zone changes.
 
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