Need some info: N400

H

herndon_va

Registered Users (C)
I got my GC on May20, 2002. Do I have to wait full 5 years to apply for citizenship or Can I apply 3 months (Feb 20, 2007) before. Please advise.
 
You are eligible for naturalization after 5 years. You can apply up to 90 days early (but experience on this form says "don't do it exactly 90 days early, wait a couple of days or a week afterwards to allow for some slop"). The rationale is that it was very unlikely to be processed in less than 90 days.

Some DOs are processing applications in less than 90 days now (which complicates things). Check the forum appropriate for your district office to see what is typical. If it were me, and my DO was doing N-400 applications in 70 days from PD to interview, I'd probably submit my app no earlier than 45-60 days early.

Since an application can take anywhere from 3 months to 3 years to process, a few days isn't a large issue. It's much more important to make sure that your application doesn't get taken off the fast track.

Relax, take it easy. "Enjoy" the process :)
 
herndon_va said:
I got my GC on May20, 2002. Do I have to wait full 5 years to apply for citizenship or Can I apply 3 months (Feb 20, 2007) before. Please advise.
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Yes, Flydog is right. Allow for some slop. You can apply 45-60 before your 5 year anniversary.
 
N400Applier said:
Yes, Flydog is right. Allow for some slop. You can apply 45-60 before your 5 year anniversary.
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I don't think he/she can get citizenship in less than 90 days from Herndon (DO: Fairfax). I would not wait.
 
herndon_va said:
Thanks Guys. I am from Ashburn, VA, not from Herndon. I guess it is still the same DO, not really sure.
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You will be covered by the Fairfax DO, regardless of whether you are from Herndon or Ashburn. FFX covers NoVA and DC and probably more of VA.

FFX DO has been sluggish for the past couple of years and I don't think you will be done in 3 months. But this is purely IMO.

My timeline:
FFX DO
PD: 5/18/06
FP: 6/8/06
ID: 2/13/07
 
Yes, the best thing to do is to look at the "timeline" thread for the appropriate district office to get an idea of how long it takes, and go from there.
 
Sure am glad I don't live in Virginia any more - getting my GC at the Arlington DO was an experience not easily forgotten; wait outside in line, wait inside in line and then wait while sitting on the floor, for what eventually turned into a 5 minute paper-shuffle around midday.

Baltimore DO seems to be a lot slicker, however I suspect part of this is due to switching over to the InfoPass system.
 
i was in dc metro during my GC and that was an experience. now i am in bay area ready to plunge in for n-400 soon ...
 
Best thing is to wait for few days as mentioned earlier.

In my case:
01/23/2002 GC Date (CSC).
10/26/2006 N-400 PD.
01/12/2007 N-400 Interview Date @ SFO (less than 90 days).
02/06/2007 Oath Appointment @ SFO.

The officer took a calendar and physically counted days twice during the interview !!
Do your math properly before sending N-400 application.
 
Is it okay to be with-in 90 days while interview??

What is the Green card date??

Is this "Resident Sinnce" date on actual Green card OR Adjustment status date (that we do adjustment of status on Passport before we get actual card) in the passport?

In my case: I am "Resident Since" from 05/02/2002 (as per the actual green card). But My passport got adjustment of status stamp on 05/11/2002.

From which date do we need to count 90 days back??

Thanks,
SRK
 
A good idea (if you are thinking about naturalization) is to download the N-400, its instructions and the "Guide to Naturalization". In the guide, it says something like "use the date on the card" and even shows pictures of the cards to see where the date is encoded.

In some cases, the date on the card is wrong (according to folks on this list), but, that's the date you should be using.
 
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