New York City - N-400 Timeline - Naturalization Experiences

Vorpal said:
JohnnyCash,

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but the IO who interviewed me stated that they are only concerned with tax returns if the interviewee is self-employed. I don't know whether or not this is standard procedure, but I thought I'd mention it.
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No, you did not, nor anyone has ever mentioned about it in anywhere on this forum. I think the reason why they are more concerned with tax-returns of those applicants who are self-employed because anyone can say that s/he is a self-employed even if s/he is doing illegal or shady stuffs like selling drug, prostitution or other illegal things. And it could be possible that applicant might not even be working but lying on the application about being a self-employed so that INS won't scrutinze him/her. Remember, without a visible means of income, INS automatically presume applicants are involved in some kind of shady stuffs unless applicants can come up with a reasonable reason on how s/he has been supporting himself/herself without an income? Plus, people who file tax-returns as self-employed are the ones lie most on their tax returns.
 
Bobsmyth said:
Another example of inconsistency in the process since the N-659 document checklist mentions tax receipts are requested for visits outside US for more than 6 months and if you owe any taxes.

One thing I thought about that they should add to the N-400 application questions is: Do you have any criminal warrants against you?
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As for the outstanding warrant, then INS do IBIS check on every applicant no matter what, right there at the interview before making a decision which takes only 2 minutes, regardless they ask or not from applicants on the application about any outstanding warrant. This system tells them who is wanted and by which agency.
 
JohnnyCash said:
No, you did not, nor anyone has ever mentioned about it in anywhere on this forum. I think the reason why they are more concerned with tax-returns of those applicants who are self-employed because anyone can say that s/he is a self-employed even if s/he is doing illegal or shady stuffs like selling drug, prostitution or other illegal things. And it could be possible that applicant might not even be working but lying on the application about being a self-employed so that INS won't scrutinze him/her. Remember, without a visible means of income, INS automatically presume applicants are involved in some kind of shady stuffs unless applicants can come up with a reasonable reason on how s/he has been supporting himself/herself without an income? Plus, people who file tax-returns as self-employed are the ones lie most on their tax returns.
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Agreed on all counts, particularly the last sentence of your post. I've personally come across self-employed individuals who reported their annual income to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3k-4k and have the audacity to declare dependants!!! I don't understand how the IRS doesn't question how these people survive.
 
JohnnyCash said:
Zkr,
In order to help other New Yorkers, I would ask you the same questions that I asked from NYC Naturalizer. Were you speficially asked about your job like any details about your job, or just for the sake of update about it on the application, or nothing was asked? Were you asked specifically about your tax-returns/transcripts? Did officer go line-by-line on tax-returns, or just took a quick glance at them, or didn't even look at them at all but took the copies and filed in the file?
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Yes . I am self employed and work as a contractor for other companies. I was specifically asked about tax returns for last 5 years. The IO did not look at the tax returns line by line ( she just checked the years and made sure I filed for taxes as claimed). She circled the year listed on each tax return and put them in the file. I had to explain to her that I work at company X location and do the work for them but I am not their employee. To further assure her, I showed her my current work location ID badge . Not sure if she made a note of that.
As mentioned by yourself and others on this forum, it is very important that oral answers should match the application. If not, the interviewer will inquire about it and correct/question it right there. As each question is answered, she checks off the item with a red pen. For example, she corrected the application about my wife's living in the USA instead of overseas ( as listed previously). So one should review the application for any errors/omissions and bring to the IO attention otherwise if they find out on their own, they might construe as mis-representation.
 
Vorpal said:
I don't understand how the IRS doesn't question how these people survive.
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IRS doesn't care one lives or dies, or how can someone live without money or without enough money. All they care is your hard working $$$$$....lol


Zkr,

Good job.
 
Oath Ceremony

Hello Everyone,

Today was my oath ceremony at 26 Federal Plaza at 8:30am. I arrived around 8:15 with my husband, it was in a small room with about 200 other people. There was no need to be there extra early. So they ushered us into this room and then ushered my husband into another room to wait for us.

We were asked to fill out our oath notice if we had not already done so at home this morning, as you have to sign it the same day as the ceremony or it is not valid. If you sign it at the location of the oath then you have to put that address (mine was 26 Federal Plaza).

In the first room it depends when you arrive and what row you sit in as to how fast you will get out of there when the ceremony is over. After about 15 mins they ushered us row by row to the other room where our families were. Everyone had their letters and greencards checked. After that everyone was directed to a window where an IO asked me all the questions on the back of the oath letter (traveled since interview, been arrested, etc) and then asked me to surrender my greencard (make sure you bring all of your greencards and employment cards, and I-94's as they have to be destroyed). If you forget anything they will give you an envelope so you can mail everything in later.

You cannot sit with your family and have to sit in the front near a podium. After everyone was seated which took about half an hour a women spoke and explained all of the procedures and how to go about with the Social Security Administration, how to register to vote, and how to apply for a passport. Then we watched a brief message from the President congratulating us.

The woman then stated that there were 73 countries being represented today!!! She called each country and asked that we stand as our country was called. Very beautiful moment. :)

After that we were asked to stand and take the oath, said the pledge of allegiance, and listened to the star spangled banner. A lot of people were crying because it was a very proud moment.

After that we were all finished and they handed out the certificates row by row (I was in the third row). The whole thing was over by 10:10am so it took very little time.

I am sure other locations takes longer if there are more people in attendance.

Citizenship Time line:

11/7/07: N400 Mailed
12/20/07: FP Notice Received
1/15/08: FP appointment
5/15/08: Interview Notice Received
6/4/08: Interview
8/23/08: Oath Letter Received
8/29/08: Oath Ceremony
Present: Proud Citizen :)
 
nyc_nyc_nyc said:
did anyone get any questions at their interview such as these below. I have read all over everone is asked those easy questions on the flag or your state senator but what about these?

What is the Executive Branch of our Government?
Who is the head of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government?
What are some of the basic beliefs of the Declaration of Independence?
Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?
Who was President during the Civil War?
Where does freedom of speech come from?
Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death"?
Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
Name the amendments that guarantee or address voting rights.
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The questions are randomly generated by a computer, so the IO has no control over what questions an applicant will be asked. Speaking of difficult questions, I was asked the infamous "What were the first 13 states?" question. However, my IO only asked me to name 3 of them. Coincidentally, naming 3 of 13 original states is the revised question that will be used on the new test.
 
Hi guys, I have a question about the trips abroad. As you know you must be in the U.S. for at least 18 months out of the 3-years period if you are married to a U.S. citizen. I applied on 09-28-2007 for naturalization. By that time I had about 21 months of stay in the U.S. in past 3-years. After applying I had a few long trips and in past 11 months I was out for 10. I have Business in the U.S. that is run through overseas office (kind of outsourced stuff) so I have to be there for quite some while.
Now I had my interview on 08-27-2008 and the IO spent well over one hour calculating the duration of trips (I had about 9-10 trips). What he did was that he was calculating the recent trips as well (trips taken after I applied). If he includes the recent trips then by that rule I had only spent 14 months in the past 3 years from the present date (8/27/08). I told him that the calculation must be done from the date I applied, he got confused and went out to talk to his supervisor. He came back and told me that they will have to carry on with rest of the interview and they will review the case in detail later. Then the rest of the stuff was concluded in 10 minutes and he gave me a notice saying that I passed my interview/test and they will be mailing me the decision.
Now the question here is, does anyone know exactly about the stay rule/law? Do they calculate it from the date we apply or the date we appear for interview? I am guessing my application will be denied if it's the latter one. What course of action should be taken then? Should I get a lawyer? I did provide the IO with over 200 pages of my last 3 years of tax returns including my company's tax returns as well.
 
Any suggestion what should I do next? Will getting a lawyer, paying hefty fees and proving that I had to be out of the country because of nature of my work will actually work? I know I can file an appeal and then petition in District court but is it worth it? Or should I re-apply after completing my residency requirement all over again?
Here I must mention that at JFK airport immigration counter my passport was not stamped for entry for my recent trip that lasted a little less that 6 months. What actually happened was that they took me to a room where I waited for about 30 minutes and the immigration officer called and told me that I was sent here by mistake and then I should go to the other counter. I think they did not stamp my passport mistakenly during this mess. I do have EXIT stamps on my passport from the country of origin though. So my question is, can I take benefit of the doubt and is there a way to slip through this or USCIS can pull my records from DHS or whatever authority that takes care of immigration? However on the other hand I am afraid they can also say that I never came to the U.S. in past 8 months. Any advise on this matter is appreciated.
 
b0nd,

As Bobsmyth says, the continuous residency requirement is rolling and must be met up through oath. Unless, you're super duper lucky, your interviewer's supervisor will reach that conclusion and you'll be issued a denial letter in the next month or two. Personally, I don't see much point in appealing. If you don't meet the 18 month requirement, you don't meet it. It's not a discretionary matter...and even if it were, if it was within USCIS's discretion to decide to your detriment, what will be the basis of your appeal? You didn't like their decision? For an appeal, you need to (1) present a case that USCIS got it wrong or (2) present new evidence supporting your case/interpretation of the facts. Doesn't sound like you're in a position to do either....

Is there anyway you could get a N-470? (i.e., if you're working for a US company overseas). If you can, I believe residency is tolled while you're aboard. Maybe do some research on that and see a lawyer about it. If not, you can re-apply when you have the requisite 18 months. Make sure you don't break residency either - no absences of over 6 months. That's not fool proof if you have back to back absences, but at least you don't automatically raise flags (i.e., if you do have absences of over 6 months). Good luck.

PS Never lie to the government. That is a bad, bad idea.
 
who is John G. Roberts, Jr. and who is William Rehnquist? can anyone give me the correct answer to who they both are?
 
I never lied, even though the IO couldn't find the most recents stamps.
By appeal or getting a lawyer I mean that I need to prove that I was out of the country for ligit work reasons not that I didn't like their decision. What's the way to prove that I have outsourced my work overseas and had taken frequent trips to run/monitor the whole show? I did provide them with my U.S. based company's tax returns but as this is an outsourced project I can not mention that I own a company overseas and pay taxes for it in the U.S. I believe if I could do that then they can accept my application. If I had known this rule that residency requirement stands till the oath I would have never broken (none of my trips is over 6-months) it.
 
Bobsmyth said:
William is the previous supreme court justice, John is the current supreme court justice.
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William H. Rehnquist was Chief Justice (Judge) of the US Supreme Court who died in 2005. John G. Roberts, Jr has become the new Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.


The following should not be omitted whenever talk about these two men-


(1) Chief (the leader, head) Justice.

(2) US Supreme Court
 
fbanna79 said:
Do you know why they are asking for these documents ? Is there anything special with your case?
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The title of the letter said "Case file review notice/ interview document check list". I don't know if my case is special or not. I just know that they want me to dress properly and be on time for my interview and bring my birth certificate, driver's license, passport, and my kids birth certificates.
 
My Oath Experience - Brooklyn, NY

I arrived at the U.S. Courthouse at 225 Cadman Plaza East at around 8:15. After passing the security screening, I was directed to go to the 2nd Floor and my fiancee was told to go to the cafeteria and wait there. I was ushered into Ceremonial Courtroom 3, which was about half-full by then. When most of the room was full, a diminutive woman with a very commanding presence entered the room and introduced herself as Officer Yee. She informed us that she is in charge of conducting the ceremony (265 applicants were being naturalized today) and making sure that everything goes off without a glitch. There were 2 other IOs in the room, one sitting at a table in front of the judge's seat (she was in charge of the natz certificates) and the other was directing arriving applicants to their seats. When the last of the applicants were seated, Officer Yee directed everyone to fill out the back of the letter and sign it. Here's the real kicker that will hopefully help answer one of the most frequently asked questions on this forum. She went into a mini-speech, emphasizing that she only cared about arrests. She repeated the following no less than 5 times: "If you have traffic tickets, don't even bother! Save your breath! I only want to know if you've been arrested!"

After everyone filled out the letter, the most tedious part of the process began. We were called row by row to the table in the middle of the room, where Officer Yee collected our GCs and other immigration documents. We were then instructed to line up at the other side of the table to check our natz certificates for any possible errors. This process had to have taken no less than 2 hours. After finally getting called to turn in my GC and check my certificate, I went upstairs to the cafeteria to find my fiancee. The cafeteria had a flat screen monitor with a video feed from Courtroom 3, where we could keep an eye on the progress. When the last row was called, I went back downstairs to reclaim my seat and prepare for the moment I've been awaiting for the past year. I made sure to get a voter registration form from one of the volunteers and sat down. There was a speech by a representative from the Human Rights Council, informing us that we can file an official complaint with them if we are ever being discriminated against. About 15 minutes later, we were directed to stand up, as the judge and a court clerk entered the courtroom. The clerk then led us through the Oath of Allegiance and the Pledge of Allegiance, after which the judge welcomed us as new citizens of the United States and gave a short, inspiration speech about the immigrants' contribution to the American society. The IOs then distributed our new certificates in the order which we were called to check them at the beginning of the ceremony and it was all over. As frannod has pointed out in her oath experience, this is a very lengthy ceremony, lasting about 4.5 hours. Then again, it's a very small price to pay for the conclusion of a lengthy and, oftentimes, problematic journey and eternal liberation from the USCIS!

Thus ends my story that began back in 1989, when my family landed at JFK Airport.
 
kashif said:
Question on green card: I received my greencard through employment, however I never joined the sponsoring company after I received my green card. Would that in any case can jeopardize my citizenship?
Thanks
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johnycash or other moderators might have more to say on this.
This issue can pertain to good moral character clause. IO might think you gamed the system. However, if you came up with a reasonable explanation with supporting document , then you should be OK. It might happen that you will never be asked about it. Usually IO ask about latest employment. But if I were you , I would have a valid explanation ready after consultation with a good lawyer, just in case.
 
zkar said:
johnycash or other moderators might have more to say on this.
This issue can pertain to good moral character clause. IO might think you gamed the system. However, if you came up with a reasonable explanation with supporting document , then you should be OK. It might happen that you will never be asked about it. Usually IO ask about latest employment. But if I were you , I would have a valid explanation ready after consultation with a good lawyer, just in case.
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Being a moderator is not same like being an advocate on immigration issues. A moderator's job includes stopping spamming, offensive and inflammable postings; delete unnecessarily and irrelevant postings, move/close/merge right threads/postings to its right place. And banning someone who is a repeated offender of the rules of this board. One doesn't need any skill and any qualification to be a moderator. But advocating on immigration issues is different than being a moderator.

As for the case in question, then it's not about the moral character; rather this person's eligibilty for green card would be in question which might make his green card to be revoked unless he is protected under AC21 law. Some adjudication officers are known to ask from applicants if they work for the employer who sponsored them for the green card, while other officers are known to dodge this question. So nobody can say for sure what could happen. But this person must have to be prepared to answer this question in any given situation because it's very much possible he could be asked this question. If this person is not protected under AC21 law then he is out of luck and could also lose his green card.

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0321-murthy.shtm

http://www.immigration-lawyer.com/visa/H1B/AC21_FAQ.htm

http://www.mayvisalaw.com/PracticeAreas/AC-21-Portability.asp

http://www.immigration-information.com/forums/blog.php?b=14

http://www.lawbench.com/immigration-forum/663/ac-21

http://www.alanleelaw.com/english/articles/a2005-06-19.htm
 
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