Which way is better to apply for citizenship?

[david_austin]

I just passed my interview on 10/27 based on marriage, and am recommended for approval; If you are organized, and your case is genuine and honest, no need to worry applying through marriage: In my interview, the IO only looked at my GC and asked for the 2 pics (didn't even look at pp or a single piece of proof that me and my wife brought to the interview...we had everything we could think of). The interview lasted only about 8-10 minutes. It all depends on what kind of impression you make, how prepared you are, and how honest you are. In our case, the IO openly showed how trusting he was, as he had already seen our past application for GC and the whole history, etc; As he saw my wife, he did have a nice chat with her, and he said later he was thoroughly impressed with our case...(we've been married 7 yrs), and approved the appl. immediately. Even if he hadn't seen my wife and didn't talk to her, I still think it wouldn't have been any different.

Like I said, applying through marriage, from the time we started dating to the fiance petition to GC and removal of conditions to N-400, it was all smooth, and never a hiccup with our case. Just be organized, prepare all documents well, and you'll be fine; As long as you're honest and do your part, you should be ok. applying based on marriage is NOT hard.

Washburn27:

why did take your wife at the Interview?
Is it mandatory to bring her at Interview applying on the 3-year marriage rule?

Thanks

David

N-400 Mailed 08/3/2008
N-400 Priority Date 08/08/2008
Fingerprints Letter Received 08/26/2008
Fingerprints Done 09/10/2008
Interview Additional Document needed 09/09/2008
Put in Interview Queue Sep 08
Remove from Interview Queue Sep 08 (no idea why)
Interview Letter Received NOT YET

 

[qrfalpha]

Chicago I would go with whichever you qualify for first. It makes no difference really. Here is also something you should consider as well because if you do wait longer the fee can always go up and you would be spending more later on

 

[Thoughtful]

No offense to anyone, but I think something has been overlooked. McTavish asked the question does "living together" count. The answer is no. You have to be legally married for it to count. This guy has been married for a little over a year, so he CAN NOT apply through marriage. He has to wait and apply based on the 5 year rule.
A little adviCe, 7 months might seem like a long time, I agree. But you have to get used to it. I have been waiting 2 yrs since I applied and at this point, I am still waiting for an oath date. When dealing with the USCIS, being slow is considered normal as long as they are the ones that are slow.
All the best.

 

[Jane Green]

No offense to anyone, but I think something has been overlooked. McTavish asked the question does "living together" count. The answer is no. You have to be legally married for it to count.

The OP is legally married to US citizen, of course it counts!

This guy has been married for a little over a year, so he CAN NOT apply through marriage.

Yes, HE CAN!
1. He’s wife is US citizen
2. They are legally married
3. Never in his post he said he was planning to file N-400 tomorrow, he is planning to apply based on 3 years of marriage somewhere in 08/2010, or based on 5 years in 02/2011.
Right now he was just asking questions, researching his options.

He has to wait and apply based on the 5 year rule.

What for?
Just because he got his GC as Cuban refugee doesn’t have to stop him from applying and getting his US citizenship 7 months earlier, if all the conditions of marridge based application met – 3 year as PR, wife is citizen for more then 3 years, legally married for 3 years and still living together.


As to “How is living together helps?” I’ll tell you how. It means that they have proof of living together, sharing same home and financial responsibilities for the time period beyond their official marriage date.
During marriage based adjustment interviews the officers like to see applicants who actually lived together or dated before getting married. And applicants, who met, shortly after got married and next day mailed her or his GC application are making interviewers very suspicious. Same is true for citizenship application based on marriage.
I agree with Jackolantern, when you apply after three years, you have an extra burden to prove that your marriage is genuine. Having been in relationship for over 6 years and having two kids born in his marriage, by the same spouse he’s been married for over three years (by his interview date, somewhere in 2 years), I don’t think our original poster will have any hard time to prove anything.
I would say – go for it, apply earlier.

 

[qrfalpha]

Jane is right. The important thing is that if you are applying under marriage the person has to have been at least a US citizen/naturalized for 3 years and that both of you have stayed married together for the past 3 years to qualify. I have seen example where people divorce and re-married which may affect that timeframe but I'm pretty certain your not in that situation. like I said or Jane, file earlier once you meet all the requirements. In all honestly people stress out alot when filing for the N-400 but in all truth it's very straight forward. follow what instructions you can and if by any chance you forgot something just be honest and the Immigration officer will help you complete the process during the interview.

 

[Feliz-LA]

ChicagoCuban, it's good you are planning ahead, then you can prepare much better and learn on our mistakes.

My advice to whoever applies based on 3 years and has to travel long for whatever reason - just make sure that in the three years immediately before the application you have total minimum 548 days of physical presence in US, (365days x 3 years = 1095, 50% of it = 548)

my mistake was to count the months, not days, as in the instructions everywhere it mentions 18 months, not 548 days, so i was 20 days short and was denied. plus i though if they allow 90 day window of residency's 3 year anniversary, I assumed it applies to the physical presence, and also unfortunately only 3 very recent years count, if you had greencard for 4-5 years like me, and used to be physically present for 2 first years out of 5 before you started traveling long - it doesnt count, oh well... i tried my luck, cuz I need it done ASAP, it didnt work. Hope this time it works out and I can bring my mom here (i guess I will be frequent to i-130 and AOS forums then, oh my...)

btw I also qualify this year under 5 years rule, but since unlike Jackolantern's case - Uncle Sam unfortunately already has all of our marriage and personal documents in file, no reason to wait extra 6 months, so I will apply Jan 22