Wife Filing for Citizenship

M

mazam

Registered Users (C)
Dear All,

My wife got her permanent residence on August 16 2002. She was a resident of California. We got married on August 12 2005. She came to Houston, TX in March 25 2007. She got a TX Driver License on April 10th 2007. Now, she needs to apply for her citizenship. According to the laws she was eligible to apply in May 2007 (4 years and 9 months). But since, she changed her state from California to Texas she must wait 3 more months. So, this means she can apply on July 10th 2007.

My questions are as follows:

1) Should I send my paper work on July 10th 2007 or should I send it early?

2) How much time it takes for her to get the citizenship? (We are in Houston, TX). She got her permanent resident on immigration status.

3) Once, she gets her citizenship I will apply for my EAD. How much time it takes to get the EAD? (HOUSTON, TX).

4) I will also apply for my Green Card. How much time it takes to get the green card? (Houston, TX)

Thanks for all the help!
 
Pg 24 of M-476 (A Guide to Naturalization) says "must live in the USCIS district or state for atleast 3 months before applying".
That is pretty unambiguous for your timeline (3 months from March 25th - thought you will need proof for this date, or July 10th as you then have a precise date of residence)

For answers to #3 and #4, please check with the GC forums. They will have a better handle.
 
Hi Takshila,

Thanks for all the help! So, you are saying that my wife should wait till July 10th 2007 to apply for her citizenship?
 
mazam said:
Hi Takshila,

Thanks for all the help! So, you are saying that my wife should wait till July 10th 2007 to apply for her citizenship?
Click to expand...

Please take my advise for what it is worth as I am not a lawyer.

If she has proof of residence between March 25 and April 10 (example would be signature on lease etc.) then she can apply 3 months from then on. You have a strong evidence for April 10, so July 10 would be easy. You could also make it before the rate hike which is on and after July 30.

Otherwise, a few days here or there at this stage would probably be small considering the long journey ahead to get the Oath taken and then actual passport.
 
For your second question (how long will the N-400 process take), the answer is "somewhere between 3 months and 3 years" (really).

If you check the Houston "time-line thread" on this forum, you can probably see how long it is taking others to get their naturalization certificate. The indicator you want to look for is the time between the "Priority Date" (or PD) and the "Interview Date" (ID). Your priority date is typically about a week or so after you mail in the N-400. The Interview Date is usually only a month or two before the process is finished.

Some offices are doing things *very* quickly (3 or 4 months end to end). The process is taking about 6-8 months (end to end) here in Dallas.

However, many things can go wrong. The worst is one caused by a "name check" issue (that apparently strikes about 1/3 of applicants). Name check can hold things up for a small number of weeks to a small number of years. And, if she gets stuck in name check, there is nothing that can be done to get the application un-stuck

Good luck.
 
The common-sense understanding of when your wife starts residing in Houston is when she actually moves in. That would be march 25th.

If she has airline ticket stubs showing that she actually flew on March 25 to start residing in Houston.

I looked up the Texas Department of Public Safety:
Moving to Texas?
New residents moving into Texas, who have a valid driver license from their home state, have 30 days after entry into the state to secure a Texas driver license.
Click to expand...

This confirms that your wife started residing in Texas on 03/25.

Granted, you may consider she started residing in Houston on 04/10 however she actually started on 03/25. As secondary evidence, you can provide paystubs dated between 03/25 and 04/10 with her new address - the paystubs will show that she was residing in Texas and that she already paid taxes to the State of Texas.

P.S.: I am no lawyer and this is not legal advice, this is just based on my numerous moving experiences :)
 
Thanks FlyDog

Hi,

Thanks FlyDog. I appreciate your words of wisdom.

Once, my wife becomes citizen then I can apply for my EAD and then green card. Long way to go :(

Thanks,
Azam
 
Hi McMahon,

Thanks for your help. Actually she applied for the driver license on April 10th 2007. The Driver License office gave her a temporary license and kept her California license. They told she that they will mail the license in 2-3 weeks. But she never received the license. So, we went again and now they are saying that it will take another 2-3 weeks.

Fortunately, she has a temporary license (piece of paper) which was issued on April 10th 2007.

To be on the safe side I will wait till July 10th 2007. I will mail her temporary license to the UCIS so that they will know more details.
 
Still, any evidence (besides the Driver License) supporting that she started residing in TX before 04/10 would be useful. Alternately you can wait until the three months have elapsed after 04/10.
 
A couple of extra weeks (between now and July 10) in the N-400 process is nothing. The USCIS takes that long to blink.

But, don't forget you want to submit it before the fees go up on July 30th.
 
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