Q & A April 10, 2005
Q & A 1.
Q&A 1.
The U.S.C.I.S. cancels interview dates for various reasons, but
not because of old age or low-income.
Mrs. Xie reader from New York asks:
I submitted my application for naturalization in 6/02. After waiting
for 2 years, I went to immigration in NY inquiring my case. Finally,
I received a notice for interview in 10/04. However, prior to the
naturalization interview, I received a notice canceling the 10/04
date without giving any reasons other than a new interview date
would be rescheduled. As of now, I have not received any rescheduled
interview notice. Questions:
1. I am not sure if the delay was caused by my old age and low income.
2. What should I do? Should I continue to wait for the interview
notice?
3. I work in New Jersey but live in New York. Can I re-file my application
in NJ’s CIS?
Mr. Lee answers:
1 The U.S.C.I.S. cancels interview dates for various reasons, but
not because of old age or low-income. Being elderly does not constitute
a basis for denial or enhanced scrutiny. Neither does low-income
in a naturalization application unless it was connected with fraud
in obtaining the permanent residence card. Even then, that would
be a question to be resolved at the interview itself. It is more
likely that the interview was canceled because a file is missing
or security clearances have not yet been run or completed. We also
had a recent situation in which a naturalization interview was cancelled
and rescheduled because the U.S.C.I.S. initially scheduled the interview
in the wrong district office.
2 You should certainly continue to wait for the new date. You should
also contact the Vermont Service Center by letter and the National
Customer Service Center by telephone (1-800-375-5283) to ensure
that your case is still in regular process.
3 All applications for naturalization in either New York or New
Jersey are filed with the Vermont Service Center. In filing an N-400
application, you must put down your present address. You cannot
use your work address as your home location. Jurisdiction of an
N-400 application depends upon the home location of the applicant.
Besides the possible confusion of the U.S.C.I.S. in now dealing
with two applications for naturalization, putting in another N-400
application using your New Jersey work location as your home address
would lead to the rejection of the application at the time of interview
if the truth about your address is discovered.
|