World Journal Weekly Q & A - July 6, 2008

Q & A 1. 2.


Q&A 1.

New Rules for Reentry Permit Applicants and Current Processing Time

Reader Hou:

My family and I will receive our green cards in the second half of this year. Due to that I have to join the army, so I would need to apply a reentry permit to postpone the time coming to America. My questions are:
Can I join the army during the time I apply for reentry permit? I heard that during the time of application, I must go back to the United States regularly. Should I wait until I receive the reentry permit then stop schooling and join the army? How long will the reentry permit application take?

Dear reader:

You can apply for a reentry permit as soon as you obtain your permanent residence. You can apply on form I-131 while you are in the United States. Under the new rule, you must also be present at the time that you are scheduled for biometrics/fingerprints by U.S.C.I.S.. That appointment would probably come approximately three-four weeks after the receipt of your application by the agency. You can ask to have the reentry permit sent to you at an overseas address. The processing time is currently approximately 10 months. You must return to the U.S. within the two year period of time given for the reentry permit.

Q&A 2.

Marriage Based Green Card - I-751 and Naturalization Process and Questions as to Child's Citizenship Status

Reader xyz:

I registered my marriage to my husband, a US citizen, in October 2004 in China. I passed the visa interviewed in August 2006 and came to the U.S. in December 2006. The following year, I gave birth to a daughter.

I hold a two-year conditional green card that will expire in December 2008, and am planning to go back to China during that time. Therefore, I wish to apply for removal of conditional green card as soon as possible. Can I apply six months before the conditional green card expires? What kind of application form to fill out? Where should I submit it? Should I also submit my green card? I heard I need to do fingerprint. How long will it take between submitting the application and notice for fingerprint? Can I go back to China after I have my fingerprint done? When can I receive my new green card?

Can I apply for naturalization after holding green card for two years and nine months? Will it affect my naturalization qualifications if I go back to China for more than 6 months but less than a year? What documents should I bring for naturalization?

If I became a naturalized citizen, in the future, will my children become US citizens even though they were born in China? What applications do they need? Where should I apply? What is the difference if I am not yet a naturalized citizen?

If I bring my daughter back to China and live there for a few years and come back to the U.S, what do I need to do for my daughter?

Dear reader:

You can only apply for removal of the conditional basis of your residence status 90 days in advance of the second anniversary of your conditional approval if filing through a joint application with your husband. You would submit an I-751 petition to remove the conditions on residence. The application is to be submitted to the Vermont Service Center or California Service Center of U.S.C.I.S. dependent upon your place of residence. You should not send your original green card, only a copy. A request for biometrics is usually scheduled within 3-5 weeks after receipt of your application by U.S.C.I.S.. You can go back to China after having your biometrics/fingerprints taken. Current processing by the Vermont Service Center is approximately one year and the California Service Center approximately six months. There is of course the possibility that the agency may schedule an interview for you and your husband, which would delay the period of processing.

You can apply for naturalization after holding your conditional card for two years and nine months so long as you are able to show that your marriage has been at least three years, your husband has been a U.S. citizen for the three years, and that you have both been living together for the three years. If you return to China for any length of time without your husband, you might encounter a problem in not being able to satisfy the requirement that you have been living together for the three-year period of time.

If you return to China (even with your husband) for more than six months, you will create the rebuttable presumption that you have abandoned your residence for naturalization purposes. For a naturalization interview, you should bring proof - passports, reentry permits (if any), and tax returns, etc. - that you have been in the United States and have not broken the period required for residence. You should also document each year that you have been living with your husband since obtaining your conditional card. If you have taken significant absences from the States, you should present proof that your husband accompanied you or spent significant time with you while you were overseas.

As your child was born recently and her father is presumably your husband, the child is most likely already a U.S. citizen so long as your husband resided in the United States for at least five years prior to her birth of which two of the years had to be when he was 14 years of age or older. Your being naturalized would thus not matter as to her status unless your husband did not qualify. If he did and you wish verification of your child's citizenship status, you can either apply for the child's U.S. passport or file Form N-600 application for certificate of citizenship with U.S.C.I.S. Even if your husband did not qualify, you may still be able to obtain verification of the child's citizenship in the same manner if your child is in the U.S. pursuant to a grant of permanent residence and you are all living together so that your child is in the legal and physical custody of your husband. If you have other children born of your husband in the future in China, they also might be automatically U.S. citizens. If they are, you could register them at a U.S. consulate or embassy and obtain their U.S. passports.

 

Copyright © 2003-2008 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.