N-400 for Client with Complicated Personal History
Nationality: China
Applying for: N-400 Application for Naturalization for US Citizen
Case Type: RFE
Time: 1 month
Challenges:
- A 30-day response to an RFE created anxiety for the client.
- Convoluted personal history required a thorough explanation and financial documentation.
- The client was unfamiliar with the visa process and required assistance.
BACKGROUND
Ms. Li had finally felt her life was coming together. She was happily married to the love of her life and she was living in the United States. She had gone through the process of becoming a Lawful Permanent Residence and could not be happier. However, she felt that it was time to become a naturalized citizen, and believed that she would most likely get approved for this. With her hopes high, she submitted her N-400 form.
Ms. Li Na felt a pang of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She’d just opened a letter from the department of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a Request for Evidence (RFE). She’d made a mistake in her initial application and now had only 30 days to respond. Her future of becoming a naturalized citizen was now in jeopardy and she didn’t understand her mistake. Unfamiliar with the visa process she needed an experienced law firm to assist her. Fortunately, she contacted the immigration experts at Tsang and Associates.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
After a brief consultation, Tsang and Associates were able to ascertain Ms. Li Na’s mistake and provide a plan for a corrective measure. Our firm learned Ms. Li Na was on her third marriage. She’d had natural children and stepchildren. She didn’t realize she needed to include her stepchildren on her N-400 application even if she was not personally or financially responsible for them. Our firm created a thorough response to the RFE promptly. In the response package, Ms. Li Na detailed her convoluted personal history in regards to her marriages and children. Exhibits outlined her marriage history, the reasons she divorced her prior husband and clearly described her relationship with each of her children and stepchildren and her financial obligations to them.
During Ms. Li Na’s first marriage she bore one son, Genjo. When the marriage fell apart the husband kept the son and raised him. She agreed to pay half the rearing and educational costs. Years later the husband would later transfer custody back to Ms. Li Na and she helped pay for his college tuition to Tufts University. Financial and legal records were provided as part of the RFE request.
Ms. Li Na married a second time and the couple had a son named Liko. The husband already had a son from a previous marriage. The family of four immigrated to the United States in 2013. Ms. Li Na’s husband’s work often took him away from home. She discovered he was living with another woman back in China. She divorced him and he took the son from his first marriage back to China with him. Ms. Li Na says she’s never heard from that stepson again.
Ms. Li Na says she’d almost given up on love when she met a good man on an Internet dating site. After a brief courtship, they were married. He already had a son, but as she stipulated in a letter and with supporting financial documents, his needs were taken care of by his natural parents. Ms. Li Na describes her third husband as kind and compassionate.
OUTCOME
The package prepared for Ms. Li Na by Tsang and Associates satisfied the requirements of USCIS. Ms. Li Na’s N-400 Application for Naturalization was approved and a month later she joined 5,000 people at the downtown Los Angeles convention center for the Naturalization Oath Ceremony. “Right now I really love my home, my family, and I hope my happy life will be able to continue,” said Ms. Li Na.