Citizen spouse N-400, naturalized after two interviews

Naturalization, N-400,
Permanent residents who intend to be naturalized should meet the English proficiency requirements of the N-400 naturalization test and meet the time requirements for naturalization.

Year: 2019
Nationality: Chinese
Application category: Spouse of a U.S. citizen applies for naturalization (N-400)
Applicant: Mrs. Wu

Difficulties in this case:
• Mrs. Wu has no foundation in English, but is not eligible to use an interpreter to take the naturalization test;
• Both Mr. Wu and Mrs. Wu are remarried and their family members are complicated;
• Mrs. Wu did not pass the first interview, and the time for the second interview could not be coordinated, so she was about to give up her naturalization application;
• After obtaining the green card, Mrs. Wu often returned to China, and her residence time in the United States was interrupted;
• Mr. Wu also became a US citizen through naturalization, which also affects his wife’s naturalization time.

Brief background:
Mrs. Wu had previously married a U.S. citizen and entrusted Tsang & Associates to handle I-130 spouse immigration and successfully obtained a green card. At the beginning of 2018, Mrs. Wu approached us again and commissioned her to handle her N-400 naturalization application. After evaluating the situation, Zang Dikai United Law Firm (Tsang & Associates) did not agree to the client’s request to apply as soon as possible, but waited until August 2018 to submit the N-400 naturalization application for Mrs. Wu. Received N-400 interview notice in June 2019. However, Mrs. Wu’s English was still not proficient and she was too nervous. The interviewing immigration officer believed that her English level was not up to standard, and she failed the first interview.

After repeated training and practice, and a postponement of one interview, Mrs. Wu finally passed the second interview in November. In December, he took the oath of naturalization and then obtained a U.S. passport.

Keys to success:

1. Meet the English proficiency required by the N-400 naturalization examination
Mrs. Wu is 50 years old and has never studied English systematically before, so the N-400 naturalization test is very difficult for her. How difficult is the naturalization test for people with no English foundation? Zang Dikai United Law Firm (Tsang & Associates) will give you a brief introduction:

The naturalization test interview is divided into three parts:
1) Investigate the content of the N-400 application form, and verify the authenticity and completeness of the information on the N-400 application form and the applicant. If there is any question, it will be raised on the spot, and the applicant must answer and explain in English;
2) Investigate the applicant’s ability to use English, such as reading English sentences aloud and dictating English sentences. Although the sentences are not difficult, they have passed the test in both listening, speaking, reading and writing;
3) Test the applicant’s knowledge of American history and government, usually drawn from 100 questions.

As the United States has become more and more strict about green cards, Mrs. Wu finally gritted her teeth and decided to apply for naturalization when she heard the news that her green cards had been revoked by her friends. But Mrs. Wu, who is weak in English, was very afraid of the interview. Zang Dikai United Law Firm (Tsang & Associates) started from several aspects to help Mrs. Wu fully prepare and have more confidence in the naturalization interview:

First of all, we prepared bilingual naturalization interview examination materials for Mrs. Wu, including a list of naturalization interview documents, 100 questions about American history and government knowledge, daily English exercises, content of the N-400 form for naturalization application, husband and wife marriage relationship, etc. Teach and accompany Mrs. Wu to practice; organize all the naturalization test data into a book for her daily practice, and have a more proficient grasp of the naturalization test content.

Secondly, Zang Dikai Law Firm (Tsang & Associates) specialized in citizenship and naturalization lawyers conducted several one-on-one mock interviews with Mrs. Wu, providing detailed guidance and communication, so that she could better understand the entire interview process. For major and key issues, we also provided counseling and repeated practice, so that Mrs. Wu could enhance her self-confidence.

However, during the interview, Mrs. Wu was still too nervous to explain the marriage-related issues clearly in English. In order to help Mrs. Wu pass the second interview, Zang Dikai Law Firm (Tsang & Associates) specialized naturalization lawyers participated in the whole interview and accompanied them, summarizing the reasons for the first failure and the part that can be improved, “prescribing the right medicine”, and targeted Continue to strengthen the practice, so that Mrs. Wu has the confidence to continue to work hard to prepare for the second interview.

Two months later, the Immigration Bureau issued a second interview notice to Mrs. Wu, but it happened to conflict with her son’s wedding in China. Mrs. Wu was not in the mood to go to the interview for her son’s wedding at all. Zang Dikai’s joint law firm (Tsang & Associates) quickly submitted a letter of extension application for her, and successfully won two months, so that Mrs. Wu could not only attend her son’s wedding, but also get enough time to prepare for another interview.

2. Meet the time requirements for N-400 naturalization
As the wife of a U.S. citizen, Mrs. Wu must meet the following time requirements at the same time:
1) The 3-year time limit: A. Obtaining a green card for three years; B. Marrying a U.S. citizen for three years; C. Spouse being a U.S. citizen for three years;
2) Have lived in the United States continuously for the past three years, and have actually lived in the United States for one and a half years.

At the beginning of 2018, Mrs. Wu had obtained her green card for 4 years. When entrusting N-400 naturalization, the couple kept urging us to help her complete the application as soon as possible. However, after obtaining the green card, Mrs. Wu applied for a re-entry permit and returned to China for nearly a year, which may affect the calculation of “continuous residence” time; and Mr. Wu has been a US citizen for less than 3 years. Considering the above situation, we did not agree to the customer’s request to apply as soon as possible, but postponed the application submission time to August in order to strive for a better record of the time of living in the United States and ensure that the 3-year time limit is met.

Note from Tsang & Associates: Generally speaking, if you live outside the United States continuously for 1 year, the calculation of “continuous residence” in the United States will be interrupted; if you live for more than 6 months but less than 1 year, the “continuous residence” may be interrupted. “Calculation requires the applicant to prove that he has not given up his permanent residence in the United States and submit sufficient supporting documents , and the Immigration Bureau decides whether to count it into the “continuous residence” time.

3. Bona Fide Marriage
Since both Mr. Wu and Mrs. Wu are remarried and their family members are complicated, it is difficult to prove the real marriage relationship and to answer questions during the interview. The failure of Mrs. Wu’s first interview was not only due to her lack of proficiency in English, but also due to the complicated marital status of both parties.

Although a large number of documents that can prove the real marriage relationship are submitted during the application, the interview is a big hurdle. After several intensive exercises with Mrs. Wu, we finally passed the second interview.

Case results:
Under the guidance and accompaniment of lawyers from Tsang & Associates, Mrs. Wu successfully passed the second naturalization interview in November, and completed the naturalization oath and U.S. passport application in December after careful and repeated practice. She is very happy, not only successfully completing her son’s wedding, but also successfully naturalized is the best Christmas gift for her! Mrs. Wu repeatedly thanked Tsang & Associates for their professional services and interview counseling and accompanying, which made the application with little hope finally a success!

*To protect customer privacy, customer names are pseudonyms.