Archive for the ‘immigration’ tag
Citizenship Interview…. Almost.
One of the items in the meaty stack of mail delivered whilst on the cruise was an invitation from the INS to have a chat about my US citizenship application aka ‘the interview’. Scheduled for October 10th I had plenty of time to study the question bank, but this weekend I got another letter saying that ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’ my interview had been canceled. The letter says they will be in touch should they reschedule.
Survived the INS One More Time
Yesterday I had to go the local INS office to be fingerprinted for my FBI name check, step one of the citizenship process. Well, step two if you consider applying step one? Pretty relaxed atmosphere, very quiet, just me and two Mexican dudes who seemed to be struggling to fill in their personal details form. Anyway, a few pushes of the digits on the machine later and I was on my way out. The driver of the bus to Gitmo seemed disappointed not to be taking me this time.
I asked how long before my interview and was given a shrug. The office is moving buildings and as a consequence they have no idea which box my file is in, and therefore no idea where it is right now. The officer told me to forget about it and then it would be a nice surprise when they get in touch.
Getting More Expensive to Come to America
The USCIS recently published a Proposed Rule to increase filing fees for immigration forms. If you have any idea about applying for some immigration-related benefit I suggest you do it before April when these might come into effect.
| Form | Old Fee | Proposed Fee |
|---|---|---|
| N-400 Application for Citizenship | $330 | $595 |
| I-485 Application for Permanent Resident Status | $325 | $905 |
| I-140 Immigrant Worker Petition | $195 | $475 |
| I-765 Employment Authorisation | $180 | $340 |
| I-751 Application to Remove Condition of Residence | $205 | $465 |
| I-829 Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions | $475 | $2,850 |
My N-400 is complete and awaiting a stamp, and a $330 cheque.
New Green Card
At my last meeting with the INS I was told that my new card could take “6 weeks or 6 months” to arrive, and to my amazement it came over the weekend. Even more impressively, it is valid for 10 years from the date they mailed it not 10 years from my first approval back in 2004. So I have a shiny new card to show the Border Patrol on my weekly commute and don’t need a new one until 2016. Although, there is a very good chance I’ll be applying for citizenship in October.