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By: Jennifer Fabian-Verzosa, Esq.
MILITARY SPOUSES ARE THE HEART AND HANDS OF A FAMILY WHEN THE SERVICE MEMBER IS AWAY.
With USCIS international offices reportedly closing later this year —-offices that historically provided essential immigration services to U.S. Citizens and military overseas–there is a growing concern among military families of a need to organize and process their immigration paperwork ASAP.
HOW CAN A MILITARY SPOUSE BECOME A U.S. CITIZEN?
There are a few different ways for military spouses who have green cards or are lawful permanent residents to naturalize. If your service member spouse is stationed abroad or will be deployed soon, you may be eligible for expedited or overseas naturalization if you meet certain criteria. Expedited naturalization requires the naturalization interview to be conducted in the United States, while with overseas naturalization the entire process is performed abroad.
IF WE ARE STATIONED ABROAD, DO I HAVE TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES FOR MY NATURALIZATION INTERVIEW AND OATH CEREMONY?
No. The benefit of overseas naturalization is that the entire process, interview and oath ceremony, is performed abroad. However, you should file your Form N-400 Naturalization Application in the United States (check the USCIS website for current filing addresses for overseas military, here ), or contact your nearest overseas USCIS International Office and ask whether you can file your Form N-400 with them. An experienced immigration attorney can also assist you with this process.
The benefit of overseas naturalization is that the entire process, interview and oath ceremony, is performed abroad.
It is important that you indicate the type of naturalization process (overseas or expedited) that you are applying for in your cover letter and application, or else you might end up having to come to the U.S. for an interview when you could have done it overseas. When selecting overseas naturalization, you should also specify which USCIS International Office is nearest to you or which office you are requesting to complete the in-person processes with.
For overseas naturalization, a military spouse’s time living abroad married to a service member when authorized to accompany the service member on official military orders can be used to satisfy the requirements of continuous residency and physical presence in the United States . For expedited naturalization, continuous residency and physical presence in the United States are not required. A military spouse must still meet all other naturalization requirements (listed on the USCIS website, here) and pay the filing fee.
Military spouses may also be able to submit fingerprint cards that satisfy specific criteria in lieu of attending a biometrics appointment.
Hiring an immigration attorney in the United States can help make applying for naturalization a lot easier, especially when you are far away and have many questions. An attorney can receive immigration notices on your behalf, help monitor your case from abroad, and contact USCIS for any issues that arise.
Our IMMIGRATION LAW OFFICE assists military families both in the United States and those stationed abroad all over the world! We provide remote immigration legal services and easy Skype meetings . Contact us for assistance by calling +1(619) 431-2407 | 1-888-623-5444 (Toll-Free Nationwide), or email: contact@law-jf.com .
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** Jennifer Fabian-Verzosa, Esq . is the founding attorney of the Law Office of Jennifer Fabian-Verzosa , an immigration law practice that provides local and remote immigration assistance to clients throughout the U.S. and worldwide.**
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DISCLAIMER : This blog provides general information and is not intended to be legal advice. Use of the information does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Any cases mentioned do not guarantee or predict outcomes in future cases. Please consult an attorney before acting on any material. Please do not submit any time-sensitive or confidential information in the comments below. Any information you send may be publicly-visible and is not protected from disclosure. Jennifer Fabian-Verzosa is the attorney responsible for the content and material on this blog. She is licensed in D.C. and HI, and exclusively practices immigration law in federal jurisdictions.
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