I can’t get a real INS person on the phone, and the one support office I walked into had a guy at the counter who just looked at me like I was a bug. So I pose the question to the TM. Hopefully, at least one of y’all can give me a definitive answer.
My fiancee is a resident alien with green card, currently at school in Arizona (I’m in Maryland). She had her citizenship interview about 6 weeks ago. She was told to wait for confirmation and assignment of a ceremony date.
Now, our understanding is that the INS schedules citizenship ceremonies on major holidays, the next two being Memorial Day and Independence Day.
Independence Day–no problem.
But she is planning to fly up to visit between mid-May and mid-June. We are quite concerned that she will get “the letter” while she is gone telling her to show up on Memorial Day.
I’m not confident that we will find out in time to change her flight dates (her interview letter only gave her a time window of a couple of days).
My question, then, is if she is out of town and misses her ceremony, do they just scrap the whole thing? The official letter she got for her interview seemed to be saying just that. If she would have missed that, well, too bad–you get to start over with another 24-month wait. It didn’t seem like there was any provision for extenuating circumstances.
She has written to her regional office to explain that she might not be around for the letter, but they won’t write back with any advice or explanation of the regulations. What do the regs say? Do they allow second chances or rescheduling around conflicts? How can you reschedule if no one at INS will talk to you?
I feel for you. My dealings with the INS have been less than ideal. There is no way to get a live person on the phone, and when you do talk to INS agents you are likely to get different answers from whoever you ask.
I don’t think that they only do the citizenship thing on holidays only, but I may be wrong. Your best bet is to ask a lawyer. My WAG is if she misses the letter she can re-apply for the ceremony, with no affect to her status.
I know that the husband of an ex-work colleague of mine had to cancel his appointment for the naturalization ceremony due to pressing concerns. When he re-scheduled for a second appointment, he got one, six years later. Depending on how important this is to you, you might want to make an effort to attend on the date they’ve given you, if you can.
Six years. Horrifying. If only she would get the letter before I make the plane reservations. Then we could work around anything the INS wants.
Unfortunately, I have no faith in the INS to behave in a courteous and timely manner. They must be the second worst Federal agency out there as far as being accessable and helpful goes.
Being a foreigner who has gone through nightmares with the INS I know well that they are awful but what can you expect, they deal with people who cannot vote and who can be abused …
I advise your fiancee to turn herself into a 6-year-old Cuban boy, and enter the country in a touching but illegal way. Congresscritters will bend over backwards to get her citizenship, and she’ll never want for Tommy Hilfiger clothing again.
I should add a disclaimer to the above “6-year wait” story. This story was told to me by a co-worker and I know none of the details about her husband’s case. So the same situation may or may not apply to you.
I don’t know if this is possible in your situation, but my girlfriend suggests your fiancee find a reliable friend / neighbor / roommate to watch her mail while she is gone. If a letter arrives, that person can call you and you can adjust your plans accordingly.
“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
Can’t help much on the scheduling thing, but I can definitively state that swearing-in ceremonies for naturalized citizens are not held only on holidays.
I was in a federal courthouse for a trial one day and the courtroom across the way was being used for the swearing-in of about 60 newly naturalized citizens. Since the trial would not have been held on a federal holiday, I therefore deduce that admission ceremonies are not held only on federal holidays.
My advice? Call a couple of the judge’s chambers at the local federal courthouse and ask if they can give you any information about when naturalization ceremonies are usually held. My guess is that they do it regularly-- probably monthly-- at the federal courthouse, and they can tell you at least what day of the week they do it on…
