Dear Joan,

The phone number for the Nat'l Customer Service Center at USCIS is 1-800-375-5283. You'll need your student's receipt number (from when she submitted her citizenship application) when you call.

You also might be able to get help at one of the local offices. You can find the closest field office by entering your zip code on this page: https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO

I don't know what state you're in, but here's a list of states where common law marriage is recognized:
Alabama
Colorado
District of Columbia
Georgia (if created before 1/1/97)
Idaho (if created before 1/1/96)
Iowa
Kansas
Montana
New Hampshire (for inheritance purposes only)
Ohio (if created before 10/10/91)
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania (if created before 1/1/05)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
(list from http://articles.directorym.com/Common_Law_Marriage-a1145277.html)

If your student is in one of these states, she may be able to obtain documentation of her married status from the state, which she can then forward to CIS. If she isn't in one of these states, her relationship won't be recognized as a common-law marriage by the state, so no documentation.

I hope this is helpful.

Deborah Kennedy
Program Associate
Center for Applied Linguistics
Washington, DC




-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Joan
Sent: Mon 6/29/2009 4:54 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4519] Re: Help With INS
 
Thanks again, Camilla.  No, she didn't get he residence through marriage.  She moved here with her parents probably two decades ago, at least.  She has lived here most of her life and gone through the public school system.  She is completely Americanized.

It's just frustrating that no one has bothered to respond to her letter and tell her what they need from her.  It's hard to know what documentation they would accept when there's absolute silence on their end.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Camilla Hawthorne 
  To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List 
  Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:34 PM
  Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4516] Re: Help With INS


  According to our immigration attorney here at IIRI, USCIS could also be asking for this information if she got her residence through marriage. Even if she wasn't applying for citizenship based on marriage, did she get her LPR status through marriage? As frustrating as it definitely is, Immigration has the authority to request additional documentation to make sure that the marriage is not fraudulent (or else they can strip someone of their residence entirely). 

  As long as you have documentation to back up the marriage and prove that it was in "good faith," it should be fine, right?



  2009/6/29 Joan <owlhouse at wwt.net>

    I helped her fill out the application,  Yes, she said that she was married.  However, when they asked on what basis she was requesting citizenship, she indicated it was length of time in the U.S. - not her marriage to an American citizen.  It doesn't seem as if her marriage should have anything to do with whether or not she is granted citizenship.  She answered all of the questions truthfully and honestly and completely. But she did not apply for citizenship based on marriage to an American citizen.

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Peg Thibbitts 
      To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List 
      Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 12:45 PM
      Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4509] Re: Help With INS


      Joan,

      More information is needed for this situation. The most important part may be what you put in parenthesis! 

      She may not have applied for citizenship "based on her marital status" but she answered questions about marriage on the application, gave information about her "spouse", and signed that everything is true and correct. Hopefully she kept a copy of her application.  Did she have her swearing-in / oath ceremony? 

      Did she write married on her application?  Is she married? Legally married with a marriage certificate?  By common marriage do you mean living together as a couple for more than X number of years?

      Peg

      Peg Thibbitts
      Center for New Americans
      Northampton, MA 


      On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 11:50 AM, Joan <owlhouse at wwt.net> wrote:

        I've been working with a young, very Americanized Hmong woman for a couple of years now.  She finally took the citizenship test last summer, had her interview, and passed easily.  But then she ran into a snag - a month or two later, the INS sent her a letter asking for documentation of her marriage despite the fact that she did not apply for citizenship based on her marital status (and does not have any marriage documentation, being in a common marriage situation).  She wrote back and asked why they needed this documentation since it wasn't the basis for her application and hasn't heard anything since.

        I cannot find a phone number to call or an e-mail address to find out what has happened to her citizenship status.  Any advice on what she can do?  She's just in a kind of limbo right now.

        Thanks for any help -

        Joan


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  Camilla Hawthorne
  (707) 372-3467



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