Congrats to my client and friend Hugo. He became a US citizen yesterday

And he did it the RIGHT way. Congrats to you Hugo! What a proud day

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Can you file a N-400 application for Naturalization too early?

file a N-400 application for Naturalization too early?Is it INA § 334 permits a naturalization applicant to file a Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, up to 3 months before the date the applicant would first meet the 5-year or 3-year continuous residence requirement. See INA §§ 316(a), 319(a); 8 C.F.R. §334.2(b). While the application can be filed within this 3 month time period, the applicant cannot be naturalized until he or she has met the 5-year or 3-year continuous residence requirement, in addition to meeting the other statutory requirements for naturalization. See INA §§ 316, 319. The National Benefits Center (NBC) conducts preliminary processing of N-400s. When an applicant files a Form N-400 within the 90 day period prior to meeting the continuous residence requirement, the NBC places the application on a “Residence Date Hold.” Only when the continuous residence requirement is met will the NBC place the application in the field office interview scheduling queue. The field office then provides the interview date and time to the NBC and the NBC sends out the appointment notice and transfers the file to the field office. Form N-400 processing times are a function of field office resources and staffing, and therefore, vary from office to office. When preparing an N-400 application, one should consider whether filing the N-400 during the 90-day period prior to meeting the continuous residence requirement is really beneficial Since the naturalization interview will not be scheduled until the applicant has met the 5-year or 3-year continuous residence requirement, waiting to file the N-400 until the applicant has met the requirement may effectively shorten the overall processing time from date of filing to interview.

US Naturalized citizen of the day - Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo was born June 25, 1966 in Congo, but he is a naturalized US citizen. He commonly referred to as Dikembe Mutombo, who professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. He was the oldest player in the NBA at the time of his final season. The 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), 260-pound center is thought of as one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times. His post NBA is as impressive as a humanitarian A well-known humanitarian, Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. His efforts earned him the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. For his feats, Sporting News named him as one of the "Good Guys in Sports" in 1999 and 2000, and in 1999, he was elected as one of 20 winners of the President's Service Awards, the nation's highest honor for volunteer service. In 2004, he participated in the Basketball Without Borders NBA program, where NBA stars like Shawn Bradley, Malik Rose and DeSagana Diop toured Africa to spread the word about basketball and to improve the infrastructure. He paid for uniforms and expenses for the Zaire women's basketball team during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. Mutombo is a spokesman for the international relief agency, CARE and is the first Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Program.

He has been a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics. In honor of his humanitarianism, Mutombo was invited to President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address and was referred to as a "son of the Congo" by the President in his speech. Mutombo later said, "My heart was full of joy. I didn't know the President was going to say such great remarks

Socialite Renounces citizenship

Wealthy socialite and Grammy-nominated songwriter Denise Rich has renounced her U.S. citizenship and resides in London, her spokeswoman Judy Smith said Tuesday. Rich's maiden name, Eisenberg, appeared on April 30 in the Federal Registrar's Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, though she left in November 2011.

In 1984, Rich penned the lyrics to "Frankie", a hit in 1986 for the R&B group Sister Sledge. Since then, she has written songs recorded by Phyllis Hyman, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Jessica Simpson, Marc Anthony, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan and Diana Ross. Her work has been nominated three times for Grammy Awards, most recently for the 1999 Aretha Franklin/Mary J. Blige duet "Don't Waste Your Time".[5] She also co-wrote the international hit "Candy", by Mandy Moore

The President at Natz ceremony

US citizen of the Day - Case C.

Case C. , one of my clients was sworn in as a US citizen last week. Congrats to Case and his family. Please see link below for his thoughts about what it mean to become a US citizen. Congrats Case!!! http://vardoblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-16th-2012-naturalization-day.html

Facebook co-founder renounces us citizenship

From Mashable's Chris Taylor Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, whom you may remember portrayed as the disgruntled friend of Mark Zuckerberg’s who smashes his laptop in The Social Network, has officially renounced his U.S. citizenship — and joined the tiny nation of Singapore. As first reported by Bloomberg, Saverin’s name is on a Federal register called the Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Repatriate. That means he renounced citizenship before April 30, according to the IRS. “Eduardo recently found it more practical to become a resident of Singapore since he plans to live there for an indefinite period of time,” Saverin’s spokesman told Bloomberg in an email. He said the switch happened “around September.” Why do it? One word: taxes. With Facebook’s IPO approaching, the 30-year-old Saverin stands to become a very rich man indeed. He owns around 4% of a company that is set to be valued in the range of $100 billion. (And that’s his share after it was diluted by Zuckerberg and Co, which was the reason for that smashed laptop.) The high-tech Asian powerhouse of Singapore isn’t just a nice place to settle — it also doesn’t have any capital gains tax. Saverin will still have to give some cash to Uncle Sam in the form of an exit tax, which looks at potential capital gains on stock that hasn’t been sold.

US naturalized Citizen of the Day

Today's newest voter is not only a client, but someone I consider a friend. Congrats GAURI!!!

Naturalized US Citizen of the Day - Anthony Quinn

Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 - June 3, 2001), more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was an actor born in Mexico . He starred in numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia, The Guns of Navarone, The Message, Guns for San Sebastian, Lion of the Desert and Federico Fellini's La Strada. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice; for Viva Zapata! in 1952 and Lust for Life in 1956.

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Djimon Hounso

Djimon Diaw Hounsou was born April 24, 1964. He is a Beninese-American actor and model. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards in Gladiator and Amistad.

Hounsou became a naturalized American citizen in 2007. He was reluctant to renounce his Beninese citizenship and therefore opted to become a dual citizen of both Benin and the United States, effectively rendering him a Beninese-American. Hounsou is one of just twenty-seven people in the world today to be officially recognized by this nationality.

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Wolfgang Puck

Wolfgang Johannes Puck was born July 8, 1949 in Austria/ He is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions.

Following the 1981 publication of his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen based on his Ma Maison recipes, Puck opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck opened the award-winning Spago in Beverly Hills, which has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004.

It is also one of my mother's favorite restaurants, anyone who goes there.. try the lobster cobb salad.

US Naturalized citizen of the day- Peter Lawford

Peter Sydney Vaughn Aylen (7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984), better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor. He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting. In his earlier professional years (late 1930s through the 1950s) he had a strong presence in popular culture and starred in a number of highly acclaimed films.

US naturalized citizen of the Day- Thomas Nast

Thomas Nast (September 27, 1840 – December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". Among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus, the male personification of the United States government, Uncle Sam, as well as the political symbols of both major United States political parties: the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey.

Superman Denounces US citizenship?

In "Action Comics #900," Superman will renounce his American citizenship, rejecting the international notion that his actions are part of US policy. The shift comes after a personal visit to Iran in support of protesters leads President Ahmadinejad to believe America was declaring war against the government in Tehran. Click Link for article.

But is it that easy?

Renouncing citizenship is not that easy and there is a formal process to do so. Did Superman hire an Immigration Attorney?

Naturalized US citizen of the Day - Peter Jennings

Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings was born July 29, 1938 in Toronto, Canada. He was a Canadian-American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer. A high-school dropout, he transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists.

He returned as one of World News Tonight's three anchors in 1978, and was promoted to the role of sole anchor in 1983. Jennings was also known for his marathon coverage of breaking news stories, staying on the air for 15 or more straight hours to anchor the live broadcast of events such as the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, the Millennium celebrations in 2000, and the September 11 attacks in 2001. In addition to anchoring, he was the host of many ABC News special reports and moderated several American presidential debates. Having always been fascinated with the United States, Jennings became a naturalized United States citizen in 2003

New Citizenship test? Here is Bill Maher's potential test

US naturalized citizen of the Day- Bela Lugosi

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was born 20 October 1882 in Hungary. He commonly known as Béla Lugosi. He was best known for playing Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version.

US naturalized citizen of the Day- Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. After his swimming career, he became the sixth actor to portray Tarzan in films, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Dozens of other actors have also played Tarzan, but Weissmuller is by far the best known. His character's distinctive, ululating Tarzan yell is still often used in films.

Check out the SCREAM

Happy Belated B-day Great one. You are the naturalized US citizen of the Day

Wayne Douglas Gretzky was born January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario,, Canada.
He is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. Nicknamed "The Great One," Gretzky is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the NHL, and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,[players,[and the NHL itself Upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, he held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records.[ He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season—a feat he accomplished four times.

Gretzky's jersey number, 99, has been retired by all teams in the National Hockey League.

Naturalized US citizen of the Day - Nadia Comaneci

Nadia Elena Comăneci was born November 12, 1961 in Romania. She is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the first gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. She is one of the best-known gymnasts in the world.