In our AskVisalaw.com section of the SIB, attorney Ari Sauer answers immigration law questions sent in by our readers. If you enjoy reading this section, we encourage you to visit Ari’s blog, The Immigration Answer Man, where he provides more answers to your immigration questions. You can also follow The Immigration Answer Man on Facebook and Twitter.
If you have a question on immigration matters, write [email protected]. We can’t answer every question, but if you ask a short question that can be answered concisely, we’ll consider it for publication. Remember, these questions are only intended to provide general information. You should consult with your own attorney before acting on information you see here.
1) QUESTION: My friend is about to apply for citizenship. He’s from Burma and only has one name. His green card says “no given name” then his last name. His social says “unknown” then his last name. His driver’s license says “nfn.” What name should he use for the N-400 naturalization application?
ANSWER: Your friend should use their name as it is on their Birth Certificate. So if the Birth Certificate has something listed under the first name, such as “No First Name” or “FNU” (stands for First Name Unknown), then they should use that term on the application. Where the birth certificate does not list a first name, I do not believe there is a specific rule as to what to put in the space for the First Name on the Form N-400. Any one of the options you listed should be acceptable. It might be possible to leave that space blank, but that might result in a Request for Evidence from USCIS. Either way, when your friend is interviewed by USCIS, the adjudicating officer will have the opportunity to amend the application to another option, if there is a term/option that is preferred by USCIS. If your friend would like to have their name legally changed to give themselves a first name, they can do that as part of the naturalization process. But you should be aware that in some jurisdictions, asking for a name change can cause a delay in when the person is scheduled for the swearing-in ceremony to become a US citizen. So if having their name legally changed is something they are interested in doing, it might be easier for the person to go through the courts to have their name changed and then to apply for naturalization. Whatever they end up doing, the name that is listed on their naturalization certificate will be their legal name, so after they get their naturalization certificate, they should go to the Social Security Administration and their local DMV and have their names updated on their SS Card and Driver’s License so that they match their name as it is on their Naturalization Certificate.
2) QUESTION: My dad applied for an I-130 relative petition for me in 2013. After following up with USCIS, we just learned that it was approved in February of 2015. But we never received the approval notice. How can I get a copy of the approval notice for this I-130 petition?
ANSWER: You can request a duplicate Notice of Approval for your petition, as long as the petition is approved and it has not since been revoked, using immigration Form I-824, which is available on the USCIS website. I will warn you that USCIS is currently taking a long time to adjudicate Forms I-824 requests. The form must be filed by the Petitioner for the petition, which is usually the sponsoring relative or the sponsoring employer (in your case, your father is the Petitioner). If the Form I-824 is filed by the foreign national beneficiary, USCIS probably will not issue the duplicate Approval Notice.
There is a filing fee for this application, so it might be best to have a consultation appointment with me or another experienced immigration attorney first, so that you can determine whether you actually need the duplicate approval notice or not.
When the I-130 approval notice is lost, it often happens because the petitioner (in this case your father), moved and did not update their address with USCIS. So it is important for Petitioners to remember to update their address with USCIS each time they move, throughout the entire process, even after the petition is approved. Updating your address is currently done by submitting an immigration Form AR-11, which can be completed and submitted online, on the USCIS website.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.