Legal Question in Immigration Law in Florida

Re: Unemployment possible reason for denial?

Who told you that time she took off from work could be a reason for denial of application? I hope it wasn't an immigration lawyer! I presume that your wife obtain her lawful permanent resident via her marriage to you. Unless she has committed a crime of some kind, been arrested for something, or decided to go on drugs, I have never heard of not being employed for any reason as a reason for denial of citizenship. You better find out who said this because it is wrong, unless there are more facts of which I am unaware. Second, if it was a lawyer who said this, you had better call my office. I want to know what information they had when they provided this advice. If it was not a lawyer, then you shouldn't be listening to him or her. Good luck!

What's delaying the application?

If the naturalization application was filed in 2005, there is something holding up the decision on the application. Naturalization applications generally do not take over three years to be decided.

Has your wife investigated the delay?

One reason for the delay is a change of address by your wife. If she moved since submitting the application, has she notified the local office handling her application of the move? The different USCIS offices sometime appear not to communicate with each other. If she filed the change of address with the national location but did not notify the local office, notices to her from the local office may have been going to the wrong address. The local office will deny the application if mail is returned to it.

Being unemployed, by itself, is not a basis to deny a naturalization application. However, if the unemployment was a result of something such as drug use or being in jail, the underlying problem may be a basis for denial.

Your wife likely should review her facts with an attorney to find out the reason of the delay and the possible solutions.