N-400 - March 2009 Applicants

[Tini27 0]

WenRi, nice to hear from you, thought you forgot about me.

Gyenigun, don't worry, our turn will come soon, hang in there . I don't know for the other DO's but GC interview was done in Fed. plaza, Biometrics in Brooklyn and Interview for N400 should be in Garden City, so basically 3 different locations. But I guess, it also depends on the size of the DO.

[doxATL 0]

Yes!!! The interview letter finally arrived! Sooo happy...

Congrats...

maybe i should call them and see if they mailed anything to me... I know there is no order (although they claim so), but I and a couple others are approaching the 5-6th week and now that the timeline is filling out, I know it's not such a long wait.

lol... You right about the " no order" statement. I applied 3 before some people and they have already received their interview letter. And every time I call the 800#, they tell me everything is fine with my case, and I am still within their 1 year processing time nation wide...

[anci78 0]

Yes!!! The interview letter finally arrived! Sooo happy...

Congrats...

maybe i should call them and see if they mailed anything to me... I know there is no order (although they claim so), but I and a couple others are approaching the 5-6th week and now that the timeline is filling out, I know it's not such a long wait.

lol... You right about the " no order" statement. I applied 3 before some people and they have already received their interview letter. And every time I call the 800#, they tell me everything is fine with my case, and I am still within their 1 year processing time nation wide...

Don't get upset, I am sure there actually is an order; it is just not in the order our sheet works as it depends on how fast the individual offices work where your case gets processed at. I am sure your letter will come soon! Some offices just seem to be a lot more efficient than others, when you track the offices waittime on the USCIS page it actually coincides with a lot of what we see on our list here.

Good luck and don't get frustrated about the wait, it will come sooner or later.

Anci78

[jsnearline 2]

That's why the way this list is ordered makes no sense to me. All it seems to do is get people who haven't gotten their interview letters frustrated and jealous of those who applied later and have gotten their interviews.

They should make applications for AOS and naturalization retroactive such that the approval is retroactive to the date of application. That way, people who live in jurisdictions with faster DOs wouldn't have an unfair advantage compared to those who's DOs move like snails.

[Tini27 0]

That's why the way this list is ordered makes no sense to me. All it seems to do is get people who haven't gotten their interview letters frustrated and jealous of those who applied later and have gotten their interviews.

They should make applications for AOS and naturalization retroactive such that the approval is retroactive to the date of application. That way, people who live in jurisdictions with faster DOs wouldn't have an unfair advantage compared to those who's DOs move like snails.

I would love that to happen but doesn't look like we have much control on anything. We don't know how they really process the cases, in which order they're treated and how come some cases mysteriously take up to 10 months when people filing 3 to 4 months after in the same DO and even same local office are done.

Even when you get to talk with someone at USCIS, they do not have much more info to give, except reassuring you that no correspondence has been sent and that NO you did not lose any mail. The only thing we can do is wait. Heck, we can't even know why a file is held more than necessary and there must be a reason to it!

I like to consult VJ to get moral support, to understand the process and to be part of a sort of community. I'm fully aware of the limitations of our timeline table for example but I guess it just shows some kind of progression and helps see when one should take more proactive measures to ensure a more just and impartial processing of all applications.

Jsnearline, what do you suggest as far as our VJ timelines are concerned?

[jsnearline 2]

I know some people use the timelines as a rough guide, but I've seen posts from some who are freaking out because according to their calculations based on the timelines, their application is behind schedule, when in reality they're on schedule for their local DO.

Perhaps going forward, we should do the timelines in three month intervals... (e.g. 1st Quarter N-400 filers) instead of by month. That might increase the likelihood that you might see someone else who filed at your local DO on the list so you could compare your timeline with them. For example, I have to check the January and February lists to find any timelines of others who applied in Denver. It would be nice to just check a list for 1st quarter filers.

[queendlee 0]

I understand what you are saying, but it does not work for all DO's to either list in groups of 3 months or by DOs. I am on another list which separates by 3-4 months and one for my DO (I find this list to be better honestly). Fortunately more people from my DO sign up there (but still very few to call statistically significant) and my priority date compared to many seems way behind for my do and compared to a 4 month sampling I also seem way behind.

However, I don't look at it as really an accurate measuring stick, but line Tini27, I look at these lists for support, questions and answers and a GUIDELINE. I know it gets frustrating when people get letters 1 week or month faster than others. Thats just nature but it gives us something to work from because unlike some other application processings, we don't get good or regular updates. So seeing other people's experiences helps know where you may stand or not stand!

for me on the lists on this site i have found very Raleigh DOs and the ones i have found have been processed in a certain time line, and i don't fall in that time line. The same thing happened for my ROC, however again these lists are just encouragement, advice and guidelines.

Maybe another format would work best for you, but neither option would benefit me. The 3-4month list would get too big for me to see trends or predict anything easily and listing by DO would maybe put 5 people on my list for an entire year which is statistically not relevant.

And just like what you are doing now, providing your opinion, these list thrive on opinions and of course yours is always valuable. Maybe you could start a new thread and see if that helps others!

But I beleive there is no order we can predict, because looking at threads over a 6 month period and more, I see no true pattern per DO or 3 months block of time. I tried to put together a window but the average time for each stage has dereased relatively EACH month, so a monthly or maybe bimonthly predictor would be best.

Edited May 17, 2009 by queendlee

[queendlee 0]

doxATL

I would not worry too much over the time line (not enough to raise your blood pressure at least), and we can't complain too much (maybe just call and check), but they have a timeframe to complete the file. Eventually it will be done, or so my husband keeps telling (he says I need to stop worrying about it). As someone once said somewhere on here, unless it affects your job or prevents you from living her or doing something, just wait and see. I know that hard to follow, I have a hard time sometimes seeing people months after me getting ahead of me, nothing wrong with that esp for those people who are looking for federal jobs (seems to be a bit of those right now) or planning on moving. But in the end it has to get done and a year will go so faster than we think and we can just keep on encouraging and shring stories!

SO, Good Luck to all!!!

[Tini27 0]

Jsnearline, I get what you're saying and thank you for the suggestion but think that'll only work if you have a lot of applicants from the same DO. In my case, there are very few, so I check on them regularly and even pm them when needed to gauge the status. Other forums are organized by DO and they're ok, I got lots of info by going there. I like VJ best though, it's user friendly, lively and colorful and has a sort of human connection. I made friends to share the journey with: WenRi, anci78, Queendlee...(thank you guys!!!) We share our stories and there's some serenity in knowing that you're not alone. By coming here and telling your story, you're somehow part of a community. When I read doxatl or kyngsilva from the other months, even if I'm not in their filing month, I feel a connection and can relate to their experience. I love Stella08's posts, she's nice, helpful and very thorough in her explanations.

So, I'd love to do the timeline per DO but in my case it wouldn't be very helpful because of the little number of applicants.

Also, maybe we need to take the drama out of the whole thing and try -if possible- to enjoy the journey before the destination. Let's look at the bright side, we're completely done with K1,K3, I129,I485,I765 and all those other forms, we're just waiting for sweet N400 and believe me she'll come through, maybe not in 5 months in my case but before the end of the year, !!!

Bottom line, let's not freak out for this procedure, we'll just give it more anxiety than it deserves especially given that we don't chose the cards. Aren't we lucky to have a place to vent!!! Sometimes, I ask and answer my own questions on this thread but I don't care cos I know if I am wrong, someone will be nice enough to point me in the right direction and that's all I ask

Relax, guys and enjoy your summer!!!

[tariktchach 0]

Just wanted to let everyone know that they can set up an account on the USCIS website where you can somewhat "track" the status of your cases. Generally there will be more information here than just checking the status through the normal route.

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp

Click Create/ Edit Customer Account

You can then add your case by receipt number and choose to have updates emailed to you.

With my case, we saw that our case was touched in our account, and a day later our interview letter came. However when entering our case number on the general find page, it stated that the case was incomplete or couldn't be found.

This can be a useful tool to see when USCIS takes action in your case.

Good luck everyone!

[Tini27 0]

Tracy & Tarik,

I'm glad the online status is working for you. I was using it with my I485 and I765 (got regular emails from them at that time) but for the N400, status has not changed at all since NOA was sent Mar 16. Good to know that you can actually see sthg going on.

When you say file was touched, you mean the date on 'last updated' was changed, right? Nothing more?

[tariktchach 0]

Tracy & Tarik,

I'm glad the online status is working for you. I was using it with my I485 and I765 (got regular emails from them at that time) but for the N400, status has not changed at all since NOA was sent Mar 16. Good to know that you can actually see sthg going on.

When you say file was touched, you mean the date on 'last updated' was changed, right? Nothing more?

Yes- under last updated has the date 4/28, and we received the interview letter within a couple days following that date. You have to login to the account to see it though, since the regular status search doesn't work.

[jsnearline 2]

The reason I'm tense about my wife's application is because I'm unemployed and there's a chance we may need to relocate for a job. The last thing I want to do is to send her application into a black hole as a reult. Having an interview date will help us make better decisions about when we would be available to move.

[Tini27 0]

The reason I'm tense about my wife's application is because I'm unemployed and there's a chance we may need to relocate for a job. The last thing I want to do is to send her application into a black hole as a reult. Having an interview date will help us make better decisions about when we would be available to move.

Jsnearline, i'm sorry you're facing hard times now but hope it'll clear up quickly. We faced the same challenges 3 months ago but were able to overcome them now.

Hope you can hold out until your interview!!! Blessings!

[ikyang 1]

i finally got my interview letter last sat 5/16... my interview date is June 17..pls update my timeline...i dunno how to do it lol...

i applied N400 based on a 3 year marriage to a USC and i have our 3 years tax returns from H&R. i want to bring tax transcripts on my interview..please give me the website or form where i can apply for transcripts..thanks a lot.