How long to wait after biometrics?

[JohnJ500 0]

Hello, My wife has applied for naturalization and had her biometrics appointment last week. How long can she expect to wait until her interview? I've heard mixed reports of anything from one month to four months, and I expect it varies a lot. What is the minimum time? She is anxious about the test because English isn't her first language and her spoken English is way better than her written English. Do we need to start fast-tracking her study and find her a good teacher? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[OKflyboy 35]

They'll send her an interview notice at least a month before the interview date. There's a lot of time to study. She's going to need her spoken English more than written. She'll only have to write a simple sentence and it does not have to be perfect.

[milimelo 4,481]

Usually a month after biometrics you get yellow and interview letters. If not, call the USCIS hotline.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Good idea on having your wife perhaps take an Adult English as a Second Language course - the local school system offers ddult night classes usually or the local Community college for cheap. Couldn;t do anything but benefit her.

[JohnJ500 0]

I just wrote something here and it disappeared.... I'll try again

Thanks for responses -- very helpful and appreciated. She seems to be doing well with learning the spellings from the word list in the USCIS book, and I think she'll be absolutely fine. I told her what Ara & Anya said, about the written part not being so important as the spoken part, and I told her to relax and enjoy learning. It is, after all, a good opportunity to learn things when usually we're too busy (I'm learning lots too!!)

Thanks again

[JohnJ500 0]

By the way. So it takes about a month to get a letter. How soon is her interview/appointment likely to be? Another 2 months, 4 months? Longer? Probably it varies. But how long did others wait?

I know I should just wait and see, a couple more weeks until she gets the letter, but I'm just trying to do some forward-planning for the end of the year, including travel, timing for visas (if a visa is necessary because when my wife gets her US passport she will no longer need a visa for the UK)

Thanks

[David-and-Mae 15]

By the way. So it takes about a month to get a letter. How soon is her interview/appointment likely to be? Another 2 months, 4 months? Longer? Probably it varies. But how long did others wait?

I know I should just wait and see, a couple more weeks until she gets the letter, but I'm just trying to do some forward-planning for the end of the year, including travel, timing for visas (if a visa is necessary because when my wife gets her US passport she will no longer need a visa for the UK)

Thanks

Check out my signature... it will give you an idea on how long it takes... but of course, it all depends on what your local office is. You should be able to get more infos if you will check on the list of monthly filers.

BTW, I did an early walk-in Biometrics, and I think it kind of help speed up my processing.

[JohnJ500 0]

Thanks for your help. So it looks like two months from your biometrics to your interview. That's faster than I thought. New York might be slower. Let's see.

Check out my signature... it will give you an idea on how long it takes...

[JohnJ500 0]

Hi all, nothing received so far. Is it possible to check the status online? My wife heard that is is possible, but I can't see where on the USCIS website. I just called the number on the I-797 (tel 1800 375 5283) and it says to check the status of an application, enter the receipt number which begins with 3 letters, then has ten digits, BUT if it contains * then use *. So my wife's is three letters, *, then 9 digits. I've tried * plus the 9 digits several times and it keeps telling me I did not enough enough digits. Why are these things so infuriating? Why have I just lost 25 minutes on this and got nowhere? Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[JohnJ500 0]

Oh, sorry, I just found this: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do

But it only tells me this: "On July 1, 2011, your N400, APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION was placed in line for interview scheduling. When scheduling is complete, you will receive a written notice with a time and place for your interview. Please check the website for further updates on your case."

Absolutely no indication of whether we expect to wait a month or 4 months for the interview.

[JohnJ500 0]

Also on that page, as well as "Your current case status" where a bunch of circles are show marking each stage in the process, there is also a section underneath to estimate processing times. We select N-400 and then "Select an office". Is that the office closest to where we live? The office where my wife had her biometrics test (ELizabeth, NJ) is not on the list, so I guess we select Newark. In which case, Newark is the same as the national average of 5 months. But five months starting when? Any advice about this would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[Nes81 0]

Oh, sorry, I just found this: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do

But it only tells me this: "On July 1, 2011, your N400, APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION was placed in line for interview scheduling. When scheduling is complete, you will receive a written notice with a time and place for your interview. Please check the website for further updates on your case."

Absolutely no indication of whether we expect to wait a month or 4 months for the interview.

Hi. I'm in same situation, i was placed in line for interview on the 7th of July, and still nothing. I went to the USCIS office here in Charleston sc, to let them know that my husband is going to be deployed and that I will be leaving as well, but still nothing. NSC where i sent my N400 did everything quickely and now is sitting in the office. It really up set me, because my husband wont be with us( our daughter and I) for a long time and plus he's going to miss such an important step in my life. Most lickely he wont be here, because if they give you a month to study, i'm sure I will be alone on the day of my interview and also the day of my oath. It sucks big time

Also on that page, as well as "Your current case status" where a bunch of circles are show marking each stage in the process, there is also a section underneath to estimate processing times. We select N-400 and then "Select an office". Is that the office closest to where we live? The office where my wife had her biometrics test (ELizabeth, NJ) is not on the list, so I guess we select Newark. In which case, Newark is the same as the national average of 5 months. But five months starting when? Any advice about this would be much appreciated. Thank you!

its from your priority date on the notice.

[JohnJ500 0]

Hi, sorry to hear that. Frustrating, isn't it.

Intrigued by your comment "they give you a month to study". Is that the general idea? My wife is doing quite well, but beginning to panic, because she heard of someone who apparently got the letter about a week after the biometrics interview and the naturalization interview was about 2 weeks later. So she's worried she's suddenly going to get the letter and have just two more weeks. But that would be record time, wouldn't it? I'm sure my wife has another month or probably two or three, but I'm not sure what I'm basing this idea on!

its from your priority date on the notice.

Sorry, I didn't understand that point. I was asking about the office, which one I should enter online.

Anyway, thanks very much and best of luck to you!!

[OKflyboy 35]

Hi, sorry to hear that. Frustrating, isn't it.

Intrigued by your comment "they give you a month to study". Is that the general idea? My wife is doing quite well, but beginning to panic, because she heard of someone who apparently got the letter about a week after the biometrics interview and the naturalization interview was about 2 weeks later. So she's worried she's suddenly going to get the letter and have just two more weeks. But that would be record time, wouldn't it? I'm sure my wife has another month or probably two or three, but I'm not sure what I'm basing this idea on!

Sorry, I didn't understand that point. I was asking about the office, which one I should enter online.

Anyway, thanks very much and best of luck to you!!

Go to "find local office" and enter your zip code.

If someone gets an interview letter a week after bio and an interview two weeks later, they should feel truly blessed and not fret. Check out my signature.

Besides, 2 weeks is more than enough to learn everything anyway if a person possesses reasonable knowledge of English.

[JohnJ500 0]

Thanks for your reply. The option is to select, not find a local office, and there is a drop-down menu of offices. No way to search by zip code.

My wife has still not received her interview letter. It's now been over two months since her biometrics appointment. She did receive a letter on yellow paper stating "this is not an interview letter, but recommending some additional documents to take to her interview.

I checked online on the case status page of the USCISwebsite - https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard/CaseStatus.do But it seems to be stuck on "Testing and interview", which is described as "APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION was placed in line for interview scheduling".

Please can anyone confirm that this is all normal, or should we be worried about not having received the interview appointment letter? My wife is worried because other people she knows experienced a much faster process.

Thank you!

Go to "find local office" and enter your zip code.

If someone gets an interview letter a week after bio and an interview two weeks later, they should feel truly blessed and not fret. Check out my signature.

Besides, 2 weeks is more than enough to learn everything anyway if a person possesses reasonable knowledge of English.