N-400 - March 2017 Filers

[casualuser 38]

14 minutes ago, Nick79 said:

That's the same thing they've been telling me, my case is also still at the NBC; not sure whether "being in line" even means anything at this point.

On other forum someone pasted  the following link:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/electronic-reading-room/computer-linked-application-information-management-system-claims-4

 

saying that it proves that "in line" means background checks are cleared. The link above is a rather lengthy manual and I did not have patience to read through. Also, it seems based on experience reported here and also in some other places, that the updates published by USCIS are not 100% reliable. There is one thread in other forum (link below, WARNING: a lot of annoying ads) entitled ' "Fingerprints done but case status is still "Case was received" ', which is a clear evidence that, is some cases, people receive paper invitations to have their fingerprints collected but nothing is posted online.

 

http://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/n400/1574197089/fingerprints-done-but-case-status-is-still-case-was-received

[Nick79 24]

1 hour ago, casualuser said:

On other forum someone pasted  the following link:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/electronic-reading-room/computer-linked-application-information-management-system-claims-4

 

saying that it proves that "in line" means background checks are cleared. The link above is a rather lengthy manual and I did not have patience to read through. Also, it seems based on experience reported here and also in some other places, that the updates published by USCIS are not 100% reliable. There is one thread in other forum (link below, WARNING: a lot of annoying ads) entitled ' "Fingerprints done but case status is still "Case was received" ', which is a clear evidence that, is some cases, people receive paper invitations to have their fingerprints collected but nothing is posted online.

 

http://www.trackitt.com/usa-discussion-forums/n400/1574197089/fingerprints-done-but-case-status-is-still-case-was-received

I doubt "in line" necessarily means that the background check has cleared: while this would make sense conceptually, the fact that some people get in line in a matter of 2 days raises serious questions...

Edited July 27, 2017 by Nick79

[Private One 44]

12 minutes ago, Nick79 said:

I doubt "in line" necessarily means that the background check has cleared: while this would make sense conceptually, the fact that some people get in line in a matter of 2 days raises serious questions...

I'm with you on that one. Forget 2 days. I have a friend who got in line hours after biometrics. Did she cleared background check that quick? I doubt but if she did it's kind of scary. It will show how much effort goes into doing what should be a very thorough check.

[casualuser 38]

28 minutes ago, Private One said:

I'm with you on that one. Forget 2 days. I have a friend who got in line hours after biometrics. Did she cleared background check that quick? I doubt but if she did it's kind of scary. It will show how much effort goes into doing what should be a very thorough check.

I think background check could be automated and I imagine a computer can do it that fast. If there is no trace of you anywhere in any database, there is nothing to do. In some cases there are things on our application that cannot be quickly automated: a new kid, is it adultery (moral character)? FBI has a record of you since you testified as a witness, a person has to decide it is not relevant. Or maybe you lived at the same place as some well-known criminal? That has to be verified  too. Not to mention a few people with your name pop up.

[jayu 21]

39 minutes ago, Private One said:

I'm with you on that one. Forget 2 days. I have a friend who got in line hours after biometrics. Did she cleared background check that quick? I doubt but if she did it's kind of scary. It will show how much effort goes into doing what should be a very thorough check.

It's nothing unusual. My FP clear in 20 minutes. Fingers are scanned in, and the algorithm searches for database containing fingerprints. If no match is found, then name + birthdate + birthplace is scanned, and if not match is found, then the person is clean. If matches are found, then this causes delays, because it has to be manually determined whether matches point to the applicant or to some other individual. There is nothing sloppy about that process. It's mathematics.

Edited July 27, 2017 by jayu

[casualuser 38]

I have a personal theory that either USCIS is sloppy in their upgrades and some random omissions in updating happen or they are deliberately introducing a factor of unpredictability to make it harder for people to figure out patterns, since they also have some dubious operations in their portfolio (like CARRP) and with 100% predictable notification system it would be harder to conceal that a person is "carrped" (since a person would know much earlier that he/she is in CARRP mode than after falling out of normal processing time, which is often one year after submission).

[Nick79 24]

37 minutes ago, jayu said:

It's nothing unusual. My FP clear in 20 minutes. Fingers are scanned in, and the algorithm searches for database containing fingerprints. If no match is found, then name + birthdate + birthplace is scanned, and if not match is found, then the person is clean. If matches are found, then this causes delays, because it has to be manually determined whether matches point to the applicant or to some other individual. There is nothing sloppy about that process. It's mathematics.

Not sure it's that simple in practice: there are multiple agencies involved and different systems that don't necessarily talk to one another. Pushing a button, querying a db and getting a match is ideal world but I doubt that's how it really works.

[casualuser 38]

15 minutes ago, Nick79 said:

Not sure it's that simple in practice: there are multiple agencies involved and different systems that don't necessarily talk to one another. Pushing a button, querying a db and getting a match is ideal world but I doubt that's how it really works.

Another argument to the pool: if "in-line" means that your background is cleared then I assume people who are in line earlier and submitted their applications earlier should be interviewed earlier if this happens in the same field office. Well, we have one user who reports here:

 

carrie212 (New York)

Application received: 03/28

Inline: 04/20

interview: 08/16

 

I just saw a report of another guy from NY field office (trackitt.com) who reports:

Application received: 01/23
Inline: 02/23
interview: 08/23

 

He also said he never got an electronic notification that his interview is scheduled. Just a hardcopy letter was the first thing he had.

[nit407 11]

HI guys,

Can someone add me to the list please? I have never been able to get the right formatting.

 

UserName. - nit407

GC-Date..06/17/2014

Sent.. - 07/25/2017

Field Office - Seattle

 

Thanks a bunch!

[casualuser 38]

3 minutes ago, nit407 said:

HI guys,

Can someone add me to the list please? I have never been able to get the right formatting.

 

UserName. - nit407

GC-Date..06/17/2014

Sent.. - 07/25/2017

Field Office - Seattle

 

Thanks a bunch!

Shouldn't you add your case to the July forum?

[nit407 11]

Just now, casualuser said:

Shouldn't you add your case to the July forum?

I guess that would make more sense. I was adding to this thread, since initially I was going to file March but was delayed in filing. Are we going by the actual filing dates or eligible dates for the application?

[casualuser 38]

1 minute ago, nit407 said:

I guess that would make more sense. I was adding to this thread, since initially I was going to file March but was delayed in filing. Are we going by the actual filing dates or eligible dates for the application?

It seems everybody on this thread has submitted their application in March, so I would guess it goes by filing date, not eligibility date.

[jayu 21]

30 minutes ago, casualuser said:

Another argument to the pool: if "in-line" means that your background is cleared then I assume people who are in line earlier and submitted their applications earlier should be interviewed earlier if this happens in the same field office. Well, we have one user who reports here:

 

carrie212 (New York)

Application received: 03/28

Inline: 04/20

interview: 08/16

 

I just saw a report of another guy from NY field office (trackitt.com) who reports:

Application received: 01/23
Inline: 02/23
interview: 08/23

 

He also said he never got an electronic notification that his interview is scheduled. Just a hardcopy letter was the first thing he had.

An office has several IO officers. Once the person is in-line, his file is sent to local office and assigned to an officer.

Every officer has different speed, and different complexity of case. Some officers zip through interview in 5 mins. My interview was 30 mins, and most of it was me watching the clouds outside thinking whether its going to rain or not, with some interruptions by the IO asking very specific questions. And my file was quarter of an inch thick. Some other files on IO's desk were 1.5 inches thick!

[jayu 21]

3 minutes ago, casualuser said:

It seems everybody on this thread has submitted their application in March, so I would guess it goes by filing date, not eligibility date.

Priority Date determines the order of application when scheduling interview and oath.

[casualuser 38]

1 minute ago, jayu said:

An office has several IO officers. Once the person is in-line, his file is sent to local office and assigned to an officer.

Every officer has different speed, and different complexity of case. Some officers zip through interview in 5 mins. My interview was 30 mins, and most of it was me watching the clouds outside thinking whether its going to rain or not, with some interruptions by the IO asking very specific questions. And my file was quarter of an inch thick. Some other files on IO's desk were 1.5 inches thick!

This is a very detailed knowledge of the internal workings of USCIS! Could you quote your sources? How do you know the details of the USCIS workflow?