N-400 Filers who got stuck or delayed in Background / Name Check.

[cybermax 39]

I opened this topic for me and people who got stuck/ delayed in FBI Background / Name check.

Our cases don't move or be updated as regular schedule. If your 3th or 5th aniversary passed and your case status has not turned into "in-line", you are in the right place to discuss.

For people who filed early, you should be put in-line exactly a month (or couple days after) before your aniversary. If not, it means you are also being stuck in Name check.
Lets discuss about this if you are one of us. Put your timeline here so others can see.

 

GC:________03/27/2012

N-400 sent:__12/27

Finger Prints:_01/30

USCIS Office: Washington Field Office.

 

I filed N-400 early and had finger prints on 01/30. As usual, they should put me in-line on 02/27 but so far I have not heard any things from USCIS. I start freaking out now.

I saw some people got stuck in name check for years and they had to filed lawsuit against USCIS and FBI to resolve the issue.

I don't know why it happened to me. I have no criminal record. I filed and paid taxes every year on time. I don't owe money. I have a very good credit score. I work in government office. I'm Asian with a rare name... All of those, but I still got stuck!???

 

Are there anyone here on the same boat?

Edited March 7, 2017 by cybermax

[HK12 273]

I have been stuck in background checks for close to two months now.

 

GC: 11/2/2013

N-400 sent: 12/8/2016 (filed under 3-year-rule - not an early filer)

Finger Prints: 1/9/2017

USCIS Office: Oklahoma City

 

I have no criminal records, have a rare name, have neither travelled abroad nor have any other issues whatsoever. I have no clue what the hold-up could be. I am keeping track of the status of several cases around my case number (all of them had their cases accepted on the same date as me). About 75 percent are now "in line", all of them having been put in line on either February 23 or March 6 (which makes me think that USCIS updates in batches).

 

To be honest, you are only a little over one week beyond your 1-month-before-anniversary date, so I would not worry yet. It is extremely frustrating, but it is not worth wasting your energy worrying about things you have no control over. Good luck to you and all the rest of us who are still stuck in background checks! 

Edited March 7, 2017 by HK12

[cybermax 39]

Why good people like us got stuck? I'm so sad. I need to go back to my country to get married with my girlfriend. Everything is ready. I'm afraid they are gonna put me on hold forever, I can't go back home and breaking all the plan.

 

Maybe I'm wrong but I think as long as they put a person in-line right a way after a month before his aniversary, he is ok. Otherwise, it takes forever to have the background check cleared. I'm not sure if this correct but I believe so. Any ideas?

[charmander 692]

5 minutes ago, cybermax said:

Why good people like us got stuck?

Sometimes it is as simple as randomly picking for extensive vetting. Nothing to do with name, travel history, citizenship, crime history. It is no different than TSA randomly picking a traveler for long screening at the airports. 

 

Officially both of you guys are not stuck at background checks yet. While majority of the cases pass through background checks within 30 days after biometrics, USCIS&FBI still consider up to 90 days as normal processing time. So it's still very early to speculate whether you got stuck or not. Waiting 2-3 months for background checks typically has no effect on interview scheduling due to the current backlogs at majority of the field offices. As soon as the background check clears, they'll still put you guys at the queue using your priority dates. Your interviews would be scheduled together with people who filed similar dates to yours and pass through background checks quickly.

 

[cybermax 39]

19 minutes ago, charmander said:

Sometimes it is as simple as randomly picking for extensive vetting. Nothing to do with name, travel history, citizenship, crime history. It is no different than TSA randomly picking a traveler for long screening at the airports. 

 

Officially both of you guys are not stuck at background checks yet. While majority of the cases pass through background checks within 30 days after biometrics, USCIS&FBI still consider up to 90 days as normal processing time. So it's still very early to speculate whether you got stuck or not. Waiting 2-3 months for background checks typically has no effect on interview scheduling due to the current backlogs at majority of the field offices. As soon as the background check clears, they'll still put you guys at the queue using your priority dates. Your interviews would be scheduled together with people who filed similar dates to yours and pass through background checks quickly.

 

 

Thank you for clarifying this. It helps alot.

But I have a questions, do you know for cases like ours. They gonna be cleared 2-3 months eventually right?

Have you seen any people who were delayed, having the interview as the same time as others who filed in the same month with them?

[ChristianZane 70]

8 hours ago, HK12 said:

I have been stuck in background checks for close to two months now.

 

GC: 11/2/2013

N-400 sent: 12/8/2016 (filed under 3-year-rule - not an early filer)

 

So you've been waiting 90 days to receive word about your N-400?  According to USCIS, Oklahoma City has about a 10 month processing time for an N400.

[charmander 692]

15 hours ago, cybermax said:

 

Thank you for clarifying this. It helps alot.

But I have a questions, do you know for cases like ours. They gonna be cleared 2-3 months eventually right?

Have you seen any people who were delayed, having the interview as the same time as others who filed in the same month with them?

Not a lot but not extremely infrequent either. Check the monthly threads yourself, there are always a few cases who has a large time gap between biometrics and in-line date. Unfortunately some people will really get stuck at background check. for instance we had a few people in March 2016 thread who were stuck, most of them had their interviews over the past few months, but one of them will have an interview beginning of next month after a long 1 year wait.

[HK12 273]

On ‎3‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 0:01 AM, ChristianZane said:

So you've been waiting 90 days to receive word about your N-400?  According to USCIS, Oklahoma City has about a 10 month processing time for an N400.

I am aware of that. This thread has nothing to do with the actual interview scheduling. This is about being stuck in background checks, or, in other words not being "put in line" for an interview. This is the step ahead of getting the interview actually scheduled.

[cybermax 39]

8 minutes ago, HK12 said:

I am aware of that. This thread has nothing to do with the actual interview scheduling. This is about being stuck in background checks, or, in other words not being "put in line" for an interview. This is the step ahead of getting the interview actually scheduled.

 

I'm depressed.  I need to get citizenship to upgrade my F2A case to IR1.  Now I'm being stuck for nothing. So sad.

[HK12 273]

8 minutes ago, cybermax said:

 

I'm depressed.  I need to get citizenship to upgrade my F2A case to IR1.  Now I'm being stuck for nothing. So sad.

Keep a positive attitude. I also need citizenship, for my job, but as I said before, there is nothing we can really do at this point but wait.

[ChristianZane 70]

1 hour ago, HK12 said:

I am aware of that. This thread has nothing to do with the actual interview scheduling. This is about being stuck in background checks, or, in other words not being "put in line" for an interview. This is the step ahead of getting the interview actually scheduled.

According to the USCIS, in Oklahoma City it will take about 10 months for you to get a notice that your application has been approved for an interview on a certain date.  Background checks, being "put in line", all of these things are considered part of the processing time they post.

[HK12 273]

1 hour ago, ChristianZane said:

According to the USCIS, in Oklahoma City it will take about 10 months for you to get a notice that your application has been approved for an interview on a certain date.  Background checks, being "put in line", all of these things are considered part of the processing time they post.

The local office does not have anything to do with it at this point. The background checks need to cleared before the office even receives your file and can start the scheduling process. Most people's background checks clear within a few days or weeks, at which point they are being put "in line", which means that the local office then receives their file and can start the scheduling process. Cybermax and I are not worried about our local office's processing times (and FYI, OKC's processing time is not 10 months - it was April 18, 2016 as of December 31, 2016, so roughly 8.5 months), but about being stuck at the background check stage for a prolonged period of time, which SHOULD only take a few days.

 

Anyway, I am not here to argue with you, so you can just agree to disagree.

[ChristianZane 70]

1 hour ago, HK12 said:

The local office does not have anything to do with it at this point. The background checks need to cleared before the office even receives your file and can start the scheduling process. Most people's background checks clear within a few days or weeks, at which point they are being put "in line", which means that the local office then receives their file and can start the scheduling process. Cybermax and I are not worried about our local office's processing times (and FYI, OKC's processing time is not 10 months - it was April 18, 2016 as of December 31, 2016, so roughly 8.5 months), but about being stuck at the background check stage for a prolonged period of time, which SHOULD only take a few days.

 

Anyway, I am not here to argue with you, so you can just agree to disagree.

My point is the whole process will take about 8-10 months before your interview is scheduled.  The December 31 thing is wrong according to USCIS person I spoke to and not sure why don't remove it, it's based on the date in lower right corner.

[SimpaticoJT 8]

In the same boat.  

 

As charmander reported, up to 90 days is a normal procedure for FBI. I got my fingerprints done in the same office as you a few days before you. But I traveled a quite bit last year (6 countries). For me, an extensive profile in the application may have raised eyebrows. This is just a speculation though. Good luck 

[Nana098 18]

I think my daughter case is stucked too, but she is responsible for it, because she failed to do the fingerprints on schedule date, she did it 45 days after the original one. Her field office is Newark, NJ. with them the whole process take less 5 months, according to my own experience.
Yesterday she called USCIS and the IO told that the case looks good and it is on the range the dates of processing.

I was writting this since yesterday, but today I checked USCIS page, and, Voila! the case is in line to interview since today.