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

[lidaliu 9]

Hi all,

 

That's because I called the local respective office and they helped me to move the case.

Please try yours. might help.

 

 

[Hopeful2004 70]

I was finally put in line for an interview. 

[janadark 2]

On 6/7/2017 at 3:06 PM, lidaliu said:

Hi all,

 

That's because I called the local respective office and they helped me to move the case.

Please try yours. might help.

Did you call the local field office? Where it's possible to find their number? Or you called state senator office?

Edited June 11, 2017 by janadark

[janadark 2]

I finally got to speak with L2. they said my case is still at NBC, they don't see whether it's background check holding it or something else. Some time before I've submitted case inquiry - notice not received. They told me to call June 17th.

[maninflorida 13]

On 06/11/2017 at 11:24 AM, janadark said:

Did you call the local field office? Where it's possible to find their number? Or you called state senator office?

I'd like to know this as well.

[lidaliu 9]

On 6/11/2017 at 11:24 AM, janadark said:

Did you call the local field office? Where it's possible to find their number? Or you called state senator office?

like I said ,the house member, check your area local representative office. they might be able to help

[janadark 2]

On 6/16/2017 at 8:30 PM, lidaliu said:

like I said ,the house member, check your area local representative office. they might be able to help

ok, thank you!

[goodcombination 23]

I did an infopass today, since it's been 154 days with my husband's status (Dec 2016 filer) showing "scheduled for fingerprints". It was pretty useless (other than making me feel like we were doing our due diligence). The officer took a long time looking at her computer and said she considered putting in a service request but we are still within processing times for the NYC office. (According to that metric, they were processing cases from 297 days ago as of April 30 so we wouldn't be outside the processing time until late October.) She didn't seem to know what "in-line for interview" was - she just said "I don't understand how you mean he is 'out of line'" (ha!). I had to explain it, and then she just said there are lots of background checks they do and probably those aren't done yet. I asked her if his fingerprints were ok, and she said that if he hasn't gotten a reject notice they should be fine. So, literally nothing we didn't already know. She told us to check back in 3 months, but that seemed like a random time frame because there was nothing she could do. So I guess we'll just sit tight and expect to be in it for the long haul. When we got home we also searched 500 case numbers after my husband's, and lots of them are in the same stage, with a date of Jan 17th. Maybe it's just volume.

[saffyg 1]

21 hours ago, goodcombination said:

I did an infopass today, since it's been 154 days with my husband's status (Dec 2016 filer) showing "scheduled for fingerprints". It was pretty useless (other than making me feel like we were doing our due diligence). The officer took a long time looking at her computer and said she considered putting in a service request but we are still within processing times for the NYC office. (According to that metric, they were processing cases from 297 days ago as of April 30 so we wouldn't be outside the processing time until late October.) She didn't seem to know what "in-line for interview" was - she just said "I don't understand how you mean he is 'out of line'" (ha!). I had to explain it, and then she just said there are lots of background checks they do and probably those aren't done yet. I asked her if his fingerprints were ok, and she said that if he hasn't gotten a reject notice they should be fine. So, literally nothing we didn't already know. She told us to check back in 3 months, but that seemed like a random time frame because there was nothing she could do. So I guess we'll just sit tight and expect to be in it for the long haul. When we got home we also searched 500 case numbers after my husband's, and lots of them are in the same stage, with a date of Jan 17th. Maybe it's just volume.

I was in a similar situation in the NYC office till recently. 

PD: 7/27/2016
Fingerprints: 8/15/2016 (early walk-in). Called L2 officer a couple times and also dropped in for an infopass with suggestions to just wait till it is out of processing time before they'd allow me to file a Service Request.

I had no progress on the case till 6/8/2017 (297 days after biometrics) when status online changed to Case is In Line for Interview.

Interview was scheduled on 6/12/2017 for 7/17/2017.
Hope this helps! 

[goodcombination 23]

22 minutes ago, saffyg said:

I was in a similar situation in the NYC office till recently. 

PD: 7/27/2016
Fingerprints: 8/15/2016 (early walk-in). Called L2 officer a couple times and also dropped in for an infopass with suggestions to just wait till it is out of processing time before they'd allow me to file a Service Request.

I had no progress on the case till 6/8/2017 (297 days after biometrics) when status online changed to Case is In Line for Interview.

Interview was scheduled on 6/12/2017 for 7/17/2017.
Hope this helps! 

@saffyg, that does help! Thank you. That encourages me that it will eventually come through. After yesterday I am just adjusting my expectations / our life plans and trying to be patient until closer to the one-year mark (and trying not to be envious of filers who are getting done in 6 months or less...) 

 

Sorry you had to wait so long, but congratulations on your interview date! You are almost finished...good luck! 

[Ramsep 21]

There are some of us, however, that just cannot get moving, this is a quick overview of my wife's case.

* PD: 12/16/2016. FO Dallas
* FP: 01/17/2017
* Inline for interview: 02/01 (30 days before the GC 3-years mark) . . . .Then wait, and wait and wait until . . .
* E-request filed: 05/12: "You should receive an answer by 06/03". As of yesterday, the USCIS page showed that this service request "has not been assigned".
* Called the 800# yesterday 06/27, was told by the lady that she couldn't discuss anything with me if applicant (my wife) was not present for the call, but she said that after being in line since Feb 01 she should be moved to next step.
* Called the 800# again today 06/28 with my wife. We were told that by another young lady that she was filing a new service request and we should receive an answer in 2 weeks. She also suggested that we file an Infopass.

 

Well, I tried to file an Infopass, but the Dallas FO has (and hasn't had for at least 2 months that I personally know of) "No appointment dates available for the next two weeks".
I went back to the USCIS case update page, and it now shows that the original e-Request has been deleted, and the new one (today's) has "not been assigned".

Of course we could try to contact a Level 2 officer, our senators, our representatives, or the ombudsman. But I know that in some cases, the more you push, the more it stalls. And we all need to calm down and resist desperation. 

So let's try to stay positive and HOPE that she can get her interview appointment soon (my stepson turns 18 in October, and we wish that he can derive citizenship from her while still a minor). The only good thing is that Dallas FO has Judiciary Oath ceremonies, where she can get a name change at the same time (she wants to drop her first- and retain only the middle name).

Hope, that's the operating word here.
Blessings to all of you.

[Citizen-Q50 0]

My background is pending for over three weeks. My spouse was cleared in  two weeks.  I am a trusted traveler and have clearance, meaning they have done fingerprints and background checks already. Don't understand why it is still pending.

 

N400 filed 5/2017

Biometrics done: 6/1/2017 

Spouse cleared for biometrics: 6/22

Newark, NJ

 

Edited June 29, 2017 by Citizen-Q50

[Ademondigir 0]

My case has being stuck on FBI name search, PD 06/29/2016, FP 07/09/2016. Did 2 infopass and was told I traveled to Nigeria last year so the name search isnt complete yet, now I intend to travel again to Nigeria and marry my fiancée and file an I-130 afterward. Will this move affect my case? Thanks for your suggestions.

[ruby_7 45]

On 6/21/2017 at 1:47 PM, goodcombination said:

@saffyg, that does help! Thank you. That encourages me that it will eventually come through. After yesterday I am just adjusting my expectations / our life plans and trying to be patient until closer to the one-year mark (and trying not to be envious of filers who are getting done in 6 months or less...) 

 

Sorry you had to wait so long, but congratulations on your interview date! You are almost finished...good luck! 

I received an email today from USCIS for my case inquiry on May 16, to which my priority date is Jan. 25.   USCIS responded in email today stating that my case has been delayed due to the background check that still pending and they cannot move forward until BC is done (which is from the FBI).  Furthermore, stated I have to wait within 6 months from the date of today's email before making another inquiry.  Ughhhh...Some people are luckier than others because their BC is done few weeks after their FP, while others are taking longer. What a life (sigh)

[goodcombination 23]

On 5/30/2017 at 4:32 PM, goodcombination said:

I was inspired by others' case data tracking ideas so I did the same for my husband's case. I tracked his case, plus the 50 before and 49 numbers after his case, so for 100 total. He applied in late December and has been in Fingerprint status since January. Here's what I found. 

 

There were 85 active cases (i.e. not an invalid case number or rejected for improper / early filing.) 

Of those cases: 

• 1 (1%) read Case Received, in Jan. (Poor soul!)
• 13 (15%) read Fingerprint Scheduled. Of these, 6 cases had FP scheduled on Jan 17 and 7 cases had FP scheduled on Jan 23. 
• 38 (45%) read In Line for Interview. Of these, 30 cases went in-line in Feb. 1 case went in-line in March. 1 case went in-line in April. 6 cases went in-line in May. 
• 22 (26%) read Interview Scheduled or Interview Letter Mailed. 
• 4 (5%) read In Line for Oath
• 7 (8%) read Oath Letter was Mailed.

I'm encouraged that after the initial February in-line burst, and a major slow-down in March and April, 6 people from this period were put in-line in May. 

Also, I checked the dates each person was put in-line. In Feb, it was all over the place, with the highest number on Feb 3. But! 

In March, the only in-line action came on March 15 (1 cases)

In April, the only in-line action came on April 14 (1 cases) 

In May, the only in-line action came on May 15 (6 cases)

 

That makes me think that they may only update the name check stragglers mid month. So maybe we can all take a few breaths and lower our expectations until the middle of June? 

 

 

So, I checked again a few days ago (early July), and I first re-reviewed the batch of 100 cases before and after my husband that I mentioned previously. A little more than a month had passed since I last looked. Three of those original 13 people in fingerprints, plus the one person in Case Received, were now listed as "interview scheduled." (Not sure if they were "in line" in the interim.) So that means that of this small group, there was some good movement and only 10% are now still stuck in fingerprints. 

 

But I decided to search back using range search on an app, 25,000 cases (!) before my husband's case number. I found that even then, based on fingerprint and in-line dates, those cases were only received and first touched around late December and early January, so there were a LOT of applicants after the election. (Imagine that....) Based on a quick analysis of a few thousand, about 25% of this larger group is still stuck at the fingerprint stage. This matches what another member found.

 

So we may have a long wait as they do the checks, but we are certainly not alone! This helped us decide to stop obsessing for now and just sit back and hopefully be pleasantly surprised when something does move.