N400 background check: what do they check?

[marcusa 31]

dont know if anyone discussed about this question before.  For the background check, lots of people would say, it's case by case in term of the processing time, from a few months to a year. ...just curious,

• what  USCIS and FBI exactly look at when processing the background check after biometrics ?  What reasons might cause the long period of pending.?
• they will definitely check criminal history (very quick to get the results ), what else will they check ?  applicant dont have to be employed at the time of applying. 
• Are they going to put efforts and personnel to investigate the things that you answer ""YES " on the serial of questionair on the N400 ? like member , part or terriorist-like organization, or used to be a police/military ? will they still do that if you choose NO for those questions like the majority of applicants ?
• are they just looking at the history( the past 3 or 5 years) after becoming Permernant residents ? or  still check your whole history both in the U.S. and non-U.S. places.

 

Edited August 11, 2017 by marcusa

[marcusa 31]

up

[Holt 73]

I believe no-one can actually answer you on these questions since this part is of USCIS and FBI. 

No-one will know what kind of 'backgrounds' or 'biometrics' which FBI checks you on. Also, I don't think they go one-by-one Yes and No questions on N400 because you might fix it in the interview (or they know the answers and you better not lie to them).

The evidence I know USCIS does not look at those 'Yes and No' questions because I filed online for my friends and due to the error of the website, some questions are unmarked (blank answers). We submitted the inquiries regard to this matter and this is the response from USCIS: 

"The information you entered on your N-400 application will be verified by an adjudications officer before a decision is made. Therefore, if there is an error on your application, the mistake will be verified and corrected by USCIS. If your information cannot be verified, you may receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) letter asking for clarification."

Why do you want to know ?

 

Edited August 12, 2017 by rlam57

[Going through 5,671]

22 hours ago, marcusa said:

dont know if anyone discussed about this question before.  For the background check, lots of people would say, it's case by case in term of the processing time, from a few months to a year. ...just curious,

• what  USCIS and FBI exactly look at when processing the background check after biometrics ?  What reasons might cause the long period of pending.?
• they will definitely check criminal history (very quick to get the results ), what else will they check ?  applicant dont have to be employed at the time of applying. 
• Are they going to put efforts and personnel to investigate the things that you answer ""YES " on the serial of questionair on the N400 ? like member , part or terriorist-like organization, or used to be a police/military ? will they still do that if you choose NO for those questions like the majority of applicants ?
• are they just looking at the history( the past 3 or 5 years) after becoming Permernant residents ? or  still check your whole history both in the U.S. and non-U.S. places.

 

The FBI does a criminal background check and a name check.   If there is a "hit" then someone has to manually verify the information to make sure it actually is about the applicant (and not under someone with a similar or same name).  If you have had a legal name change either through marriage/other reason, they will conduct checks on that name as well.    If there is a hit revealing a criminal background than the circumstances they may already have on file for that (what you have disclosed to USCIS in past applications or on your current application) may be confirmed as well.  The FBI criminal search covers federal, state and local law agencies.  The name check mostly covers any fraud schemes and national/public safety concerns.

 

FBI checks look at your entire criminal history since entering the US and can request further information in other countries where information is shared (ie. Canada, UK and the US do share border, criminal and immigration information with each other--other countries may as well).  They also will search if you have ever been named as part of an FBI investigation (this is not necessarily a negative thing, as witnesses or simple persons of interest would also fall into this category).

 

 

Edited August 12, 2017 by Going through

[Holt 73]

This is what I found:

Quote

Once an ASC collects an applicant’s biometrics, USCIS submits the records to the FBI for a full criminal background check. The response from the FBI that a full criminal background check has been completed includes confirmation that:

 

•The applicant does not have an administrative or a criminal record;

•The applicant has an administrative or a criminal record; or

•The applicant’s submitted fingerprint records have been determined unclassifiable for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check and have been rejected.

Source: Click to redirect the source.

[bonjour2017 15]

I wondered the same thing-- how extensive was the background check and whether I would be questioned on things that their investigation revealed.  The only way to get a sense of this is if people respond to inform you of questions they were asked that were not applicable to the N-400 responses. In my case, I filed for Naturalization after 36 years of green card issuance; I could have been asked a lot of things after being in the States for so long.  The officer asked me only one question that gave hint of any investigation results--Have I ever attended a certain University? The rest of the questions were related to the 3 N-400 "Yes" responses and I reiterated my responses.  Review your N-400 responses before you go into the interview.

[marcusa 31]

1 hour ago, bonjour2017 said:

I wondered the same thing-- how extensive was the background check and whether I would be questioned on things that their investigation revealed.  The only way to get a sense of this is if people respond to inform you of questions they were asked that were not applicable to the N-400 responses. In my case, I filed for Naturalization after 36 years of green card issuance; I could have been asked a lot of things after being in the States for so long.  The officer asked me only one question that gave hint of any investigation results--Have I ever attended a certain University? The rest of the questions were related to the 3 N-400 "Yes" responses and I reiterated my responses.  Review your N-400 responses before you go into the interview.

so you mean, they did check your education background even ? 

[Going through 5,671]

1 hour ago, bonjour2017 said:

The officer asked me only one question that gave hint of any investigation results--Have I ever attended a certain University? 

Makes me wonder if someone with the same name or similar name attended that university and caused some criminal trouble there, and the IO was just verifying it wasn't you....

[bonjour2017 15]

I responded with the year that I attended that University, 2012, and the officer moved on.    I have two other degrees but they were attained in 1989 and 1999 at different universities.  The University the officer was interested in--- I had attended only 5 years ago.

It probably came up on a 2012 FBI background check that I had to have done as a prerequisite of the University program. My fingerprints were taken in this check and this must have come up on USCIS FBI check.

 

Going There--My last name is unusual so I doubt if it was a mix-up.

[marcusa 31]

8 minutes ago, bonjour2017 said:

I responded with the year that I attended that University, 2012, and the officer moved on.    I have two other degrees but they were attained in 1989 and 1999 at different universities.  The University the officer was interested in--- I had attended only 5 years ago.

It probably came up on a 2012 FBI background check that I had to have done as a prerequisite of the University program. My fingerprints were taken in this check and this must have come up on USCIS FBI check.

 

Going There--My last name is unusual so I doubt if it was a mix-up.

thanks for input. Dude.

[bonjour2017 15]

Not a dude

 

[Going through 5,671]

15 hours ago, bonjour2017 said:

I responded with the year that I attended that University, 2012, and the officer moved on.    I have two other degrees but they were attained in 1989 and 1999 at different universities.  The University the officer was interested in--- I had attended only 5 years ago.

It probably came up on a 2012 FBI background check that I had to have done as a prerequisite of the University program. My fingerprints were taken in this check and this must have come up on USCIS FBI check.

 

Going There--My last name is unusual so I doubt if it was a mix-up.

By this point in your immigration process, you must be tired of getting your fingerprints taken everywhere LOL!