Time Frame

[austex 42]

Does anybody have any idea on how long from the time I put my N-400 in to Dallas TX until I get an interview?  We are planning a trip back to Australia for 2 weeks and I don't want to submit it if it will close to the trip.

[Holt 73]

7 hours ago, austex said:

Does anybody have any idea on how long from the time I put my N-400 in to Dallas TX until I get an interview?  We are planning a trip back to Australia for 2 weeks and I don't want to submit it if it will close to the trip.

When will you leave the state?

After you submitted the N400:

-Online: Biometric usually scheduled the next few days for the next two weeks appointment.

-Paper: Biometric will be scheduled as soon as they received your application (around few weeks - a month) for next two weeks appoinment.

 

Holidays are coming (Thanksgiving and Christmas) so it will take longer for USCIS to process your case.

 

You can leave the state as soon as you was fingerprinted. 

 

Interview scheduling will approximately 6-8 months after your Biometric appoinment. 

Edited November 17, 2017 by Holt

[austex 42]

Thank you for that information.  We are going to Australia for 2 weeks in June of 2018.

 

maybe I should wait.  

 

.M

[Holt 73]

Just now, austex said:

Thank you for that information.  We are going to Australia for 2 weeks in June of 2018.

 

maybe I should wait.  

 

.M

The same with my sister, she is planning to apply now but she will have the 3 weeks trip with family in end of May - mid June 2018.

I told her not to apply, so we can prevent all the mess could happen.

[bcb 4]

In all likelihood, your interview will be scheduled before or after your trip. I wouldn't change my plans for something that is unlikely to occur. If your interview is scheduled during the 2-week period when you're planning to be in Australia, just reschedule one of the two! 

[Holt 73]

1 hour ago, bcb said:

In all likelihood, your interview will be scheduled before or after your trip. I wouldn't change my plans for something that is unlikely to occur. If your interview is scheduled during the 2-week period when you're planning to be in Australia, just reschedule one of the two! 

Rescheduling is always like playing with fire. No one will guarantee about “before and after.” 

From my experience , don’t move or travel while N400 is pending.

[bcb 4]

Well, the other option is to reschedule the trip in the very unlikely event that the two overlap. We're talking 14 days in the span of 3-18 months!! The range of processing times, even for the same field office, is substantial. You're advising people to put their lives on hold for up to 18 months. If the trip doesn't mean anything, then sure, postpone it until you have your US passport.  

 

Look, some of us travel internationally for work. Would any immigration lawyer advise such a person to quit their job just to wait for the N-400 to get processed? My guess is that unemployment would not look so great on the form. 

 

It's not impossible to reschedule or cancel a trip. Or wait until you're 3 weeks out to buy your ticket. (That roughly seems to be the shortest advance notice.) It may cost some money and be inconvenient, but if you don't want to reschedule the interview, it's an option.

[Spout 9]

I would not put my life on hold until my N-400 get processed.

I applied last week in San Francisco online, and already got my biometrics taken this week.

My company gives a 2 months sabbatical every four years, and I'm planning a 2 months international trip starting end of December.

Considering San Francisco field office processing time, it's unlikely that I'll get an interview before April.

But it's possible! If it's the case, I would not reschedule, I would just come back to the US to get the interview.

That's when applying online becomes handy, I'll get notified if my interview is scheduled, even before when I get inline for the interview.

But I would not spend my sabbatical in San Francisco, because my interview might happen in this time frame.

 

[austex 42]

Thank you everybody for your answers.  Now I am even more confused haha

 

M.

[Holt 73]

On 11/17/2017 at 11:05 AM, bcb said:

Well, the other option is to reschedule the trip in the very unlikely event that the two overlap. We're talking 14 days in the span of 3-18 months!! The range of processing times, even for the same field office, is substantial. You're advising people to put their lives on hold for up to 18 months. If the trip doesn't mean anything, then sure, postpone it until you have your US passport.  

 

Look, some of us travel internationally for work. Would any immigration lawyer advise such a person to quit their job just to wait for the N-400 to get processed? My guess is that unemployment would not look so great on the form. 

 

It's not impossible to reschedule or cancel a trip. Or wait until you're 3 weeks out to buy your ticket. (That roughly seems to be the shortest advance notice.) It may cost some money and be inconvenient, but if you don't want to reschedule the interview, it's an option.

Huh ?

(1) I would not travel during N400, especially the on the most likely interview will happen time frame.

Putting the 14 days travel and N400 on the scale.

 

(2) As a LPR, you are not allowed to (or at least advised not to) move to another State for "WORK" unless you want to play and mess around with US immigration law, or you don't want to live in the state anymore. You can choose get your job offer, but moving out may result a consequence, then don't blame the US for the strict on "Continuous and Physical" requirements. The choice is yours. No one can force you to do what you DON'T want to do. 

 

You gotta sacrifice one for a better outcome.

 

(3) As I said above, the choice is yours. Messing around with USCIS just for 2 weeks travel? Sorry, I don't want to pay a great price for something that not even matter here: traveling. If you told me, it was an emergency, then again, put the emergency and N400 on the scale, you would know what to do. 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2017 by Holt

[Holt 73]

On 11/17/2017 at 11:18 AM, Spout said:

I would not put my life on hold until my N-400 get processed.

I applied last week in San Francisco online, and already got my biometrics taken this week.

My company gives a 2 months sabbatical every four years, and I'm planning a 2 months international trip starting end of December.

Considering San Francisco field office processing time, it's unlikely that I'll get an interview before April.

But it's possible! If it's the case, I would not reschedule, I would just come back to the US to get the interview.

That's when applying online becomes handy, I'll get notified if my interview is scheduled, even before when I get inline for the interview.

But I would not spend my sabbatical in San Francisco, because my interview might happen in this time frame.

 

Look at the information. It is different from your case. They are planning to go Australia for "traveling" on June 2018, not December 2017. 

SF Office processes case 8 months and few days. You won't get your interview until June 2018 (approx.) 

 

Please also read my post here: 

 

When will you leave the state?

After you submitted the N400:

-Online: Biometric usually scheduled the next few days for the next two weeks appointment.

-Paper: Biometric will be scheduled as soon as they received your application (around few weeks - a month) for next two weeks appoinment.

 

Holidays are coming (Thanksgiving and Christmas) so it will take longer for USCIS to process your case.

 

You can leave the state as soon as you was fingerprinted. 

 

Interview scheduling will approximately 6-8 months after your Biometric appoinment. 

 

[Spout 9]

What I was trying to say is that there's a difference between planning a trip, and actually going on a trip.

The naturalization procedure is a blackbox to us, we know some of the parameters (field office, residence requirements, clean records, N400 filled out without mistakes, etc...), but the rest is speculation (application priority and country of citizenship, background checks, etc...). The whole procedure can take from few months (some people who applied online in LA, which is as backlogged as SF, managed to get their interview in 2 months, they are either British or Canadian) to a year for some people (if you happen to have a passport from a sensitive country, asked for a waiver, etc...). I don't think planning a 2 weeks trip is a big deal. Again, worst case scenario, you reschedule the trip and you lost 200 bucks in airline fees. It's not the end of the world. It's better than not planning the trip at all, and realizing afterwards that it would have been totally okay to go because they are 3 months behind your estimate.

[bcb 4]

On 11/19/2017 at 4:05 AM, Holt said:

Huh ?

(1) I would not travel during N400, especially the on the most likely interview will happen time frame.

Putting the 14 days travel and N400 on the scale.

 

(2) As a LPR, you are not allowed to (or at least advised not to) move to another State for "WORK" unless you want to play and mess around with US immigration law, or you don't want to live in the state anymore. You can choose get your job offer, but moving out may result a consequence, then don't blame the US for the strict on "Continuous and Physical" requirements. The choice is yours. No one can force you to do what you DON'T want to do. 

 

You gotta sacrifice one for a better outcome.

 

(3) As I said above, the choice is yours. Messing around with USCIS just for 2 weeks travel? Sorry, I don't want to pay a great price for something that not even matter here: traveling. If you told me, it was an emergency, then again, put the emergency and N400 on the scale, you would know what to do. 

 

 

 

(1) It is just not very likely that austex will receive an interview notice with a date that falls exactly during his/her planned holiday. If that happens, s/he can just fly back for it. Honestly, not a big deal in my mind. 

(2) I have no idea what you're saying here. My point was that short trips out of the country are a normal part of life for many LPRs, either for work or for leisure. You may not believe it, but there are many jobs that require international travel and yet wouldn't get the employee anywhere close to the physical presence or continuous residence thresholds. I would bet my 10+ trips out the country are in total less than most people's annual vacation home. 

(3) I'm not advising anyone to skirt the rules. I'm saying it's absolutely possible to book the trip as long as you don't find the uncertainty of the N-400 interview date crippling.

[Holt 73]

On 11/20/2017 at 11:50 AM, bcb said:

(1) It is just not very likely that austex will receive an interview notice with a date that falls exactly during his/her planned holiday. If that happens, s/he can just fly back for it. Honestly, not a big deal in my mind. 

(2) I have no idea what you're saying here. My point was that short trips out of the country are a normal part of life for many LPRs, either for work or for leisure. You may not believe it, but there are many jobs that require international travel and yet wouldn't get the employee anywhere close to the physical presence or continuous residence thresholds. I would bet my 10+ trips out the country are in total less than most people's annual vacation home. 

(3) I'm not advising anyone to skirt the rules. I'm saying it's absolutely possible to book the trip as long as you don't find the uncertainty of the N-400 interview date crippling.

Good luck. I don’t want to argue with nonsense points. 

[austex 42]

Thank you for your replies and arguments.  I have looked online and they are just processing September 2016 now.  I think I might be okay to schedule the vacation.  I just wanted to make sure that the online schedule was right. 

I would never skirt any rules, I have always done things right.

 

M.