100 days after the exam and counting.

[panssey 7]

23 minutes ago, Maleman said:

Hopefully, I am not confusing the process and/or questions here, but in our case, and please know that my wife filed her N400 online, she received the following update status showing she had been approved the day after her interview.  However, it states that the estimated wait times for “Ceremony Oath” is 3 months.  The verbiage was, “We approved your application! We will mail your letter when we schedule your naturalization ceremony.”   So, in summary, check your states online and check to see if you show approved or not.  If it shows you have been approved you might just be waiting for them to schedule your ceremony.  If you are not near a major city it could take up to 3 months to find a ceremony near you.

Hi Maleman!

I have great news for you. It may take longer than 3 months. Even near a major city. I live 20-30 minutes away from downtown Atlanta. My interview was on June 12. I still have not received my invitation to my naturalization ceremony. 

Oh and yes, I have been approved on the day of the interview. And also yes, I am checking my online status and guess what? It says "you have been approved. We will mail you a letter once you are scheduled" and blah blah blah. 

And even better after the interview my estimated completion time was 5 months, then it got to 3 month (supposedly in September 2019) and now my account does NOT show estimated completion time or estimated wait time.

And finally, I don't think that people waiting here for 120+ days already don't know to check their online status. 

[afrocraft 313]

On 10/27/2019 at 6:21 PM, gt1 said:

A response from UCSIS came in. It references my original web form inquiry, which didn't point that they were in violation of their policy, so it is nothing more than a buzz off letter. I don't know if they are going to respond to the letter I mailed. I'll call them again tomorrow.

From experience, it could take 2-3 weeks to get a response to your letter. I got a call within that time frame from the DC office. Best of luck.

[gt1 1]

Update.

I wrote to a congressman and received this in reply:

Quote

Upon review, it appears your case is still within normal processing times. As the USCIS manual you provided states, your only recourse under that section if they haven’t made a decision within 120 days is to “request judicial review…in district court.” Your case was filed on 6/1/2018, but they are only working on cases filed on or before 11/13/2017. Unfortunately, for congressional purposes, that means I’m unable to inquire about its status yet, though of course you are free to seek review in district court. If you haven’t heard or received anything after about 7 months (or whenever your case does fall outside of normal processing times according to https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/), please let me know and I’ll be happy to contact them at that time. I know this isn’t the response you were hoping for, but USCIS is clear about this policy.

Before sending the letter I asked an immigration attorney about the course of action. She told me to write to a congressman, and, if it fails to file a mandamus. The reply from the congressman's office tells me to do the same. I doubt that going to the district court worth it. I don't want to die on that hill.

[Wasa22 5]

On 10/12/2019 at 10:44 AM, afrocraft said:

Send the letter. Make sure it's certified mail. It only costs a few bucks, but it sends a signal. 

 

Every advise I've given is what I did personally. In fact, I was even more aggressive. First, I sent them a message every 2 weeks after my initial interview via the USCIS website (same message, copy & paste, with just the timelines changed). They responded by saying the Field Office would be notified. On Day 90 I sent them the letter. Certified mail. I also contacted my Congress rep, and began to prepare to file a lawsuit on Day 121. 2 weeks later I got a call from the USCIS officer. Case resolved.

 

The common error people make is to treat USCIS like a person. They're a bureaucracy, and they're swamped. If your case slips by for one reason or another, you could experience severe delays. It's not personal. You need to know the law/policy, and then force them to act when the law is on your side.

I think in my case it’s personal reason which cause delay .Officer was rude to me ask weird questions and make strange comments.( he also was from country  which my original country have a problems now) so when I left interview I knew 100% my case will be delayed.

[Wasa22 5]

On 11/19/2019 at 9:42 PM, gt1 said:

Update.

I wrote to a congressman and received this in reply:

Before sending the letter I asked an immigration attorney about the course of action. She told me to write to a congressman, and, if it fails to file a mandamus. The reply from the congressman's office tells me to do the same. I doubt that going to the district court worth it. I don't want to die on that hill.

Did u got any updates?

[gt1 1]

On 1/11/2020 at 6:58 PM, Wasa22 said:

Did u got any updates?

No updates. I don't think there is anything else I can do besides suing USCIS. The current processing time for our service center is 8 to 19 months, we are just 3 months short of reaching 19.

Edited January 13, 2020 by gt1

[gt1 1]

Another update.

I checked the center processing time in February, and it was down to 18 months. I immediately sent an inquiry. Today I received their answer stating that (drum roll...) the case was within the normal processing times! I went to check, and surely enough, the current range is from 7.5 to 23.5 months, and we will need to wait for another 2 months before the next inquiry.

I wish I could change the topic title, we are well over 200 days after the exam now.

[gt1 1]

Three days ago I received two email in a rapid succession:

1. We approved the petition pending review.

2. We completed the review and placed you in the oath queue.

I was beyond surprised. I assumed that USCIS offices were already closed and the petition would be further delayed.

Now that oath queue may be long, given the current circumstances.

 

Our center's processing times are gain 7 to 18 months. Go figure...

Edited March 21, 2020 by gt1

[xyz12345 260]

4 hours ago, gt1 said:

Three days ago I received two email in a rapid succession:

1. We approved the petition pending review.

2. We completed the review and placed you in the oath queue.

I was beyond surprised. I assumed that USCIS offices were already closed and the petition would be further delayed.

Now that oath queue may be long, given the current circumstances.

 

Our center's processing times are gain 7 to 18 months. Go figure...

Congratulations! They probably have more time to do those kinds of things because of canceled interviews etc. No need to worry about the oath ceremony in the mean time until they start scheduling them again.

[N400NYC 380]

5 hours ago, gt1 said:

Three days ago I received two email in a rapid succession:

1. We approved the petition pending review.

2. We completed the review and placed you in the oath queue.

I was beyond surprised. I assumed that USCIS offices were already closed and the petition would be further delayed.

Now that oath queue may be long, given the current circumstances.

 

Our center's processing times are gain 7 to 18 months. Go figure...

And now a pandemic to deal with!! But GREAT that this nightmare wait is finally drawing to a close.

[gt1 1]

18 hours ago, N400NYC said:

And now a pandemic to deal with!! But GREAT that this nightmare wait is finally drawing to a close.

Yes, now practically guaranteed to hit a 2 year filing and 1 year exam anniversaries!