N-400 and I-751 Combo Pending -- Part 2

[aragornath 11]

Hey everyone,

I just received my interview date (Brooklyn office, NOA Feb 2020), and panicking a bit. 

In the letter it says if you have applied based on the 3 year US citizen rule, you should bring: 

• Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.

but my spouse has lost her naturalization, I thought it's fine since this link: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/M-477.pdf says that they can bring their passport.

What are your experiences? did they ask for naturalization? would we be fine if we just take her passport?

Would really appreciate your help!

[VeronicaL 18]

4 hours ago, VeronicaL said:

So my interview is this afternoon in Louisville, KY and I had been wondering if it would be combo interview. Then this morning I got a notification that my interview for the I-751 was scheduled. Then they actually called me if y’all can believe it!! To tell me it would be both interviews today and to bring my husband. Oath will be within 30 days. I’ll update after my appointment. 

Louisville, KY experience
The interview went very smoothly. They first interviewed my husband and me, basic questions from the application and where we met, when and where we got married. We had so much evidence for our relationship the officer didn’t even wanna see it all. He said he would approve the ROC right away. 
Then he escorted my husband outside and started with the civics questions. I answered all 6 questions correctly, so he moved on to the reading and writing part and then the questions from the application. Since I am changing my name, I had to sign a document about that and just confirm everything again. I asked for the oath of allegiance to be amended to leave out the last part, no problem. He said he’d recommend me for approval and that I’d get my path appointment in the mail. I’m so stoked!

[marthasofi 7]

On 1/30/2020 at 8:12 AM, Emma Huang said:

Updated complete timeline (Portland,OR)

I-751

8/27/2018 Sent out application

9/24/2018 Cashed in Chicago

10/30/2018 Received NOA (18 mo extension) case number WAC, California Service Center

3/26/2019 Biometrics

6/11/2019 Case transferred to Potomac

1/16/2020 Combo interview

1/16/2020 Case transferred to local office

1/17/2020 Case transferred to new office with jurisdiction (NBC)

1/27/2020 Application is approved

                    Received in mail indicating they won’t send out the card as naturalization is approved

N-400

9/22/2019 File N-400 online

10/17/2019 Biometrics

12/12/2019 Received Interview notice in mail (It never shows up in USCIS system btw)

The notice indicates it will be a combo interview & I MUST bring my spouse

1/16/2020 Interview@ 8:30am Recommend approve both I751 and N-400 on site

1/24/2020 You attend your interview

1/24/2020 Application is approved

1/28/2020 USCIS We scheduled your oath ceremony

2/14/2020 Oath ceremony

 

 

 

 

Hello Emma! About to go through same interview. Just wanted to make sure what is a "combo interview". If I look up my I-751 (ROC) online it shows "We Scheduled Your Interview" and if I look up my N-400 status online it shows the same "We Scheduled Your Interview", both for the same date... I got the Interview Notice on the mail, but it was only for the naturalization interview, nothing for the I-751. At this point, I'm confused and don't know what to expect. If you could please advise, I would appreciate a ton!!

[Emma Huang 9]

5 hours ago, marthasofi said:

 

Hello Emma! About to go through same interview. Just wanted to make sure what is a "combo interview". If I look up my I-751 (ROC) online it shows "We Scheduled Your Interview" and if I look up my N-400 status online it shows the same "We Scheduled Your Interview", both for the same date... I got the Interview Notice on the mail, but it was only for the naturalization interview, nothing for the I-751. At this point, I'm confused and don't know what to expect. If you could please advise, I would appreciate a ton!!

Hey combo as they will approve your I-751 and N-400 at once, so you should study the 100 questions and make sure to bring your spouse with you for the interview, good luck!

 

[DannyAdelante 6]

On 3/8/2021 at 8:51 AM, UKUSA said:

Just got out. They only interviewed me and approved i-751 and N-400. They didn't want to speak to my wife. The security guards did give me hassle about bringing my wife in but I took the above notice out with the "bring your spouse" highlighted and they let her in. Would recommend anyone in the same situation do the same just incase. 

 

Relieved to be at the end of the road, good luck to everyone. 

You got a combo?! The exact same office told me they had "never heard of that being done before" in November when I had my N-400.  Four months later, and I'm still in limbo.

[UKUSA 17]

9 hours ago, DannyAdelante said:

You got a combo?! The exact same office told me they had "never heard of that being done before" in November when I had my N-400.  Four months later, and I'm still in limbo.

It was more of a waived i-751 interview but yeah, I think you got the short straw, the office definitely know what it is. Every step of this process has been a headache for me, my i-751 took 27 months. 

 

I hope you get it sorted soon. I was emailing and calling my senator before but they never got back to me. Have you tried that? Maybe call the USCIS Ombudsman as well.

 

 

[Greatdane11 12]

Hello everyone, I filed my ROC in June 2019 and it’s still pending, I filed my N400 in December 2020, I didn’t receive an RFE but thinking of adding more documents like our car note worth and this year’s tax return in this column “unsolicited info”, has anyone ever tried this and got a result after , is this beneficial in Anyway, would it help expedite my case?

secondly, I wasn’t called for fingerprint for my N400 , a reuse notification was sent to me ( this means I didn’t get to receive the citizenship booklet that ought to be handed to me when I go in for my fingerprint ), how can I get a copy of the Q and A booklet for citizenship interview ?

 

Thanks to you all as we all stay positive

[VeronicaL 18]

3 hours ago, Greatdane11 said:

Hello everyone, I filed my ROC in June 2019 and it’s still pending, I filed my N400 in December 2020, I didn’t receive an RFE but thinking of adding more documents like our car note worth and this year’s tax return in this column “unsolicited info”, has anyone ever tried this and got a result after , is this beneficial in Anyway, would it help expedite my case?

secondly, I wasn’t called for fingerprint for my N400 , a reuse notification was sent to me ( this means I didn’t get to receive the citizenship booklet that ought to be handed to me when I go in for my fingerprint ), how can I get a copy of the Q and A booklet for citizenship interview ?

 

Thanks to you all as we all stay positive

No advice on the unsolicited information but you can download the questions for the test as a pdf on the USCIS website. I just printed them off and later made index cards. Just make sure you pay attention to the correct version of the test for you since you applied after 12/01/2020. 

[Greatdane11 12]

11 minutes ago, VeronicaL said:

No advice on the unsolicited information but you can download the questions for the test as a pdf on the USCIS website. I just printed them off and later made index cards. Just make sure you pay attention to the correct version of the test for you since you applied after 12/01/2020. 

Thanks a lot for the information

[aragornath 11]

On 3/8/2021 at 2:51 PM, UKUSA said:

Just got out. They only interviewed me and approved i-751 and N-400. They didn't want to speak to my wife. The security guards did give me hassle about bringing my wife in but I took the above notice out with the "bring your spouse" highlighted and they let her in. Would recommend anyone in the same situation do the same just incase. 

 

Relieved to be at the end of the road, good luck to everyone. 

Hey congrats!

Quick question, were you asked for your wife's naturalization or birth certificate?

[bing10 114]

On 3/4/2021 at 11:54 AM, DannyAdelante said:

Can't really offer advice, but I am in similar situation.  But with mine, my interviewer, or someone, clearly escalated my I-751 case, as it was approved the day after my interview.  But that was over four months ago, and I have still heard nothing about my naturalization, and I am convinced my application is caught up in some sort of glitch in their system.

 

Is 2.5 years really in their normal processing times? I filed in October 2018, and I think they said 19.5 months was my normal processing time. Once that time passed, they said that it had been consolidated into my N-400 application, but when I turned up for my interview, the interviewer said she didn't know anything about that.

 

@DannyAdelante your case is very similar to mine. Interviewed for N-400, marked as decision not made, I-751 approved a few weeks later, and then nothing since. I've now been waiting over 13 months since the interview.

 

I wonder if there is some sort of glitch in the system that happens when a pending I-751 is involved? I also notice there's an unusually high number of New York cases in this thread.

 

[Redwhiteblue2021 2]

4 minutes ago, bing10 said:

 

@DannyAdelante your case is very similar to mine. Interviewed for N-400, marked as decision not made, I-751 approved a few weeks later, and then nothing since. I've now been waiting over 13 months since the interview.

 

I wonder if there is some sort of glitch in the system that happens when a pending I-751 is involved? I also notice there's an unusually high number of New York cases in this thread.

 

I'm also from New York. My I-751 is still pending after I took the N-400 interview on January.

[bing10 114]

18 minutes ago, Redwhiteblue2021 said:

I'm also from New York. My I-751 is still pending after I took the N-400 interview on January.

Which field office in NY? Mine was through the Brooklyn one.

 

I also notice that Brooklyn now has the longest wait times in the country as per the latest updated times.

[Redwhiteblue2021 2]

Just now, bing10 said:

Which field office in NY? Mine was through the Brooklyn one.

 

I also notice that Brooklyn now has the longest wait times in the country as per the latest updated times.

Manhattan

[Mike E 11,739]

On 3/10/2021 at 10:20 AM, aragornath said:

Hey everyone,

I just received my interview date (Brooklyn office, NOA Feb 2020), and panicking a bit. 

In the letter it says if you have applied based on the 3 year US citizen rule, you should bring: 

• Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.

but my spouse has lost her naturalization, I thought it's fine since this link: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/M-477.pdf says that they can bring their passport.

What are your experiences? did they ask for naturalization? would we be fine if we just take her passport?

Would really appreciate your help!

For my wife's AoS interview, I was specifically asked for my naturalization certificate. I presume it would have delayed the process had I not brought it. 

I'd attend the interview, bring her passport, and if you have one, a photo copy of the naturalization cert. Worst case, you will get an RFE. Granted it would be a nasty worse case given how long it can take to replace a naturalization certificate.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Mike E