N400 March 2020 Filers

[Tashas mom 6]

I had my N400 combined I-751 interview early this morning.  Initially I received a confirmation only for N400 and a reuse biometrics letter.  2 days ago I had a phone call 2 days ago advising my husband needed to be there too so they could adjudicate the I-751.

Really nice officer, made us feel very at ease.  Two questions on ROC - have you lived apart at anytime since your marriage and do you file joint taxes.  Then onto the N400 part, 6 questions from the given list.  

As the latest submitted tax returns were from 2017 I was asked to provide returns for 2018 & 2019 which I didn't have with me.  I was issued an RFE for these which I was able to submit within 20 minutes of leaving the interview.  By lunchtime everything had been approved and I'm now waiting for an oath ceremony date.  

[blessedbeyond 38]

2 hours ago, flipilychee820 said:

Ughhh... Talking to a live person on the phone. Do any of you have any advice how I can talk to a real person? My Green card will expire soon and I was advised by the live person I talked to in October to request for an appointment to extend my green card because I applied one year before it expires. She told me to call 30 days before it expires and it is so difficult to talk to a real person! I don't know what to do... with emma this is what I got 

I don't know what to do....I find this very annoying... I need advice...   

 

 

When you get through to the automated answering system and are asked how they can assist you, say: "Update my contact information OR technical assistance." Hope this helps. 

[ThaOne 101]

18 hours ago, flipilychee820 said:

Ughhh... Talking to a live person on the phone. Do any of you have any advice how I can talk to a real person? My Green card will expire soon and I was advised by the live person I talked to in October to request for an appointment to extend my green card because I applied one year before it expires. She told me to call 30 days before it expires and it is so difficult to talk to a real person! I don't know what to do... with emma this is what I got 

I don't know what to do....I find this very annoying... I need advice...   

 

 

I can't say definitively because of the possible ramifications, and I have heard both versions of this. But I will give you my own (lived) experience. They received my online application early February 2020. My GC was scheduled to expire mid May. So that's less than six months. So technically for 8 months I had no valid GC (but still an LPR though) That didn't seem to be an issue as I finally had my interview earlier this month. I handed my expired GC (and my expired passport). He gave it back after the interview. They will take it back at the oath ceremony next week. At no point in my process was it an issue. Now, that being said, I have found that with immigration a lot sometimes has to do with who you deal with, what field office, what officer... But I would think you should be okay if at least you file anytime before it expires. 

Edited January 29, 2021 by ThaOne

[flipilychee820 5]

17 hours ago, blessedbeyond said:

When you get through to the automated answering system and are asked how they can assist you, say: "Update my contact information OR technical assistance." Hope this helps. 

Thank you for the advice, I finally got through! After almost two hours of the automated saying, " I will end the call." lol. I think I tried redialing 20 times and I tried saying "infopass appointment". I finally got through! He gave me a reference number and told me that I would have to call back on Monday, but he did look up my account... and told me  that my 30 days starts on the weekend and that I would need to call on Monday because the system won't let him do anything until it is 30 days. lol I will try the things you said next time. lol

Edited January 29, 2021 by flipilychee820

[flipilychee820 5]

2 hours ago, ThaOne said:

I can't say definitively because of the possible ramifications, and I have heard both versions of this. But I will give you my own (lived) experience. They received my online application early February 2020. My GC was scheduled to expire mid May. So that's less than six months. So technically for 8 months I had no valid GC (but still an LPR though) That didn't seem to be an issue as I finally had my interview earlier this month. I handed my expired GC (and my expired passport). He gave it back after the interview. They will take it back at the oath ceremony next week. At no point in my process was it an issue. Now, that being said, I have found that with immigration a lot sometimes has to do with who you deal with, what field office, what officer... But I would think you should be okay if at least you file anytime before it expires. 

Interesting... That experience is actually very encouraging. Thank you for sharing your experience. So you got your citizenship already? How long did you wait and which location are you? Actually, I was already able to get through about after almost 2 hours of redialing and being on hold. The officer was able to put a reference number in my account and said I should call on Monday again because the system wont let him since it was still a little more than 30 days. He did tell me the same thing though, he said that once I call again and tell them my reference number, the next agent will actually just put in an Infopass request so I can go to the local office, just to have an extension on my card. Well, I also think you are correct that it might be different for every case. I called them last year three times and I got the same answer. So I guess, I went with what the officers/ agents told me to do... Do you think I should have just let it go?

[ThaOne 101]

21 minutes ago, flipilychee820 said:

Interesting... That experience is actually very encouraging. Thank you for sharing your experience. So you got your citizenship already? How long did you wait and which location are you? Actually, I was already able to get through about after almost 2 hours of redialing and being on hold. The officer was able to put a reference number in my account and said I should call on Monday again because the system wont let him since it was still a little more than 30 days. He did tell me the same thing though, he said that once I call again and tell them my reference number, the next agent will actually just put in an Infopass request so I can go to the local office, just to have an extension on my card. Well, I also think you are correct that it might be different for every case. I called them last year three times and I got the same answer. So I guess, I went with what the officers/ agents told me to do... Do you think I should have just let it go?

Well since you already called them there is no harm to continue. 

First of all I hope you know that if your GC expires that doesn't mean you are illegal, so don't freak out about that.

You are technically still supposed to renew it but if it expires you do not lose LPR status. Apply anytime for N400 when it is still valid even if it expires in 1 month. But while your application is pending you can still go to that infopass to get the extension on your card. The extension can be useful if you need to travel, need to go to the DMV or get some sort of ID, it would be necessary if you look for a new job, or maybe even your current employer "could" bother you, it could be necessary for a new lease or mortgage, bank account...

When you apply for N400 it can take 5 months to more than a year, and in unlucky cases even longer. Normal cases depending on where you are, are usually between 6 months and a year though but that nobody can tell you in advance.

I didn't bother with getting the extension as I knew it wouldn't be an issue with work and didn't think I would travel till the end of 2020 then COVID came so my work travels were scrapped anyway, and no fun travel planned for now. 

The point is, don't hold up your filing because you are waiting for the extension. File as soon as you want before the card expires, and once you get the extension, you can always scan it and add the scan to your case online even if you have already filed. There is an add relevant or any document link in your account online once they receive your filing.

One thing you definitely should avoid is waiting till it expires and you have no extension either and file. If it expires after you filed that should not be an issue. At least never was mentioned in my case and I have seen many post the same thing here: that it wasn't an issue for them.

[flipilychee820 5]

1 hour ago, ThaOne said:

Well since you already called them there is no harm to continue. 

First of all I hope you know that if your GC expires that doesn't mean you are illegal, so don't freak out about that.

You are technically still supposed to renew it but if it expires you do not lose LPR status. Apply anytime for N400 when it is still valid even if it expires in 1 month. But while your application is pending you can still go to that infopass to get the extension on your card. The extension can be useful if you need to travel, need to go to the DMV or get some sort of ID, it would be necessary if you look for a new job, or maybe even your current employer "could" bother you, it could be necessary for a new lease or mortgage, bank account...

When you apply for N400 it can take 5 months to more than a year, and in unlucky cases even longer. Normal cases depending on where you are, are usually between 6 months and a year though but that nobody can tell you in advance.

I didn't bother with getting the extension as I knew it wouldn't be an issue with work and didn't think I would travel till the end of 2020 then COVID came so my work travels were scrapped anyway, and no fun travel planned for now. 

The point is, don't hold up your filing because you are waiting for the extension. File as soon as you want before the card expires, and once you get the extension, you can always scan it and add the scan to your case online even if you have already filed. There is an add relevant or any document link in your account online once they receive your filing.

One thing you definitely should avoid is waiting till it expires and you have no extension either and file. If it expires after you filed that should not be an issue. At least never was mentioned in my case and I have seen many post the same thing here: that it wasn't an issue for them.

Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it.  Yes. I do know that even if my GC expires, I am still a Legal Permanent Resident. And that I do not lose my LPR status. I am well aware of that. I am not freaking about it though.  Like I said, I am just going by what was told to me by  the 3 officers/ agents I talked to the past few months. That was the answer I got when  I actually asked one officer a little  after I applied and Covid was just beginning to take its course and closures were happening here and there... It was easier to get a hold of a person back then, the automated message was not like how it is now. (What a difference a year makes). It is just so hard to get a hold of them nowadays. I also know the reasons you've stated above as to why a person might have the need to have an extension on their GC. And you are definitely right, the above reasons are pretty valid reasons to get an extension. I do have a reason though.   Every case  is different and I know that N400 might take from a few months to a year. It depends on the case, the location and it might be even the officer that oversees your case. But you have to admit, if Covid did not happen, it would have been faster, right? I just hope that my N400 application would progress soon. I have not seen any movement since I last received my biometrics reuse letter last December.  I want to know your opinion, as you seem very knowledgeable about this. Now let's say I go to the infopass, do you think this will put any consequences on my pending N400 application? Just curious on what your opinion is . Also, congratulations on getting your citizenship!  

[ThaOne 101]

On 1/29/2021 at 6:07 PM, flipilychee820 said:

Now let's say I go to the infopass, do you think this will put any consequences on my pending N400 application?

I have never done an extension to GC. I had my conditional in 2008 and the permanent in 2010. That's the one that expired last May 2020 right after I applied.

But, I don't see why that would slow down your case. On the contrary it could help it a bit (again, pure speculation). By extending the GC, it means somebody is enquiring or reviewing something about you somewhere. Maybe applications that may have ended up out of sight can end up in sight after an officer starts looking for something or asking questions about someone. You never know.

As for my first comment it was in response to one of your previous messages I read, which put me under the impression that you were told or decided to wait till you had the extension before you filed the n400. My point was, if the GC is expiring very soon but not yet expired, one should not delay the application of N400, as getting extensions in COVID days in certain offices can take a long time. But since you already filled your N400 then that's fine. ROC and such can delay an N400 application, obviously, but not an extension (IMHO).

[-Shana- 152]

Hey everyone, been since October since I've checked in. No changes on my case, but my estimated wait time is 19 days with a June 2021 completion estimate, no updates in the documents tab either.

 

Congratulations to everyone who has received their citizenship! 

 

On 1/4/2021 at 10:25 PM, Semii said:

Hey any atlanta filler get interview schedule?

I'm Atlanta, no interview yet!

[ptsad 7]

On 1/18/2021 at 8:45 AM, NotMoreForms said:

With Covid things seem to work differently.  Now they do not seem to do anything with Biometrics until your file has reached an "active" state.  You should check your myUSCIS documents tab from time to time as quite a few people have received biometrics reuse notifications there without any status change or other notification to suggest they should look.  Also look at the processing time estimates for your office, as that seems to be about the best information at the moment.

Thanks! Chicago seems to be moving slow.  Hoping to see some movement soon. 

[-Shana- 152]

Well the day after I check in on my case I get an email this morning to say my interview has been scheduled! No pdf upload yet so I don't know the date but I'm excited my case is moving forward. 

[-Shana- 152]

4 hours ago, -Shana- said:

Well the day after I check in on my case I get an email this morning to say my interview has been scheduled! No pdf upload yet so I don't know the date but I'm excited my case is moving forward. 

Got my pdf a few hours later, March 10th is my interview date.

[Ninahi 53]

I passed my interview and my Oath Ceremony is next week, February 9th. I still can't believe it's (nearly) over! 

 

Good luck to everyone still waiting. To anyone who hasn't gotten biometrics or biometrics re-use notification, I recommend contacting USCIS via the Inbox function in the online portal. It seemed to help mine along. 

[QueenofSwords 29]

Hi all, I'm a March 23 applicant. As you may know I was stuck in biometrics limbo until miraculously, I got re-use on Dec 10th. On Dec 14th, I got an interview notice for Jan 13th. 

I got approved at my interview and my status immediately updated to in line for oath.

I was gearing for a long wait. But today Lawfully updated to oath letter mailed. I don't yet see the date but I do see that the interview letter has been mailed. 

 

So: moral of the story is this: for me, bio was the bottleneck. 

 

I'm based in KCMO. 

 

good luck to all prepping for the oath. 

[Raul9 1]

I'm a June filer (Queens, NY). Estimated completion time for my case is set to next month and I still didn't hear anything back since initial notice. Any New Yorkers here who have interviews scheduled for this or next month? If that date which is showing online is at least approximately correct, there should be some March filers from NYC already getting their interview appointments.