N400 with pending i-751

[Sarasota 178]

Hey all

 

I am considering applying for citizenship when I am eligible next month. But my dilemma is I feel like my ROC is due for approval in maybe 3-4 months.

 

My questions are

 

1) If my ROC is on track to be approved in 3-4 months, would the N400 push this back?

 

2) Would I be on an extension letter until a possible combo interview, or would a 10 year green card arrive before this?

 

I am on the fence because I would like to have the physical green card, so am thinking about waiting a few months until I apply. But n400 is the end goal...

 

Thanks, any advice is appreciated!

[gregcrs2 1,778]

47 minutes ago, Sarasota said:

Hey all

 

I am considering applying for citizenship when I am eligible next month. But my dilemma is I feel like my ROC is due for approval in maybe 3-4 months.

 

My questions are

 

1) If my ROC is on track to be approved in 3-4 months, would the N400 push this back?

 

2) Would I be on an extension letter until a possible combo interview, or would a 10 year green card arrive before this?

 

I am on the fence because I would like to have the physical green card, so am thinking about waiting a few months until I apply. But n400 is the end goal...

 

Thanks, any advice is appreciated!

1.  Not based on our experience.  We applied for N400 on December 30 while ROC was pending.  Ended up having our ROC interview on January 9th and now have a 10 year green card.  

2.  You will get an extension letter until you have an interview and there is no guarantee it will be a combo interview, especially with the delays due to COVID-19.  Some people have gotten a 10 year green card before then.

 

Our goal is citizenship, therefore we applied while ROC was pending.  We didn't see any reason to wait.   Now waiting for Naturalization interview and expecting it to happen sometime this summer.   

[Sarasota 178]

12 minutes ago, gregcrs2 said:

1.  Not based on our experience.  We applied for N400 on December 30 while ROC was pending.  Ended up having our ROC interview on January 9th and now have a 10 year green card.  

2.  You will get an extension letter until you have an interview and there is no guarantee it will be a combo interview, especially with the delays due to COVID-19.  Some people have gotten a 10 year green card before then.

 

Our goal is citizenship, therefore we applied while ROC was pending.  We didn't see any reason to wait.   Now waiting for Naturalization interview and expecting it to happen sometime this summer.   

Thanks for the reply!

[xyz12345 260]

Tampa is pretty fast so if I were in your position, I would just apply. You can just ask them later on when you get the interview letter if this is going to be a joint interview if it comes to that point. One thing that you don't want to do is just show up for the interview without asking because they might just cancel it instead of having a joint one.

[Sarasota 178]

3 minutes ago, xyz12345 said:

Tampa is pretty fast so if I were in your position, I would just apply. You can just ask them later on when you get the interview letter if this is going to be a joint interview if it comes to that point. One thing that you don't want to do is just show up for the interview without asking because they might just cancel it instead of having a joint one.

Thank you!

[Fr8dog 312]

If your file is at the field office or actively being reviewed while you file the N400, it will delay things somewhat. N400 appears to have priority and they will pull your file to start that. If your file is waiting in the box for it's turn, it will speed up things as they will pull it and start reviewing the N400 before they started on the ROC.

After completing the initial N400 review your file will make its way to the field office where they often work both petitions at the same time (leading to the combo interview). 

[py6 43]

My personal story is yes. I applied for I-751 in Oct, 2017 and N400 in Oct 2018. I'm still waiting. I was scheduled for a combo interview this March but it was cancelled. My local office is Seattle. Many combo filers from Seattle are having the same issue. Recently they have been getting I-751 approved without a combo interview, after 2.5-3+ years since initial filing. People from Seattle who only applied for I-751 in 2017 were approved in 2018 and early 2019.

 

If you feel that your I-751 is going to be approved soon, wait for the approval and then apply for N400. There really is no need to risk it. But again other offices might be different.