Should I move before or after NOA on N-400 filing?

[2bmc 0]

I am planning to move states within the next month and am just about to file my n-400 in the coming days. How should I be timing my move so that the process is not negatively affected and so that I can have the interview in my new state? Should I be waiting for the NOA, which seems to take about 4-6 weeks right now, or am I free to go as soon as it has accepted according to mail tracking? Thank you.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Move.  Wait 3 months, then file the N-400.

[HRQX 4,145]

9 minutes ago, 2bmc said:

as soon as it has accepted according to mail tracking?

Have you considered online filing? If you mail it, the lockbox is currently delayed: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-lockbox-updates "As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, an increase in filings, current postal service volume and other external factors, you may experience a delay of four to six weeks in receiving your receipt notice after properly filing an application or petition with a USCIS lockbox. These delays will not affect the receipt date which is determined pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 103.2(a)(7). Delays may vary among form types and lockbox locations."

[2bmc 0]

21 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Move.  Wait 3 months, then file the N-400.

Thanks for the advice. What is your rationale behind this? That the USCIS might misplace and cause delays? Or that my N-400 will be denied? I am working with a lawyer so they should get all mail and notices.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

39 minutes ago, 2bmc said:

Thanks for the advice. What is your rationale behind this? That the USCIS might misplace and cause delays? Or that my N-400 will be denied? I am working with a lawyer so they should get all mail and notices.

One of the N400 eligibility requirements is that you must have lived in the USCIS district that you file to for at least 3 months. So if you file in District A but then move to District B, your N400 will be sent to District A's field office and it'll be rightfully denied. If you move to District B and then file to District B's field office after only having lived in District B for a month, District B's field office will rightfully deny your N400.

 

Move, wait 3 months and then file.

Edited February 24, 2021 by mushroomspore

[Talako 790]

37 minutes ago, 2bmc said:

Thanks for the advice. What is your rationale behind this? That the USCIS might misplace and cause delays? Or that my N-400 will be denied? I am working with a lawyer so they should get all mail and notices.

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-6

 

Quote

A. Three-Month Residency Requirement (in State or Service District)

In general, an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing. 

The term “state” includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). ^[1] The term “service district” is defined as the geographical area over which a USCIS office has jurisdiction. ^[2] 

The service district that has jurisdiction over an applicant’s application may or may not be located within the state where the applicant resides. In addition, some service districts may have jurisdiction over more than one state and most states contain more than one USCIS office.

In cases where an applicant changes or plans to change his or her residence after filing the naturalization application, the applicant is required to report the change of address to USCIS so that the applicant’s A-file (with application) can be transferred to the appropriate office having jurisdiction over the applicant’s new place of residence.

 

[HRQX 4,145]

1 minute ago, mushroomspore said:

One of the N400 eligibility requirements is that you must have lived in the USCIS district that you file to for at least 3 months. 

Thus can file (*online recommended) and then move and file a COA: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-6 "In cases where an applicant changes or plans to change his or her residence after filing the naturalization application, the applicant is required to report the change of address to USCIS so that the applicant’s A-file (with application) can be transferred to the appropriate office having jurisdiction over the applicant’s new place of residence."

[2bmc 0]

1 minute ago, HRQX said:

Thus can file (*online recommended) and then move and file a COA: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-6 "In cases where an applicant changes or plans to change his or her residence after filing the naturalization application, the applicant is required to report the change of address to USCIS so that the applicant’s A-file (with application) can be transferred to the appropriate office having jurisdiction over the applicant’s new place of residence."

Thanks, yes, that is the impression I've gotten overall, that I am eligible to file in the state I'm living now having lived here for years, and then move.

 

I suppose it's all about the definition of what makes the application "filed". Is it upon the NOA, or is it upon the application simply being postmarked as arrived at the USCIS office, or something else?

[aaron2020 11,651]

42 minutes ago, 2bmc said:

Thanks for the advice. What is your rationale behind this? That the USCIS might misplace and cause delays? Or that my N-400 will be denied? I am working with a lawyer so they should get all mail and notices.

You would have to change your address and ask for your file to be transfer to the new district.  That is going to take time since transferring between government offices is never efficient.  It's another layer of bureaucracy which can be avoided.   

[retheem 568]

15 hours ago, 2bmc said:

Thanks for the advice. What is your rationale behind this? That the USCIS might misplace and cause delays? Or that my N-400 will be denied? I am working with a lawyer so they should get all mail and notices.

Why would you need a lawyer to file the N400?

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

17 hours ago, mushroomspore said:

One of the N400 eligibility requirements is that you must have lived in the USCIS district that you file to for at least 3 months. So if you file in District A but then move to District B, your N400 will be sent to District A's field office and it'll be rightfully denied. If you move to District B and then file to District B's field office after only having lived in District B for a month, District B's field office will rightfully deny your N400.

 

Move, wait 3 months and then file.

The first part is not correct, if OP has lived in district A more than 3 months they can file there, then they will need to file a change of address after they move and the file will be moved to the appropriate field office. No problem with doing it that way.

[millefleur 5,047]

17 hours ago, mushroomspore said:

One of the N400 eligibility requirements is that you must have lived in the USCIS district that you file to for at least 3 months. So if you file in District A but then move to District B, your N400 will be sent to District A's field office and it'll be rightfully denied.

As @SusieQQQ mentioned, this is wrong. My husband filed online in the state we had been living in for many years, then after 1 month we moved to a new state, he submitted the AR-11 address change form and got a notice online that his case was being transferred to the new field office. About 2 weeks later he saw a status that the AR-11 had been processed and the address change was complete. We had no issues at all with this. The only slightly annoying part is that USCIS did not update us as to whether or not the case had actually been transferred or not to the new field office. The status said "We're transferring your case..." and then it just disappeared. He ended up calling USCIS and they confirmed that the case had been transferred and was now at the new field office. The case ended up delayed because of Covid, but not because of the move. It's only when you move to a new state first and then immediately file without waiting the 90 days that it will get rejected.

 

17 hours ago, 2bmc said:

Thanks, yes, that is the impression I've gotten overall, that I am eligible to file in the state I'm living now having lived here for years, and then move.

 

I suppose it's all about the definition of what makes the application "filed". Is it upon the NOA, or is it upon the application simply being postmarked as arrived at the USCIS office, or something else?

I think the term of "filed" is a bit open to interpretation here on VJ, but from my understanding, it's the day you physically mail it or the day you apply online. If you apply online, you will get NOA1 almost immediately, within 24 hours (in our case.) From USCIS's standpoint though, it's probably not considered "filed" until they sent you NOA1 as that means it has been "filed" into their system officially as of that day. That's the date USCIS will use as the "starting point" so officially, I would go with that as the official filed date.

Edited February 24, 2021 by millefleur

[mushroomspore 3,044]

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

As @SusieQQQ mentioned, this is wrong. My husband filed online in the state we had been living in for many years, then after 1 month we moved to a new state, he submitted the AR-11 address change form and got a notice that his case was being transferred to the new field office. About 2 weeks later he saw a status that the AR-11 had been processed and the address change was complete. We had no issues at all with this. The only slightly annoying part is that USCIS did not update us as to whether or not the case had actually been transferred or not to the new field office. The status said "We're transferring your case..." and then it just disappeared. He ended up calling USCIS and they confirmed that the case had been transferred and was now at the new field office. The case ended up delayed because of Covid, but not because of the move. It's only when you move to a new state first and then immediately file without waiting the 90 days that it will get rejected.

 

I think the term of "filed" is a bit open to interpretation, but from my understanding, it's the day you physically mail it or the day you apply online. If you apply online, you will get NOA1 almost immediately, within 24 hours (in our case.) From USCIS's standpoint though, it's probably not considered "filed" until they sent you NOA1 as that means it has been "filed" into their system officially as of that day. That's the date USCIS will use as the "starting point" so officially, I would go with that.

Okay thanks, that actually makes me feel better because my husband and I might move and I'm just so worried about them messing up the address change. I've heard some horror stories about that!

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

1 minute ago, mushroomspore said:

Okay thanks, that actually makes me feel better because my husband and I might move and I'm just so worried about them messing up the address change. I've heard some horror stories about that!

Have heard a couple of those stories too but I think it’s pretty rare that it happens. Like millefleur says you can also call the FO to ensure the case has been transferred.

[millefleur 5,047]

1 minute ago, mushroomspore said:

Okay thanks, that actually makes me feel better because my husband and I might move and I'm just so worried about them messing up the address change. I've heard some horror stories about that!

The address change has gotten a lot better it seems. We've moved addresses couple times during our immigration journey, and the first time we moved some years ago the AR-11 website was down/buggy so we had to physically file it via mail, which was very annoying. Then we had to call and double check that it got processed as they did not follow up or give any status updates on it. However, last time when we moved, the AR-11 website was working and it was painless and easy! If you use the "old site" (https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/displayLogon.do) that is where you can check for all the AR-11 status updates. For some weird reason, it doesn't show up on the "new site" (myusics.)