November 2022 I-751 Filers

[Cornflake 108]

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well. It's been a while since there was any movement on my case, so I'm excited to share that it's finally starting to move.

 

**N-400 Application for Naturalization**
- Submitted on November 10, 2023.
- Biometric appointment was scheduled on November 11, 2023.
- Interview for naturalization was scheduled on February 14, 2024.
- Received the mail on February 20, 2024.
- Interview is scheduled for April 5, 2024.
- Received a mail titled "Request for petitioner to appear for initial interview" for the petition to remove conditions on residence on February 23, with the notice dated February 17, 2023. The interview is scheduled for the same date/time as the Interview for naturalization.

 

I'm currently in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Good luck to everyone!!!

 

 

[Meg101 316]

On 2/25/2024 at 2:28 PM, Cornflake said:

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well. It's been a while since there was any movement on my case, so I'm excited to share that it's finally starting to move.

 

**N-400 Application for Naturalization**
- Submitted on November 10, 2023.
- Biometric appointment was scheduled on November 11, 2023.
- Interview for naturalization was scheduled on February 14, 2024.
- Received the mail on February 20, 2024.
- Interview is scheduled for April 5, 2024.
- Received a mail titled "Request for petitioner to appear for initial interview" for the petition to remove conditions on residence on February 23, with the notice dated February 17, 2023. The interview is scheduled for the same date/time as the Interview for naturalization.

 

I'm currently in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Good luck to everyone!!!

 

 

It’s worth keeping an eye on your online USCIS account!!  I had a combo interview come through in the mail for the same day and time as the naturalisation interview and then out of the blue it was waived for unknown reasons.  I didn’t realise I had been approved for I751 until the greencard showed up in the mail! 
 

Good luck to you! 😊

[Cornflake 108]

On 3/2/2024 at 7:11 PM, Meg101 said:

It’s worth keeping an eye on your online USCIS account!!  I had a combo interview come through in the mail for the same day and time as the naturalisation interview and then out of the blue it was waived for unknown reasons.  I didn’t realise I had been approved for I751 until the greencard showed up in the mail! 
 

Good luck to you! 😊

Thank you!

I just checked my USCIS account regarding the I-751, and it doesn't even indicate "interview scheduled" or anything of that nature, despite the fact that I received an interview schedule in the mail. The latest status is "February 8, 2023: Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken."

 

Edited March 5 by Cornflake

[OldUser 6,920]

14 minutes ago, Cornflake said:

Thank you!

I just checked my USCIS account regarding the I-751, and it doesn't even indicate "interview scheduled" or anything of that nature, despite the fact that I received an interview schedule in the mail. The latest status is "February 8, 2023: Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken."

 

Yes this also happens, unfortunately.

It's painful for some those who move while I-751 is pending, as they get denied without knowledge. USPS Informed delivery is also a must

[Meg101 316]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:00 AM, OldUser said:

Yes this also happens, unfortunately.

It's painful for some those who move while I-751 is pending, as they get denied without knowledge. USPS Informed delivery is also a must

Informed delivery isn’t available at all postcodes unfortunately. I wanted to set this up as we were due to move during the process but it’s not available in this area (I live in a city not somewhere rural 🤷🏽‍♀️) so ended up listing my attorneys office as my mailing address. 
 

I did however get a notification on my USCIS account saying my ceremony has been scheduled without anything appearing in the mail and the app isn’t updated.
 

So just a PSA to everyone to check all bases as you may have news waiting for you. 😊

[Davron 13]

Update on my wife's case, so we filed for N-400 on December 2023 while I-751 pending as Cse Received (491 days). Biometrics appointment got scheduled in few days, and followed by citizenship interview for February 2024. From what I've read on other forum topics, people mentioned they got combined interview notice for pending I-751 and new N-400. In our case it was not, it only mentioned about my wife and the interview date. So I thought we kind of got a waiver of some sorts so they will skip the I-751 interview. Fast-forward to February Citizenchip interview. I was just planning to drop her off because of the covid rules, they were not allowing other than applicant to be in the waiting room. When we got there those covid restrictions were already lifted so I decided to go inside and wait. I'm glad that I did that, few minutes later USCIS officer came out and called my wife and after he has seen me nxt to her he asked me to go in first. Then officer said that reason I'm being asked for an interview is that we have I-751 pending and we'll go through combined interview I-751 and N-400. 

 

I-751 interview was pretty quick like 2 minutes ish. He asked about how we met and how we have been living together, adding that he has no issues and said will not ask much. Same happened when my wife got called, she mentioned 2-3 questions about us and sign a paper for her answers, again taking 2-3 minutes. 

 

N-400 interview was a breeze with English and Civics questions followed by questions about the application itself. The odd part is that officer said that she passed the Citizneship Interview and congratulated her, but he checked the box where decision cannot be made at this time. I assumed it was due to I-751 needed to be actioned before the oath ceremony.

 

So now we are stuck, no oath ceremony has been scheduled or any movement on I-751. Some similar posts that I found that it is taking up to 2 month to close up the I-751 and oath ceremeny to be scheduled. So I will give them another month and see what happens if not will try to get on a phone cal with the USCIS

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

I hope you'll get an answer soon @Davron. That's such a weird limbo situation, but fingers crossed it all comes to an end soon 🙂

 

No news here. I've seen a couple approvals around my case number, but I guess they're also N400 filers since its still about a year of processing time for my service center. Im anxiously waiting for Germany to finalize the passed law about dual citizenship so that I can start the citizenship application. Waiting, waiting, waiting... 😅

[Sweetdreaming 397]

I have a theory that some officers are not authorized to sign off and give the final approval, they can take the interview,  gather the facts but then a superior has to sign off on it. This kinda stuff happened at the AOS stage too where applicants seemed to have great interviews but were left with their cases remaining pending where others got approved at the interview itself, so luck of the draw if your interviewer has the necessary credentials. 

 

So if correct, hopefully its just a case of waiting for the official procedures to kick in.

[Davron 13]

2 hours ago, Sweetdreaming said:

I have a theory that some officers are not authorized to sign off and give the final approval, they can take the interview,  gather the facts but then a superior has to sign off on it. This kinda stuff happened at the AOS stage too where applicants seemed to have great interviews but were left with their cases remaining pending where others got approved at the interview itself, so luck of the draw if your interviewer has the necessary credentials. 

 

So if correct, hopefully its just a case of waiting for the official procedures to kick in.

I think that was the case, N-400 case changed to Oath Ceremony will be scheduled yesterday. So I think that would be a finishline for us. Good luck everyone who is waiting and thank you for all responses and sharing.

[PeloJohn 8]

Hi guys, 

 

Second post here. So, in February my N400 interview got scheduled for March 25th (I have a I751 pending since Nov 2022). On the day of the interview, I went with my wife and a plethora of evidence, such as life insurance policy showing her as the beneficiary, bank statements, bills, travel plans, etc. When I got called in, I told the IO that my wife was there with me because we have a pending ROC and we'd like for it to be adjudicated. She explained that the interview would only be for the N400 and that she (my wife) won't be needed. She then took me to her office and told me to get comfortable as we were just going to have a "quick and nice conversation". 

 

She started by asking me for our 2023 taxes and if we had filed them, to which I answered no. She later asked when we plan on file and I said that on Tax Day, as we have done in the past years. She then said that she will need those taxes with the transcript before she can move forward with the case, to which I said ok, no problem (not like we had any other option, haha). Then she asked me several questions about my wife, her job, our life together, bills, how she got to the US 20+ years ago, you name it. It really felt more like a I751 interview rather than a N400 one. It's worth mentioning that even though these questions were being asked, she was extremely respectful and dare I say cool. We then spent over 10 minutes talking just about immigrants from my home country and she was amazed about my English skills (first time hearing that, for sure). Then she was telling me about her life and plenty of other stuff, amazing IO I have to admit. 

 

Then the N400 questions started and there were only three: How many representatives in the House of Representatives, What does the Cabinet do and Why are there 50 stars in the flag, all of them I answered them correctly and then we went through the security questions. 

 

She then was telling me how for the oath ceremony I need to bring the GC and Work Permit, etc and then asked me if I had any questions, to which I said yes and I just wanted to inquire about if we were going to get an RFE to send in the taxes. She said that she was very satisfied with the interview and that she believes I should be approved but since we had a pending I751 which wasn't assigned to her, she would need supervisor authorization in order to move forward. She later stepped out of the office to speak to said supervisor and after 5-8 minutes she came back and told me that she had given her supervisor a justification on why she believes my case should be approved but that ultimately that was someone else's decision. She then gave me the paper saying I passed the exam but no decision could be made at the time and later she walked me out to find my wife. During those few minutes walking back to the waiting area we were even talking about how different the offices were when compared to the pandemic times. 

 

Well, two hours later I received a notification that an RFE for Initial Evidence was sent to me. Not going to lie, this kind of pissed me off but it is what it is. It stated that we needed to send proof that by the time the N400 was filed, me and my wife had been in marital union for at least 3 years. Then, My wife and I immediately proceeded to file our taxes for this year as they were ready on TurboTax, we just didn't file them before (something we've come to regret). I thought about holding on to that and wait 21 days for the transcript to be available on the IRS website but the actual letter I received online did not mention said transcript and we didn't want to wait all that time to upload it, further delaying the process. So we decided to upload the 2023 tax return, and the 2020, 2021 and 2022 taxes with their transcripts (which is weird because I had already attached that to the initial submission of the N400 form), alongside employment verification letters from both of our jobs saying that we're each other's emergency contact, my life insurance policy that I mentioned before and our W2s from last year. That was on Monday, 6 hours after receiving the RFE and now the webpage says that they're working on the case again. 

 

Well, that was pretty much it guys. Feel free to tell me what you think about it and let's hope that USCIS doesn't take that long to review the files.

 

All of this happened in the NYC Field Office. 

[OldUser 6,920]

55 minutes ago, PeloJohn said:

Hi guys, 

 

Second post here. So, in February my N400 interview got scheduled for March 25th (I have a I751 pending since Nov 2022). On the day of the interview, I went with my wife and a plethora of evidence, such as life insurance policy showing her as the beneficiary, bank statements, bills, travel plans, etc. When I got called in, I told the IO that my wife was there with me because we have a pending ROC and we'd like for it to be adjudicated. She explained that the interview would only be for the N400 and that she (my wife) won't be needed. She then took me to her office and told me to get comfortable as we were just going to have a "quick and nice conversation". 

 

She started by asking me for our 2023 taxes and if we had filed them, to which I answered no. She later asked when we plan on file and I said that on Tax Day, as we have done in the past years. She then said that she will need those taxes with the transcript before she can move forward with the case, to which I said ok, no problem (not like we had any other option, haha). Then she asked me several questions about my wife, her job, our life together, bills, how she got to the US 20+ years ago, you name it. It really felt more like a I751 interview rather than a N400 one. It's worth mentioning that even though these questions were being asked, she was extremely respectful and dare I say cool. We then spent over 10 minutes talking just about immigrants from my home country and she was amazed about my English skills (first time hearing that, for sure). Then she was telling me about her life and plenty of other stuff, amazing IO I have to admit. 

 

Then the N400 questions started and there were only three: How many representatives in the House of Representatives, What does the Cabinet do and Why are there 50 stars in the flag, all of them I answered them correctly and then we went through the security questions. 

 

She then was telling me how for the oath ceremony I need to bring the GC and Work Permit, etc and then asked me if I had any questions, to which I said yes and I just wanted to inquire about if we were going to get an RFE to send in the taxes. She said that she was very satisfied with the interview and that she believes I should be approved but since we had a pending I751 which wasn't assigned to her, she would need supervisor authorization in order to move forward. She later stepped out of the office to speak to said supervisor and after 5-8 minutes she came back and told me that she had given her supervisor a justification on why she believes my case should be approved but that ultimately that was someone else's decision. She then gave me the paper saying I passed the exam but no decision could be made at the time and later she walked me out to find my wife. During those few minutes walking back to the waiting area we were even talking about how different the offices were when compared to the pandemic times. 

 

Well, two hours later I received a notification that an RFE for Initial Evidence was sent to me. Not going to lie, this kind of pissed me off but it is what it is. It stated that we needed to send proof that by the time the N400 was filed, me and my wife had been in marital union for at least 3 years. Then, My wife and I immediately proceeded to file our taxes for this year as they were ready on TurboTax, we just didn't file them before (something we've come to regret). I thought about holding on to that and wait 21 days for the transcript to be available on the IRS website but the actual letter I received online did not mention said transcript and we didn't want to wait all that time to upload it, further delaying the process. So we decided to upload the 2023 tax return, and the 2020, 2021 and 2022 taxes with their transcripts (which is weird because I had already attached that to the initial submission of the N400 form), alongside employment verification letters from both of our jobs saying that we're each other's emergency contact, my life insurance policy that I mentioned before and our W2s from last year. That was on Monday, 6 hours after receiving the RFE and now the webpage says that they're working on the case again. 

 

Well, that was pretty much it guys. Feel free to tell me what you think about it and let's hope that USCIS doesn't take that long to review the files.

 

All of this happened in the NYC Field Office. 

Thanks for detailed experience. How much evidence of bonafide marriage did you submit with N-400?

[PeloJohn 8]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

Thanks for detailed experience. How much evidence of bonafide marriage did you submit with N-400?

Marriage Certificate

Tax Returns with Transcripts (2020, 2021, 2022)

[OldUser 6,920]

21 minutes ago, PeloJohn said:

Marriage Certificate

Tax Returns with Transcripts (2020, 2021, 2022)

Perhaps lease with both names, bank statements with both names etc would have helped to avoid RFE

[PeloJohn 8]

6 hours ago, OldUser said:

Perhaps lease with both names, bank statements with both names etc would have helped to avoid RFE

Absolutely. I just didn’t think that type of evidence would have been necessary because of the pending I751, therefore I didn’t submit it and decided to just take it in person to the interview. Guess I was wrong!

[jackiegringa 419]

23 hours ago, PeloJohn said:

Well, two hours later I received a notification that an RFE for Initial Evidence was sent to me.

Yeah that's bs. You had all past three returns as expected, it's not April 15, there is no reason for it to be the one piece of evidence that will approve or not your application.

 

Someone just needed to feel important, it will delay but it won't stop you, it's the home stretch! Good luck