I-751 question

[CaseyBorne88 21]

Hi all. I am sorry if I am contributing to an abundance of redundancy on these forums, but I have forgotten almost everything about these processes since I last attended to it 😄 

 

Me and my wife filed our I-751 on 07/01/2021 and received a notice on 11/08/2021 informing us that her status was extended 24 months from her I-551 expiration date. That’s 09/26/23 this year. Since we have about 7 months left I would like to refresh myself a bit on what I might need to be looking out for. 
 

At what point should I seek to press for a response from the USCIS? Do they require I contact them in a particular time frame if no update has been provided? And lastly what would become of my wife’s legal status if that date comes to pass without an update? 
 

I appreciate any advice. 

[Crazy Cat 41,812]

Your wife's legal status does not change when the extension letter expires.  USCIS is now issuing 48 month extension letters.  She may or may not get one.  If she needs evidence of her status for work, traveling, etc., she can make an Infopass appointment at USCIS after the extension letter has expired.

On another note, does she plan to file an N-400 for citizenship.  If so, isn't she now eligible? 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[CaseyBorne88 21]

Thanks for the information. We do plan on filing for citizenship, but honestly we put everything out of mind after receiving our last NOA. I just assumed the process would be linear and that we would have to be approved on the I-751 first. Is it possible to jump into the N-400 now at this point in our journey? Would we run the risk of “muddying the waters” so to speak if we attempt to begin processing that while this I-751 is pending?

[Crazy Cat 41,812]

19 hours ago, CaseyBorne88 said:

Thanks for the information. We do plan on filing for citizenship, but honestly we put everything out of mind after receiving our last NOA. I just assumed the process would be linear and that we would have to be approved on the I-751 first. Is it possible to jump into the N-400 now at this point in our journey? Would we run the risk of “muddying the waters” so to speak if we attempt to begin processing that while this I-751 is pending?

Not at all.  In fact, it "jump started" my wife's process.  After waiting 40 months for USCIS to approve my wife's I-751, we filed her N-400 in August of 2022.  In December 2022, USCIS approved both the I-751 and N-400 in a combo interview.  6 weeks after the interview, she became a US citizen.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Rearviewmirror 397]

3 minutes ago, CaseyBorne88 said:

Thanks for the information. We do plan on filing for citizenship, but honestly we put everything out of mind after receiving our last NOA. I just assumed the process would be linear and that we would have to be approved on the I-751 first. Is it possible to jump into the N-400 now at this point in our journey? Would we run the risk of “muddying the waters” so to speak if we attempt to begin processing that while this I-751 is pending?

What service center was your I-751 handled by? (it's denoted by the first three letters of your case number - i.e. MSC, SRC, YSC etc.) It seems like for almost all service centers now, filing N400 can unstick your I-751.

[OldUser 6,608]

4 minutes ago, CaseyBorne88 said:

Would we run the risk of “muddying the waters” so to speak if we attempt to begin processing that while this I-751 is pending?

It's hard to predict. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts. In @Crazy Cat 's case it helped getting I-751 unstuck.

Edited February 7, 2023 by OldUser

[CaseyBorne88 21]

Receipt Number begins with SRC. The NOA has Texas Service Center on the footing of the notice. 

[Crazy Cat 41,812]

15 minutes ago, CaseyBorne88 said:

Is it possible to jump into the N-400 now at this point in our journey?

Yes.  Filing the N-400 online is pretty easy.  

[Dashinka 24,480]

14 hours ago, OldUser said:

It's hard to predict. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts. In @Crazy Cat 's case it helped getting I-751 unstuck.

My feeling is the N400 is a separate clock, so if naturalization is the ultimate goal, there is no real reason not to get that clock started.

[Loren Y 2,755]

Definitely file the N400. My wife's I-751 was doing nothing, then filed the N400, 19 days later, I-751 approved, 10 year green card in the mail a week after that, and citizenship test appointment should be showing up any day now. USCIS just sits on I751's until they have a reason to do something about it it seems like.

[Crazy Cat 41,812]

3 hours ago, Dashinka said:

My feeling is the N400 is a separate clock, so if naturalization is the ultimate goal, there is no real reason not to get that clock started.

Here are some interesting statistics. Seems  N-400s are being processed at an astounding rate.

For the 4th Qtr of FY 2022

   I-751s Still pending: 270,925

   I-751s Processed During the Qtr: 24,011 

   N-400s Still Pending: 543,838

   N-400s Processed During the Qtr: 323,793

Edited February 8, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[CaseyBorne88 21]

I appreciate all the information everyone. I will set my focus in that direction. 👍🏻