N400 taking over 1 year

[Boundless_damsel 12]

Ok, folks, here goes the rant (with a question towards the end):

Background: filed N400 in March 2022, Boston field office (very comprehensive submission). 3 year rule (i751 filed in March 2021--again, a pretty impeccable submission, if I dare say so myself). I751 transferred within 4 days since the N400 submission. Currently, I am at 12.5 months mark for N400 and 24.5 for i751. I would have anticipated a combo interview by now--instead, a delightful radio silence.

I did FOIA at 8 months mark (the result suggests my files have not been touched). I reached out to the senator and the district representative (at 9months mark and 10 months mark respectively). USCIS response to all these inquiries --nada. Just restating the summary of my cases (which of course I already know...). I reached out via senator's office once again at 12.5 months--same response. I did point out to the senator's office rep that my case is outside of the 12 months mark (current processing time for Boston office). I checked previous USCIS field specific reports, all confirming that the majority of cases should have been processed by now.

Any suggestions for my next steps? At this point, I expect this process to take at least 15-16 months and I am hoping to do whatever I can to not make it even longer. Thoughts?

 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

Writ of mandamus if you're willing to pay 5k+.

 

Or keep waiting.

 

P.S.: We filed for ROC on April 2021 and still waiting. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Allaboutwaiting

[Boundless_damsel 12]

4 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Writ of mandamus if you're willing to pay 5k+.

 

Or keep waiting.

 

P.S.: We filed for ROC on April 2021 and still waiting. 

The ROC in and of itself does not bother me (I filed one month before you). It's the N400 timing that feels a bit much (at least from anecdotal evidence it looks like it takes folks much less than that!) And the lack of transparency for why it takes them so long )for all I know, given Boston office processing times, my file was simply misplaced or lost--but there is no way to tell!)

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

1 minute ago, Boundless_damsel said:

The ROC in and of itself does not bother me (I filed one month before you). It's the N400 timing that feels a bit much (at least from anecdotal evidence it looks like it takes folks much less than that!) And the lack of transparency for why it takes them so long )for all I know, given Boston office processing times, my file was simply misplaced or lost--but there is no way to tell!)

Currently Boston is at 12 months average waiting time which we know is just for reference. Some took less, some will take more. 

 

Give them 6 months more and then file a WoM. That will get them moving for sure. 

[Timona 4,207]

Took me 1.5  years. Calm down 

[Scandi 4,149]

A year or a year and a half sounds perfectly normal. Just relax and wait for your turn. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Why did you file for FOIA? Is there something you’re worried about?

[Boundless_damsel 12]

10 hours ago, Timona said:

Took me 1.5  years. Calm down 

Are you based in Boston?

[Boundless_damsel 12]

1 hour ago, Scandi said:

A year or a year and a half sounds perfectly normal. Just relax and wait for your turn. 

Perfectly normal for Boston? For the national average? 

[Boundless_damsel 12]

1 hour ago, Rocio0010 said:

Why did you file for FOIA? Is there something you’re worried about?

0 worries about the content of my submissions. Filed it literally for the sake of institutional transparency --the numbers (which of course are rarely to be trusted in the case of USCIS)on my account were suggesting that the decision will be made by October 2022(which aligned with what I have seen--anecdotal evidence, of course --with other Boston filers). Then, it changed to "things are taking longer than expected". I started wondering why that might be the case and first filed FOIA to see if that would shed any light 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

7 minutes ago, Boundless_damsel said:

0 worries about the content of my submissions. Filed it literally for the sake of institutional transparency --the numbers (which of course are rarely to be trusted in the case of USCIS)on my account were suggesting that the decision will be made by October 2022(which aligned with what I have seen--anecdotal evidence, of course --with other Boston filers). Then, it changed to "things are taking longer than expected". I started wondering why that might be the case and first filed FOIA to see if that would shed any light 

Now I’m curious. Did it shed any light?

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, Boundless_damsel said:

Perfectly normal for Boston? For the national average? 

Soon you will learn that there is no such thing as a "national average" because you are dealing with the human factor.

 

Your 751 file is at a service center. Officer Thompson has it.

Your N400 is at the NBC. Officer Kayser has it.

 

Thompson and Kayser don't know each other and have different ways of working. Until one of them gets to work on your case, you're just waiting. If you get closer to a year and a half and have 5K to spare, then sue them.

[YecaCruz 379]

Our citizenship process took 640-ish days. Ref: my signature below

[Boundless_damsel 12]

21 minutes ago, YecaCruz said:

Our citizenship process took 640-ish days. Ref: my signature below

Wow! That's... insane! Looking at your dates, it seems like COVID-19 played a big role in the delay (does not make the fact of 640+ days any better, of course)?

[Boundless_damsel 12]

3 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Soon you will learn that there is no such thing as a "national average" because you are dealing with the human factor.

 

Your 751 file is at a service center. Officer Thompson has it.

Your N400 is at the NBC. Officer Kayser has it.

 

Thompson and Kayser don't know each other and have different ways of working. Until one of them gets to work on your case, you're just waiting. If you get closer to a year and a half and have 5K to spare, then sue them.

Ah, yes, of course I am aware there is no such thing as the "national average" (well, you technically can compute it, but I don't think this statistic currently exists, like you said). I just mentioned it because some posters here referred to their individual experiences, which are not always comparable (I don't think 18 months in NYC or some other backlogged place would have raised any eyebrows, but I sure hope that say Raleigh or Columbus would not get to 18 months wait period for N400!!!)

In my particular case, I doubt that the communication between different officers has something to do with it (although I hear you on the part that different parts of the system do not always communicate well). The senator's liaison with USCIS said that it's really in the hands of the local field office (Boston)--once the officer will start reviewing the N400, they will (supposedly) automatically fetch my I751 from the NBC vault.