N400 taking over 1 year

[Rocio0010 5,579]

3 minutes ago, Boundless_damsel said:

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.

You said you filed for FOIA with the hope it'd shed some light... Did it?

[YecaCruz 378]

9 minutes ago, Boundless_damsel said:

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)?

lol right, I kept telling myself that. It's like waiting at a stoplight...EVENTUALLY it will be your turn!

[Boundless_damsel 11]

2 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

You said you filed for FOIA with the hope it'd shed some light... Did it?

Yes, in a way it did. The records showed that they basically did not touch either of my applications! So I guess that does tell us something...

[Chancy 6,239]

*** Moved from US Citizenship General Discussion to Progress Reports ***

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, Boundless_damsel said:

Yes, in a way it did. The records showed that they basically did not touch either of my applications! So I guess that does tell us something...

How does it show? Is there a statement that they write in there or something? 

[Boundless_damsel 11]

10 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

How does it show? Is there a statement that they write in there or something? 

There are essentially no annotations, comments, or any other kind of writing. There is a time stamp for my I751, that shows when it was received, but that's about it. I highly doubt that even if they would have found my packet outstanding evidence-wise, that they would not have written or highlighted at least something, while going through 2 pretty thick files. Or maybe I give them too much credit and they barely skim through our applications...who knows.

[Visitor User 253]

What about Houston, TX. How long is it taking?

[igoyougoduke 1,635]

23 hours 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. 

you dont need to pay 5k for mandamus. it costs 402$ for court case filing  and some research on immigration law to write up the mandamus.. n-400 mandamus is not that difficult to file Pro-se

[Visitor User 253]

If it was me I wouldn’t have a problem with wait times. I mean the difference is you can’t vote, what else? 

[jztelemark 19]

23 hours ago, Boundless_damsel said:

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?

 

My wife’s case currently being “actively reviewed” (Boise Field Office) for the last 500 days.  The current case inquiry date is June 8th and we will be be submitting an inquiry. 

 

We are waiting patiently (while complaining about USCIS to each other) until the day she receives her interview letter. 

 

It sucks and the system should be more transparent. Good luck with your journey 

 

[OldUser 5,970]

14 hours ago, igoyougoduke said:

you dont need to pay 5k for mandamus. it costs 402$ for court case filing  and some research on immigration law to write up the mandamus.. n-400 mandamus is not that difficult to file Pro-se

That sounds like a risky enterprise in my opinion. As an analogy, anybody can learn flying planes by playing computer games, but would you trust a licensed pilot or somebody who never flew a plane in real life? Writ of Mandamus is not a DIY in most cases. If legal fees is a problem, many lawyers have payment plans.

 

[igoyougoduke 1,635]

44 minutes ago, OldUser said:

That sounds like a risky enterprise in my opinion. As an analogy, anybody can learn flying planes by playing computer games, but would you trust a licensed pilot or somebody who never flew a plane in real life? Writ of Mandamus is not a DIY in most cases. If legal fees is a problem, many lawyers have payment plans.

 

Its not. you dont need a legal degree to file mandamus. all you need to is some home work and write a pro se complaint..  most mandamus are quickly adjudicated cause law of least effort by AUSA and courts dont want to waste resources.  

 

Mandamus is a DIY case if you are ready spend some weekends researching the law. 

[Boundless_damsel 11]

13 hours ago, igoyougoduke said:

Its not. you dont need a legal degree to file mandamus. all you need to is some home work and write a pro se complaint..  most mandamus are quickly adjudicated cause law of least effort by AUSA and courts dont want to waste resources.  

 

Mandamus is a DIY case if you are ready spend some weekends researching the law. 

Interesting idea. Have you filed a mandamus yourself? If yes, what was your experience like?

[Boundless_damsel 11]

On 4/14/2023 at 8:40 PM, jztelemark said:

My wife’s case currently being “actively reviewed” (Boise Field Office) for the last 500 days.  The current case inquiry date is June 8th and we will be be submitting an inquiry. 

 

We are waiting patiently (while complaining about USCIS to each other) until the day she receives her interview letter. 

 

It sucks and the system should be more transparent. Good luck with your journey 

 

Argh, so sorry to hear about it! That's just not right (and out of all the applications out there, this one should be getting at least a slightly more preferential treatment). Have you tried reaching out to your elected officials?

[Boundless_damsel 11]

On 4/14/2023 at 8:36 PM, Visitor User said:

If it was me I wouldn’t have a problem with wait times. I mean the difference is you can’t vote, what else? 

There are plenty of other limitations and opportunities foregone (but I will caveat that by saying that this depends on your objectives in this country and what you are trying to accomplish).