Busting the myth that the N400 knocks the 751 lose

[Rocio0010 5,580]

As some of you may know, I applied for my 751 back in February 2022. My N400 has been pending since February 2023, and it has done nothing to "unlock" my 751. It has somehow been the message in VJ that the N400 speeds up the 751, but I just wanted to throw a word of caution out there and say it is not necessarily the case. So don't have high hopes when you submit the N400 and spend close to $800. 

At this pace, it seems that none of my files have connected to each other, and that my 751 will run its natural course as if I had never submitted the N400.

[Mike E 11,741]

4 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

It has somehow been the message in VJ that the N400 speeds up the 751, but I just wanted to throw a word of caution out there and say it is not necessarily the case

This varies by field office. It is known that in Seattle and Saint Albans it does the reverse. It is always wise to research the field office before filing N-400.

 

Sorry you are on hold.

 

DIY WoM for I-751 should be your next consideration. 

[Rocio0010 5,580]

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

This varies by field office. It is known that in Seattle and Saint Albans it does the reverse. It is always wise to research the field office before filing N-400.

 

Sorry you are on hold.

 

DIY WoM for I-751 should be your next consideration. 

The thing is, out of a pool of 7-8 Columbus Field Office applicants, only one was filing under the three- year rule with a pending 751. The rest were filing under the five- year rule with either an approved 751, or they never had to do a 751 because they were an IR-1. 

@SalishSea was LIN December 2021, and they were approved recently. So I am hoping to hear something by September, which is also what the VJ estimate is telling me. 

I am a teacher, so the school year is really packed for me. But if I am not approved by the end of September, I will spend my winter break researching and reading the resources that @igoyougoduke has so graciously shared for a WoM. I just want to think that I will not have to get to that.

[Dashinka 24,641]

Like anything else USCIS, YMMV.  As the processing times for the N400 at Columbus is 11 months, you may hear something soon on that.  In the end, if naturalization is the final goal, why wait to file the N400 as in the end, that is all that matters and the I751 becomes just a necessary evil.  The files will not be connected until an IO at Columbus starts actually working on your file and requests it is linked to the I751.

 

In the end you are correct, if anyone is simply filing the N400 to speed up the I751, they may find it does not work (similar to those filing the I129 for a K3 after filing an I130).  I know in our case, it may have sped things up by a month or so, but my wife did not file the N400 due to her languishing I751, she filed it to become a citizen, and she became a citizen around the same time others that filed their I751s during the same period were getting their 10yr GC.

[Rocio0010 5,580]

9 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

The files will not be connected until an IO at Columbus starts actually working on your file and requests it is linked to the I751.

See, I would love to ask USCIS how they work. Is it that the NBC sends the FO a notification that they have a candidate for an N400 interview, and asked the FO to open up an interview slot? Or does the FO surveys the NBC to see if they have any local candidates? Hope that it makes sense!

[Dashinka 24,641]

4 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

See, I would love to ask USCIS how they work. Is it that the NBC sends the FO a notification that they have a candidate for an N400 interview, and asked the FO to open up an interview slot? Or does the FO surveys the NBC to see if they have any local candidates? Hope that it makes sense!

My understanding (not necessarily a correct understanding, maybe more of an idea of how it should work) is that the I751 when filed is entered into the system and sent to a service center in most cases to sit and collect dust.  When an N400 is filed, that is routed directly to the appropriate field office and as @Mike E stated, those offices have wide ranging processing times, so the N400 may be worked on very soon after filing, or it also may sit for some time and collect dust (computer dust if filed online  ).  When the N400 is being actively worked, the FO IO should be able to see in their system there is an active I751, and put in a request to NBC to have it transferred.  Now of course the I751 is probably not physically located at NBC, so it may take some time to actually reach the FO IO.  It is funny to see some FO's work through N400's quickly but the I751 has not made it there yet holding up the complete approval.

 

Maybe some day in the distant future all USCIS forms will be electronic which would make the transfer a lot easier.

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

I think Dallas is an example where the "N-400 hack" works....at least in some cases.

[carmel34 3,646]

Filing an N-400 (filed August 2022) helped move my husband's pending I-751 (filed May 2021), Atlanta USCIS field office, although he had to ask for the two cases to be linked.  When his N-400 interview notice arrived in early May, he sent a letter to the Atlanta USCIS field office asking for a combo interview with the I-751.  Ten days later he received an interview notice for the pending I-751, same day and time as the N-400 interview (coming up on Thursday, June 8), so now I'm helping him to prepare for the combo interview and gathering/organizing all of the supporting documents.  We are hopeful that the end of his immigration journey is in sight.  Good luck!

Edited June 6, 2023 by carmel34

[Rocio0010 5,580]

9 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

Filing an N-400 (filed August 2022) helped move my husband's pending I-751 (filed May 2021), Atlanta USCIS field office, although he had to ask for the two cases to be linked.  When his N-400 interview notice arrived in early May, he sent a letter to the Atlanta USCIS field office asking for a combo interview with the I-751.  Ten days later he received an interview notice for the pending I-751, same day and time as the N-400 interview (coming up on Thursday, June 8), so now I'm helping him to prepare for the combo interview and gathering/organizing all of the supporting documents.  We are hopeful that the end of his immigration journey is in sight.  Good luck!

Wohooo! Your interview is almost there!

I already uploaded a letter requesting the combo interview when I filed the N400

[SalishSea 17,970]

18 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

Filing an N-400 (filed August 2022) helped move my husband's pending I-751 (filed May 2021), Atlanta USCIS field office, although he had to ask for the two cases to be linked.  When his N-400 interview notice arrived in early May, he sent a letter to the Atlanta USCIS field office asking for a combo interview with the I-751.  Ten days later he received an interview notice for the pending I-751, same day and time as the N-400 interview (coming up on Thursday, June 8), so now I'm helping him to prepare for the combo interview and gathering/organizing all of the supporting documents.  We are hopeful that the end of his immigration journey is in sight.  Good luck!

I guess the question though is: if you filed the N400 9 months ago, and are just now about to combo interview, did it really help?   Or would your I-751 be approved by now anyway?

 

The cases where it seems to have definitively helped are like those of @Crazy Cat, who had radio silence for 44 months, and then a combo interview almost immediately after filing.

 

Our LIN filed I-751 was approved 18 months after filing, and the USCIS processing time for that center is 20 months.   N-400 processing time for Seattle FO is 9 months.  Whenever the husband gets round to filing it, I’m expecting it to be adjudicated within that timeframe.   We’re in no particular hurry.
 

 

[Boiler 45,737]

Waiting 16 months for a N400 is probably somewhere a Congressperson could help. And free.

 

Otherwise a WoM would be a given, no way could they defend that.

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

I don't think it's a matter of being a "myth" or not. It works for some and not for others, but based on the majority of experiences shared on VJ, it seems to help much more often than not.

 

I also think it is too soon for a conclusion to be drawn regarding your own case. Your ROC has been pending roughly 1 year and 4 months. We know that waiting 2 years or more is not uncommon for ROC, so you are still quite far from that point. Your N-400 has been pending only 4 months. You could receive an interview notice literally any moment for the N-400. In 2 months (or less), you may be completely finished with USCIS. Or you may still be waiting. It's simply too soon to judge, imo.

Edited June 6, 2023 by beloved_dingo

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

i dont think they connect 751 with n-400 until n-400 reaches field office and the IO asks to pull the 751.. each field office is different.. its called government.. too big , too slow, too complex, no one cares 

[Reed1812 127]

5 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

I think Dallas is an example where the "N-400 hack" works....at least in some cases.

Same with El Paso in my case. My ROC was stood nearing 2 years, I applied for N400 and had an interview scheduled a few weeks later. There was zero indication is would be a combo interview, I took my wife and she was turned away at the door by security. It was only when I sat with the officer he asked 'where is your spouse?", I had to leave the office to go get her and go through security again. 

 

Sorry your process is taking so long OP. Hopefully you will see some movement soon. 

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

59 minutes ago, Reed1812 said:

Same with El Paso in my case. My ROC was stood nearing 2 years, I applied for N400 and had an interview scheduled a few weeks later. There was zero indication is would be a combo interview, I took my wife and she was turned away at the door by security. It was only when I sat with the officer he asked 'where is your spouse?", I had to leave the office to go get her and go through security again. 

 

Sorry your process is taking so long OP. Hopefully you will see some movement soon. 

We has waited 40 months for the I-751, so my wife filed under the 5 year rule.  4 months later, both our I-751 and wife's N-400 were approved in a combo interview at the Dallas (Irving) office.  I received an email 2 days before her N-400 interview telling me it was a combo.  A month later, wife took the citizenship oath.