Combo interview went great but interviewer was unable to officially approve right away?

[mbssss 106]

I had my combined N-400 and I-751 interview today in Fairfax, VA. Everything went great - I answered all the civics questions correctly and everything went well with the questions about our relationship etc. She asked me if I wanted to submit any further evidence about our relationship so I gave her 2-3 more months of bank statements from between when we applied and now as a nice extra because I had them with me. She was having some issues with the system on her end and couldn't access our marriage certificate so I gave her the one I had with me and she scanned it. 

 

At the end of my interview the interviewer said that I passed the interview and that she was going to approve me (woho!), however, she was not able to put me as "approved" on the piece of paper and had to put that "a decision has yet to be made" until then. She did say that she has to do this until she put everything into the system but I should receive a notice about my oath ceremony and to check my USCIS account because sometimes people get it on there faster.

 

I'm not super familiar with this and I should have asked her at the interview but does this just mean that she's not able to "officially" approve me until she has put the new bank statements and/or the marriage certification on my file or could it have to do with the I-751? Also, should I expect this to take a few days or could it be longer? I'm guessing she was unable to do this due to the issues she was having with the system. I also signed the Oath documents and verified the information that would be used for naturalization.

 

Additionally, do you usually get some type of notice that you were "approved" on your USCIS account? I'm guessing that it might take a few business days for that but just want to have an idea on what to expect.

 

In short - my experience was great but now I'm at home and getting a bit anxious so figured it would be good to ask and see if anyone else is more familiar.

 

Thanks!

Edited November 1 by mbssss

[untaken 5]

If she said you would be approved, you WILL be approved. Just be patient.

 

It will show “Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled” and a notice will be sent to you.

[mbssss 106]

2 minutes ago, untaken said:

If she said you would be approved, you WILL be approved. Just be patient.

 

It will show “Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled” and a notice will be sent to you.

Thank you! I think I'm just so close to the "end" of this process and just getting bit anxious but you're totally right! I'll keep an eye out for a notice.

[Peot 161]

I was never officially "approved" at the interview stage. I was even under the impression they can't really do that in case something unexpected comes up in processing of the application afterwards, but a "handshake approval" is just as good. After some administrative processing, you'll be approved in no time. 

 

Surprisingly, the approval itself is anticlimactic, all the way until oath ceremony. 

[OldUser 6,608]

This is not extraordinary.  You'll be fine. Many times you cannot be approved on spot.

[Rekyrts 43]

On 11/2/2024 at 12:18 PM, Peot said:

I was never officially "approved" at the interview stage. I was even under the impression they can't really do that in case something unexpected comes up in processing of the application afterwards, but a "handshake approval" is just as good. After some administrative processing, you'll be approved in no time. 

 

Surprisingly, the approval itself is anticlimactic, all the way until oath ceremony. 

 

I agree. I went through all the prep, and while I won't call the approval underwhelming, it was a tad anticlimactic.

[mbssss 106]

On 11/2/2024 at 1:18 PM, Peot said:

I was never officially "approved" at the interview stage. I was even under the impression they can't really do that in case something unexpected comes up in processing of the application afterwards, but a "handshake approval" is just as good. After some administrative processing, you'll be approved in no time. 

 

Surprisingly, the approval itself is anticlimactic, all the way until oath ceremony. 

Got it, that makes me feel better. Can I ask about how long it took between interview and an official notice either through mail or your USCIS account?

[Peot 161]

On 11/4/2024 at 8:14 PM, mbssss said:

Got it, that makes me feel better. Can I ask about how long it took between interview and an official notice either through mail or your USCIS account?

This is probably old news now - sorry for not seeing this sooner.

 

My interview was March 12, I received a notice my mail only March 29. Interview was scheduled May 15.

[SusnOwen 159]

Just went through the exact same situation with my husband - His N400 interview was 11/13, she said she was going to approve him but could not because of the pending I-751, but would request that and he should look for his oath ceremony notice in the mail.  We got notifications the next day that his I-751 petition had been transferred, and Friday night he received notice that his oath ceremony is scheduled for December 3rd.  I think it's at the mercy of how quick the agent moves who did the interview.