TastyCake

Starting last evening, and all day today so far, if I try to access our online account via the old website the verification codes don't seem to be coming back to our email address. This problem only started happening yesterday evening. No issues previously. Are any others having the same problem?

Question for the board. Our local USCIS office just revised its processing time for N400s and now we are officially outside normal processing time (dubious honor). In submitting an online service request, we now have an SR#. For those who did this themselves, how quickly did you hear back from the USCIS? Just trying to ballpark when we might get some news.

As of today, November 1, 2023, we are: 374 days for N400 (Naturalization) 737 days for I751 (10-year green card) People have been leapfrogging us across the country and it is NOT appreciated. We are tired of the excuses. Attorneys, Senator office... nobody is of any help whatsoever.

What a hemorrhoid the OP would be to have this as one of the questions on a citizenship test given the volatility in the House these days.

Thanks for the feedback! I will DM you soon as I have some follow-up questions. And yes, a senator's office is of NO value. Civil servants... meh! Thanks to all who offered helpful responses (of which there were several) in this thread. It made up for the white noise of others. Mike E: Appreciate your perspective via DM.

I would like some guidance from people who have prior experience with the use of a writ of mandamus for immigration purposes. I don't want amateur responses. Either an immigration lawyer or someone with firsthand knowledge of the process please. We have now hit the one-year mark for our N400 and TWO-YEAR mark for our I-751 and are now at wit's end. We're on the cusp of going with a WoM. This is because the senator's office is about as much help as a bad case of acne and we see others from our local USCIS office in the same exact situation who have been waiting on their N-400 for months longer with no movement. This whole situation is absolutely ridiculous, unacceptable and inexcusable. It seems if nothing changes we will technically be considered outside normal processing in early December. 1) What additional steps should we take before we go the WoM route? We have made periodic inquiries at the USCIS. We engaged our senator's office TWICE with nothing coming from it. Do we first wait until we are outside of normal processing and then get a Tier 2 officer involved? I want to make sure we lay the proper groundwork as a foundation for a WoM if all else fails (i.e. "Yes, your Honor, we did do X, Y and Z with no movement or results") 2) What are the criteria for a WoM to be successful? What are all the steps to take initially? (maybe this is a repeat of question #1 above) 3) We have BOTH an I-751 and N-400 outstanding. So would this be TWO WoMs? If a WoM runs circa $5k, would that hit our wallet to the tune of $10k? Thanks in advance for any valuable guidance experienced people can offer us.

Coming up on 11 months. For now we're just holding steady.

If you want to go legal on them there is the writ of mandamus. It'll set you back circa $5,000 but it supposedly forces the USCIS to make a decision one way or another on your case(s). A class action suit, if it's even doable, will be even more complicated, probably more costly and take longer than the USCIS to finally adjudicate your case(s). W of M would be your best bet. Good luck.

Maybe I don't have this correct but it is my understanding that an interview is imminent (perhaps already scheduled) by the time the field office asks for the case information from the National Benefits Center. So, unless this filer received an interview letter, I am not 100% sure their case really was in transit. I say this not knowing all the inner workings of the USCIS but I'm just wondering if the liaison misstated something. This would not be unprecedented. When we first inquired with the senator's office back in June, the liaison said our I-751 case was in Vermont when it was at the National Benefits Center. We requested a second inquiry from the senator's office earlier this month and just heard back yesterday and the liaison only spoke to our N-400 (it was the usual drivel) and he/she listed the wrong filing date (only off by 10 days but still). Our contact at the senator's office categorically stated they can't really do anything but inquire. We can go to Ask Emma anytime we want and they will answer our questions so what do we need the senator's office for? They're fired.

Question for you, Mike. If both cases are still within USCIS's processing times, would a WoM still be helpful? It isn't like we had an interview and a decision is still pending. I also don't know if it's been long enough given other people's situations.

At the time I write this post we are almost 8 months waiting on our N400. As for our I751, it will be 20 months waiting very soon. As I look at the processing times on the USCIS website, Vermont is currently at 28.5 months processing its I751s. Our local field office in Boston is reporting a 10 month turnaround time for its N400s. However, anecdotal evidence suggests Boston is running slower than that. Whatever. Mentally speaking, we have kicked the I751 turnaround times to the curb. We are solely focusing on our N400 now. By the end of December it will be 14 months waiting on our N400. We're hedging our bets we could get an interview by the end of the year. With luck we will get a combo interview and that could in fact make filing the N400 a benefit. It was always in the plan for my wife to go for her citizenship anyway so we filed the N400 at the earliest possible time. As for WoM, use this approach with great caution. It is very expensive and you may very well get a decision before it gets executed. Writing your senator it's about as helpful as hitting your head against the wall. I was stupid enough to think it could help but they are not helpful at all. The USCIS doesn't seem to be overly concerned about inquiries from a senator's office.

I admire your intestinal fortitude. I am not wasting my time with the senator's office anymore. They are a waste of taxpayer money. One of the best movie scenes I ever saw was in Mars Attacks when the aliens iced Congress. Classic. If only it could be true. I am mentally preparing myself for the fact that this is going to take years, not months, for both our cases to be fully adjudicated.

Correct. Coming up on 8 months to be exact. But as I explained to the woman at the senator's office, the bigger issue for us is the I-751. That's coming up on 20 months. The bozos at the USCIS can't even tell me the correct service center it is in. Can you believe this fertilizer? If my wife could at least have a legitimate green card without having to bring some half-a**ed, hokey-looking 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with her that would be an improvement. I told the woman if we could just get the I-751 case adjudicated (we sent in one hell of a package, it would be a slam dunk approval) we would be willing to wait the necessary time for the citizenship case to process. You can see where that appeal got us.

One thing is for sure. I will not entertain reaching out to the senator's office again. I should have known better.

We just heard back today from Markey's office. What a totally wasted exercise. They merely informed the senator's office that both our cases are within normal processing times, etc. They didn't say much and I am not even sure that their statement on our I-751 is even accurate. In their communication back they indicated our I-751 is pending in Vermont but we have a transfer notice dated last October that categorically states our I-751 was transferred to the National Benefits Center. So, did something change and it was transferred back to Vermont? If so, we were never informed. The person at the senator's office said we can write back in 90 days but I am simply not going to waste my time. Public servants = {null set}. The next time I take action it will set me back around $5k but I will ram my legal foot down the USCIS's throat.

We submitted our N-400 last October. Our I-751 subsequently went from Case Was Received to Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken and it has been sitting on that status ever since. The N-400 hasn't made a difference. We had been told that submitting the N-400 would speed things up but we haven't seen any evidence of this.

Thanks. I'll play that card at the appropriate time should it become necessary. Not sure I am there yet.

We don't have the slightest bit of hope right now. We even wrote to one of our senators whose office sent an inquiry on our behalf. Over a month has passed and not a word from the senator's office or the USCIS. Gee, that sure helped. The Boston office isn't moving and should be ashamed of itself. There should be an investigation of that office because something is not right over there. So many couples have leapfrogged us from other offices. I am happy for those people who achieve their goals but what is happening to some of us is just not right.

When you say FOIA, is that the form we had to fill out to give the senator's office permission to inquire? Or a separate form?

I no longer have the email but sorta like 'we can't help you if... a)... b)... or c)... are true' For example, if it is one FLIPPING nanosecond before the actual date/time you can inquiry on your case they will do zip. That sort of thing. Bottom line I didn't get a good feel from the note. Add to this the fact that I think Warren is a world class hemorrhoid and it shouldn't surprise anyone that I went with Markey. I don't think much of Markey either but the person from Markey's office is nice, polite and communicative. Except for the last 2 or so weeks but she needs to wait for the liaison who probably doubles as sidewalk crack inspector.

I guess I am not expecting anything different for us. It has been 31 days for us (as of today). Nothing yet. What bothers me is the lack of transparency and oversight with the USCIS. This is just one nonsensical game after another. What really burns my behind is seeing people in other offices getting quicker turnaround and this includes people who filed AFTER us. I'm happy for them but what about us? Why is Boston experiencing such atrophy? We're paying the price for it's dysfunction ... making it's problem OUR problem... and that is simply not right. So, it seems the senator's office is useless for yet another reason.

In Boston TOO many.

I initially wrote to both but Warren's office replied several weeks after Markey's office did and it was a lukewarm response. I am paraphrasing but basically the message was they can reach out for us but then listed a number of different caveats why they wouldn't be able to do anything. The response from Markey's office was more supportive, no caveats. Since only one senator can reach out for you at any given time I went with Markey.

Thanks for the intel ! We're bracing ourselves for a similar response. This is a couple of paragraphs stating the obvious. What they don't explain is why they are a ridiculous, inefficient and useless government agency. It's been over 4 weeks and we haven't heard fertilizer yet from the 'liaison'. As I understand it, Markey's office is in the same building as the USCIS. If it were me, I would take the elevator down and grab someone by the scruff of the neck and ask W T F ???!!! Thanks again and good luck to you.

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind: 1) Can you please state precisely what the feedback was from the USCIS? I am not sure I am following your previous post 2) How long was it between the time Markey's office reached out to the USCIS and a response was received?