JD2

Do not post on social media, do not include any pics, do not bring it up but be honest if they ask about it. Thats all you can do now. Or, do a court marriage and file CR-1.

You should not do any mock wedding. We thought about doing that but I saw on social media people getting denied for doing that so we withdrew and just did a CR-1. If they have any suspicions that you are married, they will deny you. Wait until green card, then go back and do the mock wedding later.

Consider getting Global Entry. CBP could still ask you the same things but it is much less likely. My wife travels a ton and she's never had a problem.

She can do whatever she wants. I don't understand what the issue is. Her OCI has nothing to do with this. She can get an OCI of her own once she is a US citizen. It seems to me that it comes down to whether or not she can pass the citizenship test.

Have you thought about filing Mandamus? It'll be expensive but it is the only thing sure to get you results. I saw a Facebook video of Curtis Morrison saying he has filed as soon as 3 months after filing N-400.

Send an inquiry like stated above and you can also contact Congressman, or just wait, or file a mandamus (will cost you a $3,000-$7,000) https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F772699819012600%2F

I've heard of several people withdraw their petitions on social media. And, many who did it then had huge regrets. If you change your mind, you'll have to refile and wait all over again. I would only do such a thing if divorce was a certainty. Doing nothing or just waiting and seeing how things pan out is a perfectly reasonable option.

Isn't that when you don't check in once a year or fail to respond to NVC notices? Did any of those items happen? If this is a real case and somehow your timeline is legit, your USC petitioner will have to do a mandamus lawsuit.

I did see some January filers get interviews already in a Facebook group. I think a couple December filers got interviews too. None were from my FO.

I suggest you seek out a South Africa focused group on Facebook or Telegram or WhatsApp.

You can enter your zip code on the Field Office locator. https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-a-uscis-office/field-offices

Some data (80% and 93%) you can get from here: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ and then other data from timelines people post on social media.

Each city is different. That's national data. My city, Norfolk, has slowed down. I haven't seen a single person who applied after Oct. 28th get an interview.

Well she'll tell the truth. I asked a specific question. Do you know the answer to that? The instructions seem to imply you do not have to file every year but I'm wondering if in practice they do require it?

Spouse not involved. I mentioned I-360. She did not. Is that relevant to her taxes? Or are you just curious?

Asking for an employee of mine. She got her 10 year GC through an I-360 (long story). She can apply for N-400 now. But, in all but 2 of the years she was not required to file a tax return because she did not work at all. She did file for 2025 and 2021 but none of the other years. IRS has a letter of non-filing but that just says you did not file. It is not proof that you were not required to file. Would it be enough to get a letter from an accountant saying she was not required to file + the IRS non-filing letters + account transcripts showing $0 owed? Or, does she just need to file for every year?

I thought about getting one for my wife when we thought of moving to London for a few years (I'm a dual citizen). We decided to wait until she got citizenship. I don't think you'll get better insights than the USCIS website because it is such a niche benefit. It will be hard to get enough timelines. Apply as early as possible. You can pick up the re-entry permit at the local consulate or USCIS international office in the country you are going to.

The USCIS.gov median processing times published the FY2026 numbers using "data from October 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026." N-400 median processing times (non-military) jumped from 5.6 months to 6.4 months. That's nationwide data. So among N-400 applicants who had oath ceremonies between Oct. 1, 2025 and Feb. 28, 2026, the median was 6.4 months. If you assume 2 months interview to oath ceremony, that's 4.4 months filing to interview. But, I suspect it's going to continue to increase. Also, that is the median. So half of the applicants took longer than that. https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt

Not true. Country of birth would be crazy. Plenty of places don't have birthright citizenship so what if you no longer can get to your country of birth? Their current policy of country of citizenship or residence makes sense. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/adjudicating-iv-applicants-in-their-country-of-residence.html#:~:text=The Department of State is,the designated posts listed below.

If Satisfactory Departure is approved, however unlikely, that would not count as an overstay, correct?

No one has overstayed and will not.

GC holder has filed N-400 along with N-648. But ESTA parents have no desire to live in US. They are going to try for Satisfactory Departure. If they get it great, if not, they'll go back and try for a regular visa.

They contacted USCIS by phone. The AI receptionist is infuriating. They gave up after an hour of haggling with the AI and used the chat bot. The agent said you can only file for Satisfactory Departure within 10 days of your admit until date so they'll have to chat again at that time.

I think what you are implying, to overstay and eventually file for a Green Card, is very dangerous. They could get scooped up by immigration enforcement and since they are on ESTA they don't have the same rights. They could face a bar depending on how long they overstay. And, they don't want to live in the US. They just want a little more time (hoping for additional 30 then another 30). They plan to apply for a paper visa eventually.

No, it won't. She's spent about 30% of the time outside the US. Longest trip 51 days. This will be our 13th trip since she moved to the US. There is language in the Policy Manual. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-3 "An officer may also review whether an applicant with multiple absences of less than 6 months each will be able to satisfy the continuous residence requirement. In some of these cases, an applicant may not be able to establish that his or her principal actual dwelling place is in the United States or establish residence within the United States for the statutorily required period of time." Should I assume we'll have to overcome a presumption of a break in the continuity of residence?