N-400 interview "decision can not yet be made..."

[hala_amira 1]

I was wondering if people who had the same result after their N-400 interview would let me know how long it took till for approval or what happend.

I should mention some detail if it helps..

Our 1st experience with USCIS for I-485/I-130/ssn all went smoothly easy everything only taking 2mo. from the time we filed to the interview!!!(nov.06-jan 4th 07) Really that fast. PR card approved day of interview with stamp , lawyer was present and filed it. Also I should mention that his conditions on his PR card were already removed for over a year so he already has his 10yr GC(for about 1 1/2 yrs). Which the removal of condtions only took 2mos. to process.

So we filed March 17th and the interview was June 15th. The only items that were requested at the interview were (other than passport/PR card/id)was the last 3yrs of our tax transcripts that we had not included in the origianl filing of the N-400. The interview was basic he went over the application and my husband said he really didn't focus on any particular subject like my husbands unemployment from last year or his previous marriage. None of it was questioned by the officer. So he passed the history test and English test and the officer said congrats everything looks good I am just going to go over your file. Than he said you will here from us if I need anything from you. My husband than was handed a piece of paper that said

X passed the history test and English test

XYour appilcation has not yet been approved. A decision can not yet be made. USCIS will contact you..

Any ideas when this decision will be made? I have read some bad stories of how long people wait..is this true? He was so lucky with all other filings?

[English Muffin 59]

Moving from General Immigration forum to US Citizenship forum for a more targeted response.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

At the citizenship stage, there is no "we" anymore.

From your post I can't even figure out if it's a "he" or "she," only that's not a "we."

Was the applicant perhaps early in filing? Has he or she been a resident for 3 years by the time the interview took place?

Without that information, it's moot to speculate about less likely reasons.

[SC & TF 1]

Does the sheet also say that your husband was recommended for approval? I was also handed a sheet that said I passed the test and interview, and that I was recommended for approval. My interviewer then told me I would get the oath letter soon. Have you checked your case status online? If your status hasn't changed from interview, then maybe you need to schedule an infopass appointment to find out what's going on. Good luck.

I was wondering if people who had the same result after their N-400 interview would let me know how long it took till for approval or what happend.

I should mention some detail if it helps..

Our 1st experience with USCIS for I-485/I-130/ssn all went smoothly easy everything only taking 2mo. from the time we filed to the interview!!!(nov.06-jan 4th 07) Really that fast. PR card approved day of interview with stamp , lawyer was present and filed it. Also I should mention that his conditions on his PR card were already removed for over a year so he already has his 10yr GC(for about 1 1/2 yrs). Which the removal of condtions only took 2mos. to process.

So we filed March 17th and the interview was June 15th. The only items that were requested at the interview were (other than passport/PR card/id)was the last 3yrs of our tax transcripts that we had not included in the origianl filing of the N-400. The interview was basic he went over the application and my husband said he really didn't focus on any particular subject like my husbands unemployment from last year or his previous marriage. None of it was questioned by the officer. So he passed the history test and English test and the officer said congrats everything looks good I am just going to go over your file. Than he said you will here from us if I need anything from you. My husband than was handed a piece of paper that said

X passed the history test and English test

XYour appilcation has not yet been approved. A decision can not yet be made. USCIS will contact you..

Any ideas when this decision will be made? I have read some bad stories of how long people wait..is this true? He was so lucky with all other filings?

[csoul 0]

At the citizenship stage, there is no "we" anymore.

Just Bob, Wrong again...

"We" is a "must" for 3 year applicants and they need to be married and living with the same US Citizen (We=couple, no couple then no citizenship)... So for this specific citizenship stage "we" is still a requirement for the N-400 approval.

Now back to the original post. Please avoid to stress your mind. I believe that your application will be approved at the end. Let us know.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

It seems to be a general rule of thumb that applications are 'approved in principle' with the interviewing officer, but the 'final approval' comes after the recommendation for approval is forwarded to the supervisor. I was told that I was 'approved pending approval by the supervisor' and then asked if I would be available for an oath ceremony in two weeks time. I said yes, she asked me to wait, and about half an hour later I was given my appointment letter. I am also assuming that my application was 'approved' by the supervisor during that time.

It could be that a supervisor was not available the day of your husband's interview so no outright approvals could be given. From the sounds of things, though, it really seems like your husband will be approved. If you are in a fairly big city I would suspect you will hear about an oath ceremony sometime within the next month. If you are in a smaller center, it may be longer than that. If you haven't heard anything in 30 days after the interview, you can always phone the mis-information line and see if they have any 'good news' for you, or else make an infopass appointment at the USCIS office and ask for an update.

Good luck - I hope you hear good news soon.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Kathryn41

[NickD 202]

I was wondering if people who had the same result after their N-400 interview would let me know how long it took till for approval or what happend.

I should mention some detail if it helps..

Our 1st experience with USCIS for I-485/I-130/ssn all went smoothly easy everything only taking 2mo. from the time we filed to the interview!!!(nov.06-jan 4th 07) Really that fast. PR card approved day of interview with stamp , lawyer was present and filed it. Also I should mention that his conditions on his PR card were already removed for over a year so he already has his 10yr GC(for about 1 1/2 yrs). Which the removal of condtions only took 2mos. to process.

So we filed March 17th and the interview was June 15th. The only items that were requested at the interview were (other than passport/PR card/id)was the last 3yrs of our tax transcripts that we had not included in the origianl filing of the N-400. The interview was basic he went over the application and my husband said he really didn't focus on any particular subject like my husbands unemployment from last year or his previous marriage. None of it was questioned by the officer. So he passed the history test and English test and the officer said congrats everything looks good I am just going to go over your file. Than he said you will here from us if I need anything from you. My husband than was handed a piece of paper that said

X passed the history test and English test

XYour appilcation has not yet been approved. A decision can not yet be made. USCIS will contact you..

Any ideas when this decision will be made? I have read some bad stories of how long people wait..is this true? He was so lucky with all other filings?

Unless the USCIS changed the interview form, I do not see any statement like yours above.

Most desirable statement to be checked is: Congratulations, Your application has been recommended for approval.....

Least desirable is: A decision cannot be made about your application... no reason given, other obvious reasons, you flunked the English and/or Civics test.

A nebulous statement is: USCIS will send you a written decision about your application.

Did your IO have any comments? Sounds like you got by easy with your evidence, maybe they want more, they didn't give a friend of my wife's any reason either, but she heard in 30 days, don't know why they just can't come out and tell you.

If our AOS went as quick as yours, my step daughter would be a US citizen. But feel after they reviewed our applications, the said, hey if we delay this application for several months, we can make an extra 675 bucks! Easy to be paranoid when dealing with the USCIS.

[hala_amira 1]

Thanks everyone for all the responses.

NickD there is a location at the top of the paper that does have an"x" marked next to "you passed the History/English" Etc. About half way down is where the officer will mark either "congrats recommended for approval" or what my husband got "decision cannot yet be made". Thanks for the info on friends experience. Liked comment about delaying process to make $$ lol

JustBob I could just say spouse I guess. lol I guess I like saying "we" since the whole process feels like a "we". My spouse was a 3yr permenant resident as of Jan. 2010. He could have filed at the time of removing conditions,but did that alone over a year ago. I have read posts of others not getting conditions removed before the citizenship interview. Didn't want that. So waited a year and filed mid-march.

SC&TF Thanks for the 30 day reminder

Katyrn41 I hope what you said is what my husband's situation might be. My husband did say that he and another officer were going to go over his file. So maybe the other officer was higher ranking?

My husband's only other comment was that the office of the officer who did this interview was not as "nice" as the office of the Officer who did the AOS interview. (ie: smaller,no name on desk,generic lol) I was in the AOS interview and that officer did have a decent office for a federal employee!! Higher ranking officers get the best offices!!! I would think. LOL

I'll post when My "spouse" gets any info..

Thanks Team Journey!!! ~Hala

[new orleans bound 0]

SC&TF,

I'm high jacking the thread for a moment. I notice by you time line that you filed for your naturalization a year after receiving your greencard. My understanding was that you had to have your greencard for three years before applying? Can you steer me in the right direction-where you got your inforamtion. I already downloaded all the naturalization forms and the literature stated that one needs to have their greencard for 3 years prior to filing. Am I misinformed, or did I just read it worng? Thanks

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Just Bob, Wrong again...

"We" is a "must" for 3 year applicants and they need to be married and living with the same US Citizen (We=couple, no couple then no citizenship)... So for this specific citizenship stage "we" is still a requirement for the N-400 approval.

You were born dumb, as was I, but let me help you in avoiding that you die dumb.

1) At the AOS stage, the US citizen petitions for the beneficiary.

(A petitons for B)

2) At the ROC stage, both, the USC and the beneficiary petition together.

(A + B petition for B)

3) At the N-400 stage, only the beneficiary petitions.

(Only B petitions for B)

At any of the 3 stages there are requirements, of course. So if somebody petitions for Naturalization after only 3 years, he or she needs to be still married to the originally petitioning spouse, among other things. That notwithstanding, it's only the beneficiary who petitions. As I stated before.

[SC & TF 1]

well, after I got my GC in 2007, I filed for removal of conditions 2 yrs later to get my 10 yr GC (2009). Then I filed for naturalization this year, which is 3 yrs after I first received my GC. I can understand why it's confusing, but hope that answers your question. Good luck

SC&TF,

I'm high jacking the thread for a moment. I notice by you time line that you filed for your naturalization a year after receiving your greencard. My understanding was that you had to have your greencard for three years before applying? Can you steer me in the right direction-where you got your inforamtion. I already downloaded all the naturalization forms and the literature stated that one needs to have their greencard for 3 years prior to filing. Am I misinformed, or did I just read it worng? Thanks

[NickD 202]

SC&TF,

I'm high jacking the thread for a moment. I notice by you time line that you filed for your naturalization a year after receiving your greencard. My understanding was that you had to have your greencard for three years before applying? Can you steer me in the right direction-where you got your inforamtion. I already downloaded all the naturalization forms and the literature stated that one needs to have their greencard for 3 years prior to filing. Am I misinformed, or did I just read it worng? Thanks

Reread the thread, OP got his conditional in Jan 07 and already had his ten year card for 1.5 years more than meeting the LPR requirement of 1,005 days as a card holder, add a day to that if one of those days occurred during a leap year. That is before you can send in your application, but must be married for a three full years as the other requirement.

Our IO was very nice to us during our AOS, was it because I was also there, or was it because I hired one of the top immigration firms in this country? My wife had both women as IO, first one with me present was nice, the one she had alone was a b!tch. I felt I should be present for that N-400 interview, that wheelbarrow full of evidence had my name on it, and if any fraud was detected, I would be paying that $250,000.00 getting that kind of money by renting my body in five years in prison.

Normally use MY wife when relating experience, but immigration for us as been a WE effort, kind of like her and want to keep her for awhile. If the USCIS is reading this, you are still welcome to visit us, heck spend a month, you will know for sure we are married. Now with my step-daughter, that is a different story, applying for the five year, and no where on any of her evidence or her application is my name on it. But did tell her I would give her the 675 bucks.

[sundeep 0]

I have the exact experience as yours during my Naturalization interview a month ago. I kinda knew that I was not going to be approved on the spot, because technically my green card was not 3 years old the day interview happened. Everything went normal except the approval part when he mentioned that he will review my file and follow up with me in the mail, either with a RFE or an Oath letter. I am still awaiting to hear anything from them.

As far as for the curious minds, why my interview happened before my 3 year green card anniversary? I applied about 90 days prior the anniversary and the process moved faster than 90 days.

Thanks.

I was wondering if people who had the same result after their N-400 interview would let me know how long it took till for approval or what happend.

I should mention some detail if it helps..

Our 1st experience with USCIS for I-485/I-130/ssn all went smoothly easy everything only taking 2mo. from the time we filed to the interview!!!(nov.06-jan 4th 07) Really that fast. PR card approved day of interview with stamp , lawyer was present and filed it. Also I should mention that his conditions on his PR card were already removed for over a year so he already has his 10yr GC(for about 1 1/2 yrs). Which the removal of condtions only took 2mos. to process.

So we filed March 17th and the interview was June 15th. The only items that were requested at the interview were (other than passport/PR card/id)was the last 3yrs of our tax transcripts that we had not included in the origianl filing of the N-400. The interview was basic he went over the application and my husband said he really didn't focus on any particular subject like my husbands unemployment from last year or his previous marriage. None of it was questioned by the officer. So he passed the history test and English test and the officer said congrats everything looks good I am just going to go over your file. Than he said you will here from us if I need anything from you. My husband than was handed a piece of paper that said

X passed the history test and English test

XYour appilcation has not yet been approved. A decision can not yet be made. USCIS will contact you..

Any ideas when this decision will be made? I have read some bad stories of how long people wait..is this true? He was so lucky with all other filings?

[lissa04 3]

To answer your question it can take 120+ days for a decision to be made. On the 90th day you can request to have a service request put in to find out the status of your case. That can take another 30-45 days to find out your status. I am currently in your situation right now, and still waiting for my oath to be scheduled. Best of luck.

I was wondering if people who had the same result after their N-400 interview would let me know how long it took till for approval or what happend.

I should mention some detail if it helps..

Our 1st experience with USCIS for I-485/I-130/ssn all went smoothly easy everything only taking 2mo. from the time we filed to the interview!!!(nov.06-jan 4th 07) Really that fast. PR card approved day of interview with stamp , lawyer was present and filed it. Also I should mention that his conditions on his PR card were already removed for over a year so he already has his 10yr GC(for about 1 1/2 yrs). Which the removal of condtions only took 2mos. to process.

So we filed March 17th and the interview was June 15th. The only items that were requested at the interview were (other than passport/PR card/id)was the last 3yrs of our tax transcripts that we had not included in the origianl filing of the N-400. The interview was basic he went over the application and my husband said he really didn't focus on any particular subject like my husbands unemployment from last year or his previous marriage. None of it was questioned by the officer. So he passed the history test and English test and the officer said congrats everything looks good I am just going to go over your file. Than he said you will here from us if I need anything from you. My husband than was handed a piece of paper that said

X passed the history test and English test

XYour appilcation has not yet been approved. A decision can not yet be made. USCIS will contact you..

Any ideas when this decision will be made? I have read some bad stories of how long people wait..is this true? He was so lucky with all other filings?

[hala_amira 1]

To answer your question it can take 120+ days for a decision to be made. On the 90th day you can request to have a service request put in to find out the status of your case. That can take another 30-45 days to find out your status. I am currently in your situation right now, and still waiting for my oath to be scheduled. Best of luck.

Lissa04 Your N-400 experience has been through alot! I better shut up and wait for the 90th day before worrying about it. But than again background check NIGHTMARE!... Did the IO mention at the interview that your background check wasn't finished yet? Or did the IO say it was complete and still gave the paper with "decision cannot yet.."? My husband was the second scenerio.

I hope you get that damn oath letter soon!! Oh, and hello from Minnesota to a Canadian neighbor..

Thanks, again Team ~Hala