Travel in 4 months

[pm5k 127]

My wife was planning to file her N-400 at the end of this month. We awould have to file in Chicago, where the wait is 7-8 months. She met the 3 year presence requirement last month.

We have a family trip planned for next March. Should she wait to file the N-400, or can she file it now? Our concern is when appointments may come up. I have also heard of people having interviews many months before the oath ceremony...

[charmander 692]

My wife was planning to file her N-400 at the end of this month. We awould have to file in Chicago, where the wait is 7-8 months. She met the 3 year presence requirement last month.

We have a family trip planned for next March. Should she wait to file the N-400, or can she file it now? Our concern is when appointments may come up. I have also heard of people having interviews many months before the oath ceremony...

Don't know how long your trip will be but I'd say file now. If there is a conflict, you could always ask to reschedule the interview or the oath ceremony.

On a side note filing fees are increasing by $45 effective 12/23/16.

Check timelines from Chicago, IL filers only for average processing time, things slowed down a bit with the new ELIS system and more people applying before the elections but Chicago used to run around 5 months or so. We had one filer from March 2016 and she was done in less than 5 months at Chicago and the time difference between her interview and oath were just 2 weeks.