I-751 January 2017 Filers

[nitavi92 1]

Any aprovals for today? 

[divemaster19 17]

,...

Edited January 19, 2019 by divemaster19
Please delete posted in wrong area

[Charly2 11]

On 1/8/2019 at 7:07 PM, Dualie said:

Well, I'm about a week shy of the two year mark.  Haven't heard a whisper from USCIS for eight months (when they transferred my case yet again). I have TWO I-551 stamps in my Canadian passport, with time and room for a third (would not surprise me at all at this point). You should see the looks I get crossing back into the US from Canada. They ask ME what is taking so long. I just shake my head right along with them.  I really thought I would be done with this "thing" by now. Maybe 2019? Who knows...

Omg, I hope you get it soon. I have been reading everybody's comments and looks pretty bad. I tought I was kind of lonely in this waiting. In any case, seems that I am done. I DID have 3 I 551 in my passport. I applied for citicenzhip as well. MY 751 is still pending, still says that they transfer my file May 3, 2018. But, in August 2018 I went for N 400 interview, and when I was loosing hope because they would not send anything else, I received the Oath letter on January 30th. I have to go next week, February 20th. I HAVE A QUESTION IF SOMEBODY KNOWS: SHOULD I GO TO THE CEREMONY EVENTOUGH MY I 751 HAVEN NOT YET BEEN RESOVLED? I CALLED USCIS and coul;dn't talk to a TIer2 officer. Tier1 officer said: "Just go and if there's an issue I guess you'll find out there". Obviously, that's not an answer that helps.

[Dualie 185]

24 minutes ago, Charly2 said:

Omg, I hope you get it soon. I have been reading everybody's comments and looks pretty bad. I tought I was kind of lonely in this waiting. In any case, seems that I am done. I DID have 3 I 551 in my passport. I applied for citizenship as well. MY 751 is still pending, still says that they transfer my file May 3, 2018. But, in August 2018 I went for N 400 interview, and when I was loosing hope because they would not send anything else, I received the Oath letter on January 30th. I have to go next week, February 20th. I HAVE A QUESTION IF SOMEBODY KNOWS: SHOULD I GO TO THE CEREMONY EVENTOUGH MY I 751 HAVEN NOT YET BEEN RESOVLED? I CALLED USCIS and coul;dn't talk to a TIer2 officer. Tier1 officer said: "Just go and if there's an issue I guess you'll find out there". Obviously, that's not an answer that helps.

Whoa! Most people here have said that when they had an N400 interview, they were told that even if they passed the tests and everything, they have to wait until their I-751 is adjudicated before the citizenship can progress to the oath, etc. Someone dropped the ball here (not you!). I suggest keep calling until you speak to a Tier 2 or a supervisor. I am sure if you take that Tier 1 advice, even if it isn't caught at the ceremony, eventually it will be found out.  Keep calling, because there is a BIG mistake out there somewhere. On a side note - maybe they have adjudicated your I-751 and you are the last to know!  Either way, CALL! It NEEDS to be straightened out.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Dualie

[Charly2 11]

55 minutes ago, Dualie said:

Whoa! Most people here have said that when they had an N400 interview, they were told that even if they passed the tests and everything, they have to wait until their I-751 is adjudicated before the citizenship can progress to the oath, etc. Someone dropped the ball here (not you!). I suggest keep calling until you speak to a Tier 2 or a supervisor. I am sure if you take that Tier 1 advice, even if it isn't caught at the ceremony, eventually it will be found out.  Keep calling, because there is a BIG mistake out there somewhere. On a side note - maybe they have adjudicated your I-751 and you are the last to know!  Either way, CALL! It NEEDS to be straightened out.

I'll try again tomorrow....thanks! hopefully it was adjudicated, I gotta be positive  

[Dualie 185]

22 minutes ago, Charly2 said:

I'll try again tomorrow....thanks! hopefully it was adjudicated, I gotta be positive  

I have my fingers crossed for you!  

 

[JWITT 2]

I wanted to share my wife's I-751/N-400 story to give some hope for you that are still waiting or may be approaching an N-400 interview with I-751 pending. 

 

We filed for my wife's I-751 on 1/27/17 to CSC. With no word yet on the I-751, we filed the N-400 for citizenship with the Dallas office on 1-18-18.

 

Like most of you who filed N-400 with I-751 pending, the I-751 was transferred to NBC in May 2018.

 

However, since there is no posted processing time for I-751 at the NBC, we still filed a case inquiry to USCIS in October 2018 once our case was outside CSC normal process times. When we received no reply within 30 days, we filed another case inquiry in early December 2018.

 

Finally, on December 21 2018, we received a response from USCIS saying they would adjudicate our I-751 an N-400 petitions together.

 

On January 3 2019, we received an N-400 interview notice for February 7. The interview notice made no mention of the I-751.

 

On 2/7, at the Dallas field office, when the officer called my wife, we asked whether I should come to the interview as well and the officer said yes.

 

The officer informed us that the primary purpose of the interview was to adjudicate the N-400 but, to do so, she had to close out the I-751 first.

 

She had us confirm our basic demographic information. She asked us about our daughter and asked to see our daughter's birth certificate. At that point, my wife also volunteered a picture of the three of us together. The officer was satisfied that this was enough evidence and she finished the I-751 interview.

 

The officer did allow me to stay in the room for my wife's N-400 test and interview. My wife passed the test and then the officer went through the Yes/No questions from the application. She did not ask to see any other documents (never even asked for my wife's passport) and said she was recommending approval on both cases.

 

Since the officer also happened to be a supervisor (we got lucky there), she said she could go into the system and try to approve the cases to trigger/print the oath letter. She was able to do this and my wife's oath was scheduled for 2/12. My wife took her oath on 2/12 and is now a US citizen!

 

A few takeaways from our experience:

 

1. If citizenship is your ultimate goal, do not delay filing the N-400. If we had, we would have likely waited another 6 months for citizenship.

2. Continue to file case inquiries with USCIS about your I-751 being out of normal processing times even if your case was transferred to NBC. We are convinced that our case inquires helped our case get noticed to have the N-400 interview scheduled.

3. At least in Dallas, officers seem fully aware of the I-751/N-400 combo interview situation and know how to handle it. The I-751 portion of our interview was short and very straightforward.

 

Good luck to all of you still waiting, your time will come soon, keep the faith!

[Dualie 185]

23 hours ago, JWITT said:

I wanted to share my wife's I-751/N-400 story to give some hope for you that are still waiting or may be approaching an N-400 interview with I-751 pending. 

 

We filed for my wife's I-751 on 1/27/17 to CSC. With no word yet on the I-751, we filed the N-400 for citizenship with the Dallas office on 1-18-18.

 

Like most of you who filed N-400 with I-751 pending, the I-751 was transferred to NBC in May 2018.

 

However, since there is no posted processing time for I-751 at the NBC, we still filed a case inquiry to USCIS in October 2018 once our case was outside CSC normal process times. When we received no reply within 30 days, we filed another case inquiry in early December 2018.

 

Finally, on December 21 2018, we received a response from USCIS saying they would adjudicate our I-751 an N-400 petitions together.

 

On January 3 2019, we received an N-400 interview notice for February 7. The interview notice made no mention of the I-751.

 

On 2/7, at the Dallas field office, when the officer called my wife, we asked whether I should come to the interview as well and the officer said yes.

 

The officer informed us that the primary purpose of the interview was to adjudicate the N-400 but, to do so, she had to close out the I-751 first.

 

She had us confirm our basic demographic information. She asked us about our daughter and asked to see our daughter's birth certificate. At that point, my wife also volunteered a picture of the three of us together. The officer was satisfied that this was enough evidence and she finished the I-751 interview.

 

The officer did allow me to stay in the room for my wife's N-400 test and interview. My wife passed the test and then the officer went through the Yes/No questions from the application. She did not ask to see any other documents (never even asked for my wife's passport) and said she was recommending approval on both cases.

 

Since the officer also happened to be a supervisor (we got lucky there), she said she could go into the system and try to approve the cases to trigger/print the oath letter. She was able to do this and my wife's oath was scheduled for 2/12. My wife took her oath on 2/12 and is now a US citizen!

 

A few takeaways from our experience:

 

1. If citizenship is your ultimate goal, do not delay filing the N-400. If we had, we would have likely waited another 6 months for citizenship.

2. Continue to file case inquiries with USCIS about your I-751 being out of normal processing times even if your case was transferred to NBC. We are convinced that our case inquires helped our case get noticed to have the N-400 interview scheduled.

3. At least in Dallas, officers seem fully aware of the I-751/N-400 combo interview situation and know how to handle it. The I-751 portion of our interview was short and very straightforward.

 

Good luck to all of you still waiting, your time will come soon, keep the faith!

So....I am going to submit another inquiry. I did that last summer and heard absolutely nothing.  Thank you for your post. Maybe if I keep hounding them something might come of it. I'm just really tired of being in limbo. I mean, 3 years plus to adjudicate a I-751. Really?  Hear's to hoping they will light a fire under someone's backside and get this done already. I'm so done....

Thank you again for your post. It does give me some hope!

[JWITT 2]

On 2/13/2019 at 10:05 PM, Charly2 said:

I'll try again tomorrow....thanks! hopefully it was adjudicated, I gotta be positive  

I would suggest going to the Oath ceremony even if you don't get clarity on the I-751 beforehand.

 

It is important to remember that, for those of us who had N-400 interviews with I-751's pending, the case status almost never changed online for the I-751 even after the N-400 is approved. Granted, we personally did receive an I-751 approval notice in the mail (the day before our oath ceremony) but the fact that you didn't could have just been an administrative oversight or our always reliable postal service could have lost it in the mail.

 

Good luck and keep us all posted!

[Charly2 11]

On 2/16/2019 at 7:11 PM, JWITT said:

I would suggest going to the Oath ceremony even if you don't get clarity on the I-751 beforehand.

 

It is important to remember that, for those of us who had N-400 interviews with I-751's pending, the case status almost never changed online for the I-751 even after the N-400 is approved. Granted, we personally did receive an I-751 approval notice in the mail (the day before our oath ceremony) but the fact that you didn't could have just been an administrative oversight or our always reliable postal service could have lost it in the mail.

 

Good luck and keep us all posted!

 

I am glad things worked out for your wife in the interview. Yes, my problem was that the officer (he was very nice btw), wasn't the person to approve the 2 cases...so delay my Oath letter 6 months! The waiting was horrible, seemed endless. At some point I just thought that they had lost my files. Still nothing about my I 751. Couldn't communicate, I'v tried twice and they keep saying theyt will and then I got disconnected. I got tired. Last called lasted 58 minutes. It's very tiring and anyway I am busy and can't be all day on the phone. In any case, I will keep everybody posted. Some other thing is that I traveled, they say in the letter to bring documents related to that. I imagine the electronic ticket or my passport will suffice. I am almost done! I can taste it.  

[gioC 1]

On 2/13/2019 at 9:08 PM, Dualie said:

Whoa! Most people here have said that when they had an N400 interview, they were told that even if they passed the tests and everything, they have to wait until their I-751 is adjudicated before the citizenship can progress to the oath, etc. Someone dropped the ball here (not you!). I suggest keep calling until you speak to a Tier 2 or a supervisor. I am sure if you take that Tier 1 advice, even if it isn't caught at the ceremony, eventually it will be found out.  Keep calling, because there is a BIG mistake out there somewhere. On a side note - maybe they have adjudicated your I-751 and you are the last to know!  Either way, CALL! It NEEDS to be straightened out.

Where do you call? I tried calling the USCIS customer service number [1 (800) 375-5283], but I just kept being redirected endlessly by the machine and was never able to speak to a person. My case got randomly transferred to NSC a couple weeks ago and I have no idea what that means.

 

I am afraid of filing my N-400 bc I would hate to delay the I-751 decision... but I am losing hope of ever getting my case resolved.

 

Thank you in advance for any comments.

Edited February 19, 2019 by gioC

[santiagosilva 8]

I've asked this question in other threads, but is there anyone here who's doing n 400 under the 3 year rule, and is going through a divorce at the same time? (or who recently got their case(s) denied/approved.)

[GBOS 198]

9 minutes ago, santiagosilva said:

I've asked this question in other threads, but is there anyone here who's doing n 400 under the 3 year rule, and is going through a divorce at the same time? (or who recently got their case(s) denied/approved.)

I don’t know of one, but the 3-year rule does specifically require that you must still be MARRIED TO and LIVING WITH the same US citizen at the time of FILING.

[santiagosilva 8]

5 minutes ago, GBOS said:

I don’t know of one, but the 3-year rule does specifically require that you must still be MARRIED TO and LIVING WITH the same US citizen at the time of FILING.

I filed when we were still together, and about 3-4 months later, my wife just up and left . (She has mental issues, and is in and out of mental wards... long story)

 

I'm still waiting for my i 751 , and that's why i'm curious if anyone is in the same boat. I've followed other i 751 w divorce threads, but they've all dried up it seems.  😕

[GBOS 198]

8 minutes ago, santiagosilva said:

I filed when we were still together, and about 3-4 months later, my wife just up and left . (She has mental issues, and is in and out of mental wards... long story)

 

I'm still waiting for my i 751 , and that's why i'm curious if anyone is in the same boat. I've followed other i 751 w divorce threads, but they've all dried up it seems.  😕

I think the focus now is to clear I-751 hurdle for all of us.  You can worry about N-400 later.

 

First no cost advice would be to ask USCIS at your field office if you should file N-400 under the 3-year rule, given your circumstances.  Or would it be better to wait and file under the 5-year rule.

 

If you decide to file under the 3-year rule, the worst it can happen is they denied your application because you are not satisfying the 3-year requirements, so you lost money there.  But you will then be eligible to apply again when you meet the 5-year requirements.  Getting a divorce does not bar you to become a citizen.

 

Only serious criminal convictions will do that.

Edited February 20, 2019 by GBOS