Submittimg N-400 based on 5 years of residency but i751 still not processed. Evidence required? Also would an attorney be worth it?

[Kayvan 1]

Hi,

 

So my i751 has been pending for many years now, so long that I infact recently got divorced from my wife and had to request it be switched to divorce waiver.

 

Anyway, I am now 5 years a green card holder and I'm filing my N-400 because who knows how long this process will take. 

 

Looking at the documents required on uscis im a little confused, my Green Card was originally applied for through marriage... And the documents required state to provide documents to prove marriage was bona-fide. 

 

However i think this is saying these documents are required if this was based on 3 year rule? 

 

Do I just submit N-400 with the divorce decree and nothing else? or do I re-submit the hundreds of documents and photographs proving my marriage that I have already submitted on my i751? 

 

My i751 is going through an attorney. I asked them to quite me for filing the N-400 as I thought it would be handy to keep everything going through their office. 

 

But they want $2500 + filing fees to file the n400, which to me seems a little high. The N400 is like 2 pages and I'm applying based on 5 years... So it doesn't seem to be too complicated? 

 

However, since this is my entire life I'm. Little paranoid and have been considering paying them the $2500 + filing fees. Is it worth it? 

 

In a nut shell, 2 questions:

 

1. what documents do I provide with my n-400 based on 5 year rule, after I have been divorced during my i751 process (i751 already switched to divorce waiver). 

 

2. Is filing n400 through an attorney worth it in my case or is it a waste of money. 

 

 

 

 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

14 minutes ago, Kayvan said:

So my i751 has been pending for many years now,

Many years? It's not normal. Have you contacted USCIS to see what's taking so long?

 

15 minutes ago, Kayvan said:

1. what documents do I provide with my n-400 based on 5 year rule, after I have been divorced during my i751 process (i751 already switched to divorce waiver). 

Just the copy of your green card. You are eligible 5 years from the date "Resident since" on the green card

 

16 minutes ago, Kayvan said:

2. Is filing n400 through an attorney worth it in my case or is it a waste of money. 

Waste of money. The vast majority of people do the N-400 by themselves. There are self-help groups, church groups, immigration advocacy groups, ... that help people filled out the application and prepare for the interview. Do a search. The people who get a lawyer are people who know they will have an issue during the process either criminal offenses or past deportation, illegal presence, ... what have you. 

[Kayvan 1]

12 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

Many years? It's not normal. Have you contacted USCIS to see what's taking so long?

 

Yes. As you probably know USCIS provide no information, I'm not sure they even know. Even tier 2 can't help. 

 

For starters, it's not normal but it's not out of the ordinary either. Lots of people have i751 pending for years.

 

First year or two it was transferred to different offices due to workload. 

 

What didn't help was I filed n400 based on 3 years but then had to withdraw due to divorce, and switched i751 to waiver. 

 

Again, uscis won't comment so nobody knows for sure, butf frommy research it seems this happened to people in my situation who filed n400 + i751 pending. 

 

N400 got attached to i751 and my i751 priority date became my n400 date. So instead of my n400 being attached to my i751 and going to the head of the processing line, my i751 was attached to my n400 and went back to the bottom of the pile. 

 

I think this because in the thread with people who applied i751 the same time as me, the only people who didn't get i751 acceptance were people who applied n400 prior to i751 acceptance. 

 

My case was probably further delayed because when those other people were getting acceptance for joint n400+i751, I had to file for divorce and requested withdrawal of n400 and switch to waiver. 

 

USCIS keep increasing their 'processing time', when I first filed it was 9 months. It's now 40 months (of which I am still within).. so I can't really do anything other than wait.

 

I had infopass appointment about 6 months ago and was told its at the field office for interview but still have not heard anything since. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Kayvan

[little immigrant 800]

Will you be filing online or via mail? 

[Kayvan 1]

3 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

Will you be filing online or via mail? 

Probably filing online since it's easier. 

[ProudlyConfused 24]

Have you tried reaching out to you states senators office, mine was really able to assist in expediting my case.

Re a lawyer; I did both my I-751 and N-400 on my own with no issues, I had a pretty straight forward case - apart from the fact that I had to file my I-751 many years past the due date due to a USCIS error on my GC.

 

I had my combo interview last Friday and take the oath in 2 weeks

[Mollie09 1,543]

What's your local office?