1-751 interview: required vs waived

[NDB052714 122]

Just curious...and perhaps no one knows for sure: is there any rationale behind whether 1-751 interviews are required vs waived? Is it %? Just luck of the draw? It's puzzling really. 

 

Our interview was scheduled for this month, but covid shutdown caused cancellation. Now we're just waiting for news of the rescheduled appointment. I find myself fantasizing that they'll just change the status to card being produced...can only imagine the backlog they're gonna have once they reopen the field offices and service centers. 

 

Thanks, 

 

D&N

[Dashinka 23,211]

The general rule of thumb is if one did not have an interview at the AOS stage, then an interview at the ROC stage is almost certain.  Beyond that, it would most likely be related to the amount and quality of evidence submitted with the ROC.  Additionally, a lot of folks at the ROC stage will also submit an N400 when the window opens, so like my wife and I, we had a very brief ROC interview prior to her N400 interview (we also had an interview at the AOS stage, but back then, a lot of folks were getting AOS interview waivers).

 

 

[NDB052714 122]

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

The general rule of thumb is if one did not have an interview at the AOS stage, then an interview at the ROC stage is almost certain.  Beyond that, it would most likely be related to the amount and quality of evidence submitted with the ROC.  Additionally, a lot of folks at the ROC stage will also submit an N400 when the window opens, so like my wife and I, we had a very brief ROC interview prior to her N400 interview (we also had an interview at the AOS stage, but back then, a lot of folks were getting AOS interview waivers).

 

 

Thanks very much for your reply and for sharing your experience. 

 

We did NOT have an AOS interview, so an interview at ROC stage makes sense I suppose. Since we didn't' receive an RFE, I'm assuming our paper work submitted was sufficient. There was certainly a LOT of it  

 

So we submitted Noom's N400 application the day the window opened...and within days of filing the N400 application, we received notification that his ROC interview was scheduled and then that the N400 biometrics was scheduled. Of course both were subsequently canceled. 

 

Do you think the brevity of the ROC interview was related to the upcoming N400 interview? How far apart were the 2 interviews? 

 

Thank you, 

 

D&N

[Ash.1101 1,755]

We did not interview for AOS or ROC and we did not go for N-400 yet. I can't see much of rhyme or reason as to why we didn't get any interview other than maybe we had an overabundance of proof both times. /shrug

[TLC 11]

5 hours ago, Dashinka said:

The general rule of thumb is if one did not have an interview at the AOS stage, then an interview at the ROC stage is almost certain.  Beyond that, it would most likely be related to the amount and quality of evidence submitted with the ROC.  Additionally, a lot of folks at the ROC stage will also submit an N400 when the window opens, so like my wife and I, we had a very brief ROC interview prior to her N400 interview (we also had an interview at the AOS stage, but back then, a lot of folks were getting AOS interview waivers).

 

 

I would also add that this is true for ROC filed after Dec 2018 when the interview guidance changed. Many who did not have interviews at AOS can still be approved for their ROC without interviews if they applied before Dec 2018.

[Dashinka 23,211]

1 hour ago, Ash. said:

We did not interview for AOS or ROC and we did not go for N-400 yet. I can't see much of rhyme or reason as to why we didn't get any interview other than maybe we had an overabundance of proof both times. /shrug

Interesting, we had an interview at each stage.  Back when we were doing AOS, a lot of folks were getting interview waivers, and they were taking 12+ months to get their GC.  My wife got her GC in 5.5 months with an interview.  Many folks were opining about how to get on the interview list.  The simple fact is there appears to be no rhyme or reason.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

1 minute ago, Dashinka said:

Interesting, we had an interview at each stage.  Back when we were doing AOS, a lot of folks were getting interview waivers, and they were taking 12+ months to get their GC.  My wife got her GC in 5.5 months with an interview.  Many folks were opining about how to get on the interview list.  The simple fact is there appears to be no rhyme or reason.

Yep. Ours was crazy fast.

Our only hitch was in K-1 with me not working, we ended up having a total of three I-134's. Mine as the primary, my mother as joint-sponsor 1, and a friend as joint sponsor 2. My mother made over the income requirement, but the CO just didn't feel okay with my not working at the time, so asked for another one.

Past that hitch, AOS took two and a half months, and ROC took about a year but was still one of the first ones out of our bunch to get pushed through.

[Dashinka 23,211]

4 hours ago, NDB052714 said:

Thanks very much for your reply and for sharing your experience. 

 

We did NOT have an AOS interview, so an interview at ROC stage makes sense I suppose. Since we didn't' receive an RFE, I'm assuming our paper work submitted was sufficient. There was certainly a LOT of it  

 

So we submitted Noom's N400 application the day the window opened...and within days of filing the N400 application, we received notification that his ROC interview was scheduled and then that the N400 biometrics was scheduled. Of course both were subsequently canceled. 

 

Do you think the brevity of the ROC interview was related to the upcoming N400 interview? How far apart were the 2 interviews? 

 

Thank you, 

 

D&N

We actually never received a notice regarding the ROC interview.  When my wife filed her ROC, it was right at the time that the processing of the I751s slowed to a crawl.  Therefore a lot of folks filed a concurrent N400 application when their window opened and I was reading a lot of folks being called in for a combo ROC/N400 interview, so I made sure when my wife received notice for her N400 interview I went with her and sure enough, the IO asked me to come back for the ROC interview which lasted just a few minutes.  I suspect if the applications hadn’t been combined at the local office, we would not have had an ROC interview as we submitted a huge amount of evidence, and essentially the IO only verified the emails on the I751.

[yuna628 9,527]

We did not have an interview for AOS or ROC. Not sure if it was luck or we just burdened them with enough clearly mapped out paperwork and evidence they didn't think it was necessary. Both of the process did take a long time, and our ROC was in a group that got a faster transfer in the end.

[geowrian 22,335]

There is no definitive criteria that ensures you will or won't get an interview. I would tend to believe that providing a well presented packet with quality evidence would be a factor, but it does not guarantee anything either.

Also, I believe there was a memo a little bit ago (2018 maybe?) that they would generally require an interview for at least AOS or ROC, if not both, for newly filed petitions. But this is also not set in stone either.

Edited April 24, 2020 by geowrian

[Scandi 3,970]

12 hours ago, Ash. said:

We did not interview for AOS or ROC and we did not go for N-400 yet. I can't see much of rhyme or reason as to why we didn't get any interview other than maybe we had an overabundance of proof both times. /shrug

It used to be like that when you guys filed, that you could have both AOS and ROC interviews waived. That changed for new applications sometime in 2018. Since then everyone who hadn't had an interview for AOS inside the US would instead be interviewed for ROC. 

 

That means that every ROC filer who didn't have an AOS interview inside the US, would end up with a MSC receipt number, as those cases goes straight to NBC to be prepared for an interview. There have been some i-751 cases (originally K-1s usually) who didn't have an AOS interview but first ended up at another service center and were then transferred to NBC. 

 

Also, of course, those who DID have an interview for AOS but couldn't provide enough evidence of a bonafide marriage at the ROC stage would get an interview too. 

 

Now during covid-19 things have temporarily changed again, we have seen ROC cases getting approved without interview after having their interview cancelled. 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Scandi

[millefleur 5,035]

Agree with @Scandi - before the whole Covid-19 thing erupted, basically everyone who entered on a CR-1 appears to be getting routed to MSC and then forwarded to the local office for an interview. This is exactly what happened with our case. 

 

However, now that Covid-19 interrupted everything, we may see USCIS start to back away from this change. I wouldn't be so sure though because a bunch of CR-1 ROC folks who filed at the same time as I did are still stuck at the "Case ready to be scheduled for interview" status and it's been over 1 year now. So we really don't know what the plan is.

 

I would just continue to assume that those who are ROC'ing from a CR-1 are much more likely to get an interview than those who've already done AOS and had an interview.

[Andytn3591 20]

I got my case status changed to “ready to be scheduled for interview“ on April 1st. I was already interviewed when I applied for AOS. I applied for ROC and received an RFE. I sent them a big package with everything we had and I thought it was fine because we have lots of evidences. I checked a few thousand cases in front and behind me and saw all the cases that got status updated on that day turned to be “ready to be scheduled for interview”. The number of cases that have the status is abnormal. Some people even had the “interview cancelled” when they don’t even have scheduled interview. I wonder if it was a glitch. 

I’m stuck and idk if I should apply for N-400 now. I was waiting for the ROC to be done first. If I have to go for interview, I prefer getting it done as a combo N-400.

[NikLR 13,220]

I entered on CR1 in 2013. Had ROC in 2015 with no interview.  If you apply for N-400 you will get an interview, sometimes combo sometimes not, depends on whose desk your file ends up on.