Filing for N-400

[OldUser 5,199]

43 minutes ago, randomstairs said:

Online is not only faster but also much safer. You'll find the PDFs of all the critical documents from USCIS (receipts, biometrics, interview notices(!), etc) right in your account online. Mail often gets lost, USCIS can mess up the address (especially if you had moved), or it can get delivered late. The online filing is a no-brainer as far as I can tell.  

I don't believe online is evidently faster or slower than mail filing. Each case is unique. Online or mail filing is only one variable in the process. We don't know who gets assigned the case and how busy they are, how quickly they work etc etc. Unfortunately USCIS does not publish N-400 statistics for each type of filing.

 

While mail can get lost, don't forget how glitchy USCIS online systems are. I'm not surprised if a anything uploaded / submitted can get corrupt or lost in USCIS online system. Again, there's no proof of upload that you get as far as I know. If USCIS says you never replied to their RFE online, how would you prove you did? With mail, at least you can have certified mail.

 

I'm not saying online or mail is better. Either has advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

 

 

[randomstairs 272]

7 minutes ago, OldUser said:

I don't believe online is evidently faster or slower than mail filing. Each case is unique. Online or mail filing is only one variable in the process. We don't know who gets assigned the case and how busy they are, how quickly they work etc etc. Unfortunately USCIS does not publish N-400 statistics for each type of filing.

 

While mail can get lost, don't forget how glitchy USCIS online systems are. I'm not surprised if a anything uploaded / submitted can get corrupt or lost in USCIS online system. Again, there's no proof of upload that you get as far as I know. If USCIS says you never replied to their RFE online, how would you prove you did? With mail, at least you can have certified mail.

 

I'm not saying online or mail is better. Either has advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

 

 

I think there's more pros than cons to online filing. Assuming that the processing time is not affected by either method (let's call it X), it stands to reason that the (unknown) X + days in mail is more than X + zero (time it takes to upload). Therefore online filing, under this assumption, must be faster - regardless of other factors. But, yeah, a couple of days doesn't make a tangible difference.

 

Granted, the website is between barely workable and atrocious. That is a valid advantage of mailing. (I guess highly skilled IT professionals are not too attracted to gov jobs. Or maybe they're not eligible because they aren't citizens yet due to getting stuck by the glitchy website.)  

 

 

[Dashinka 23,421]

1 hour ago, randomstairs said:

Why would it get rejected? I filed 3-4 days into the window. 

You should be fine.  There was a story of a member that submitted an online petition minutes or so after their 90 day window opened per the time zone they were in.  Apparently the online system has some glitches relative to time zones and dating that caused issues and the member did not hear about it until the interview.  The recommendation is to wait 2-3 days after the window opens to submit just to be safe as even though this member eventually got it straightened out, it was a big headache.  You should be fine with a 3-4 day buffer.

 

 

[randomstairs 272]

53 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

You should be fine.  There was a story of a member that submitted an online petition minutes or so after their 90 day window opened per the time zone they were in.  Apparently the online system has some glitches relative to time zones and dating that caused issues and the member did not hear about it until the interview.  The recommendation is to wait 2-3 days after the window opens to submit just to be safe as even though this member eventually got it straightened out, it was a big headache.  You should be fine with a 3-4 day buffer.

 

 

Wow, what a case! Really makes you think. Kafka would be proud. Fortunately I had heeded the warning about filing on the first day of eligibility before I finally filed.

 

There's another issue with dates: on my GC the date is one day earlier than on the online account and in the email (the approval NoA - the "welcome letter" - has the same date as the GC). I called USCIS twice to confirm, and they did. The date on my GC was the one to go with. Still, for the 90-day window I prudently (as it seems) considered the +1 date as the "resident since" date. Then I added 2 days to that, already conservative, date - just in case. So that's why it's 3-4 days into the window.  

 

Anyways, it's almost a year now since I became a citizen. 

[Anthony42 5]

9 hours ago, OldUser said:

Add 3-5 days after window opens and you won't even notice it. It will ensure your N-400 is not going to get rejected. 

Yes, I had already had planned to file 5 days after my eligible time to file. Thank you. 

[Anthony42 5]

9 hours ago, randomstairs said:

Online is not only faster but also much safer. You'll find the PDFs of all the critical documents from USCIS (receipts, biometrics, interview notices(!), etc) right in your account online. Mail often gets lost, USCIS can mess up the address (especially if you had moved), or it can get delivered late. The online filing is a no-brainer as far as I can tell.  

Great info. Appreciate it. Will definitely do online.  

[Anthony42 5]

7 hours ago, randomstairs said:

Wow, what a case! Really makes you think. Kafka would be proud. Fortunately I had heeded the warning about filing on the first day of eligibility before I finally filed.

 

There's another issue with dates: on my GC the date is one day earlier than on the online account and in the email (the approval NoA - the "welcome letter" - has the same date as the GC). I called USCIS twice to confirm, and they did. The date on my GC was the one to go with. Still, for the 90-day window I prudently (as it seems) considered the +1 date as the "resident since" date. Then I added 2 days to that, already conservative, date - just in case. So that's why it's 3-4 days into the window.  

 

Anyways, it's almost a year now since I became a citizen. 

I never heard of this 90 day window? 
My wife is IF1 Category. And will have the required time rule as per USCIS this July

[Dashinka 23,421]

10 hours ago, randomstairs said:

Online is not only faster but also much safer. You'll find the PDFs of all the critical documents from USCIS (receipts, biometrics, interview notices(!), etc) right in your account online. Mail often gets lost, USCIS can mess up the address (especially if you had moved), or it can get delivered late. The online filing is a no-brainer as far as I can tell.  

Even if filing by paper, one can set up the online account and still get all the documents from USCIS.  My wife filed by paper, and also set up a USCIS account and received all of the notices.

 

That being said, if we had to do it again, we would go online especially now since it is more expensive.