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zooropa

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    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    15 hours ago, Leon & Mylen said:

     

    I see.  Thanks for your quick reply!  I do know about the ELIS fiascos and initially figured that was what it was.  But then got confused after seeing your timeline and thought maybe that had something to do with it as well.  Thanks for clearing it up and best of luck hopefully soon for you!

    Thank you!  You also!

    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Leon & Mylen said:

     

    Pardon me if I seem a tad intrusive, but I was going through threads previous to the Jan '17 group I am in to get a sense of typical timeline wait times and noticed your predicament.  

     

    Then I took a look at your timeline and noticed you waited only 21 months before applying for citizenship rather than the required 33 months from the date of the initial green card.

     

    How were you allowed to do this?  Could this be the cause?

    Hello,

    We are a 319(b) filing.  This does not have any bearing on the delay many are experiencing.  The 319b is quite common among military and government workers at overseas locations. It merely shortens the wait time to apply for citizenship.  The real issue is the well documented ELIS problems in the Washington Times news article.

    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 7:58 PM, Laraabq said:

    Thank you, I still don't know when! The pdf is not uploaded on elis. I heard some interviews get scheduled then cancelled!! I'm still worried :)

     

    Well, it will be one year exactly next week that they received my application.  I will let you know if any thing changes from biometrics stage on my case.  Maybe the one year mark gets a case top priority to move to the interview stage.  Fingers crossed.:whistle:

    N-400 Filers who got stuck or delayed in Background / Name Check.

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    On ‎5‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 5:02 PM, Namel said:

    All these delays due to the background checks vary totally from one applicant to another and especially from one IO to another. They are human too with some work load, some might obviously be more productive than other.

     

    Sometimes, it really seems like it depends on the applicants' luck and whoever is the immigration officer looking into their file.

     

    I have a friend whose application has been pending now for 5 months, some including USCIS might say she is still within a normal processing time but she is an active duty service member who might deploy anytime on a short notice.

     

    I was chocked when she mentioned that there are thousands of military personnel whose application get stuck for over 8-12 months and that it is very common.

     

    You would think it is faster military personnel but unfortunately they get stuck as everyone else. 

     

    Sometime as a reward for their patience, they are invited to the white house for their naturalization ceremony or stuff like that according to her.

     

    In fact there are a lot of civillians whose process get completed a whole lot faster than military applications.

     

    The point is, it really seems like there is nothing to do except trying to move on with your life and trying to forget about it as of now though it might definitely be a game changer in your life if you were to get it sooner.

     

    Senators, representatives tend to get the same answer as the one they give applicants on the phone except the fact that theirs is in writing. But, definitely keep trying as you never know what doors will open eventually.

     

    I just wish someday, the process will be a lot more rigorous especially time wise so that everyone get there stuff done within the same amount of time.

     

     

    Actually,  this is not a variable issue for each applicant.  This is a known problem with the ELIS rollout that is covered in the Washington Times story of April 23, 2017.  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/23/naturalization-delay-prevents-new-citizens-from-vo/

     

    "The Department of Homeland Security blamed the problem on a spike in applications, but the numbers don’t bear out that explanation. Applications rose 14 percent compared with the 2012 election year, but the backlog surged 64 percent.

    Instead, the department’s watchdog says the problem can be traced to a troubled computer system that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services deployed last year that was supposed to help move the agency from a paper-based system into the digital age. The rollout of the system was so flawed that USCIS was forced to cancel naturalization interviews and even citizenship ceremonies for fear of giving out erroneous approvals.

     

    It’s a serious bungle for the $1 billion computer system, dubbed ELIS in honor of Ellis Island, and it’s a major black eye for an agency that is already facing questions over its processing of refugees and that would be called upon to handle any legalization program Congress would approve."

     

    The background check backlog is unlike anything we have seen in many years...

    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    I requested a case inquiry online with USCIS on 26 APRIL, and they posted that it was "assigned to an officer...." on 5 MAY, but today I see that posting deleted, and a new posting with a new date:

    "On May 10, 2017, your inquiry about why your case is taking longer than our processing time, referral number WKD1071XXXXXXXX, was assigned to an officer for response."

    They moved the date and clearly delayed the inquiry by taking ten days just to assign an officer......

    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    17 hours ago, Laraabq said:

    I have sent USCIS a letter of intent for writ of Mandamus! I gave them 30 days to respond to me,  if no response received, I'll be filing a writ of mandamus in federal district court for unreasonable delay ( one year mark). This is my last resort or I'll be keeping waiting forever for interview scheduling 

    Do you have a Template for the letter?

    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Laraabq said:

    I have sent USCIS a letter of intent for writ of Mandamus! I gave them 30 days to respond to me,  if no response received, I'll be filing a writ of mandamus in federal district court for unreasonable delay ( one year mark). This is my last resort or I'll be keeping waiting forever for interview scheduling 

    Please keep us posted!

    N-400 May 2016 filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    2 hours ago, ajacks said:

    After escalating to the US Senator on March 1st and then being told we are stuck in "security checks" just got a SMS that my wife's interview has been scheduled. Subsequently got a letter from Senator that they finally got a response from USCIS. Interview in May 2017 for case filed in May 2016.

    Congrats!

    Good to hear that USCIS is moving some cases!   

    N-400 Filers who got stuck or delayed in Background / Name Check.

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    This is what occured late in 2016:

     

    "According to USCIS, they recently discovered that their software system was truncating names of naturalization applicants when they sent the names over to the FBI for background checks. That meant the background checks weren’t done correctly or fully. As you can imagine, this is a problem because a few background checks were coming back clear when they shouldn’t.

    Out of an abundance of caution, USCIS decided to pull every N-400 case that was in the ELIS system and ask the FBI to rerun the background checks for those applicants who had filed, who had been interviewed, and who had not yet been sworn-in as US citizens. Although USCIS has asked the FBI to expedite these checks, they do not know how long this will take."

    N-400 Filers who got stuck or delayed in Background / Name Check.

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    18 hours ago, maninflorida said:

    Well, that's disheartening. One question, have you ever thought of doing a background check on yourself?

    https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks

     

    I literally googled this today, so I have no idea if this works. I guess you can do it yourself or contact a third party company to do it. However, my theory would be, if you run a background check on yourself, out of your own pocket, you could potentially see if the FBI thinks your name is tainted? Perhaps someone with the same name is messing up your application, and hypothetically, if they had an arrest in DD/MM/YYYY, and if you could prove that you were thousands of miles away, this could be the hurdle you'd need to clear.

     

    Other than that I've got nothing.

     

    Well,  judging by what I have been seeing on other websites,  and also this website's postings  "Slowdown in USCIS N400 Processing " and "USCIS taking forever to schedule interview " it appears that the slowdown is widespread.  It It does show delays for some people...and combined with the return of a large number of cases to the FBI, this makes sense.

    N-400 Filers who got stuck or delayed in Background / Name Check.

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    11 hours ago, maninflorida said:

    Hi,

     

    I'd hate to be in your shoes and frankly, I'm afraid I will be.

     

    Regardless, I'd like to know specifics, if I can, regarding your case specifically:

    1. After how many days did you contact USCIS? Have they formalized a response? Have you tried again?

    2. After how many days did you contact your elected officials? I understand that their response was, we're still awaiting the FBI background check. Did you try again?

    3. How did you contact the ombudsman? What was their response? Have you tried again?

     

    Ultimately, what is their response to the fact that this is unusual and other background checks are near instantaneous?   

     

    What is your recourse now? Wait? Picket outside? Get a local news station involved?

     

    Thank you.

    Its been a long wait, day 318 with no news yet..very difficult to plan any trips for fear of missing any notices.

    .

    1. I have contacted USCIS over a dozen times since around Sept 2016.  Always the same answer  "A review of our records indicates that the required investigation into your background remains pending. Until the background investigation is completed, USCIS cannot move forward on your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.  These background checks are required to be completed on all applicants who apply for the immigration benefit you are seeking. USCIS will make every effort to make a decision on this case as soon as the background checks are complete." 

    But they did give me a real response in Feb 2017 "Your case remains in background checks due to a high volume of cases being processed,  and a severe backlog."

     

    2. I have contacted my elected officials on average three times for each official. (4 Officials).   I stated what the USCIS had told me, and asked them to look into my case with the FBI, all of them sent a letter restating what the USCIS had already told me.  I then again asked all of these officials to contact the FBI, some asked for me to resend a new release which I did, but after two to three months now,  I remain waiting.

     

    3. I filled out the necessary paperwork for the Ombudsman,  and received a notice that the USCIS states that my "case is still in background checks, and that they will notify me when the USCIS responds further, and if I hear from the USCIS first, to notify them".  After waiting around 45 days, I asked them for an update.  They had no new updates for me.

    N-400 Filers who got stuck or delayed in Background / Name Check.

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    10 hours ago, CareBear said:

    Ya'll do realise there's massive backlogs at most field offices for processing right? I filed July 2016 and haven't had my interview yet. I have the notice of the date - but it took me 8 months to get it. Zooropa is the only one out of four of you that has a legitimate cause for concern.

    I agree,  if someone filed fingerprints in DEC 2016 or JAN 2017, I would not consider that a delay in Background checks.  And if you review the processing times for the Field Offices, you are very much within their times.  There is a definite delay in N400s,  as the USCIS processing times were posted a month or so ago, and then a few days later they reposted "new" times that actually went backwards in time.  My PD is now 306 days ago.  I am nearing one year since filing, and I am not alone in this snafu, their are large numbers caught up in this "refiling" of background checks due to USCIS computer error last year.  All of this means many more N400s will be delayed due to this backup.

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