afrocraft

So I recently had my N-400 interview with I-751 pending. So bizarre. There were questions about my GC date (long running issue with a USCIS error) and N-400 application date (applied online on the correct date, and presented evidence of that). Anyway:
No decision was made either way on my N-400 (or I-751) No "decision-cannot-be-made" slip was issued No RFE was issued No rescheduling was done The officer ended the interview without doing the civics or English tests, saying my case was complicated and he had a full schedule! Any ideas as to what to do now?

Naah. Not an issue at all.

Pragmatism and politics. No evidence for this, but I think USCIS sees I-751s as low-priority petitions. Delays in adjudicating the ROC petition have no substantive impact on one's status; many will apply for the N-400 anyway, allowing for combined adjudication; and ROCs generally have a weaker constituency than, say, employer-based petitions or naturalization applications.

Pragmatism and politics. No evidence for this, but I think USCIS sees I-751s as low-priority petitions. Delays in adjudicating the ROC petition have no substantive impact on one's status; many will apply for the N-400 anyway, allowing for combined adjudication; and ROCs generally have a weaker constituency than, say, employer-based petitions or naturalization applications.

I’m a citizen! I naturalized at 500 Pearl St yesterday with a group that seemed a few hundred deep. 
I could not have achieved that milestone without the help I received from all of you in this community. 
If anyone is ever reading this and has questions please feel free to message me. 
Good luck to all!! 
 

My husband’s interview was this morning (approved) at Portland USCIS office and we are currently sitting in the waiting area before the ceremony! Our visa journey is finally complete. :)

"Illegals." What does that even mean? When you drive under the influence, endangering lives, you're not an "illegal." When you evade taxes, or commit wire fraud, are you an "illegal"? Darnit, not even terrorists and mass murderers are considered "illegal." All are lawbreakers, but yet when you cross the border without valid entry documentation, some brand you "illegal," as though your very humanity were illicit.
 
Makes no sense to me at all.

Wow. So sorry for your ordeal. Once you've received your naturalization certificate, I urge you to continue to press your complaint against this USCIS officer as far as legally possible. I realize the easy thing to do is to just let it go and get on with your life as a citizen, but you'd be doing a great service to others like you who get mistreated because of some pre-existing bias.
 
It's the American way: making sacrifices for a better future, bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice one complaint at a time, and helping to forge a more perfect Union.

You are right, Today is a good day 😁

So you've used different names and dates of birth on official documents and visa applications, but because you've now fessed up, you expect the embassy not to be super suspicious? My broda...

My IO did ask for my driver's license at the interview, as well as my GC and passport. She glanced at the DL and gave it back to me. Don't know if the expiration date matters, even though mine wasn't expired

Being more methodical about the evidence you submit might be more effective. Maybe the framework below might help? 
 
Note: I use a star rating to represent the (subjective) strength of some examples of the evidence (*** for strong/verifiable/difficult to fake; ** moderate; * weak). Using multiple corroborating evidence for each section below from the date of marriage to the present, you want to show that you both:
 
Cohabit (CRITICAL):
Government IDs with same address*** Signed lease agreements with both names** Bills in both names for utilities that are home-specific (electric, gas, cable, land lines but not cell phones)** Renters insurance policy in both names** Correspondence in both names* Your letter to USCIS/affidavits explaining your living circumstances* Etc. Co-mingle finances (CRITICAL):
Assets jointly owned
Titles for significant assets (real estate, cars,  collectibles, etc.) in both names*** Joint financial account (bank, investment) statements with transaction history** Your letter to USCIS/affidavits explaining your financial practices* Liabilities jointly responsible for
Tax returns/transcripts showing Married Filed Joint status*** Joint credit card statements** Joint mortgage/car loan/personal loan docs** Signed lease agreements with both names** Utility bills in both names** Joint health insurance documentation** Your letter to USCIS/affidavits explaining your financial practices* Share life experiences:
Birth certificates of children you've had together** Travel documentation in both names (boarding passes/hotel receipts > bookings) ** Well chosen pictures of you together (e.g., to support travel above, or child birth above, or other major family events)* Shared memberships* Your letter to USCIS/affidavits explaining your shared experiences* Plan for the future together:
Beneficiary nominations on retirement accounts** Child savings accounts** Wills*** Estate trust documents*** Power of attorney*** Joint life insurance policies*** Your letter to USCIS/affidavits explaining your future plans* I would aim to provide at least 2 of the evidence in each section (the weaker the evidence you have, the more the corroboration you might need). Where you're lacking, explain why in your letter, and be creative in looking for alternative evidence. Remember: where possible, for each evidence, provide from date of marriage to the present (e.g., travel docs from Year 1 AND Year 2 AND Year X). Hope this helps.

Not that you did anything wrong by applying soon after your window opened, but be aware that some applicants have had their N400 initially denied because of this (see link below for a very recent case). I would be proactive and take evidence of the date of application with you to your interview, including payment confirmation by Pay.gov (see the linked thread for more information).
 
The denial in this case was overturned in short order. Best of luck!
 
 

OK, you should be fine then. But take evidence of payment (Pay.gov confirmation, credit card bill) just in case.

Wow. Sorry to hear. How is this possible?

Those requirements actually apply up until you take the citizenship oath.

Has USCIS actually issued a formal request for evidence (RFE)? If so, post it here after redacting for privacy.
 
We weren't in the room to hear the testimony, but I think the request for marriage evidence is administrative overreach (since she's not claiming eligibility based on marriage) and I'd be surprised if USCIS actually makes that request in writing. The dates thing can be explained away as a simple error. But then again, we don't know what your friend said in the interview.

So today I get to give the update I have been hoping to give since all of this nonsense began.
 
I received a flurry of text messages from USCIS this afternoon indicating that my case was updated. Puzzled but hopeful, I began to login to my online account, but before I could do so received a call from a Dallas number. They identified themselves as Officer SomebodyOrOther (I forget the name; I recall it wasn't the person who interviewed me) calling from the Dallas field office. They said they had received my case today, and had seen there was an issue. That she had gone ahead and reversed the denial and approved it, and could schedule me for an oath ceremony next Thursday afternoon, on Valentine's Day, if that would be ok. I said that would absolutely, completely, and totally be fine with me. She said she would mail out a copy of the letter today, and that I should receive it soon. I thanked her, and then called the congressional liaison working my case to let her know what had happened.
 
So... there we are. It's been a rough couple of weeks. I lost about 5 lbs the first week, which I can't say I'm unhappy about since I wanted to lose 10-15 lbs before the police academy begins later this year that I will hopefully (now) be attending, but this wasn't how I had planned on doing it.
 
I just want to say that the system works. And by the system I do not mean USCIS. Everyone who has read VJ for more than 5 minutes knows that USCIS is an inefficient and poorly run federal agency in drastic need of an overhaul. No, by system I mean the checks and balances of oversight of them. I'm not sure whether it was my congressman's office or the CIS Ombudsman that got this reversed. I'm choosing to believe a little of both. But to anyone whose naturalisation eligibility date is approaching, I would strongly urge you to wait just a day or two to head this issue off, unless you enjoy uncertainty and stupidity, in which case have at it.
 
My online USCIS account is currently showing no changes. It still indicates that my application is denied, and there's no oath letter there yet. Perhaps it will change, perhaps it won't. But the older case status site is showing my oath letter was mailed.
 
I'm glad to finally be able to put this behind me. Thanks to all the well-wishers here on VJ who have given public and private messages of support. It has been very much appreciated during what has not been a stellar couple of weeks up to now.

I get what practical advice you're trying to pass along, but there's either a 90-day window or there's none. "Desperation" or whatever you call it isn't a bar on naturalization. USCIS gets away with this nonsense only because you can't sue them without first going through a costly administrative review. Utter nonsense.

I get what practical advice you're trying to pass along, but there's either a 90-day window or there's none. "Desperation" or whatever you call it isn't a bar on naturalization. USCIS gets away with this nonsense only because you can't sue them without first going through a costly administrative review. Utter nonsense.

I just received an email notification that my N400 application has been approved. Note that I submitted my application at 1:00 am EST on the day I became eligible (90 day early filing). Had my interview in October 2018 and IO could not make decision on that day because of "timing-issues". I have been waiting since then. After seeing this thread, I have contacted my senator's office, explained the situation and provided all proofs. My senator's office contacted USCIS on my behalf and requested them to confirm if there is any issue because of my application submission at 1:00 am EST. USCIS has confirmed that there is no issue because of the submission time and they approved my application this morning.
 
This thread really helped me take some proactive steps which resulted in approval of my application. Thanks to all of you.
 
If you submitted N400 application in the early hours (12:00 am - 5:00 am) of the day you became eligible, I strongly recommend you all to contact one of your senators or representative, explain the situation, provide all proofs (pay.gov receipt, credit card transaction date and time etc.) and request them to contact USCIS.
 
I sincerely wish you all good luck.

I received notification today from the CIS Ombudsman that they had accepted my request for expedited review of my case and had contacted USCIS on my behalf to seek a resolution.

Here we go again, people pontificating from 7000 miles. In fact, candidate credibility, not documentary "evidence," often carries the day, but most Nigerian applicants perform poorly under the pressure of an interview, due to a mix of culture (we're raised not to look authority figures in the eye), poor education, and poor application strategy (overly complex stories, thanks to the "high-fraud" fear-mongering on forums like this).

Who's we? You know next to nothing about Lagos. I've gone through that embassy several times. Non-immigrant, immigrant visas. Never been denied. Deserving candidates get approved most of the time. Stop scarring people unnecessarily.

Here we go again, people pontificating from 7000 miles. In fact, candidate credibility, not documentary "evidence," often carries the day, but most Nigerian applicants perform poorly under the pressure of an interview, due to a mix of culture (we're raised not to look authority figures in the eye), poor education, and poor application strategy (overly complex stories, thanks to the "high-fraud" fear-mongering on forums like this).