DeKi

I am thankful to this thread for even giving me the idea to file for citizenship before my removal of conditions was approved! It definitely made a difference in getting things going in my case.

Had my I-751 interview today and was approved on the spot. Got notification that 10-year card was ordered an hour after interview. Waiting for oath ceremony in May as well since I already had my N-400 interview at the beginning of this year. Seeing the end of this journey finally!

(About today's interview: the office said they only had to call me and my spouse in because my N-400 application triggered the sending of my I-751 file to the local office; would have been approved with interview waiver by VSC staff otherwise. Literally didn't ask us anything other than to confirm our names and DoB and our child's name and DoB. Since we are traveling to Canada at the end of this week, he gave me an I-551 stamp in my passport for three months and took my CR green card.)

Had my I-751 interview today and was approved on the spot. Got notification that 10-year card was ordered an hour after interview. Waiting for oath ceremony in May as well since I already had my N-400 interview at the beginning of this year. Seeing the end of this journey finally!

(About today's interview, the office said they only had to call me and my spouse in because my N-400 application triggered the sending of my I-751 file to the local office; would have been approved with interview waiver by VSC staff otherwise. Literally didn't ask us anything other than to confirm our names and DoB and our child's name and DoB. Since we are traveling to Canada at the end of this week, he gave me an I-551 stamp in my passport for three months and took my CR green card.)

On 3/9/2019 at 9:55 PM, Amhara said:

 

That leaves room to ignore a ROC petition!

Or what happened in my case (I have an unresolved I-751 application since December 2017 and an N-400 since September 2018) when I was called in for the naturalization interview in January. The officers said he had requested my I-751 file (not sure from where since in my USCIC the status for that one has been saying "at local office" since April 2018 but clearly that wasn't quite accurate), but it simply had not arrived on his desk in time. So we did the N-400 interview, and I kept waiting until a couple of weeks ago I got another interview appointment, this time for the I-751, for beginning of April. 🙄

Sorry, @Roy&Chanel, I should have included the actual date for the interview appointment: April 1.

Thanks for tracking all this -- it does give some sense of what is going on out there and I have always found it helpful to look at the table. 

Update on my I-751 from December 2017

Just received a letter in the mail (no text or email update at all) regarding the I-751 appointment with spouse. Lists a number of documents to bring, the majority of which I have of course already submitted.

The most annoying thing (since I already went for an N-400 interview to which I brought my husband in vain since it was not a combo interview) is that the timing of the appointment at 8am means we'll have to wake up our toddler earlier than she normally wakes up. (I am sure anyone with a young kid will sympathize; the rest of you can just trust me that it's a big deal... )

On 2/20/2019 at 10:49 AM, CharlieTanger said:

What does the "transfer to local office" even mean?  

Exactly! My I-751 case has been showing "transferred to local office" since April 2018. I had my N-400 interview mid-January 2019 at what is really my local office (the town I live in) and the officer couldn't do a combo interview, because he didn't have my file! He said he had requested it but it hadn't reached him yet and he'd only be able to proceed with the N-400 after he gets and adjudicates the I-751. Well, it's been over a month now since that conversation and still nothing. So I have no idea what is considered "your local office," but it is not always straight-forward apparently. Oh, and I haven't moved or anything in the meantime. 

15 hours ago, edpa said:

Any update on your case?

Nope.

I see all these recent EAC updates here and they kind of give me hope. (Especially people saying that they got their 10-yr green card in the mail without any update in the USCIS system.) But nothing that I can tell has happened with my I-751 yet.

I saw somewhere on the USCIS site that they have 120 days to issue an N-400 decision after the interview (someone above says the same for the 751; I don't know for a fact, but it might be a general self-imposed rule after any interview has taken place?), so I have a reminder in my calendar for mid-May. Hopefully that's the outer limit of how long I will need to keep waiting. 

Nothing promising to report, but just to add one more EAC experience: my number starts with EAC18067**** and there has not been any movement on it since April 2018 when apparently my file was received at my "local office." I have no idea where that actually is, but apparently not MY town where I just went for a citizenship interview ten days ago (I applied online in early September, as I was eligible in terms of timeline).

The interviewing officer told me he can't make a decision on the N-400 until he has reviewed and adjudicated the I-751, which he just recently requested to be sent to him! From where, he did not tell me. I had also called the national USCIS number to try to locate the file before the interview and see if the two cases have been merged yet, since I read on the dual-filers thread here that what ultimately happened to me is a common occurrence and was trying to be proactive and "help" the authorities with the process. The two people I spoke with there also refused to tell me where the file actually is. 

I found the whole mystery about the location so strange unless it is because someone made a mistake and sent my file somewhere not "local" at all. 

Just an update from my N-400 interview yesterday. Sadly, it was NOT a combo interview and the officer told me right away at the beginning that due to the open I-751 he would not be able to issue a decision regardless of the substance of our conversation. But at least he did perform the full interview. 

He seemed to suggest that I shouldn't have even sent in a N-400 application, but when I said "Really, you are saying that's not allowed? I didn't realize that." he didn't actually state that it isn't allowed. So I don't know what to make of that. (I am doing all the filings by myself -- have never used a lawyer.) At the very end of the interview he divulged that he has requested my I-751 file, but didn't tell me from where even though I asked. I don't understand what the big secrecy about that is -- it was the same when I called the help line a couple of weeks ago and tried to find out. He did say it's not impossible to be called in for another interview if there are any questions when he gets the I-751. Ugh.

So now I am in this same limbo as before -- basically everything seems to be held up by the I-751 in my case. 

1 hour ago, Ambassador87 said:

yes it was a combined interview with i751 and n400 together, i got a noticed like a week before my interview notifying me it will be a combo interview. The interview was pretty easy and the interviewer went through my paperwork and all that fun stuff and approved my i751 before telling my wife to leave for me to take the N400 test. 

Q1 if the president and vice president can longer serve who become the president?

Q2 how many justices do we have in the supreme court?

Q3 name one branch of government?

Q4 when is the last day we send our federal income tax?

Q5 name one state that border canada?

Q6 the political party of the president?

 After that we went to written test where he told me to write "We Pay Taxes"

lastly reading test and i passed everything. I was seating in his office when i got text message alert that my both cases has been approved.

Thanks for sharing. I am worried about the combo aspect -- I haven't received any information about my I-751. It's interesting you did. 

And congratulations again!

On 11/29/2018 at 7:57 PM, Ambassador87 said:

no problem, i will keep y'all posted

Thanks!

 

Thanks!

Hi, @Ambassador87 - I see you just updated your timeline. Congratulations on the approval!

If you have the chance, could you share more about your interview experience? I have mine tomorrow (1/17) and am most worried about the local office not having the I-751 application. In your case did you know in advance what the status of that was?

1 hour ago, LizB0322 said:

I applied for ROC last January 2018. I'm about to finish the N400 application online, and I will submit it soon, even if my ROC is still pending. My question is, did any of you submit the extension letter along with the expired green card when you applied for N400?

 

Thank you!

I didn't as it's not necessary. 

On 12/19/2018 at 7:12 PM, implife said:

I wonder if there are any warning signs to look for: like absence of information about pending ROC in the Naturalization interview invite. I would expect acknowledgement of the fact both petitions were combined.

 

Anyway, good thing you're British. I would've completely lost it in there. 

I'd also think there should be info about I-751 in the citizenship interview appointment letter, but I don't think there is in any of the cases I have read about on this thread. Even when the files are with the same office and a combo interview takes place successfully, I don't believe the applicants are informed of the merge in advance. 

Anyone whose experience suggests otherwise? 

On 12/19/2018 at 9:31 PM, hsp_1221 said:

You can call USCIS contact number 800-375-5283 on thursday or Friday and ask to speak to USCIS immigration officer. The waiting time sometime cane be very long but once call center transferred you will have to leave your contact number and You will get call back from immigration officer. I had to call for I-751 extension letter. 

 

If you have pending I-751, I would advise to call and just get it clear. 

 

Good luck 

Thanks for this. I just called -- and my goodness! No more clarity after talking to two people (second one was the "immigration officer"), just an hour of my life I am never getting back.

Basically I asked what "local office" my I-751 application file is currently at to confirm whether it is the same one where my N-400 interview will take place in a couple of weeks. The IO went around and around telling me "it's at your local office," never able to confirm which town that is in. (There are two nearby; my green card interview was in one a few years back, while the citizenship interview is scheduled to be at the other.) So disappointing...

3 hours ago, hsp_1221 said:

Oh, wow! That really sucks, @hsp_1221 - sorry to hear about your experience. And thanks so much for the heads-up to those of us who are in a similar boat. (I just got my interview appointment for mid-January and it wouldn't have occurred to me that the USCIS staff wouldn't know about my pending I-751). 

 

Since I have never called the USCIS before I am not sure how to go about this. Do you have any more detailed advice? What number to call and how to make sure I speak with someone who actually has access to all my applications?

Thanks in advance!

3 hours ago, hsp_1221 said:

lesson that I learnt that I should have call USCIS and speak to immigration officer and inform or ask that I have filed I-751, so may be someone would have taken some action on I-751 and merge my files together.

 

 

1 hour ago, CharlieBrown said:

Interesting, thanks. Do you know what's the difference of applying for citizenship after 5 years with the green card instead of 3?

I don't believe there is any difference in the application process itself.

If you are asking whether there is a difference in how each type is processed / whether it takes a different average amount of time, I have no idea. You can review the thread I was talking about and see whether the postings there give you an answer.

ETA: I guess what the person replying above said is true, but this thread is for RoC specifically so I assume everybody participating is in the same scenario. 

2 hours ago, Amhara said:

Looks like this was one year too late for all us!  But requirement #2 looks wonky - the USCIS doesn’t need to interview the petitioner if they have already interviewed the petitioner?  Um...

The way I interpreted it is that the petitioner was interviewed not for I-751 (the removing of conditions), but for the initial granting of the permanent residency. As opposed to having gotten THAT status with the interview waived, as I think many people do if they had an overseas K-1 interview. That's just my informed but unprofessional opinion.

2 hours ago, CharlieBrown said:

question for the folks applying for N400: how much sooner then the 07-751 do you guys expect on receiving it? 

I don't know about receiving it, but I applied online for N-400 on September 10 and just got a text message this week that I have an interview scheduled (probably mid-January, though I have to wait to get the official letter for the exact date). As we all know on this thread, there is next to no movement on the I-751 front.

My personal assessment is that if you are in general planning to apply for citizenship at some point there is only a benefit in applying now (esp. filing online) and not waiting. I made my decision also based on looking at the thread of combined I-751 and N-400 filers where many people seemed to get interviews due to their N-400 applications within about 4 months of submitting them.

You might want to visit this forum: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/651896-n-400-and-i-751-combo-pending. Nothing in my browsing of the discussions suggest the two applications impact each other negatively. If anything, in many cases people get a combined I-751 and N-400 interview, which is fine by me since I have to travel to Buffalo for that.

Good luck!

Buffalo is my closest office but I just filed my N-400 online, so not sure how this is going to be dealt with.

I also have a pending I-751 but have never heard that one affects the other. (Not saying it doesn't -- I just have no clue and have never heard that.) So I am curious who exactly you spoke with that told you this. Could you please give more information?

Actually the policy memo of relevance is: 

However the effective date for it is September 11, 2018, which means that only applications submitted after that are impacted. As December 2017 filers we should not be. 

4 hours ago, beccajayne93 said:

I-751: December 2017 Filers

 

California Service Center (3 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName.................Date of I-751........NOA1 Date............Biometrics.........Approved

ANF2014....................12/05/17.............12/07/2017.......................--/--/--..................--/--/--

Chidivj........................12/04/17.............12/08/2017.......................12/16/17..................--/--/--

hmz............................12/07/17.............12/11/2017.......................--/--/--..................--/--/--

 

Vermont Service Center (5 applicants, 0 approved - 0%)

VJName.................Date of I-751........NOA1 Date............Biometrics.........Approved

RACH100..................11/28/17..............   --/--/--......................--/--/17..................--/--/--

MARITAH..................11/28/17...............12/01/2017 ......................--/--/17..................--/--/--

SnLForever................11/29/17..............12/05/2017......................--/--/17..................--/--/--

DeKi...........................12/01/17..............12/05/2017......................--/--/17..................--/--/--

CharlieTanger............12/18/17.............. --/--/--......................--/--/17..................--/--/--

beccajayne93.............12/18/17................--/--/--......................--/--/--..................--/--/--

 

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UPDATE: Woke up to a text/email from USCIS today...CARD PRODUCTION!!

Thank you for everyone on here that supported me throughout the process and I wish you all the best of luck on your Journey to Immigration.

Good to hear, POM, that after the long delay things worked out! I think it's good to see that our local office (Buffalo) works quite professionally since many of us will probably need to use it another once or twice down the line.

All the best to you and your family!

My guess is that it would be best to work with someone locally. I am not sure where you are based, but here's one short list to browse: http://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/webpage/Consular%20Information/BG_Lawyers.htm. Not sure how current all the listings are unfortunately, but I know for a fact at least one of the people on the list who does practice in NY and IL, as stated.

I think that's exactly the point of a Stokes interview -- only people who truly share a daily life together (full of exactly these "trivial" activities) will know the answers. As the OP said, that's not the kind of thing you "prep" or even can prep, precisely because they are about random things.