frakina

On February 21st, our i-751 was approved, and on February 24th, the oath ceremony was scheduled. It is on March 25th. Almost there now, very relieved! Thank you VisaJourney for the help throughout the process, and good look to all!

My wife had the combined N-400 and i-751 interview today. We arrived at 7:45 for 8 am interview, but weren't called in until about 9:20AM. I went in with her, and the officer said there will be two of them with one there just for observation. They had both the files with them.
 
The second officer started with the i-751 interview and checked her birth certificate and our marriage certificate in addition to the green card/passport etc. She told us that she'll ask questions and if she directs them to one of us, the other person should not respond. Here are some questions she asked - 
(To me, the petitioner): Wife's full name and maiden name and the date and place of birth (To wife): My full name and date of birth (To wife) When and where did we meet? (We met in India while I was visiting family) (To wife) What happened after that? (To me) Was I on a vacation? Was I already a US citizen at that point, and why did I go there How did we keep in touch after I came back to the US? How often did we see each other between the first time and until she immigrated to the US Details of each trip (To wife) When did we meet on my second trip - wife replied it was right before we were getting married, we went to buy our rings (To me) What does my wife's ring look like - and then she asked my wife to show the ring to her How come we got married so quickly (about 6 weeks from us meeting to me proposing her, and then the wedding was about 1.5 months after that) (To wife) How many people were at the wedding? (To us) Why are there no pictures in our file (We submitted a lot of pics with our i-751, but they were almost all following her immigration since we didn't think marriage pics would be necessary anymore) - wife offered to show the pics on her phone, she said she'll check them later (To wife) How many days were the wedding events (since Indian weddings have many events over a few days) (To me) What is our address, phone number Have we ever lived at any other address?  (To me) Why did I wait two years to put my wife on the home deed? - I said just getting a trust company to do the paperwork took time. She said it wasn't a good excuse. I explained that California being a community property state, I didn't think it mattered that much. NOTE: we had submitted home deed transfer copy with i-751 docs, so they were prepared to ask this question beforehand. Asked if we had traveled since our i-751 application in 2018 and asked to see itineraries, which we had brought. Asked for our 2018 tax return.  
The questions were quite intense but I think we answered everything satisfactorily. At this point, the officer conducting i-751 interview told me that they'll continue my wife's interview and move on to the naturalization interview and I didn't need to be present for that so she escorted me out, telling me it might take another 30-45 minutes.
 
My wife came out about 20 minutes after that. She was asked a couple more questions, such as if we both have personal bank account (in addition to the joint statements we submitted) and how is the joint bank account money spent. My wife showed pictures from our wedding events on her phone (Q13 above), specifically ones showing many guests. She also made copies of our bank joint account statement, travel itineraries in the last year, and took some other pics we had brought with us from recent trips. All this while the other officer was interviewing her for naturalization.
 
Naturalization interview questions - 
 
Name the US war between the North and the South What are the first 10 amendments called? Name of the speaker of the house Who makes federal laws What are the two major political parties Name of the president For the English test, she had to read "Who can vote" and write (on the tablet) "Citizens can vote".
 
She was approved for N-400 but it's pending i-751 approval. They didn't say anything about the status, just said they will send the update. If the i-751 petition is approved, she won't receive a new green card and instead will take the oath directly. Fingers crossed all went OK!

On February 21st, our i-751 was approved, and on February 24th, the oath ceremony was scheduled. It is on March 25th. Almost there now, very relieved! Thank you VisaJourney for the help throughout the process, and good look to all!

My wife had the combined N-400 and i-751 interview today. We arrived at 7:45 for 8 am interview, but weren't called in until about 9:20AM. I went in with her, and the officer said there will be two of them with one there just for observation. They had both the files with them.
 
The second officer started with the i-751 interview and checked her birth certificate and our marriage certificate in addition to the green card/passport etc. She told us that she'll ask questions and if she directs them to one of us, the other person should not respond. Here are some questions she asked - 
(To me, the petitioner): Wife's full name and maiden name and the date and place of birth (To wife): My full name and date of birth (To wife) When and where did we meet? (We met in India while I was visiting family) (To wife) What happened after that? (To me) Was I on a vacation? Was I already a US citizen at that point, and why did I go there How did we keep in touch after I came back to the US? How often did we see each other between the first time and until she immigrated to the US Details of each trip (To wife) When did we meet on my second trip - wife replied it was right before we were getting married, we went to buy our rings (To me) What does my wife's ring look like - and then she asked my wife to show the ring to her How come we got married so quickly (about 6 weeks from us meeting to me proposing her, and then the wedding was about 1.5 months after that) (To wife) How many people were at the wedding? (To us) Why are there no pictures in our file (We submitted a lot of pics with our i-751, but they were almost all following her immigration since we didn't think marriage pics would be necessary anymore) - wife offered to show the pics on her phone, she said she'll check them later (To wife) How many days were the wedding events (since Indian weddings have many events over a few days) (To me) What is our address, phone number Have we ever lived at any other address?  (To me) Why did I wait two years to put my wife on the home deed? - I said just getting a trust company to do the paperwork took time. She said it wasn't a good excuse. I explained that California being a community property state, I didn't think it mattered that much. NOTE: we had submitted home deed transfer copy with i-751 docs, so they were prepared to ask this question beforehand. Asked if we had traveled since our i-751 application in 2018 and asked to see itineraries, which we had brought. Asked for our 2018 tax return.  
The questions were quite intense but I think we answered everything satisfactorily. At this point, the officer conducting i-751 interview told me that they'll continue my wife's interview and move on to the naturalization interview and I didn't need to be present for that so she escorted me out, telling me it might take another 30-45 minutes.
 
My wife came out about 20 minutes after that. She was asked a couple more questions, such as if we both have personal bank account (in addition to the joint statements we submitted) and how is the joint bank account money spent. My wife showed pictures from our wedding events on her phone (Q13 above), specifically ones showing many guests. She also made copies of our bank joint account statement, travel itineraries in the last year, and took some other pics we had brought with us from recent trips. All this while the other officer was interviewing her for naturalization.
 
Naturalization interview questions - 
 
Name the US war between the North and the South What are the first 10 amendments called? Name of the speaker of the house Who makes federal laws What are the two major political parties Name of the president For the English test, she had to read "Who can vote" and write (on the tablet) "Citizens can vote".
 
She was approved for N-400 but it's pending i-751 approval. They didn't say anything about the status, just said they will send the update. If the i-751 petition is approved, she won't receive a new green card and instead will take the oath directly. Fingers crossed all went OK!

My wife had the combined N-400 and i-751 interview today. We arrived at 7:45 for 8 am interview, but weren't called in until about 9:20AM. I went in with her, and the officer said there will be two of them with one there just for observation. They had both the files with them.
 
The second officer started with the i-751 interview and checked her birth certificate and our marriage certificate in addition to the green card/passport etc. She told us that she'll ask questions and if she directs them to one of us, the other person should not respond. Here are some questions she asked - 
(To me, the petitioner): Wife's full name and maiden name and the date and place of birth (To wife): My full name and date of birth (To wife) When and where did we meet? (We met in India while I was visiting family) (To wife) What happened after that? (To me) Was I on a vacation? Was I already a US citizen at that point, and why did I go there How did we keep in touch after I came back to the US? How often did we see each other between the first time and until she immigrated to the US Details of each trip (To wife) When did we meet on my second trip - wife replied it was right before we were getting married, we went to buy our rings (To me) What does my wife's ring look like - and then she asked my wife to show the ring to her How come we got married so quickly (about 6 weeks from us meeting to me proposing her, and then the wedding was about 1.5 months after that) (To wife) How many people were at the wedding? (To us) Why are there no pictures in our file (We submitted a lot of pics with our i-751, but they were almost all following her immigration since we didn't think marriage pics would be necessary anymore) - wife offered to show the pics on her phone, she said she'll check them later (To wife) How many days were the wedding events (since Indian weddings have many events over a few days) (To me) What is our address, phone number Have we ever lived at any other address?  (To me) Why did I wait two years to put my wife on the home deed? - I said just getting a trust company to do the paperwork took time. She said it wasn't a good excuse. I explained that California being a community property state, I didn't think it mattered that much. NOTE: we had submitted home deed transfer copy with i-751 docs, so they were prepared to ask this question beforehand. Asked if we had traveled since our i-751 application in 2018 and asked to see itineraries, which we had brought. Asked for our 2018 tax return.  
The questions were quite intense but I think we answered everything satisfactorily. At this point, the officer conducting i-751 interview told me that they'll continue my wife's interview and move on to the naturalization interview and I didn't need to be present for that so she escorted me out, telling me it might take another 30-45 minutes.
 
My wife came out about 20 minutes after that. She was asked a couple more questions, such as if we both have personal bank account (in addition to the joint statements we submitted) and how is the joint bank account money spent. My wife showed pictures from our wedding events on her phone (Q13 above), specifically ones showing many guests. She also made copies of our bank joint account statement, travel itineraries in the last year, and took some other pics we had brought with us from recent trips. All this while the other officer was interviewing her for naturalization.
 
Naturalization interview questions - 
 
Name the US war between the North and the South What are the first 10 amendments called? Name of the speaker of the house Who makes federal laws What are the two major political parties Name of the president For the English test, she had to read "Who can vote" and write (on the tablet) "Citizens can vote".
 
She was approved for N-400 but it's pending i-751 approval. They didn't say anything about the status, just said they will send the update. If the i-751 petition is approved, she won't receive a new green card and instead will take the oath directly. Fingers crossed all went OK!

Hi, 
 
I wanted to share my experience with what turned out to be a successful combo interview both for the I-751 and N-400 applications. I filed my ROC application in August 2018 and the N-400 in July 2019. Early in January 2020 I received an appointment letter for my naturalization interview while no action had been taken on the I-751 since my biometrics appointment back in 2018.
 
I attended my naturalization interview without knowing whether they would also deal with the I-751 and, following the insightful comments from this forum, I decided to bring my wife along, just in case. However, there was a notice before going through security at the USCIS building stating that companions were not allowed. Always willing to follow the rules, and since I had not received a specific notice to bring my wife to the interview, she didn't come in and went to grab a coffee nearby. Inside in the waiting area there were many applicants with their spouses. Oh, well.
 
When I got called in, the officer seem surprised when I showed her my green card extension letter and I explained that my I-751 was pending. She took my documents and left the room for around 10 minutes. It felt like one hour, though. She came back with another officer, although they stayed chatting outside of the office, and the senior officer asked whether I had brought my wife along. I jumped in and explained that she was not inside the building, but was nearby having a coffee, so I could ask her to join us if needed. After another 5 minutes, the initial officer came back and she said that my wife would not be needed, but that we would go through my I-751 first, just with me, then move on to the naturalization interview. Combo interview, yay!
 
Interestingly, my I-751 file was there. I guess I wasn't sure whether it would have been transferred at all before going in. I was a bit surprised that she hadn't noticed that given that she was surprised that my I-751 was pending, but she probably didn't check the file before calling me in.
 
The I-751 questions were few and quite generic, e.g., where did we meet, when did we marry, do we have children, where do we leave, etc. She said that everything seemed fine and then moved on to the naturalization interview, first the civics, then the language test, then we went over my application thoroughly. Overall, it probably took around 30 minutes. At the end, she said that she approved both my applications and asked me if I had any questions. Oh, yes, I did.
 
I asked her what would happen to my I-751 and whether I would receive my 10-year green card at all. She offered that she was "recommending" me for approval on the I-751, but that her decision had to be validated by her supervisor since she didn't have authority to approve that petition, so she indicated that I should receive either an approval notice or an RFE, if her supervisor disagreed with her criteria. She also said that they would still send my 10-year green card, which I shall give back at the naturalization ceremony. I also asked about the naturalization ceremony timeline since I have a planned trip overseas in late February, but it will take 6-to-8 weeks, apparently.
 
The day after the interview I received an email saying that my I-751 had been approved and that a notice was sent, which I have not yet received as of today. I also got the notification that my naturalization ceremony invitation will be send shortly. So, overall, a rather smooth and pleasant experience. I'm glad I could do my combo interview, being approved for both cases, and that my wife was not even required to attend the interview. 
 
I hope my experience is useful for those of you who are still hanging in there. Good luck!

We applied for N400 a couple of months ago. My wife's i-751 was also transferred from California to Potomac in June. She had already done i-751 related biometrics in March, and did another one for N400 in August, about 3 weeks after applying.
I just saw someone whose case was transferred to Potomac got approved - https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=245081 - perhaps won't have to wait that long anymore.

We applied for N400 a couple of months ago. My wife's i-751 was also transferred from California to Potomac in June. She had already done i-751 related biometrics in March, and did another one for N400 in August, about 3 weeks after applying.
I just saw someone whose case was transferred to Potomac got approved - https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=245081 - perhaps won't have to wait that long anymore.

I agree too. I think maybe it has more to do with them trying to simply reduce their backlog - https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-aims-decrease-processing-times-n-400-and-i-485
 

My wife had her biometrics at the end of March as well. I am assuming whether the case went to Nebraska or Potomac was a random decision. I wouldn't read too much into it. I remember back when we started getting transfer notices, there were people seeing that Potomac was one of the quicker ones. Hopefully they are and we start seeing our approvals soon too.

Got it, thank you and I'll check out the other thread as well. Good luck to you as well, hope all goes quickly!

I gave them all my travel dates since I moved to the US, because I moved here before I got married, so it goes longer than 3 years but not 5.  Good luck!
 

We will. We can apply starting July 27th (based on 90 days before the 3-year mark), so will do it right away.

The June filers thread shows people transferred to Potomac have been getting approvals quicky 

Just got the notice in mail that our case was transferred to Potomac on 06/07/2019. We plan on applying for naturalization at the end of July. 

Exactly what pishteh said, you can apply up to 90 days before the actual 3-year mark. As I posted a few days on this thread,  on page 4 of the N-400 instructions, it says: 
An applicant filing as the spouse of a U.S. citizen under section 319(a) of the INA may file up to 90 days before meeting the required 3-year period of continuous residence as an LPR.

Re-adding mine, as it got lost over the posts
 
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Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application.
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter.
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment.
Approved = The Date your case was approved.

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I-751: August 2018 Filers
 
California  Service Center :  ( 42 ) Applicants  (  0  )  Approved  (  0  )  Percentage
 
VJ Name                            I-751 Date         NOA1Date          Biometrics         Approved           Notes
WOLKE7                               8/1/18                8/27/18              --/--/18                --/--/--
JASONANDJEIZEL             8/1/18                8/30/18              --/--/18                --/--/--
ST52                                     8/1/18                 8/22/18             --/--/18                 --/--/--        Divorce Waiver; NOA1, 18 months
ALMALMS                            8/3/18                09/01/18            --/--/18                 --/--/--
WONG                                   8/5/18                8/30/18             --/--/18                  --/--/--         NOA1, 18 months
LETVAPIANA                       8/6/18                --/--/18               --/--/18                  --/--/--  
YELSVA                                 8/6/18                --/--/18               --/--/18                 --/--/--
TONYBECKY6975               8/6/18                8/30/18            --/--/18                 --/--/--
ELLA&JOE                            8/6/18                09/07/18          --/--/18                ---/--/-
MIKE BICO                            8/7/18                09/05/18          --/--/18                  --/--/--        NOA1, 18 months
ICECLUB                               8/7/18                  --/--/--                 --/--/--                    --/--/--        Check Cashed in Arizona
HJMOM                                8/7/18                 --/--/18               --/--/18                --/--/--          Check cashed in Arizona
CORRIEJAM                         8/8/18               --/--/18                 --/--/18                 --/--/--
HZAN1230                           8/9/18               --/--/--                     --/--/--                  --/--/--        Check Cashed in Arizona
MS1115                                8/10/18             9/6/18                 --/--/18                  --/--/-- 
KSOPHIE                               8/10/18            --/--/18                  --/--/18                  --/--/--
AXLE314                               8/11/18             --/--/18                 --/--/18                 --/--/--
KF_HA                                   8/13/18              --/--/18                --/--/18                  --/--/--
HCCALDWE                          8/13/18              --/--/18                --/--/18                 --/--/--       Check cashed 9/26
MISIONANDNAT                  8/13/18             --/--/18                   --/--/18                --/--/--
ZOEANDLOGAN                   8/13/18             --/--/18                   --/--/18                --/--/--      Check cashed 9/25 in ?
TRAMONTANA                    8/14/18              --/--/18                 --/--/18                 --/--/--
WC_AD                                  8/14/18              --/--/18                 --/--/18                 --/--/--      Check Cashed Arizona, 9/25
NNGRL                                  8/15/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--
LLLLLUKA                             8/15/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--
O&R                                        8/15/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--     Check cashed Texas
BARWAR                                8/15/18             --/--/18                   --/--/18                --/--/--     Check cashed in Texas
FRAKINA                                8/15/18             --/--/18                   --/--/18                --/--/--     Check cashed in Arizona, 09/25
CASSIS1978                         8/17/18             --/--/18                   --/--/18                --/--/--         
SIMONKIMOAK                    8/17/18             --/--/18                 --/--/18                --/--/--      
LEMONATOS                        8/17/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--
AM & RA                                8/18/18             --/--/18                   --/--/18                --/--/--       Check Cashed in ? 9/27
KIRSTYANDLIAM                 8/18/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--       Check cashed 9/26 Texas
HAYAOMIYAZAKI                8/18/18               --/--/18                 --/--/18                 --/--/--       Check cashed in Texas
123ALECH                            8/20/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--      Check cashed in Texas, 9/24
PPENGUIN12                       8/20/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--
TX2015                                 8/21/18               --/--/18                 --/--/18                 --/--/--       Check cashed in Texas, 9/25
NOINI89                                8/25/18             --/--/18                  --/--/18                  --/--/--       Check cashed in Chicago on 09/27
CRAZYWORLD                     8/25/18             --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--         Check cashed in? 
KAY&TONY                           8/27/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--        Check cashed in Illinois
AMOCITOS                           8/29/18              --/--/18                  --/--/18                 --/--/--        Money order cashed on 9/26
 
                      
Vermont Service Center :   (  11  ) Applicants  (  0  )  Approved  (  0  )  Percentage
 
VJ Name                            I-751 Date          NOA1Date          Biometrics         Approved                 Notes
 AI848                                   8/1/18                 8/6/18               9/20/18              --/--/--              NOA1, 18 months
MRSKENT                             8/2/18                8/09/18             09/21/18            --/--/--              NOA1, 18 months
SIMON SCHUS                     8/2/18                8/03/18             9/06/18              --/--/--              NOA1, 18 months
DAN&LAURA                       8/11/18               8/21/18              9/18/18            --/--/--                NOA1, 18 months
TAURUS83                           8/13/18              8/16/18              9/19/18              --/--/--              NOA1,18 months
OVEREDUCATED                 8/14/18               08/20/18             --/--/18             --/--/--               NOA1,18 months
CHRISETE                            8/20/18               8/23/18              10/02/18          --/--/--               NOA1, 18 months
MAGICALUNICORNPEE     8/21/18              8/22/18                 --/--18               --/--/--               NOA1, 18 months
MASAKOMAYA                    8/24/18               8/28/18              10/05/18          --/--/--               NOA1, 18 months
JDAISY                                  8/25/18              8/27/18                   --/--/18           --/--/--               NOA1, 18 months
JKCRO27                              8/27/18              8/28/18             10/05/18            --/--/--              NOA1, 18 months
 

You were right. I called before the end of the night, and they confirmed the case is complete and is in queue for interview scheduling. Let's hope for a quick turnaround!

Thank you! Your CC gives me some hope that it's just around the corner.

Here's what I think is happening at NVC. Part of the process at NVC for the review of the case is to check papers, enter into the system, and validate the authenticity. At the same time, they work with other government agencies. Sometimes these agencies don't respond right away. For example, FBI requires about 3 weeks for their process. So there is a delay. NVC works with many other agencies prior to completing the case to make sure there's no fraud. NVC also does not count weekends in that 30 days time period. Also, process differs from countries to countries due to risks involved with that country. This is why you may see some people get their case complete earlier than 30 days for certain countries.
Regarding the case#, Once NVC receive your case from USCIS, they wait for 2 weeks to give you the case number. They generally have your case# within 24 - 48 hours after receiving the file but they try to control their workload and do not give out case# until 2 weeks (+- 1 day) from the date they have received papers from USCIS. In my case, NVC received my papers on June 21st. So, July 5th was 2 weeks for me. I called NVC around 10:30 PM CST on July 1st. They said they don't have the case yet and it takes about 2 weeks. I called again on July 5th around 6:30 am CST and they gave me my case number. NVC was closed on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. No way someone worked over the weekend and early in the morning of 5th to get the case#.
So, my advice for all those waiting for case#, please wait for 2 weeks and then call them. Make sure you get Case# and Invoice ID.
For those who are waiting for CC, hang on tight. Its almost over. Believe me, NVC wants to get things done faster but sometimes those delays are beyond their control.
Al the best for those who are waiting for Case# or CC.
Thanks,

On 5th week as well, scan date July 11th. Hope we both hear some good news very soon!

DS-261 is the choice of agent form. I believe when you have a lawyer, the agent is selected automatically and there's no need to fill out the DS-261 form. However, DS-260 is still required - it is the Immigrant Visa application and it becomes available after the AOS and IV fees have been paid. It will be filled online.
I'm not sure about the I-876 form.
I'm hoping for a CC today as well. At 32 days today, not sure how I'll survive the weekend if don't hear anything today!

That's what they told me as well, just the boilerplate response I bet. I got ours the evening of the next day. The AOS fee wasn't invoiced until around that time either. Did you get the Invoice ID Number as well? You can submit DS-261 in the meantime.
I am really sick of the "6 weeks" response they have for everything. I've seen a lot of people getting their case completed (or docs reviewed in case of checklists) in exact 30 days. We're just past that, and still got the same "6 weeks" response today - though the agent did say they have started reviewing the documents.

Call later today, they might have something by 5PM ET.

Yes, it was exactly 14 days for me. Called them early in the day (~10-11 AM ET), and they didn't have a case number and told me to call the next day. Called them a few hours later (say around 3 PM ET), and got my case number and invoice number.