mrndpf

On 10/8/2020 at 6:55 PM, mrndpf said:

My wife had her citizenship interview / test today in the Manchester, NH, office. She was approved , and was told that an oath ceremony would be scheduled and she'll get a letter soon.

Naturalization ceremony set for Oct 30, in the Manchester (Bedford), NH, office.

5 hours ago, meadowzephyr said:

Wow! I didn't know that they would use biometrics going back that far. That's good to know!

I guess suddenly all their systems have perfect backup going back years and years. Now they'll do anything to avoid foot traffic in their offices.

Quick update: we went for the interview yesterday. The officer wanted to speak only to my wife, and wouldn't allow me (the interpreter and preparer) in. He told my wife all the paperwork was in order - this is either because he checked online and saw the 20+ documents I uploaded over the last month, or he relied on the documents we provided during the AOS interview 3 weeks ago. In either case, the interview and test went well, and my wife was approved for citizenship. Now we're just waiting for the oath ceremony to get scheduled and bring this process to an end.

1 hour ago, Lettyana said:

It's such a nice USCIS office and very nice people work there.

Indeed, every one over there (the security folks, the USCIS officers, everyone) has always treated me (when I went through the whole immigration process by myself) and now my wife really well. Whatever I might think of the USCIS processing delays in general, I have zero complaints and only praise for the people who work in the Manchester office.

My wife had her citizenship interview / test today in the Manchester, NH, office. She was approved , and was told that an oath ceremony would be scheduled and she'll get a letter soon.

30 minutes ago, VinnyH said:

Good luck, and by the way congratulations on your interview. I saw your timeline, and I thought "wow, filed in May and got scheduled for an interview in October, which is only 5 months of processing!!!!!!".

 

Which field office are you, if I may ask? That info was not entered on your timeline.

 

VinnyH

I suspect the speediness of the interview and processing was because the conditional GC was expiring soon, there was no movement on the AOS application, and I had called USCIS in early August asking "what the hell am I supposed to do? You guys say I don't have to do anything at this time, but the GC is expiring in a month". After my call, there was a flurry of activity on both the AOS as well as the N400, and we got interview dates and notices for both. At the end of the AOS interview last week, the officer offered to do the N400 interview at the same time, but my wife (who the applications are for) declined as she needed the extra time to prepare.

The field office is the Manchester, NH, one. Strictly speaking, it's in Bedford, but they still call it the Manchester office. Going by the timelines on here, it doesn't seem like there are a lot of cases being processed with Manchester as the field office.

9 hours ago, VinnyH said:

 

Hi @mrndpf:

 

I don't want to freak you out, because I may be wrong, but I am somehow afraid that if you don't see the documents you think you have uploaded there, it might mean that there was a technical issue and that they were not uploaded properly. I know it happens when you don't use Internet Explorer, which is the recommended browser (I used Chrome and everything went fine).

[...]

So I'm fairly certain now that the documents I submitted originally were not uploaded correctly. Oh well. I did upload various documents again over the past couple of days, and I see them in the list of documents. USCIS is not obligated to look at them, but considering that there was nothing to look at before, they will hopefully take a moment to look at these documents before/during the interview to decide on the case. I'm not freaked out as much as I'm annoyed. It's kind of amazing how USCIS would develop/implement this awesome method to allow you to file online (without basically filling out an online replica of the original N-400 application), and yet have this bizarre glitch where they don't tell you "oh, by the way, the documents you want to submit as proof didn't really get submitted - are you sure you want to submit your application without these documents?".

Thanks for all the responses! I'll let you know how it goes at the interview in about 15 days.

19 hours ago, YecaCruz said:

you didn't save the originals that you scanned anywhere? Anything like statements or bills I imagine there is a way you can print them from the company/bank website or call the company and have them send to you electronically. If you aren't sure which ones you scanned just have them all printed I guess

It's not that I don't have the originals, it's that I'm not sure which of the 100+ docs I have are the ones I uploaded as evidence. I was hoping there was a way to check from USCIS' website itself so I know which originals I should definitely take along. But like you say, I could just take all the docs I have.

Thank you for the detailed response @VinnyH.

Unfortunately, none of the methods you mention worked for me. Even the snapshot and application summary at the time of applying didn't list any document names. When I check the Documents tab now, I see the screen below. It shows the interpreter and preparer documents I submitted with the original application, and it shows a recent tax return I uploaded some days ago. All the other documents I uploaded with the application - poof! I can't imagine the upload was unsuccessful because USCIS wouldn't have scheduled an interview if there was no supporting documentation. So it seems like the website, for whatever reason, isn't able to show me what I uploaded before.

The reason I wanted to see the document list was because the interview notice says to bring the originals of all the documents I submitted - if I don't know which specific utility bills or photos or whatever I uploaded, this is going to be problematic.

Hi folks,

Is there any way to download (or even see a list of) the evidence you submit when you file an N-400 online? The interview notice says to bring original documents of the evidence I submitted, but I have no way to see what evidence I submitted originally. Was anyone asked at their N-400 interview to produce originals of the documents they submitted online?

Apologies if this has been asked and answered before, but searching this forum can be a bit of a challenge.

Thanks!

Went for our interview at the Bedford/Manchester (NH) office yesterday. After a fairly detailed interview, the interviewer was satisfied and approved our application. We also got the passport stamped (had to surrender the physical/expired GC). Came back home to check status, and saw it had changed to "new card is being produced"!

Now on to studying for the citizenship test coming up in second week of October.

Did the biometrics on Wednesday (03/20). However, there has been no email/text/online update to the case.

16 hours ago, kazero17 said:

When did you receive the extension letter, I just wanna know the average time between extension letter and a biometric appointment?

The extension letter was dated 02/14.

Just got a biometrics notice in the mail today, scheduled for 03/20. There is no change in the case status at the USCIS website (it still says "we received your application and there's nothing for you to do at this time", or something like that), and no email/text either that there was a change. The Biometrics NOA came out of the blue, unexpected but definitely welcome!

Just received the NOA in the mail today, from the Vermont Service Center.

Received date: 02/12. Notice date: 02/14.

Just got a text with my case number (EAC....). Which service center is EAC?

I thought USCIS would cash the check first, so I kept checking the bank account. But no activity there yet.

Mailed our packet to Dallas today, expected to be delivered tomorrow.

1 minute ago, Nashvillian2016 said:

Congrats!??? 

Thanks a lot! I'm still in a bit of a shock. The relief is overwhelming - all the things I might have messed up in the application, all the potential ways docs could have gotten lost on their way into an adjudicating officer's hands, having to arrange an interpreter for my wife for the interview, the fact that the interview scheduling delay at my local office seems to be around 5-6 months - all that anxiety gone with just one status update.

Got a text yesterday from USCIS. Rushed online and found that the status for the AOS was changed to "New Card Is Being Produced"!  This is the first update since "We accepted your fingerprint fee".

So of course I thought USCIS made a mistake. A few hours later, there was another update saying the case was approved. Still having a hard time believing it.

If one could make a Monopoly game out of this (terrible idea, I know), it would be like getting a card that says "You are hereby kicked out of this game" - "Do not go through interview", "Do not receive RFE". Best outcome possible. 

Today I received in the mail what I thought was going to be the EAD card for my wife. Turned out it was a EAD+AP combo card instead! No change in online status for the AP since the initial NOA, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I may have cried tears of joy, but they all froze and blew away with the million tons of snow I've cleared out since this morning.

Onwards and upwards now!

Just finished up biometrics. Probably took more time to get through security than to do the actual biometrics...

There is no update for Biometrics

I was unsure myself till I got the NOA without an online update. I imagine there might be others who had the same question as I did (about biometrics triggering an update), so I figured I might add my own experience here.

Congratulations! When did you file?

They received the package on Nov 2, and I got NOAs on Nov 14.

Received the I-797C NOA for biometrics yesterday. The appointment is scheduled for 12/16. No change in online status, and no email/text received when the NOA was presumably sent.

Hi all,

What does the I-485 status on USCIS' website say when your biometrics has been scheduled? I've done a lot of searching on this but can't seem to find the answer.

My I-485/765/131 application was accepted by USCIS on Nov 2, but I didn't get the receipt numbers till midnight Nov 15. By the time I checked the status online (last update time on all of them was Nov 16), the I-765 case status was:

On November 2, 2016, we received your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization , Receipt Number MSCxxxx...

while the I-485 status was:

On November 14, 2016, we accepted the fingerprint fee for your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status, Receipt Number MSCxxxxx...

Does the above I-485 status mean that biometrics has been scheduled already? I received the hardcopy NOAs on Nov 21, but no notice yet for biometrics. If biometrics has been scheduled already, I may have to call USCIS for a copy of the notice if I don't get it in a few days - my local post office has a funny habit of misrouting letters, which makes it even more important for me to be proactive.

Thanks!