bunkx

So my case finally got approved after contacting my Senator and the status changed to "Oath ceremony will be scheduled" but that was back in September. Just seems like it's stuck again, how long did you guys have to wait to get a date after the "ceremony will be scheduled" status?

Over a year after the interview, after contacting my house representative AND senator, they were able to get my case unstuck. Online status just changed to oath ceremony will be scheduled.

32 minutes ago, Godobo said:

Contact your congressman man 

I have. They haven't been very helpful either.

Well guys, it will be one whole year this week since my interview. I'm at a loss. Not sure how to procede. None of these service requests, FOIA requests, or phone calls seem to be able to nudge anything loose. 

The last time I called the USCIS phone number they mentioned the backlog with the A files. Which doesn't make sense because I was able to obtain it with a FOIA request. 

Has anyone tried the legal route? I'm just worried about the cost of an immigration attorney and filing a writ of mandamus?

On 6/1/2022 at 7:03 PM, elmers said:

Damn, that's almost a year!! No state person, ombudsman, etc can help? I cannot imagine what you must be feeling.

Nope. The ombudsman's office has thrown the towel, they completely gave up on N400 cases. Even tried a FOIA, got my A file through them. Saw a remark on there from the day of my interview that said "pending A file" but also the box that said "A filed received" was checked. So I don't even know what's happening anymore. 

The last time I put in a service request I got an email back saying the request had been sent to a supervisor. Nothing since. 

The only option left is suing the USCIS since they're way past the 120 day window but that would cost a significant amount of money. Very frustrating indeed.

On 5/13/2022 at 1:33 PM, highHopes said:

I haven't been on here in a while but any updates from anyone who filed back in June 1st of 2021 had my interview at Oakland Park FL January 14th and my status Still says schedule for interview. I think this week puts me past the 120 days waiting period. My timeline says 23 days. 

The 120 day window doesn't mean anything anymore. I submitted my application August 2020, did my interview July 2021. Online status still says "interview scheduled" haven't heard anything since. It's really frustrating.

Has anyone here tried to file a lawsuit or writ of mandamus? Even the processing time receipt date is past my submission date and my interview was July 30, 2021. This is way outside of the 120 day adjudication window they're supposed to be working with.

On another note, I heard federal workers will be going back to the office in April so maybe this will help with the congestion at the national archives with the A files

32 minutes ago, Ring of the lord said:

Even if the case is outside of normal processing time, what do you think they can do? I had an issue, they bought the matter to the attention of uscis, and uscis wasn’t responding to them in 5 months. When I called ombudsman office, they said they can’t do anything even if uscis doesn’t reply to them in 10 years, they have no power over uscis. It just a place where some people got employment and wasting taxpayer money. The only good about this office is that it contributing in the reduction of national unemployment rate, since some people are employed there for doing nothing . 

The more I deal with the legal system of this country the more I question whether I should just move back home honestly. I have friends who've been through the naturalization process back in Belgium and it took them about 20 bucks and 2 months. This is absolutely ridiculous. Why is the USCIS so underfunded and dysfunctional when we have such a large immigrant population? I don't mean to get political, but I've been here over a decade under different statuses since high school, and just can't wait to be done with it. 

So whoever said the ombudsman's office is totally useless, that is the understatement of the year. Got this response after I told them it had been over 120 days since the interview. Which qualifies for their attention since it's a statutory limitation on the USCIS, they legally have to adjudicate. 

Quote

Our review indicates that your Form N-400- Application for Naturalization, which USCIS received on [INSERT THE USCIS RECEIPT DATE], is within the published processing times for [INSERT USCIS OFFICE] as posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website.  Because your case is currently within processing times, our office will be closing this matter.  

That's right. They didn't even bother to fill in my receipt date and USCIS office. They literally just sent me a template. Is this a joke?

Just now, happytree said:

@bunkx what does your online status say? Did it change after your interview ?

It still says "interview was scheduled" never changed. The notice they gave me after the interview had the "a decision cannot yet be made" box checked. Which I thought was strange because the interview went well and they said I'd hear about it in a couple weeks. I tried calling the 1-800 number and they just told me to wait out the 120 days and then take action if needed. I'll be at the 120 day mark November 27th.  

I just looked it up on the USCIS website, it says I can request a judicial review at a district court after 120 days. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. 

On 9/24/2021 at 12:20 AM, bumblebee7640 said:

Hi, I don't know if anyone is in the same situation. I had my interview back in May 2021, did well and the officer told me it would be only 2-3 weeks wait for the oath ceremony. I am now waiting 4 months and haven't received my oath ceremony. Is it normal? I am in Philadelphia office. Thank you.

I'm in the same situation - any updates on your side?

Had my interview July 30th, online status still shows "Interwas was Scheduled" - estimate says another 3 months. I will be at my 120 days November 27. 

Anyone who's gone beyond the 120 days, did you call the 1-800 number? Did they say anything useful?

Just when I thought I was done with this... back to the waiting game

I'll add to the list, did the interview today and it went well. I got handed the form saying a decision cannot yet be made about your case. The IO didn't seem entirely helpful probably because she didn't know either. She just said to wait for a letter in the mail, and that she couldn't say how long the wait would be. 

On 4/26/2021 at 12:50 PM, S & D said:

Thank you, we got through.

 

They refused to make an infopass appt bc it's 5 weeks until my husband's I-751 extension letter expires. It has to be 4 weeks. They were wholly unhelpful, awful and rude.

I had a similar experience. I called 39 days before my letter expires and they told me to call back in 9 days because it has to be less than 30 days to expiration to schedule the appointment - but just a couple days later my case got approved. So hang in there, they’re finally working on ROC cases again 

On 4/22/2021 at 2:48 PM, S & D said:

How do you actually get through to a person at USCIS? We have called many times and there is an automated line. No matter what option you pick or what you say, it will not put you through to a representative.

Just say "I need to schedule an infoPass appointment" and it'll connect you.

Just got the “new card is being produced” update. I guess it skipped the “case approved” lol. Case was sent September 2019. 

Finally after 20 months of waiting. I thought it would be adjudicated together with my N400 but it just got approved with no interview. 
 

How long does it normally take to get the card after that?

Day 467, nothing from Potomac... this is getting kind of ridiculous at this point. 

Heard nothing since putting in my N400 either, but the completion estimate says April 2021

Has anyone had to get a stamp extension on their passport for going over the 18 month period on the extension letter?

So this "Estimated wait time" counted down from 4 days after I submitted and now it just says this. I see people's esimated case completion time moving up, some pretty dramatically, but mine has been May 2021 and hasn't changed at all. 

Also, do you guys keep uploading more evidence and documents as things become available? New lease agreement, new job etc. (Mine is based on marriage, 3yr rule) Or should I keep the additional evidence for the interview and just present it then?

18 hours ago, DeGodefroi said:

The early filing window opens 90 days and not 3 months . So it is 2 days shorter.

ahh, that would make sense. Thanks for the clarification!  😅

I filed yesterday with my ROC still pending, included a letter requesting a combo interview. Not sure if the cover letter is just going to get buried in all the other evidence. I also forgot to upload my auto insurance documents, but thankfull the webstie lets you upload things after submitting. Definitely a smoother experience compared to AOS or ROC so far.

Estimate says May 2021 (8 months). Are these estimates accurate at all?

Despite my N400 window opening on 8/29/20 (LPR granted 11/29/17) - the system wouldn't let me submit my application before 8/31/20. Has anyone else had a similar issue?

3 hours ago, Sarasota said:

I submitted my N-400 online today

 

Was going to wait but figured I'd submit before the fee increase...

I submitted mine yesterday. Status updated to say "received" and says they'll send me a biometrics appointment. Interesting thing is that there's an estimated wait time listed as 4 days. For the biometrics appointment to be set, I assume. And my case completion estimate is May 2021, only 8 months. 

What's your completion estimate? I wonder if they just start out at 8 months and increase after that or if it's live data.

Hello,

I know this topic has been talked about in detail here before, and applying for N400 while the ROC is pending looks like the way to go. So I won't repeat the same questions, however here's a couple I haven't been able to find answers to.

1. Based on what I understand applying for N400 results in my case being transferred to my local office. My ROC application is at Potomac (YSC) which seems to have ground to a halt. My local office, on the other hand, is Norfolk, VA - which people appear to be pleased with. (I did my biometrics there and it took all of 5-10 minutes. Stark contrast to my experience near DC for my AOS biometrics, which involved sitting in the waiting area for almost 2 hours with no phone to entertain myself with.) Do you guys think it would accelerate my I-751 process if it were transferred to Norfolk from the Potomac Service Center - or would it lead to additional delays in my ROC timeline?
2. I've also heard you often need to specifically ask for a combo interview. What kind of verbage do you use in the letter? Do you just attach it like any other piece of evidence and hope they see it? I'd ideally like them to go ahead and schedule the ROC interview if it can happen before they get to my N400 file. However if my N400 interview comes along and my ROC has not been adjudicated yet, it would be preferable if they could take care of both right then and there. I'm just not sure which one will happen first, and don't want to tell them to put my ROC on pause for the N400.
3. I've been an LPR since 11/29/17 - but myUSCIS says I can't apply before 08/31/20. Just to be safe, I was thinking about applying on 9/1/20. I don't think the system lets you apply before you eligible anyway, right?
4. Attaching so many files on the online form feels awkward, especially since there is no good way to organize the information. Are we basically spamming them with evidence and hoping they sort through it? I tried to at least name the PDF files in a way that makes sense. 
5. Awkward interview questions - I read that people got asked the last time they were intimate, or what side of the bed they sleep on etc. We are a same-sex asexual couple. Our sleeping arrangement is also atypical, but it's not unheard of. We sleep in separate rooms because of our schedules (he's a nurse and I'm a pilot) and my sleep issues. We tried sleeping in the same bed for the first year and it just didn't work out. We're hoping that this doesn't come up during the interview, but our plan is to just be truthful and explain the situation. We are still married, we still love each other and we're committed to spending the rest our lives together - we don't think sleeping in the same bed or having sex has anything to do with the legitimacy of our marriage. I just can't help but be nervous about people not understanding or this needlessly complicating things. Any advice?

Thank you in advance to all who take time to respond. We appreciate any insight you may have to offer.

On 7/14/2020 at 10:54 AM, paulay said:

Our case was transferred to Potomac Service Center stating it could fasten the service/process.

This gave me a good laugh. Transferred to Potomac to speed things up eh. I don't know if this is just my experience by YSC seems to be behind others like LIN.

I'm potomac as well, status still says "Case was received" - did biometrics in January but online status never updated. It looks like YSC processed a batch a month ago and has been quiet since then?

Doesn't help that VJ has no timeline for YSC.

On 7/5/2020 at 9:56 PM, Sarasota said:

I got the weekly email

 

Your I-751 Approval Estimate

September 16, 2020

What weekly email? How do I get an estimate? I'm a YSC filer, haven't heard anything since biometrics appt in January. Last I heard they were approving some cases from July 2019?

Hello,

I'm aware that this isn't a requirement for filing N400 online, but I'm just annoyed with how needlessly difficult this is. (Mods, not sure if this is the right place, but here we go)

My N400 window opens September 2020 - I still have an ROC case pending from September 2019 (YSC seems to be approving cases from June/July so who knows, they might get to me before the N400 window opens). I've heard conflicting things about filing these without the other being adjudicated. What I've gathered so far is that once you apply for the N400, your ROC case also gets transferred to your local office, is this accurate? For me that means my ROC would get moved from Potomac Service Center to the Norfolk local office. YSC has been behind all the other ones so far, but I don't know if Norfolk will be much better. 

I'm trying to verify my identity on myUSCIS so I can get a USCIS online account number and do other things that require you to verify your identity. However, it asks for an A number, which I have, and also a DOS Case ID. From my understanding, the DOS Case ID is something you only get if you received an immigrant visa at some point. I was here on an F-1 visa and adjusted status to permanent resident while in the US. I never applied for or received an immigrant visa. There's no stamp in my passport other than entry stamps from when I traveled. 

How do you verify your account without a DOS case ID? All I have is my A-number and several USCIS receipt numbers from my I-485 or I-751 applications.