Aburashid

Hi, 
 
You are so welcome. It was our pleasure to share our experiences. A letter requesting a combo certainly can't hurt, though who knows if USCIS takes these requests into account or not? Sadly, there's so much mystery (and inconsistency) in USCIS processing. 😥. We wish you all the best in your journey in any case!

Hi,
 
As our I-751 was still pending at the time that we were eligible to apply for citizenship, we wrote a dedicated letter requesting a combo interview, and included it with our N-400 application.
 
Mind you, we have no way of confirming that our letter was in any way consequential nor even if a combo will ultimately be granted. 
 
I hope this answers your question. We wish you all the best with your journey in any case.
 
Mario 
 
 

Absolutely. All good points. None of us really knowing for sure is precisely what makes the approaches we take that much more foggy. Regarding combos, for example, it's not clear to me if it must be requested formally in the N-400 application (we did) or if it's automatic if the I-751 is still pending. I've heard both views on these threads. All the best. 

Hi,
 
We filed recently, but we filed under the 3-year rule, which means unlike us, you don't need to provide evidence that substantiates your marriage. So we provided additional evidence speaking to the marriage, something that you don't have to do. Further, our I-751 is not yet approved, so we provided evidence speaking to that point. I would imagine the required evidence that you have to present under the 5-year rule is pretty basic, vanilla. How much more beyond that to submit is a great question that 5-year ruler submitters here might jump in and speak to. Have you decided whether to file online or mail to the lockbox? Wishing you all the best with your preparations. 

Hello Everyone,
 
Hope you are doing well. Im not sure where I can find advice on this or if any of you know, but can I travel home ( to my home country?) after filing I-751 and have not received an update yet. My green card only expires on January 25 2019, but I have a family emergency back home now that requires me to leave immediately. Does anyone know anything? I filed last week packet was delivered Wednesday and have not got anything back.

Application recieved Aug26th
Nothing since then.
 
Texas.

Hi! Very impressive timeline with your I751! Could I ask which service center is processing your petition? Also, which local office (city) will do your interview?  We filed in August. Thanks for sharing!

Hi.  The extension letter is the NOA1.

People who have submitted petitions before their 90-day window opened have reported a range in the timeframe of the petition being returned. I've seen some as quickly as one week and a few as long as one month. If early submission is the issue as you suggest, eventually everything will be returned to you with each document that you sent with a scan code printed at the bottom. There will be a notice indicating that the submission was rejected and also a green slip that they ask you to include with the resubmitted package, which you should expressly resend.

Hello Jafferi, I heard the same thing, but personally, I think this is a myth. I reopened our DS-260 throughout our NVC period and it doesn't seem to have impacted our processing time at all, and if you look at our timeline, we breezed through NVC pretty quickly. Also, by reviewing our completed DS-260, I caught a small error that I made that I'm prepared to address if it comes up in our interview. That's my view of this issue. 

Hello Netta, I did the same as you: I filed an I-130 and since there was no cost, followed it up with an I-129/K3. I also received the notice saying that the I129F was closed because a benefit was received by other means. That benefit IS the I-130. So your I-130 has been approved. It takes a few days to get the NOA2 and for the USCIS status to update. The I-129 closure notice comes first. I bet you'll see your NOA2 some time this week. Congrats.

Everyone's answer is spot on. I'm a USC by birth and successfully petitioned for CRBA for my twins about 4 months ago. They were born in Ghana. The residency requirement is crucial in that you had to have lived in the USA for a total of 5 years PRIOR to the birth of the children. You'll have to present evidence that meticulously documents those 5 years. If you can't do that, then you'll have to go the I-130 route. If you qualify, you can apply for CRBA at the embassy where you reside (Tanzania). The U.S. Embassy websites generally have the CRBA applications available for download. Hope this helps.