Alekezam

Had our combo N-400/I-751 Interview on 4/21/23. I-751 approved same day. No new green card would be issued as N-400 was also approved on the same day. And FYI. Took roughly 18 months to approve but I want to stress that, outside of receiving the notice of receipt of our I-751 application, there was no movement on it till we submitted the N-400. Our I-751 was mysteriously transferred to another location immediately after we submitted the N-400.....no way that's just a simple coincidence. It obviously moved because we submitted the N-400. So you can interpret that however you want but in my opinion, they will basically sit on your I-751 for an indefinite amount of time until something major prompts them to do otherwise (in this case, submit an N-400).

Ditto on the N400 (only submitted bare minimum). For the I-751 we brought a few pieces of evidence, namely recent bills, medical insurance, joint account statements (officer did not ask for any of it). The officer had our entire I-751 case file on the table and simply stated "your I-751 case has already been looked at twice so I'm not going to waste any more time on it" and approved it on the spot then immediately proceeded with the N400 interview.

You're right, I didn't realize that until I finished typing and submitted. By all means, feel free to move my comments to another more appropriate thread if you have the ability because I do not have that privilege.

I agree, no harm in bringing more information than not but let's be honest, there are quite a few individuals on here that tell people to submit way more than they need to. All I am saying is that at minimum you need to have all the documents that are required as instructed. Each IO is different and I understand that but all we as a community are entitled to do is recommend others to do what we think is best and let them decide what they want to bring in addition to what is required. A more risk averse individual may decide that it is in their best interest to bring way more than what is needed whereas a less risk averse individual such as myself chooses to stick with what is required along with maybe a few additional items. i.e. When filing the I-485 and I-750 I chose to submit several affidavits where others said those are pointless. Those same individuals that feel affidavits are pointless believe that submitting receipts for trips, having a mortgage or rent in both names, joint ownership in a vehicle, joint credit card statements whereas I felt those things weren't necessary (I didn't include any of those things). Are either of us wrong in what we think? No, because cases have been approved using any combination the above said evidence. I guess my point is that people on here need to be careful with how they phrase things. It's one thing to give an opinion/advice and another to say you "have to or else". I've noticed over the years of being on here as more of an observer than a commenter that there are quite a few people on here that have a tendency to dole out information or answer questions like it's fact so it's only natural for there to be lots of casual members to get all stressed out and confused with what they've interpreted from USCIS Instructions. Appreciate the kind words and best of luck to both current and future applicants!

My wife just completed her interview. Our experience is as follows and may not be the same for everyone: In addition to what is listed for you to bring to the interview, we brought a whole slew of documents just in case. The officer only asked for what was required. Our I-751 was still pending prior to the interview and we were given a combo interview for both the I-751 and the N-400. Despite so many on here telling people that they should include a request for a combo interview within their N-400 application we did not do so. It's 2023 so unless we're still living in the past I correctly assumed they would, by default, not only know that our I-751 was still pending but they would also have access to the case file as well. So yeah, in my opinion, no need to submit a request for a combo interview with your N-400 application. The field office was pretty quiet that day so there weren't a lot of people. My wife was called to do her biometrics literally within a minute of walking in. We were then called to the back by an officer 5 minutes later. The officer this time around compared to the officer who did our I-485 interview was more personable and social. When we sat down in his office he informed us immediately that we would do the I-751 interview first as it was still pending and had to be completed before moving onto the N-400. He then asked us both to stand, raise our right hands and give our oath. He had our case file in front of him and said something to the effect of "your case has been looked at in detail twice already so there's no reason to believe it's not all good". He then asked a couple of generic questions like where we met, what was the date of our marriage, my wife's birthdate and social security.....basic stuff for the most part. Took like 5 minutes. Once done he stated that he approved it but my wife would not be getting a new greencard as she would be receiving her approval for citizenship today. Good start already, I was liking it and the fact that he assumed approval on the citizenship was also a good sign. He then said we were done and he would now move onto the N-400 and indicated that I could not participate. I simply just sat there and kept my mouth shut the entire time. This part took slightly longer but was maybe about 10-15 minutes long. He started off by asking my wife general questions like date of birth, date of marriage, social, a lot of the same questions from the I-751. He then went over a couple of things such as where we have traveled to internationally over the last 2 years. Once he was done with that he went on to the civics test. My wife passed with flying colors. You need to get 6 out of 10 right and my wife apparently answered a straight 6 right because he did not ask 10 questions and stopped at 6. He then moved on to a table that was sitting on the table. He asked my wife to read the phrase that was shown and she did so. It was a pretty basic phrase, nothing complicated. He then asked her to write out a sentence he would give her to write on the tablet. Again, simple sentence, nothing major. He then went down a list of those silly questions like have you been involved in terrorism, have you ever committed marriage fraud, yada yada. From there he approved and let us know that the oath ceremony would be scheduled some time soon and to be on the lookout for a letter designating the oath ceremony date. We are about to leave the country on a trip in two weeks so I asked him what are our options if the ceremony happens to get scheduled during our trip. He said to just shoot them an email and request a reschedule and they can easily do so. With that, we were good to go. He asked a couple of personal questions and we had some friendly banter and he congratulated us and walked us back to the front desk. All in all it took about 30 minutes. I want to note that the only documents he actually asked for were for both of our State Issued ID's, my wife's green card, and her passport. Nothing else. We are finally glad to be almost 100% free of having to deal with all this stuff now..... Obviously everyone's experiences with this process are going to be different from one another but in general try not to sweat it or overthink it. As long as you follow the instructions given using the USCIS guidelines when filling out applications, you'll be fine. In my time over the years on VisaJourney I have noticed lots of people like to overthink it and rather than simply recommend others do something, they state it like it's a given with no leeway. That's not always the case. Lots of fear mongering that leads people to jump through all sorts of hoops to obtain things they really don't need. Of course, as in any situation, it doesn't hurt to have more than what's required but within reason. That's part of the reason why once we submitted the I-751 and N-400 we already knew it would take time and patience so we weren't constantly scouring VisaJourney on a daily basis. Anyways that's just my two cents. Bottom line is we are glad to be done with it all and wanted to share our experience. Feel free to ask any questions and we'll certainly try to help in any way!

Thanks for the information. We'll be going this route. If you remember off the top of your head, how did the urgent request option cost? Just curious.

This is definitely an option, thanks. The only thing I would be worried about is not being able to get an appointment or for reason unknown they simply just simply don't want to process my wife.....not saying that would be the case just speculating worst case scenario being as you would have to do this so close to when you have to travel. Would you say it's a fool proof option if we have all the documents that are required (we do as everything is already booked)? If so then I would have no reservations going that route.

My wife received notice that her interview has been scheduled for April 21, 2023. We filed her N-400 on January 5th of this year and, honestly, did not expect to get an interview date that quick. We were assuming she'd get an interview sometime in the late summer or even fall. We have an overseas trip on May 4th. I suppose one of few things can happen at the interview: 1) They approve and you wait for a scheduled oath ceremony date 2) They approve and you take your oath on the same day 3) They don't make a decision on the spot and you wait for for official approval and oath ceremony date 4) You get denied (if this happens, then my next question wouldn't be relevant) Given that the interview date and our travel date are so close obtaining a new passport is not even an option. I've read that people can let the IO know of their situation and request that the Oath Ceremony be scheduled for a date after they have returned from travel abroad. Is that a common thing to do? Because you do not have to actually give up your green card until the Oath Ceremony, the assumption is that you can still travel abroad using your green card and extension letter as you would normally have done prior to the interview. Is that a safe assumption to make? Thoughts? If need be we could cancel/reschedule the trip but we'd rather not if we don't have to since there are a few variables that make the timing of our trip convenient.

My wife has a 24 month extension letter that expires at the end of this year and she got a new 48 month one so I think it's just luck of the draw.

I think its way past time for you to start raising a flag. They are giving 48 month extensions due to "backlog" but, in my opinion, that amount of time is based on conservatism where 48 months is worst case scenario. So yeah......if you haven't already done so, you need start getting aggressive with them to find out what's taking so long.

We just received the new 48 month extension letter replacement in the mail yesterday (3/7/23).

Agreed, that would be my guess.

We did not include a letter and I don't believe luck has anything to do with it. My assumption is that cases are linked in some fashion, how?, I have no idea...but there has to be a link somehow. My wife's I-751 was transferred within a day of submitting her N-400....and lots of others have experienced the same so I highly doubt it is just coincidence.

My wife's has been on "actively being reviewed" since Jan. 6th so not sure why you'd think you'd have an interview date by now. Not saying ours has any more priority than yours.....just going purely off of dates. They re-used my wife's biometrics from the I-751. We're not expecting to get notice for an interview date for at least another few months.

We just received a notice in the mail today notifying us that my wife's case has been transferred to Lee's Summit, MO. She has an SRC number. Letter did not mention any reason as to why the transfer took place.

I'm trying to understand why so many people on VJ spout off advice or opinions like its fact..... Whenever I offer information or advice I always preface by saying something to the effect of "In my opinion......, Based on my experience......., Based on my research I suggest......., etc,, etc." and always include some form of information whether it's through testaments, articles, etc. For example....."affidavits are very poor evidence"....can you please provide some data or some form of evidence that shows this rather than simply stating it like it's fact? Just to be clear, I am not saying one way or another whether or not this is a correct or incorrect statement. I'm simply asking for some backup material to prove that it is indeed true or clarification that it is simply an opinion based on experience. I am by no means trying to initiate conflict, I am simply trying to point out that this is a forum designed for the purpose of providing information as a collective where 1000's if not tens of thousands come for help. Some people will take information at face value and run with it with it without any due diligence and others will be more cautious in what they take from here so I think it's only right that people clarify whether or not advice that is given is simply that....and not to be taken as fact.

Filing the N-400 definitely prompts them to do something with your I-751. We filed my wife's I-751 back in October of 2021 and the only update she received was that they received the application. Even when she logs into her account and checks status that's all it has said despite having done her biometrics back in December of 2021. Crickets up until now. So we submitted her N-400 at the beginning of this month and out of nowhere 2 days later we started receiving text messages and emails from USCIS stating that action had been taken on her I-751. When checking, it now shows "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken".....lol. We're talking about an update for something my wife did over a year ago..... It also stated that her I-751 was transferred to another location. Movement on the our I-751 happening 2 days after submitting the N-400 is in no way just mere coincidence. Based on my simple analysis, our I-751 case has apparently been sitting in the nether and was now only looked at simply because they were prompted to when we submitted the N-400. Oh well, it is what it is but yeah can't help but chuckle at the process and how dysfunctional it is.

I believe you can. It asks you a couple of questions prior to starting the process for eligibility purposes (when you first got your permanent residence, are either of your parents US Citizens, etc.) but regardless of whether it tells you if you are eligible or not I think it's just for guidance purposes and doesn't actually prevent you from moving forward with the application.

Yes, you can save it and finish later.

Woops my bad, I'm not talking about the I-751. I'm referencing the N-400. When my wife filed her N-400 all she received the following day was an email stating that they had taken action on her case. There was no mention of receipt in the email nor any mention of biometrics being re-used Logged in online and now her case changed to "Case Is Actively Being Reviewed By USCIS". I think before it said something to the effect of "we have received you case" but I can't remember. In the history section it does say that we have received your case and have sent you a receipt notice. What constitutes as a receipt notice? Is the email that states that they have taken action on her case the receipt? What did your receipt notice email actually say if you don't mind my asking?

When my wife filed her I-751 all she received the following day was an email stating that they had taken action on her case. There was no mention of receipt in the email nor any mention of biometrics being re-used Logged in online and now her case changed to "Case Is Actively Being Reviewed By USCIS". I think before it said something to the effect of "we have received you case" but I can't remember. In the history section it does say that we have received your case and have sent you a receipt notice. What constitutes as a receipt notice? Is the email that states that they have taken action on her case the receipt? What did your receipt notice email actually say if you don't mind my asking?

Awesome! Appreciate the detailed information. I can still go thru the whole N-400 process online despite not having verified my identity as I am going through the process now. The part that bugs me I guess is the area section from the N-400 process within your USCIS profile where you verify your identity that is weird. If you go to your wife's USCIS profile under the My Account drop down you'll notice there is a link that says "Verify Your Identity". You can see if yours is filled or not, I'm just curious. I don't think you actually have to fulfill it to do anything.......

I'm barely getting around to filing the N-400 even though my window opened up back in October..... Quick question. When filing online, were you able to verify your identity when creating an account? This question has come up on numerous occasions but the answers seem to always be repetitive and don't really solve the issue. Where did you get you DOS ID? The A Number is easy to find but the DOS ID is a complete mystery. When this question is asked it's always the same answer "it's located on your Visa Stamp" or simply copy and paste the instructions listed on USCIS's website. The problem lies in that I came on a K-1 so the Visa Stamp I have looks nothing like what's pictured in examples. There is no IV Number or anything remotely close to a DOS ID. I don't have an Immigrant Visa Fee Handout either nor do I have an immigrant data summary so where the heck am I supposed to find this thing?? Is the answer that I just simply just skip that part and file the N-400 online without it? It seems like I can go ahead and start the process of filing your N-400 online.

In Croatia now. So we just decided to go with the flow to see what would happen under our circumstances. Arrived at Bush International in Houston and as expected when checking my wife in the kiosk prompted us to speak with a United rep in order to continue the process. It obviously picked up on the fact that my wife’s passport name (maiden) was different than the name that the ticket was booked under (married). An agent came over and immediately recognized the issue and wasn’t sure what to do initially. She mentioned that the customer should typically get this resolved over the phone with United prior to the flight. I told her I did try but was told on multiple tries that all they could do was put a note in the system stating that the person with the passport is indeed the same person that booked the ticket. She understood my explanation and decided to reach out to one of her supervisors, whom, ended up being no help. All the supervisor did was direct me to continue the checkin process using the kiosk and left. I tried again and the system again prompted us to speak to a United Rep in order to continue. The original United rep were talking to was definitely sympathizing with us and said that there indeed was a note in the system about our situation but said that we may still run into issues with security as they aren’t actually tied to United’s system and as far as they are concerned my wife would be a red flag since the name on her passport doesn’t match with her ticket. I then said we’ll here in Houston we can simply use her State ID to get thru TSA since they don’t care whether you use an Texas ID or a passport. The United rep agreed but said that during our transit in Amsterdam we may have an issue with security there. I figured yeah but we would at least already be in Europe and we could would need to hopefully get by using our marriage certificate along with other forms of ID for proof. After several minutes of contemplation the United agent said well maybe I can change the name in our system to see what happens but there is no guarantee that the entire booking would reflect it since a portion of the booking wasn’t operated by United. Again, after several minutes of contemplation we ultimately decided to try the name change. She proceeded and printed out all the boarding passes all the way to Split, Croatia and surprisingly, all the boarding passes had my wife’s Maiden name. In the end we made it all the way thru without a hitch. So, apparently, the Check In Agents do have the ability to change your name on a ticket. The agent we dealt with was super helpful and we can’t thank her enough for what she did but To be honest, I don’t think she even realized she was able to do so. Now she knows, but I’d venture to say most agents do not know or are trained to either not allow it or deliberately not given that information. We video documented our journey so feel free to check it out if you have time or are in the same situation! Link below:

We booked our tickets through United and I've already called them 3 times to see how, if any different, each response would be. All of them gave me the exact same response. They can only change the name if the entire journey was operated by United but a portion of the trip is under a different airline (still under Star Alliance) so they cannot change the name for security reasons. I understand the reasons and it makes sense so we are just going to go ahead and cross our fingers and hope we don't run into any major issues. United has inputted that my wife's passport name (Maiden) and ticket holder name (Married) is the same person into their system which alerts the other airlines. They said this is standard procedure and that they do it all the time and we should not have any problems. We did not try contacting the other airline. I guess the reason I did not is because I'm pretty sure they will say the same thing. I think the only way it will work is if we got both airlines on the phone at the same time to coordinate, which would be tough task to coordinate and even then I don't think they'd go for it because there is no real way for either of them to prove to the other that they are indeed that airline. I don't think airlines have access to each others information so the verification part is going to always be a problem, hence, the security measures of not wanting to change names unless it's with only their airline. We are bringing our marriage certificate for verification purposes as well as all of the other necessary documents (green card, State ID, etc.) We leave next Wednesday, I'll be sure to update everyone on here of how it goes. We don't mind being the guinea pigs for this experiment.