Pumpkin
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Posts posted by Pumpkin
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FINAL UPDATE:
Today I had my Interview and got both my I-751 and N-400 approved together. I did the civics test and English test without a problem and had a same day Oath Ceremony right after.
As of today, I am officially a US Citizen!! Huge thanks to everyone who have given me advice and guidance through this process from start to finish.
As for my concern which I posted in another thread about having to leave the US 30-45 days after Expedited Naturalizing:
I asked the IO about this and he said I don't have to leave in 30-45 days if I can't (I'm still waiting for my Italian Visa, it's the only thing stopping me from PCSing), but as long as I have the intent to leave (which I definitely do), then I should be fine in case I go beyond the 30-45 days for whatever reason.
So, no more worries where that's concerned. ---- Thought I'd mention it here in case someone might need this information in the future.
Once again, thank you so much to everyone here for all your help and information!!! And good luck to everyone else who are still going through with the process. 😌
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I'm freaking out and need advice.
Also I'm not sure if I should have posted this here or under US Citizenship General Discussion.
Sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum.
So, I expedited my N-400 which got delayed a bit because it clashed with the window opening to file my I-751 (detailed timeline of when I filed in my signature).
Fast forward a few weeks and now I'm finally having my interview for both the I-751 and the N-400 in 2 days on November 4, this Wednesday.
I was in a call with the Immigration Officer who will be conducting the interview and he mentioned that I will be taking the Oath Ceremony the same day and that I have to leave the US in the next 30-45 days (not sure if I heard him right when he said 45) after I naturalize.
Here's my problem....to go to Italy where my husband is stationed (we'll be staying there for 3 years, until October 2023), I have to apply for an Italian National Visa which I already did using my current passport (non-US). I haven't gotten my visa yet but I already processed it with the passport agent on base on October 20 (did it a week prior but there were errors so I had to re-do it) and she estimated the processing time to be around 3 weeks but it could take longer, it all depends. Assuming she didn't send out my application to the Italian Embassy until later that week, I want to safe-estimate that the Italian Embassy probably (hopefully) received my application on or before October 26.
But what with delays with just about everywhere due to the pandemic, what if I don't get the visa before the 30-45 days are up wherein I have to leave the US after expedited naturalization? That's not even taking into account that I'm worried my visa application will be denied. ---- I've been freaking out about this since my passport that I sent out to apply for the visa is expiring on October 2021. It says on the Italian embassy website that the passport has to be valid 3 more months from when I plan to leave Italy. The visa I applied for is for 365 days which means my passport has to have an expiry date of at least January 2022...but if they're basing it on when I plan to leave Italy, then I should have a passport that expires on January 2024 since I indicated in the application that I plan to leave Italy on October 2023 as per the passport agent's instructions as a military dependent applying for the visa. I did voice my concern about this to the passport agent but she said my application should be fine and we went ahead with the filing. It's reassuring that she thinks it'll be okay but I'm still not convinced until I actually get my passport back with that visa. (If anyone has any knowledge about Italian National Visas at all, I would also appreciate any information I can get about it; like if my passport isn't valid the extra 3 months, would they still approve my application but give me a 90 or 120 day visa instead of the 365 day visa I applied for ot something?) ---- I know I should have filed for the visa application before getting my N-400 expedited but my husband and I have been receiving very conflicting advice from everywhere about what I needed to go to Italy. We were under the impression that I can just go to Italy with his orders for a while and basically found out that I actually needed a visa after I already requested for the expedite.
Anyway, with all that said....what will happen if I don't leave the US 30-45 days after I naturalize? Should I just tell them that I'll hold off on the oath ceremony until after I get back my passport with the visa just to be safe?
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@ZKT Congratulations!!! 🥳🥳🥳 I'm really glad it all worked out well for you!! And thanks as always for all the updates. Hopefully all the info here will be of help to anyone in the future~
As for me, I'll be having my interview next week for both the I-751 and the N-400. That I-751 really caused the huge delay for me but I don't really mind since I already got delayed anyway because of the Italian visa that I need for the PCS (ugh...this one is actually giving me more problems right now, who would've thought getting a visa would be more problematic than getting citizenship??).
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UPDATE!!
Sorry I haven't posted lately! I've been busy with other stuff for the upcoming PCS (I've been dealing with one problem after another...ugh...) and there isn't much to update since I've mostly been waiting.
Anyway, the same IO I've been in contact with has been calling me for updates about my ROC. He called me on Oct. 14 and again on Oct. 15 since he really wanted to get the ball rolling with the ROC and Naturalization, but he couldn't do anything since my ROC application was still not processed. He suggested an option of me just reprinting my entire application and bringing it with me to the ASC. I was fine with that (but confused if this was even allowed) so he said he'll call me back after he asks his boss if we could go this route. He said he'd give me a call back the following week to see if we can go ahead with this. But on Oct. 16 my bank notified me that I was charged by USCIS for the ROC filing fee. A few hours later that same day, I received a text with my receipt #. On Oct. 19, I received the notice in the mail (stating my green card is good for 18 more months after expiry, etc). I called the IO which went to voice mail so I left a message telling him my ROC application finally got processed and told him I have the receipt #. Oct. 20, he called me back and asked for the receipt # and told me he'll call me back with an interview date as soon as he gets my files.
So for now, more waiting, but it all seems to be looking good.
My husband is still moving to Italy on Oct. 28 but I still haven't finalized my flight tickets because I don't wanna be forced to travel when I'm not 100% sure yet that I'm good to go. I don't really mind a slight delay by a week or two since we were never going to travel together anyway since he's heading to Italy from S. Korea and I'm going there from the US.
I'll update again when there are any more changes/progress!
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On 10/13/2020 at 6:38 PM, Aili & Dani said:
Mine was received on 10/05 and didnt get any email from them yet. So i guess ill be waiting like you.. Damn
Mine was also received on Oct. 5!
My credit card was charged (I paid with the G-1450 form) on Oct. 16, and I also got a text from USCIS with my receipt # on the same day.
Then on Oct. 19 I received the notice in the mail.
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7 minutes ago, ZKT said:
Hey pumpkin!
Glad that your biometrics went smoothly and i'm happy your local uscis officer called you. That's sweet and dilligent on him/her. My local uscis office has just been hands off and never contacted me. But that might change when i get my appointment date letter and i will try to ask for an earlier schedule of interview if its scheduled for november.
Anyway, its great that you were dilligent to submit a roc. Too bad you had to do an roc/your 90 day opened.. that's extra effort and money. Ahahaha. But at least you are doing it the proper way! So kudos to you. Anyway i wish you submitted it online so you could get the receipt number earlier. But yeah in the mail one it takes much longer. You can check the timeline i posted to be able to count the days in but i got mine sept 16. I guess 8 days after. So yeah i hope you get that text message soon for that receipt number!
Anyway glad to know that flight schedule was changed to accommodate your interview. Hoping everything goes smoothly for sure. Hope you get approved for sure!!!
Imma update you guys when i got my interview date and all.
Yeah, he seems to be really on top of things so I'm grateful. Last thing I'd want is for me to keep calling and bugging him. lol I hope your interview gets scheduled soon as well! Seeing as they updated the status so quick, maybe they might have scheduled it for this month?
I knowwww....it's the fee that's killing me. I could've dodged having to pay more money if only I filed a bit sooner. Ahhhhh!! But no point feeling bad about it now. I also wish I could've submitted it online, but sadly it isn't an option for the I-751. It would've been quicker that way and less worrying on my part since I'd know right away if the payment went through or not. And thanks for the info.! I'm estimating around 2 weeks (less, hopefully) for me to hear back about the application. Did you get the receipt number in the text that they sent you? Because that's really all I need to get an interview scheduled.
I hope everything goes smoothly for you as well! We're at least slowly but surely getting there.
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Hey guys, here's an update!!
So, this morning I went into my biometrics appointment which went pretty fast and without a problem. Came home and went about my day and then got a call from the same immigration officer from my field office that contacted me last time. He asked how my appointment went which I told him it was fine and we talked about scheduling for the interview.
But an issue came up which I was well aware of already but (unfortunately) forgot about until recently.
My 90 day filing window to file for the I-751/ROC is already up. I completely forgot about this (my fault entirely) despite asking about it before and @Iscir saying that I definitely still have to file it. I only remembered last week on Thursday night as I was browsing through the USCIS website looking for some information about other things and incidentally landed on the page that mentions the I-751 and expedited naturalizations. So I panicked and quickly filled out the I-751 and shipped it off last Friday. According to UPS, my packet got delivered only yesterday.
I mentioned this in the call with the IO, and told him that I filed for it but don't have a receipt number yet since it's only been a day since USCIS actually received it. He was very understanding and told me that he'll keep an eye on it and as soon as that application gets added into the system under my account, he'll have it sent to him and then he'll schedule the interview which will now be for both the N-400 and the I-751. So now, all I can do is wait for him to call me back once my I-751 is reflected under my account which I'm guessing is when I get a receipt notice or when they cash in the payment for the application. @ZKT when you submitted your N-400 via mail, how soon did you get a receipt number/notice for it?
I'm just hoping no issues will arise with the application itself. I did put it together really quickly so I hope I didn't miss anything in that packet that would cause even more delays.
Although the I-751 caused a bit of a hiccup to the original plan, I think there's still enough time to finish all this before I leave. The original date of our departure to Italy was supposed to be next week but my husband recently changed it to the last week of October (whew~). I also updated the IO of this and judging by how he sounded, he thinks there should be enough time to get everything sorted before then. So, fingers crossed!
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On 9/28/2020 at 5:15 PM, ZKT said:
So just an update:
I took my chances and i walked in... and luckily no one was at the uscis as... and so i asked if i can do my biometrics today since my husband had no work and was convenient for him to drive me to the uscis as vs. The one on my appointment date. And they allowed me since they had no one else there anyway. Plus military people are allowed to do a walk in.
I brought my philippine passport, my green card and dependent id and i printed off my biometrics appointment and that biometrics sheet that i answered in the computer. My husband showed his military id but they told him to wait in the car. It was the lady who did my biometrics last dec 2018. She remembered me and she and the guard were very pleasant. They were the only 2 people there just like last dec 2018.
And as soon as i walked out of the uscis asc my status on the old website already changed. Hehehe.
Letting you know @Pumpkin in case you wanna try to do a walk in. So they can process yours even faster and maybe even have time to get a same day passport at a passport center.
That's great news!! Good for you, I'm glad it all worked out.
I probably won't do it though just 'cause my appointment's already next week anyway and I've been busy with other appointments as well so I don't even know when to try and go for a walk-in but thank you anyway for the info.! Do let me know when you get around to getting your interview scheduled. Hopefully you'll be able to get that one done soon as well.
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7 hours ago, ZKT said:
Hey @Pumpkin
So i did get my biometrics appointment and its slotted for oct 13 2020. And i might do a walk in on monday in case i can. Just cause my husband has no work on monday and it would be convenient for him so he doesn't have to skip work/take off work just to drive me on oct 13 itself when he'll be actually working. I called the military hotline to ask if i can expedite that to an earlier date, they said they can't but to just try to do a walk in just in case.
When is your biometrics appointment? I really hope that you will for sure have your interview scheduled just 3 days after your biometrics interview. I dunno when mine will be and it usually takes a month to do all the background checks before they send our documents to the local field office. (Or at least for me since i did a mail in vs. You did an online one). So i'm really happy your local field office reached out to you. Mine hasn't reached out to me yet. So yeah interview date is in limbo.. and it started making me worry it might take longer like nov or even in dec so i might have to have my local field office changed to the one in fresno (its the closest to le moore where my husband will have some training).
But good thinking on ya for studying early on. Yeah i don't have the booklet either.. but i do the youtube videos 100 questions & answers.. so far i've been doing well answering a lot. And well i'm starting to get familiarized with some that i have no idea of and those that are confusing ones. But good luck on your studying and yes do keep us updated.
Ohhh! Good luck with that! Definitely no harm in trying...I hope they'll accept the walk-in!
My biometrics appointment is on Oct. 6. The interview date is still tentative given everything goes smoothly after biometrics but yeah, I hope I really can do the interview that soon. It was reassuring that the IO who is in charge of my case actually called me himself and gave me his number just in case I have questions or concerns. It really felt like he was personally trying to make sure I get through the process as quickly as possible. Hopefully it won't take too long to schedule your interview after you finish with biometrics. I feel like it also largely depends on availability at your local field office? That's what I think at least, but who knows what other things they have to consider as well before they can actually set a date for appointments.
I also do feel like the date we leave contributed to my case being moved so quickly. Although I didn't tell them when I'm leaving the country (since I'm basing that on when I finish the naturalization process), I did tell them my husband is definitely leaving on Oct. 15 so I think they're really trying to clear me before the 15th. Did you give them an exact date of when you're leaving when you requested for the expedite?
And thanks! I've definitely been a bit paranoid about it so I couldn't help but to just start studying now. After all the effort being done to get me through this process quickly, I definitely can't risk failing. lol Good luck with your studying as well! We can definitely do this.
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Yes, the egov link seems to update faster than the home page on USCIS. When the egov updated to my biometrics being scheduled, it took 2 days for the actual letter to show up under my documents, then another 2 days to when I physically received it in the mail today so you definitely should get it soon!
I've been busy with getting our things sorted for PCS as well which has been a pain since my husband's in S.Korea, I have to deal with all this stuff alone..ughh... But everything's going smoothly so far at least, and I'm grateful. I still can't wait until all of this is over and done with though. lol
As a precaution, I've also been studying the civics test by taking a practice test at least every night and also letting my husband and friends throw questions at me here and there. If the schedule that the IO at the field office told me really does go through and my interview will be 3 days after my biometrics gets taken, that means I don't have that much time to study/memorize if I just wait until I get the study booklet at the biometrics appointment, so I looked up the civics test questions on the USCIS website and just went ahead and started preparing for it.
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1 hour ago, ZKT said:
Anyway, is that what they gave you? But then they responded to you quickly with something else?
I completely missed this part when I replied earlier!
But no, I don't have this kind of update under my case history.
In fact my home page hasn't updated at all and it still says that I only have one notice from USCIS which is the first receipt notice for when they received my application. Under case status, it also only indicates that they ahve received my application so there's really nothing there that says they even received my expedite request or that I've been given a response or that it's completed.
The only update I have is when I look up my receipt number (on https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do) it now says "Biometrics Appointment Was Scheduled". Maybe check your receipt number there from time to time until it updates as well!
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12 minutes ago, ZKT said:
Omg! I was cooking and then i ate lunch and then when i checked my case this happened (see attached picture)
And then I got an email from the USCIS saying this:
Dear xxxxx:
On 09/21/2020, you or the designated representative shown below, contacted us about your case. Some of the key information given to us at that time was the following:
Caller indicated they are:
-- Applicant or Petitioner
Attorney Name:
-- Information not available
Case type:
-- N400
Filing date:
-- 09/15/2020
Receipt #:
-- IOE-09-096-xxxxx
Referral ID:
T1B2652xxxxxxx
Beneficiary (if you filed for someone else):
-- Information not available
Your USCIS Account Number (A-number):
-- 216xxxxxx
Type of service requested:
-- Expedite
The status of this service request is:
You contacted USCIS concerning your N-400 to notify us that you were requesting an expedited review of your case. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved.
Your petition/application is still pending consideration and is in the queue for interview scheduling. You will be scheduled for an interview in the near future. Please follow the instructions on the notice when you receive it.
When you appear for your interview please provide documents supporting the request such as deployment papers or any other evidence that would substantiate the request.
What You Can Do
* Ensure that we have your current mailing address;
* Verify that you are registered to receive mail at the address you provided to us;
* Follow any instructions in the interview notice; and
* Bring a copy of the interview notice with you to your interview.
Reschedule an Appointment
If you missed your interview or need to reschedule, please follow instructions on the interview notice to reschedule your interview.
We hope this information is helpful to you.Anyway, is that what they gave you? But then they responded to you quickly with something else?
10 minutes ago, ZKT said:Hi @Pumpkin
Does this mean they have approved already my request to expedite? I got confused. Hahaha.
Heyyy~ And uhmm...I'm not sure? But this is definitely good though since you actually got an update regarding the expedite request!
It does state "Your petition/application is still pending consideration and is in the queue for interview scheduling. You will be scheduled for an interview in the near future."
To me that sounds like your expedite request has actually been approved?? That's just my opinion though. Since they did say you're queued for interview scheduling even if you haven't been scheduled for biometrics yet. If they're already looking into the interview then I want to assume they're trying to hurry it up? So it's definitely being expedited?? Or IDK. I really dunno! lol But it's definitely good that they actually e-mailed you about the expedite request. Hopefully they'll actually give you appointment dates soon!
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2 minutes ago, ZKT said:
Eeek!!!! I'm super super super happy for you!!! This is amazing!!! I might just try this route too today! Hahaha! Just in case ms. Grumpypants wasn't able to list everything down. But i did send all my orders and dea, and stuff in my packet and was in my cover letter so they should be able to see it. (Gonna reply and rejoice again later. Gonna cook for a bit now)
Thank you so much!! And yes I definitely recommend trying to send them an e-mail. It definitely wouldn't hurt!! My orders are also already in my N-400 application but I attached it with the e-mail I sent anyway just in case.
Hopefully you'll hear back from them quickly as well!
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Oh, and I also just checked my account on the USCIS website. My home page doesn't have any actual changes. It still says my estimated completion time is January 2021 and this:
Estimated wait time:
We are taking longer than expected to process your case. You do not need to do anything at this time.
But when I searched my receipt number under case status, it already updated to "Biometrics Appointment Was Scheduled" so my case is definitely moving along!! 😄
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Major Update on my case today!!!
So late last night, I sent an e-mail to to the military help line for USCIS. I told them my situation just like I did on the phone when I requested for the expedition of my N-400 application. I also told them I already made a request through the phone last week but was just sending an e-mail "in case" and with the e-mail I included my husband's orders with my name on it that we're supposed to head to Italy by October/November. No one told me to do this, but I just wanted to be proactive since I'm on a time crunch and I just added the orders in there 'cause well, it couldn't hurt right? Anyway, so they replied earlier this morning asking when I'm supposed to leave for Italy. I told them I didn't buy my ticket yet because I wasn't sure if my N-400 will even be completed before the flight date and I didn't want to have to cancel tickets in case I have to stay to complete to process since I don't even have a biometrics appointment scheduled yet. But to give them a proper estimate, I also told them my husband is supposed to fly to Italy (he's currently stationed in S.Korea while I'm state-side) on Oct. 15th.
I suspect the person I was communicating with via e-mail (who has been so nice and quick with their replies during our exchange by the way!!) forwarded this information to whoever is in charge of my case since I only gave this information (the specific date of when my husband leaves) this morning and never told the person from my first expedite request via phone call last week. Because a few hours after my e-mail exchange with the military help line, someone from my local field office (the one I listed as my field office of choice on my N-400) just called me and told me he's the one who'll be working on my case! He said he's just waiting for my file from somewhere (sorry, not sure what he said specifically but basically it's at one of the main USCIS offices) and because of this he can't schedule a biometrics appointment until he receives it which is why when we discussed about possible appointment dates, he gave it a bit of time between now and when he can for sure receive my file. So he scheduled a biometrics appointment for me on the 6th (ample time for him to get my file) and that the turn-around time for the biometrics to be registered on my file is at least 48 hours so he also said he'll schedule my interview on the 9th or at the latest (in case there's a delay with my biometrics getting registered) on the 13th. He then said I'll have my certificate after the oath ceremony by then (so I'm assuming the oath ceremony will be held on the same day as the interview...assuming I pass??), just in time for me to fly out on the 15th and he said I can book my ticket now if I want???! He also advised me about passports since he said I definitely won't get an American passport before the 15th since it takes a while to request for one and that I'll only have a certificate of naturalization at that point (not a problem since I'm flying to Italy with my old passport anyway). He said I can start the application for one but get the physical passport in Italy.
And...that's that. He also gave me his direct phone line in case I want to contact him with anything regarding my case but he reassured me that it's basically straight-forward at this point which I'm assuming is the case just as long as I meet the appointment dates and actually pass the test.
So far, this experience has been WILD. I only applied for Naturalization last week on Sept. 14th and I was basically told today just a little over a week later than I can get citizenship less than a month later?? It's so surreal I can't really believe it but I'm just so thankful I could cry!!! I can't fully get my hopes up just yet until I actually go through and finish with the process but so far this has been really good news and I really hope I can get through this without a hitch!!
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On 9/21/2020 at 10:19 AM, JeanneAdil said:
the rule is clear and so sorry for the price increase /if you file now, your packet will be returned
an applicant for naturalization must file his or her application for naturalization with the state or service district that has jurisdiction over his or her place of residence. The applicant must have resided in that location for at least three months prior to filing.
exemptions are military, students, etc as noted in Chapter 6
and you should notify USCIS of address change
also noted this
Filing a form online is better than mailing a paper form because you can: Enter your information using a phone, tablet, or computer; Get step-by-step instructions as you complete a form; ... Receive immediate confirmation that we have received your form instead of waiting for the mail.Jun 11, 2020
Not OP but I wanted to ask...I moved to my current state back in October of last year (and that's what I wrote in my N-400 application) but I didn't actually change my address with USCIS until earlier this month (I know, stupid...but I thought I didn't have to since I didn't have any pending cases with USCIS after applying for my green card, ugh..). Does that mean that I haven't been a resident of my current state for 3 months yet?
Also, exemptions to this include military, does this apply only for active-duty or does it include their family as well? Since my husband is active-duty Air Force right now, am I exempted from that 3-month residency requirement?
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1 hour ago, ZKT said:
So it's monday today. The military hotline is available/open already since last night friday when i received my receipt number.
I called in to request an expedite on my case. The lady wasn't the friendliest person and almost seemed mad the entire time (must be the monday blues and getting back to reality after the weekend). She asked me a few questions like why i'm requesting for an expedite and under what category of reason i'm requesting it. i told her our hectic pcs schedule and then us not having any address here in the us by the end of october when we leave our current duty station and then i also mentioned the travel bans of us citizens in japan because of the current pandemic and how it is both a financial and military reason.
The lady told me the same thing as you that the expedite is a case to case basis and its not a guarantee they will and that it will take 7 days for them to review my application/or before I hear from them again and gave me a case/reference/tracking number for the expedite. She was talking so fast... and as soon as she said the last number she hung up on me. So i wasn't able to double check if its correct and ask where i can check or track it.
Call took a total of 3 mins with her and 9 mins of wait time before i got to talk to her.
So yeah do update me on how they updated you after those 7 days @Pumpkin thanks so much! I'll be taking cues/tips from you.
And now it's a waiting game for me.
Hey!! I called the military hotline earlier today as well. Unfortunately, nothing new as far as my case is concerned.
The rep I spoke to was nice enough, I told him my situation since he asked the purpose of my expedite request and also told him I already called in last week on Monday requesting for it and the person I spoke with last time told me to give it a week to know if my case is approved for expediting or not. He checked my status for me and he confirmed seeing my expedite request but also told me there's no update for it and that the 1 week/5 business days the person told me last week was just an estimate and really it's up to the people looking into my case to update my status when they can. So basically he told me to just keep checking my status online until it reflects my request. Personally, I'll probably give it another week and call again next Monday if there's no update still by then...but I'm really hoping for an update sometime within the week.
As for my online account on the USCIS website, after the "estimated time" said "1 day", it updated the day after into: We are taking longer than expected to process your case. You do not need to do anything at this time.
Kinda expected that just 'cause everyone's online status did the same as well but was hoping it wouldn't be the case for mine, but oh well. I can't really do much but wait for an update at this point. I received mail from USCIS over the weekend and I thought that would be the biometrics appointment letter already LOL but it wasn't. It was just the receipt notice stating that they received my N400 application which is the exact same one that's available online through my account.
Thanks for letting me know how your case is doing! Here's hoping you get someone more decent on the line the next time you have to call. The very first person I spoke to last week (I called twice) was like that as well. He even insisted I make the expedite request online by myself which you can do apparently but for the life of me I can't figure out their website and where I could actually do that. So I called again and thankfully got someone else who made the expedite request for me. If it makes you feel better, the reference number they give you doesn't really do anything. Or so far it hasn't anyway. I wrote mine down from last time but when I spoke to the rep earlier, he didn't ask for it and was able to find my expedite request on my "file" with them after I gave them me receipt #, name and other personal details they asked for. So I think there shouldn't be a problem that you didn't get it all down.
I'll keep updating here as soon as there are any changes.
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On 9/17/2020 at 12:39 AM, mister-love said:
They will reuse my fingerprints. Hopfully everything goes smooth and i get my interview letter.
Hi! May I ask how you know that they will be reusing your fingerprints? Did you not get an appointment for getting your biometrics done at all?
Just curious since my account currently says my estimated wait time is "1 day" which is what I'm assuming is when I'll be getting notified about my biometrics appointment.
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This happened to me while I was in the middle of filling the form. Whenever I log back in the stuff I filled out on the forms stayed but the documents I uploaded disappear every time. I think it's just buggy? I suggest to just fill out the entire form and just upload all the files you want to send when you're about to finalize everything and ready to actually file the application. When you finalize it, it will list all the documents that will go with your form so you'll know if they're attached to your application or not.
Also, once you do file the N-400 and USCIS notifies you that they're working on it, a tab will appear on your account where you can add more documents should you forget some when you initially sent out your application. I didn't necessarily forget anything from when I filed mine but decided to add more evidences to my case so I just uploaded them a few days after I initially filed the form online.
Good luck!
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On 9/14/2020 at 1:15 PM, ZKT said:
I'm happy that they filed to get you expedited. I hope that they do expedite your case. Let us know what happens/update us what happens.
As for me.. because filling via regular mail was the advice of all the military spouses.. i followed their lead. Plus i did hear that its better to file it that way so you can easily add all the additional documents you need. So i don't really know how it would have been if i filed online. But about the actual form, yes i know you have to put what your filling under and put what local field office you would want to work with. I know that for a fact and the other marine lady from yuma arizona that did it in my local field office in imperial ca couldn't put our local field office so she ended up doing it by mail too. So yeah.. you'll be the first i got to talk to that did it online. Which is cool. Anyway i sure hope they expedite it for you soon! Good luck and thanks for the well wishes too! I'm both so excited and anxious for it.
After filing the N400 yesterday, I checked my account on USCIS today and it updated! Now it says this:
We received your application
You submitted your application on September 14, 2020
We will begin reviewing your application by conducting a background check in order to identify any issues that need to be addressed. We will schedule a biometrics appointment to collect your fingerprints. We will also review your application to make sure you have submitted all of the required information and documentation.
Estimated wait time: 4 days
I'll definitely be checking everyday after this, just in case. lol There's no indication that they accepted or even received my expedite request though, but I'll give it a week like the person on the phone told me.
I also got to add more documents since I've been paranoid ever since you mentioned the documents you sent. I definitely haven't sent enough. So I added a (recent) joint bank statement and also a document indicating that my husband gave me power of attorney. I also scanned my military ID in there since I can't think of anything else I can add as proof that we're still together. I'll be wracking my brain for other things I can add in later for good measure.
And yes, I'll try to update here as much as I can on the progress of my case. Hopefully it can help others in the same situation as us too.
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11 minutes ago, Iscir said:
Thanks! That helps a lot! I don’t have new evidence of marriage since I moved here a week before everything shut down because of covid, so I was a little worried about that.
About the visa, I know you have to get the missione visa for Italy. Did you ask the passport people at your husband’s base how to apply for the visa? If they don’t know, I would ask directly to the italian consulate/embassy how to apply for it. Since we aren’t citizens people on base usually don’t know what we should do
i’m going to Europe too and they told me to just ask the embassy about my situation, I’m not going to Italy but in my case the consulate was able to help me about all the things I needed for travel.
No problem! I was actually worried about the same thing. Before I even considered filing for the N400, I was already thinking about the evidence I needed to send for when I had to file ROC and I literally don't have much to add on since my AOS at all because of COVID. My husband's currently stationed in S.Korea and we've been separated for a year. I was supposed to go see him back in April through May and that would've counted as something for our evidence but it got cancelled so the only evidence we have at this point is just a lot of calls and a short trip we had to LA before COVID which really isn't much.
I totally feel that right now...really no one knows what we're supposed to do. I'm going to call the passport office on base and ask if they can help me at all but one of the people my husband did ask (he asked a few people and everyone all suggested different things! Aaahh!!) also suggested calling the Italian embassy which I'll probably do if the first option doesn't really help.
29 minutes ago, ZKT said:Oh yeah tons of military spouses go through this and get their citizenship right away. I know how stressful and daunting it is to keep looking for info about it but there's not many stories of people who actually went through this or know about the process itself. Its like its a myth or a legend you hear in fairytale books. Hahaha. But i was lucky enough to be in that foreign military spouse fb group which seems to be the fave hangout of foreign military spouses where they talk all about their foreign issuess + military issues and most especially things that have to do with uscis because a lot of smaller bases and base legals don't exactly know what to do with us foreign spouses and our cases.
Most n400 under ina 319b is being processed around 1.5-3 months this year. 1.5 was the fastest and that's from submitting it to actually being naturalized. Most of them take that long cause they submit it via mail and send it to the military address which is the one in chicago. We send it there because the moment it gets there, they know you're military and the ones that process it are familiar with are familiar with the extra documents they will be needing and understand what you're submitting. Because there is a lot of additional documents you'd be submitting unlike the regular n400 which are military specific.
Heads up that i'm actually pcsing out of our current duty station mid oct and leaving our current place by latest end of oct. So that makes the 2 of us! Trying to get this done. My base legal and command didn't know what it filling under ina319 b was. And so despite me giving them a jag packet of documents... they were so skeptical about it and took them at least a 3 weeks before they actually gave me the ds1278 form i was asking them and to fix my dea (dependent approval for the pcs). Dea is not a requirement but its a nice to have/submit since it shows the military approved you to pcs. I also sent in our excemption from the military stop movement orders since my husband is essential. Since japan has travel bans.
Anyway as soon as you have a receipt number, go and give the military hotline a call to expedite your case. Be sure to have a letter ready why you are expediting your case and show evidences like your orders/schedule in your orders. Since you filled it online. Most people just include it in their n400 under ina 319b packet they mail. I included it in mine too. There was like 2 girls that sent in that request and the uscis was even the one that contacted them first and went on ahead to expedite their cases and sent it right away to their local field office. Most uscis local field offices are are also nice. Once it gets there, they call you to ask you when its most convenient for you to do the interview, tests and the oath taking. It takes 1 day for all of it. Pre covid times and current covid times.
So i hope that answers your question. My only problem now is how soon i get the naturalization certificate and getting the no fee/diplomatic passport. Japan is strict and want dependent people entering with their no fee passport which takes about 4 nowadays weeks despite it being rushed. But i'll be trying to get that and also as a backup plan going to my consulate to try and get my dual citizenship so if my us no fee passport doesn't make it in time... i can still use my foreign passport to enter japan. From nov to dec i won't be having any address. We go on temporary duty at 1 base for rom/quarantine and then training. Then fly out from seattle in dec.
Good luck on your journey. I hope you finish yours before you fly. Its a hassle to come back to the us. Well europe is less stressful. Japan is very strict so i might not be able to fly back into japan because of the travel bans. So guam might be my best bet and just flying the rotator flights from bases so its all military/no commercial flights.
I filed my N400 online, I hope I get it gets expedited the same amount of time as filing it through the mail. I think the only part where it indicated that I'm filing under INA 319(b) is in my letter of intent. Although when I started filing online, it did ask me under what circumstance I'm filing for naturalization and it was pretty straight forward that I chose that I'm filing due to my husband's continued employment overseas. Also, now I feel like I definitely didn't give them enough evidence??? Not that I can give them much outside of what I already included anyway. Here's hoping the orders is enough proof that my claim on filing N400 is legit. I couldn't send them the approval for pcs because I'm actually still in the middle of getting medical/dental clearance.
I just called the military hotline an hour ago and they filed to get my case expedited without issue. I just have to wait a week to hear back from them whether they do or don't accept my case to be expedited. Hopefully they do! Hearing what you say others went through is giving me hope. I'm crossing my fingers....and toes. lol Good luck to you as well, I hope you make it (and without issue!) to when you're supposed to leave for Japan.
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17 minutes ago, Iscir said:
Oh then you can’t skip ROC. But you can still go with your spouse to Italy using your country’s passport if you’re on his orders, then come back to the US for your interview and oath. Maybe you can try expediting your biometrics, so you can do them before you leave the US. Contact the military help line for that! Also I don’t know if you already know, but make sure you get the visa for Italy because I’ve read they’re one of the countries that you need to get a visa before travel.
I will be filling later this year, we are pcsing too but got the hard orders too late for me to file before leaving the US. Did you include evidence of your marriage with the form or just the military papers like orders, etc? This part is something i’m not very sure about what to do 🤔
That's honestly what I feel like is gonna happen. That I'll just come back for those when I get scheduled for them. I just called the Military help line and already put in my expedite request so here's hoping they actually approve my case and speed it along a bit. As for the visa for Italy, yes we've been told I need a visa but both me and my husband are SO confused about that right now. Visa is the same as the SOFA stamp, yes? We've been asking around as to where I'm supposed to get that since everyone we ask seem to not know anything and when we do ask, everyone has different answers so it's all been confusing!
Ahh..when I filed the N400 (I did it online on the USCIS website) I didn't include any of the marriage evidence since it didn't really ask for them like they did for when we filed for AOS for the green card but I'll bring them with me when the interview comes around just in case. All I included were what they asked which is a copy of my current green card, marriage certificate, tax returns for the last 3 years (I gave my husband's which I'm not sure if this is even right but I haven't been employed anywhere yet so I've never filed taxes), as well as a copy of his orders with my name on it and a copy of my military ID as well just in case. That's all the evidence I sent it with my application. I hope this helps.
What happens if I don't travel within the next 30 days after an Expedited N-400??
in US Citizenship General Discussion
Posted
This has actually been resolved already. I posted my situation in another thread regarding my question here and what happened afterwards. Didn’t realize this post was moved, but thanks for replying anyway.
Here’s my situation in case it could help someone who might go through the same in the future:
Basically if you get citizenship expedited (specifically for cases like mine which is due to my husband being “continuously employed overseas”), you have to leave the US within a timeframe since they expedited my citizenship for that very reason. I expedited so I can join my husband (Air Force) in Italy since he’s stationed there for 3 years. I asked the IO during my interview about how strict this rule is before I agreed on taking the oath ceremony that same day because I was still in the middle of applying for my Italian Visa/Siggiorno at the time. My Italian visa application was still pending with no sure date of when I can get it (and fears that it might get denied; Italian visa requires for the passport to be valid an extra 3 months after intent to leave Italy, which mine did not...my passport was going to expire next year and I intended to leave Italy in 2023 which is how long my husband will be stationed there; I had applied for a 365 day visa which is the longest you can apply for but even then my passport expires before 365 days), so I was concerned that I could possibly not leave in 30-45 days. I explained my situation and the IO said I don’t have to leave if I really can’t, just as long as I intend to leave, which I do, then it’s fine to go beyond the 30-45 days.
As for the Italian Visa, you actually shouldn’t just go to Italy without applying for it first. I was told that several people have done this successfully before but rules changed over the years and they even specifically indicate it on the Aviano AB website about dependents having to apply for one BEFORE arriving (I only found out about this from someone on reddit who directed me to the site indicating the requirements; otherwise people on base all had NO CLUE what I needed). No-fee passports you can only get/apply for if you’re a US citizen (and it has a currently 1-2 month wait to process) and the Italian Visa currently has an average wait of 3 weeks depending on your nationality/passport (IDK what all the wait times are normally but these are all taking into consideration the delays due to COVID). I received my Italian visa which took 2 weeks (it was thankfully approved although they didn’t give me the 365 day visa because of the 3 month validity thing; they gave me a 250 day visa which is fine as long as I can travel, it just means I have to renew it sooner). I applied for the visa before I naturalized so I didn’t have the option of using a no-fee passport for the visa application which I was fine with since it would’ve taken longer to apply for a no-fee passport and then a visa anyway.
So with regards to the 30-45 days, it doesn’t matter for me now since I already have my Italian visa (I was actually notified that it was approved the very next day after I naturalized) and I’ll be traveling/moving to Italy before then, but it’s definitely fine to go beyond those days if you can’t help it.