Pumpkin

Congratulations @Pumpkin and @ZKT! Im very glad for you both!! 😁😁🥳 I hope everything goes smoothly with your move overseas! 

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. 😌
 

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. 😌
 

@ZKT That's really great news!! I'm happy for you!  I hope you get through the interview without issues, and hopefully the oath ceremony as well on the same day!

Ah...that's kinda messed up of them if that's the reason why.
Hopefully you and OP will hear something back from them soon!!  

Oct. 7 update - i got my interview letter soft copy and it was for november 2, 2020. I called the military hotline (because they don't have any number listed for the local uscis field office) and asked them if its possible to do it earlier since my husband checks out of the command on the 14th and we move out of the house by the end of oct. Our ub comes oct 15 and hhg on 22nd. So yeah empty house & no things until end of the month. So hopefully they will move my interview date earlier. They said that they might reach out to me today or tom. So far they didn't today. So hopefully tom. 

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. 
 
 
 
 
Oh yeah and i forgot to post the pics of my website statuses.

Hey Pumpkin and Iscir!
 
Just letting you know that my interview has been scheduled. Not sure yet what date. But i'm crossing fingers that's its for this month and not November. The sooner the better! I'll find out once the soft copy appears in my USCIS account tonight or tom.
 

My N400 INA 319(b) Case Updates:

 

Sept 4 - I sent in my N400 under INA 319(b) Package to the Chicago Military Address via UPS.

Sept 5 - The N400 under INA 319(b) Packet arrived but the Chicago office was closed so UPS had to redeliver.

Sept 8 - UPS redelivered my N400 under INA 319(b) after the holiday and was signed for by the USCIS officer by 7:28am.

Sept 16 - The USCIS deposited my Chase Bank Cashier's check and then sent me a NOA 1 (Notice of Action 1 in my mail/address) 

Sept 18 - The USCIS sent me a text message with the case number receipt (Friday night).

Sept 21 - I called the military hotline to expedite my case (Monday morning).

Sept 22 - The USCIS gave me a receipt for my expedite in my e-mail. That afternoon I also sent an e-mail request for expedite for extra measure. They approved my expedite that afternoon even before I sent my e-mail since i wasn't sure they accepted my expedite request and just sent me a receipt. But when I called to ask, the USCIS officer said it was already approved.

Sept 23 - I got my hard copy NOA 1 in my mail.

Sept 24 - The USCIS scheduled my biometrics appointment.

Sept 25 - I got the softcopy biometrics appointment letter in my documents page in my uscis account/website. My biometrics appointment is scheduled for Oct 13, 2020.

Sept 28 - I walked in my local USCIS ASC office and finished my biometrics. As soon as I walked out of the USCIS ASC door, my status changed to the USCIS is actively reviewing my case and that they reviewed my biometrics.

Oct 2 - I got the hard copy biometrics appointment letter.

Oct 5 - I called USCIS to ask if my case files are at my local USCIS office or if it was still in the NBC (National Benefits Center). They told me that its been in the local USCIS field office already. I asked an estimated date on when my interview might be (so I can fix my schedule based on that interview date) and the USCIS officer said that she had no idea and cannot tell. It depends on when my biometrics will clear and when my local USCIS local field office might schedule it.

Oct 6 - My status changed on both USCIS websites that my interview was scheduled. The USCIS sent me a Interview Letter in my mail/address.
 
USCIS local Field Office: Imperial California

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!  

Hi guys! 
 
Just letting you know today is my 7th day or 5th day (if you go by business days) since my biometrics appointment. My status on both uscis websites are still the same. 
 
I called up the military hotline to ask of my documents were at the nbc or at the local uscis field office or if its still in transit to my local uscis field office. The lady said its already in my local field office. The only sad thing is that my local uscis office has not reached out to me yet like they called pumpkin. So i have no idea or clue yet as of today when my appointment could be scheduled at all and if i can make it before this month ends. 
 
Anyways crossing my fingers. And wishing you luck pumpkin for your biometrics background check to be clear and iscir for later on! 
 
 

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.

So i was trying to upload this screenshot. This is my status on the old website. This is what it changed to after the biometrics appointment.
 
So yeah just in case pumpkin you can do a walk in and try it too. 
 

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. 

Hi iscir and pumpkin! 
 
Quick update on my case:
 
Sept 4 - sent my n400 under ina 319b package to chicago (military address)
Sept 5 - arrived but the chicago office was closed so ups had to redeliver.
Sept 8 - redelivered after the holiday and was signed for by the uscis officer.
Sept 16 - they deposited my cashier's check and then sent me a noa 1 (notice of action 1 in my mail) 
Sept 18 - they sent me a text message with the case number receipt.
Sept 21 - i called the military hotline to expedite my case.
Sept 22 - they gave me a receipt for my expedite. That afternoon I also sent an email request for expedite for extra measure.
Sept 23 - i got my card copy noa 1 in my mail.
Sept 24 - the uscis gave me  got my biometrics appoinment.
Sept 25 - i got the softcopy biometrics appointment letter in my documents page in my uscis account/website. My biometrics appointment is scheduled for oct 13, 2020

@ZKT @Iscir
 
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.

The egov website seems to be more up to date than this uscis gov website since the biometrics thing appeared there right away. As for the other website it just shows this which was my status already yesterday. 
 
So anyway because of the discrepancies between the two uscis websites.. i just check both to be sure. So i'm for sure not missing out on anything.

Hi pumpkin and iscir! 
 
so sorry its been a busy few days dealing with pcs stuff. Ub movers come oct 15 and hhg comes oct 22 for pickups and fixing my apartment rental and do the 30 days notice etc. And i have to change my hhg movers since they won't even use bubble wrap for my ceramic antiques or my dinnerware. Arrg. Hahahaha. So i gotta change them. 
 
Anyway today i got a uscis app notification and it said i got scheduled for a biometrics appointment. Yay! But i will have to wait for when it will be. And depending on the time, i will try to do reschedule it earlier one if possible so the background checks can be done faster and i can have my interview sooner. 
 
So i also did what iscir has told us was to create and add my case to the uscis e gov website one. So today after getting the uscis app notification these are what was out there on my uscis egov website:
 
 
 

oh i’m very glad everything is going quickly for you and Pumpkin! Yes the egov website seems to update more than the my uscis one, when i was waiting to receive my green card my uscis almost didn’t have any information (it just said In process), meanwhile the egov website had everything about my case!
 
I am already overseas and I remember the last few weeks before we moved, so stressful! And the movers packed all our food, I don’t think we were supposed to bring that 🤔 but we realized too late! they even wanted to pack an apple!! LOL
 
Please let me know when you have your interview!! I want to know all the details!! haha Especially about the English test because that is what worries me a little more than the rest of the interview. 
 
I think I will be applying in a month or two, when I have a permanent address, since for now i’m living in a hotel. 

@ZKT
 
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!!

Includes family Chapter 4 of continuous residence
 
Certain classes of applicants may be eligible for a reduced period of continuous residence, for constructive continuous residence while outside the United States, or for an exemption from the continuous residence requirement altogether.[4] These classes of applicants include certain military members and certain spouses of U.S. citizens.[5] 

The military family and active duty thing, I would have thought so, but that is just a deduction so really don't quote me on that.
But one thing I can (almost) be certain of is that the address you just have on file doesn't determine whether you live in a state or not. Actual bills, mortgage, lease... can establish that. So if you moved in October and got a house/apartment or work there since then, the fact that you hadn't updated your current location doesn't make you a non resident of the place where you actually have been residing.

There are others you successfully done that and posted their experiences (I'm not one of those, I just read a lot). You want to search around the forum for key word "INA 319(b)"
 
One other thing is I believe one person mentioned before that not all USCIS offices is experienced in dealing with 319(b) and they seem to freak out and not know what to do. There are several offices that specifically trained in dealing with 319(b). I believe Norfolk, VA and Seattle, WA are some of those. 
 
Timing wise, if I remember correctly, after you complete the naturalization, you can only remain in the States a maximum of 45 days, since the point of the whole thing is for you to be able to join your spouse overseas, so that might needs to be factored into when do you plan to do it. 
 
Do you have the official orders for 2020 in hand yet?

@Pumpkin
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? 

@ZKT
 
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!!

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.