pran34

I want to share the data on the median wait times that I calculated for Detroit FO from Jan 2017 to Dec 2018. This is based on data shared by members on VJ and other N400 forums - around 65 data-points. Could be useful for those who are waiting as I found the average processing time on the uscis website to be rather useless.

Applied to biometrics - 25 days
Biometrics to interview - 128 days (Interview text will come typically 5 weeks before your appt. So roughly 3 months after biometrics)
Interview to oath - 22 days

Applied to oath - 174 days

Good luck!

23 minutes ago, dannyphan91 said:

May i ask. Did they ask you any question why you need your passport that quick? Thank you

No. They will send the passport by priority mail or you can pick up in the afternoon. There is an expedited fee of $60 if you want to apply at the passport agency.

On 1/3/2019 at 9:57 PM, pran34 said:

Hi guys. I am back after a little hiatus. Happy new year to all. Today, I took the oath to  become a US citizen.

 

My case was a little different than most others. I filed my N400 online on May 27, biometrics on june 18, was scheduled for interview on Oct 24. Everything went smoothly till then. However one day prior to my interview, I receive a voicemail on my work phone that my interview next day has been cancelled because they dont have my file. I was a little skeptical at first because I thought that USCIS won't call but will send a written notice if they wanted to cancel. But after I read a few posts online, I found that USCIS do call in some cases. Next day, I just played dumb and went to USCIS and indeed my interview was cancelled. The  receptionist told me that they will reschedule in 120 days. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed. A few days later I received a written notice regarding the cancelled interview. After a month of waiting, I lost my patience and decided to get an infopass appointment but transparently Detroit has now stopped issuing infopass appointments, except if you need passport stamps. So I called the 1800 number and spoke to an L2 officer. She said that my file is requested from NBC and is now in transit. An hour after talking to the L2 officer, I received text that my interview was scheduled!!

 

On December 18th, I had my interview and everything went smoothly. First fingerprinted, followed by English/civics test and then another officer reviewed the N400 form. While reviewing the form, had a small chat with the officer. Turns out that I have two different A-files. One was created when I got my OPT-EAD after graduating from university (I originally came on F1 visa) and the other was created during the AOS process. The IO had received my A-file from AOS application but not the one from OPT application and therefore my original interview was cancelled. When I came back home, I looked up my OPT-EAD card and it had a different A#. I also looked up my I-485 form and indeed the A-number section was left blank. The attorney who was hired by my employer didn't fill in my A# from my OPt-EAD on the I-485 form. Consequently, a separate file was created. When I filed my N400, the NBC sent my AOS A-file to Detroit but the OPT A-file was sitting in a retirement facility. Normally, the two files are combined together and sent to the FO but sometimes, like in my case, they fail to do this. So lesson from this is to make sure you use the same A# (if you have one) while filing your I-485.

 

After my interview, I received a text that I was in line for oath. The next day, I was scheduled for oath on Jan 3. Oath ceremony was short and sweet. It was an amazing feeling to take the oath along with 80 new citizens. Some of new citizens were from war-ravaged countries who have probably suffered a lot in their lives. So I am not complaining about the few days of delay I had in my process. Anyway, I wish the best to all the people who are waiting. Good luck!

Update: Applied passport on Jan 4 morning and picked it up in the afternoon. Excellent service at the Detroit passport agency.

Hi guys. I am back after a little hiatus. Happy new year to all. Today, I took the oath to  become a US citizen.

My case was a little different than most others. I filed my N400 online on May 27, biometrics on june 18, was scheduled for interview on Oct 24. Everything went smoothly till then. However one day prior to my interview, I receive a voicemail on my work phone that my interview next day has been cancelled because they dont have my file. I was a little skeptical at first because I thought that USCIS won't call but will send a written notice if they wanted to cancel. But after I read a few posts online, I found that USCIS do call in some cases. Next day, I just played dumb and went to USCIS and indeed my interview was cancelled. The  receptionist told me that they will reschedule in 120 days. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed. A few days later I received a written notice regarding the cancelled interview. After a month of waiting, I lost my patience and decided to get an infopass appointment but transparently Detroit has now stopped issuing infopass appointments, except if you need passport stamps. So I called the 1800 number and spoke to an L2 officer. She said that my file is requested from NBC and is now in transit. An hour after talking to the L2 officer, I received text that my interview was scheduled!!

On December 18th, I had my interview and everything went smoothly. First fingerprinted, followed by English/civics test and then another officer reviewed the N400 form. While reviewing the form, had a small chat with the officer. Turns out that I have two different A-files. One was created when I got my OPT-EAD after graduating from university (I originally came on F1 visa) and the other was created during the AOS process. The IO had received my A-file from AOS application but not the one from OPT application and therefore my original interview was cancelled. When I came back home, I looked up my OPT-EAD card and it had a different A#. I also looked up my I-485 form and indeed the A-number section was left blank. The attorney who was hired by my employer didn't fill in my A# from my OPt-EAD on the I-485 form. Consequently, a separate file was created. When I filed my N400, the NBC sent my AOS A-file to Detroit but the OPT A-file was sitting in a retirement facility. Normally, the two files are combined together and sent to the FO but sometimes, like in my case, they fail to do this. So lesson from this is to make sure you use the same A# (if you have one) while filing your I-485.

After my interview, I received a text that I was in line for oath. The next day, I was scheduled for oath on Jan 3. Oath ceremony was short and sweet. It was an amazing feeling to take the oath along with 80 new citizens. Some of new citizens were from war-ravaged countries who have probably suffered a lot in their lives. So I am not complaining about the few days of delay I had in my process. Anyway, I wish the best to all the people who are waiting. Good luck!

2 hours ago, Lovetoteach said:

After almost eight weeks I finally have an Oath Ceremony date,  October 17th in Grand Rapids. So happy 😀 

Congratulations. Finally you got it! Do you know why there was a delay in scheduling your oath? Were you approved on the spot during the interview?

21 hours ago, 2018n400 said:

Hi Bill and Katya

Thankyou for your response.

 I have couple of questions and appreciate if anyone on this forum can advise me.

1. I am filing based on 5 year rule, employment based GC, i am primary, my wife got her GC through me in 2013. Last year in 2017, my wife and I filed taxes “ married filing separately” as we wanted to keep our income and savings separate. How ahould I answer this question in why We did not file “ married filing joint” . Is this a relevant question or non issue?

 

2. My mailing address in n400 is my office address and not my residential address.the reason I chose my office address as mailing address is that i am Looking for homes and might change address and hence did not want to loose any mails from uscis in case if address change, hence i choose my office address.

 

how do i explain this to IO? My concern is that 

the IO think that i am not physically living in the mentioned residential address since i am not receiving my n409 mails to my resedential address? All my other mails , bank utility, credit card, lease documents come to my residential address.  

 

Bill and katya, pran34,stormnut42 or anyothers in his forum, could u plz advise me on the above 2 issues for my upcoming interview in detroit?

 

Although i don't have first hand interview experience, I think the tax questions you mentioned are not going to be relevant in your case. But I would sill carry the tax transcripts to prove that you and your spouse don't owe any taxes.

Re: mailing address, you can choose to receive your mail at your office address. Just explain it to the IO if asked. Also carry proof of your residential address - utility bills, lease docs etc. I think you should be fine. Good luck!

Got interview letter today. Scheduled for Oct 24.

18 hours ago, 2018n400 said:

Thanks pran34 for sharing your timeline.

Others whose PD is in may/ june, plz share your timelines reg interview notices.

 

yes, 4-5 months average timeline from

biometrics. My Biometrics is on july 2. Probably i may expect interview somewhere around nov/ dec/jan.my background check is cleared at NBC.

How did you find out your background check was cleared?

31 minutes ago, 2018n400 said:

Hi everyone. Good to see you all sharing your timelines. It gives some hope of cases moving forward.

 

my PD is june 23, 2018. Finger prints,July2, 2018. Called USCIS last week and was told that my background check is cleared at NBC and ready to be sent to detroit local field office for interview.

 

i know May 1st week cases are scheduled for interview at detroit. 

 

Can any one predict approximately when i can get the notice for interview. I know 3 months is too early, but still i am keeping my hopes on

for an interview date atleast in November/december. 

 

Any approximate ideas/ guess  regardig my interview , based in my PD?

Any june filers started getting interview notices?

 

any inputs will be appreciated. Thankyou

 

My PD is end of May and I am still waiting. Looks like it takes 4-5 months from biometrics to interview on an average. 

4 minutes ago, pran34 said:

So Detroit is moving forward finally. Looks like there are two others from May who got interviews too. Congratulations to all.

 

Too bad on your timing for travel. From what I calculated, people get oath within 3 weeks of interview if you are approved on spot. Plus 1 week for expedited passport. So I think 4 weeks is the best case scenario.

Btw, you can cancel air tickets within 24 hours w/o penalty.

7 hours ago, Sam Kam said:

Got my interview for Oct 18. Received it today and Yesterday only booked tickets for international travel in November. Does anybody knows how many oath ceremonies are conducted in a month in Detroit? Is there a website that can show us those date. Thank you in advance. Will appreciate any help on this.

So Detroit is moving forward finally. Looks like there are two others from May who got interviews too. Congratulations to all.

Too bad on your timing for travel. From what I calculated, people get oath within 3 weeks of interview if you are approved on spot. Plus 1 week for expedited passport. So I think 4 weeks is the best case scenario.

10 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

Not sure about movement. Atleast I know 4 other people from 1st week of May who have not been scheduled. couple of them are in line to be scheduled for interview status. I don't know probably they are drawing lots   They did this with March folks in April/May and then came back to remaining folks from March after 2-3 months. 

Yup. Hope to get in the next round of the draw. Lol. Although it also depends on how complicated the case is.

Mine is relatively straightforward except a few things I may have to explain during the interview: 30+ trips abroad (most of them business trips) with 200+ days outside the country, 1 traffic ticket (minor), and a divorce (although I didn't get my GC through marriage). But I would consider myself lucky if I get the interview call so soon.

5 hours ago, enriquezae said:

@CoffeeVegan My husband applied May 12th and we got his interview letter on Thursday last week. He is scheduled for October 4th. This is WAY faster than we anticipated!

Congratulations. Good to see Detroit moving ahead. May cases are now getting scheduled for interview. Hope to find an end to this waiting game!

4 hours ago, Rasha167 said:

Had the interview today and got approved, now just waiting for the oath ceremony letter. 

Good luck for all the filers 

Congratulations.

57 minutes ago, CoffeeVegan said:

Any updates for anyone ?😞

12 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

No news at all for last 3 weeks

Looks like Detroit is going back to the slow lane 😕

27 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

@pran34

May be by mistake they published those dates 2 weeks earlier. This thought just scares me. We will only know about it on 9/1

I'd be very surprised if that's the case.

1 hour ago, aa920 said:

Pardon my ignorance Sam but what is a ROC case?

ROC = Removal of conditions for people who have 2 year GC through marriage.

https://my.uscis.gov/exploremyoptions/remove_conditional_status

ROC applications are backlogged to a point where ROC and N400 are adjudicated together.

21 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

Processing time has gone back to 5 to 14.5 months. @pran34  Can't understand what happened on USCIS website

 

Makes more sense now. Didn't make any logical sense why the processing time would jump 3 months in such a short time-frame.

2 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

Think of it, they were processing Nov/Dec 2017 2 months back. Which makes 8 months to process those cases (completion in Aug 2018). May be it will change back to 4 to 5 months in 2 month's time. 

Yup you are right. These numbers are from 2 months back. Their processing time estimate is a joke. Who cares what happened 2 months back! You get a better idea from VJ trackers.

Oh well. Hope to see some updates from Detroit folks soon!

Detroit processing times goes up again - median time from 5 months on Aug 1 to 8.5 months now.... Good time to take a vacation and forget about this for a while!

45 minutes ago, Lovetoteach said:

Going through all my N400 form  for Interview on Wednesday and noticed that I put that my current spouse has been married 0 times. I must have misread the question thinking it said how many times has your spouse been previously married. Clearly I should have put 1 as he’s married to me. Is this going to be a problem?  I’m not filing based on my marriage to him, but    Included his details as my spouse and uploaded my marriage certificate. I’m getting stressed. 

IO will correct that if needed.

Good luck with your interview.

Looks like they will fix the case status issue this weekend (hopefully!)

https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/tools-outage

7 hours ago, stormnut42 said:

Hey everyone.  New guy here. From Canada and live in Battle Creek, Michigan.  I filed my N-400 online on July 8th and had my Biometrics taken up in Kentwood, MI on July 30th.  My application is through marriage and is pretty straight forward.  I was originally hopeful that I would have citizenship by October 8th so I could register to vote.  But, I realize that isn't likely. It looks like a lot of people here are reporting 4 months or longer, after their Biometrics, till their interview.  The good thing is, I grew up right next to Detroit in Windsor, Ontario, Canada so, I know a lot about the U.S.  I'm also fascinated by U.S. politics so, any questions about that, should be very easy for me.  It would be so nice to have citizenship before the end of this year.  

Good luck to you. I also want to vote in the midterms but seems unlikely day by day. I live in one of the congressional district that is considered to be a toss up this year. So voting becomes that much more important. Plus the very important gubernatorial elections in Michigan. I feel all new citizens should not miss the opportunity to vote this midterms. Getting citizenship is just the beginning of the journey in this beautiful country.

4 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

Another point is in last 4 weeks they have sent interview invites to folks from March to May. This week it has been March end. So I am hoping they will start touching May cases in 1 to 2 months time.

Based on the data i compiled, you will most probably hear from them within 3 weeks.

3 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

That's not true. I know 2 applicants who filed in May and have interview scheduled for late August. Not sure how they pull cases. One of them filed 90 prior to completion of 5 years. Got interview date before completion of 5 years. This case is not different from my case except I was 2 months past my 5 years when I filed my case. So they are pulling cases with weird criterias. One just needs to be lucky I guess.

That's what I said. A few lucky ones got done sooner than 6 months. Who knows what happens to your application once you send you application. uscis is pretty much a black box. No one knows how they process your case until you get notified that you are approved.

27 minutes ago, Sam Kam said:

Detroit processing time went to 5 to 14.5 months (from 4 to 13 months)

Date for case inquiry to May 31 2017 (from July 12 2017)...Expect some delays.

Those processing time data is from two months back, so it's pretty much useless to understand what's going on currently.

Detroit has around ~9800 N400 cases pending. and they process around 4000-4500 cases every quarter. So it's going to take at least 6 months on an average. A few lucky ones got done sooner but it's becoming rare now.