sirii

Eventually this room will have only ppl who filed at VSC still here bc CSC filers all got approved and go to N400 room LoL 😂

Can you share your first 6 digits of your file no. 
https://www.snopes.com/ap/2019/01/30/immigration-lawyers-blast-delays-in-citizenship-green-cards/
 
Not sure if anyone noticed this, but I hope to see USCIS take action on this soon. 

I am a professor and I have analyzed the data myself too.  USCIS publishes quarterly reports and if you just glance over real quick, you will see that the backlog grows very fast while the increase in number of applications does not support the backlog.  It agrees with this article you just posted.
 
Reasonable explanations for it to happen that way (backlog up faster than case intake):
 
1. Fewer adjudicators (USCIS said they increased workforce by 38%)
 
2. Much much more complex factor in every single case filed since 2016 (unlikely)
 
3. Leaving case unadjudicated to slow down the process on purpose and shift workforce to do something else (very likely)
 
4. Not working at all (also likely)

hi everyone.. so just sharing my experience here as i used to visit this site frequently. iam a VSC filer . filed ROC in Nov 2017 although i was eligible in Aug. (got Lazy lol) Got the 6 mon extension like everyone. Filed N-400 as soon as i was eligible in Aug 18.. same drill biometrics bla bla.. had my combo interview on 31st Jan 19. both were approved and updated same day.. interview was very simple like other ppl have mentioned in this. Although my wife was present they only interviewed me. Case status was updated to card being produced but won't have to bother cause yesterday i got an email saying iam scheduled for Oath ceremony in 2 weeks. DONE.
If your i751 case file is also at the local office where your naturalization interview is scheduled than most likely its a combo interview. if your i-751 file is some where else than only the n-400 interview with the tests and all and you will have to wait until the i-751 gets adjudicated. These are separate cases and lot of times they don't even know your i 751 is pending until ur n-400 interview day. I asked my interviewer why so much delay than he said the i-751 cases are not priority. Naturalization cases are. i saw other people in this forum had gotten similar answers.
So filing n-400 seems like the right path if thats your end game so that ur case will get some attention. I was not notified of the combo interview  but you should go with your spouse regardless. I had a combo interview just cause my i751 file had already been transferred to the same office. I did not take any additional documents other than wht was listed on the n-400 interview notice. My EAC no was 18045... but  i think its waste of time cause its all random anyway. probably depends on where and which pile ur file is sitting on. Also I travelled abroad multiple times with the extension letter. Also went on a cruise with the extension letter. never had any problem anywhere. 1000s of ppl travel with this. They know. Good luck!!
   

I am pretty sure I have seen a few people posting that they got approved, unless I am losing my mind and seeing things.

Hi Guys,
 
I've been watching this post even though I was not a member of VJ, but I just made an account today to let you know that my ROC got approved. 
Jan 2018 Filer - WAC180725***
 
You guys will be hearing soon too
 

Not to be a downer, but statistical data forecasts that most January 2018 filers will be waiting until June to be approved.
I went back 2 years and harvested from VJ all of the petitions that were approved. Then I separated them by month, and audited the posted dates. These were well over 1000 individual petitions, over a 2 year period. The results spoke of tremendous inefficiencies in the adjudication process. In any given month, the ‘average’ wait time by month was consistently around 500 days.
 Usually, less that 20% of those petitions were approved before the 30-day window centered on that average wait time. The percentage of petitions that were approved in that 30-day window (day 485-515) varied from 50% to 80%, with the remaining petitions being approved well past the 500-day mark. The spread each month between the shortest wait and the longest wait (again in any given month) varied wildly from as little as 200 days to a whopping 500 day gap... and that is in a single month’s group of files petitions.
 The 500-day average calculates to 16.5 months, and currently the posted wait time for I-751 petitions is 15.5 - 18 months.
i believe that to be an accurate forecast.
 
The few petition approvals from late 2017 that we are noticing are representative of that historically consistent monthly 20% that get lucky and are approved a bit ahead of the average.
 
Because of the slight acceleration of the process in recent weeks (from the additional adjudicators that have been added to the workforce) I think that 15.5 - 16.5 months wait is more likely what we will experience. The mean of that spread is 16 months, so my best guesstimate is to look for the majority of we January 2018 filers to be approved during the month of May. Just 4 months more, and we should get there.

Hi Frida_e
 
Thanks for your response. To be honest, I cannot recall ever registering for the Selective Serve (it's been a long process though). I read that you can register through the DMV when you apply for the driver license application and I am guessing that's what I did. I was able to find my registration receipt# and date (4/20/2016) through this link: https://www.sss.gov/Home/Verification 
 
 

Did you register? If so, you should have received verification in the mail. I don’t know where I placed my husband’s copy but I just logged onto www.sss.gov and clicked on check/verify registration, input his info and I got an official letter of verification to print out. Hope this helps

Interestingly, I've just received a letter (I-797 Notice of Action) stating that my request for the removal of condition (I-751) has been approved and I'll receive a Green Card in 60 days!  
 
The date of the notice was 10/22/2018!  I passed the combo interview and my IO approved my I-751 on that date!  I assume that it's a letter stating that they closed my I-751 case!  
 
I hope I don't get my 10-year Green Card by mistake!    Since I'm a US citizen now, I'm not supposed to have a Green Card so I'll need to make an InfoPass appointment to return it if they send it to me!     
 
It's the first time that I don't want to receive a Green Card from USCIS!  

I am wondering the same thing. I was actually logging in this morning to ask the same thing.
When it asks for front and back of green card did you also, or should you, upload the extension letter as well? We all know USCIS does not rationally think things through. So I could totally see them going "oh, the green card they uploaded expired last year....denied".

I had the great opportunity to have dinner with a director of the VSC Saturday evening. A sit turns out his wife is Russian, came here on a K-1 and is now an aquaintance of Alla. So we had some great conversation. Our next step will be the I-751 and he has worked in his career as an IO who conducted AOS and lifting of conditions interviews and gave me lots of good information on evidence. Here are some things he likes to see and others which are "useless" in his words
Good stuff
Joint bank accounts, joint tax returns, joint ownership of property, cars. Joint leases. Joint insurance. Named as beneficiaries on life insurance and medical insurance. Joint credit cards. Any other joining of financial interests (the theory is that if one is willing to risk your property and money the relationship is more likely valid) Government documents showing common address, drivers lisence, etc. Photos are good, kind of expected, but NOT primary evidence.
Children?
Yes and no. If you just had a child together and the man is nothing more than a sperm donor...no. IF you have children, whether "together" or with a blended family and there is evidence that BOTH participate in the child's development and education, and care that is great! I told him I am listed on all of our son's school papers as parent, I am an emergency contact and I sign all the permission slips, etc. He is covered by my medical insurance. All good stuff. A birth certificate in itself ("Look we have a kid") does not prove a legitmate relationship. It is especially important that the school (an objective 3rd party) recognizes both people as "parents" and accepts this. Medical records for the child showing both people as parents. same reasoning. If a doctor will recognize and treat a child based on their knowledge of both being parents, that is pretty darn good evidence.
Useless or not so useful stuff
Magazine subscriptions together (WHAT??? "Yes, you would be surprised how many couples present a Sports Illustrated subscription as proof") Utilities, cards and letters from relatives, emails, chats etc. Theory? all of these can be easily faked and in themselves prove nothing. Utilities do not verify information before adding someone to an account and hey, it's the electric bill, you are going to pay the electric bill anyway. There is no financial risk involved, no commitment as in joint ownership. Affidavits from friends or family do not have a lot of weight. None of these things are BAD and in conjunction with other evidence are fine, but not enough to prove anything themselves.
This is probably not news to a lot of people, but it was good to hear it from the "horse's mouth" anyway.
Incidentally, I mentioned that we never had a question at any of our interviews and never were asked for any evidence and he said "Sometimes we can just tell. Whatever you did, whatever your body language or how you acted, the IO was immediately convinced you were legitimate" I cannot say what that was, unfortunately.
Another question I asked, actually Alla did since she did not change her name
Does it matter if the woman changes her name?: NO, not at all.
About citizenship (Alla also asked)
Can I be a dual citizen? Answer..."The United States does not recognize other citizenships. You are a US citizen or you are not a US citizen. Once you become a US citizen the United States does not consider you anything else. We will not take your passport from Ukraine and we will not tell Ukraine you are now a citizen of the US. If you want to keep your Ukraine passport and renew it in Ukraine when you are visiting, it is none of our concern"
So the US has no policy and does not recognize any such thing as "dual citizenship" per se, but has no prohibitions from a person being a citizen of another country also, for the US you will always be considered a US citizen
Can I use a Ukraine passport to enter Ukraine and a US passport to enter the US? Yes, no problem.
What about stamps in the passport from the US or Ukraine?: The officers at the POE will ask where you have been, they rarely will look through all your exit stamps and really don't care. They are admitting you to the US, they really don't care if the country you LEFT stamped your passport, the US does not stamp passports on exit.
I ask this because Ukraine does not allow dual citizenship and I do want to keep my Ukraine passport for ease of travel to Russia, etc, and also if we ever decided to return, we have property there, I could easily work, etc. I do not want to do anything wrong and get in trouble here. The US does not care about Ukrainian law regarding citizenship, that's between you and Ukraine, but WE won't tell. Unless there is some order from a court or something, we don't give out that information.

Hey all the Jan filers! Wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! Hope all of us getting our green cards soon!!!

500-level errors indicate an issue on the server (backend, code, etc.).
Seems like a short-lived issue that has been resolved.

I suggest binder clips