Hi everyone,
I am in a bit of a limbo and not sure what to do - I would very much appreciate your honest thoughts on the best way forward. This relates to my application for N-400. For context, I have a I-751 (petition to remove conditions on residence) this was submitted on 11 August 2023.
I submitted my N-400 citizenship application to USCIS and received receipt notice on 5 June 2024 (as of today this is over 15 months ago). My receipt notice states National Benefit Center (Overland Park, KS) I checked and my field office for any N-400 interview is West Palm Beach, FL.
On my N-400, my biometrics were reused and I have since had the status of "case is still being processed by USCIS." My USCIS online profile also has now been over months saying: "your case is taking longer than our previous estimate and is now outside normal porcessing times."
When I checked the case processing time tool on USCIS page and gave my receipt notice - it stated that states - You can send us questions about your case by submitting a Service Request online.
I sent e-request for outside normal processing time to USCIS about two weeks ago. Yesterday, I received an email from USCIS (Customer Support in Washington, DC) stating the following "We have determined that your immigraion benefit request has not been pending longer than what is normal for the specific request type. Please be assured that we are handling your request..."
I think USCIS are wrong. As noted, it has been over 15 months since I filed and when I first looked at the processing time for West Palm Beach, FL, it provided that processing time is around 6 months. Now it is 9.5 months, but still I am now beyond even this current longer period.
I am not sure what to do in these circumstances. Do you think I should submit another e-request to USCIS or contact congressional representative and/or request assistance from USCIS Ombudsman or escalate this otherwise. Or should I just sit and wait until they assign an interview for me.
I'm not sure if this is the pending I-751 that is causing this issue but that is still not a reason for them to delay N-400 that is its own separate application. In other words, if you are married to US citizen and have a green card, you have a right to apply for citizenship within 3 years rather than 5 years on the green card.
I feel quite defeated. I was hoping for a positive response with this e-request. I have a few friends that filed N-400 after me (in busy locations e.g. California) and have gone through an interview already.
I would very much appreciate any thoughts and comments on this. If anyone is in the same boat, please also let me know.