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On 10/18/2023 at 5:58 PM, jnmee said:

Sweet! Huge congrats on your citizenship approval. 

 

I am very interested to know how they process your name change request in LA?  I understand from other posts that only courts can approve your name change during an oath ceremony, instead of having the ceremony processed the same day by the field office, did you have to request to attend the nearest court to enable your name change with a date and time scheduled by the field officer?   I also would like to change my legal name but read that most ceremonies are not scheduled through courts for LA and are almost impossible to request to process ceremony + name change with a court, is this true? 

Thank you! I received a letter this weekend confirming the oath ceremony. 
 

You are correct, a judge has to be involved if you are changing your name during the citizenship process. When I had the interview on Oct 6th, it was not possible to complete the oath ceremony (regardless of name changes). They asked me to confirm my new name and instructed me to wait for a letter scheduling the ceremony. They said that due to the name change, the ceremony would be in either Riverside or Pasadena.  I did not have to arrange anything with the courts directly, USCIS took care of that as I’d requested and confirmed my name change. 
 

The oath ceremony letter states my date will be Dec 19th, so I’m happy with how fast it’s all moved.

good luck! Let me know if you have any more questions 

Hi all,

I had my N400 interview and test this morning, the IO was really nice and calming. I passed the six civics questions and was approved for citizenship on the spot! I also changed my name during this process.
 

Final step is the oath ceremony which will be scheduled. Such a relief!

I saw an update today in my online case status, and there's another NOA coming with the interview date being scheduled. 

The language in the i751 approval NOA really confused me, but now it's all ironed out and I will have the interview for N400. Phew.

Yep, @jackiegringa you're right, there's no way to not have an interview! The letter was just confusing. 

5 hours ago, jackiegringa said:

I'm gonna have to say this is a mistake - you have to pass the civics test to be approved, there is no way you can not have an interview. Make sure you don't already have an interview date checking online maybe. But even if you don't, hopefully is coming soon!

 

Do you have a 4 year extension on your conditional green card? They might really not send you a 10 year one with this mistake on their part...

 

 

Hello all,

I was awaiting i751 approval and also updates on my N400. On Monday 8/28 I saw that my i751 has been approved online, so I was waiting for the NOA in the mail. Meanwhile, my N400 hasn't changed. It still says "we are actively reviewing your case". No drama there. 

However, I just received the NOA in the mail today, and I am really confused by what it says:

"We have approved your I751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. Our records also indicate we have approved your Form N400, Application for Naturalization. Because we also approved your N400, you will not receive a new Permanent Resident Card (Green card). Instead, once you have taken the Oath of Allegiance, you will receive a Certificate of Naturalization, which will be proof of your US Citizenship."

Does this mean I don't have an interview? It goes straight to taking the oath? 

Yay! My i751 was approved today!

Nothing received in the mail yet, but I checked my receipt online and today it says approved.

I'm still patiently waiting and trying to not worry. I check the online portal a few times every week and nothing changes there. It still says they are actively reviewing my case 😬 I'm also waiting for ROC since Feb 2022. Yey for anxiety.

It's lovely seeing fellow March-2023 N400 filers having their interviews scheduled and moving quickly though, and ROC i751 Feb 2022 filers receiving their green cards.

3 hours ago, lvesnal said:

Hey guys: just wanted to see if there are still any March filers patiently waiting for their interview notices:) 

 

Hope everybody’s doing good. 

Do you have to take your (foreign) passport to an N400 interview?

I'm in the process of renewing mine, so I'll be without one for a few months and wondered if my N400 interview gets scheduled, whether it's needed?

Hi all, I did my biometrics on Monday (April 10) and it was so fast. Maybe 10 minutes max? My case status also changed by the time I got back home, and it now says they "are actively reviewing my case" with an estimated time of ~9 months. 

Interestingly though, the approximate processing time here (in Los Angeles County) is longer than that, soo who knows. I've also had no movement or development on my i751 (Removing Conditions). Good luck everyone, waiting is FUN, ha 🎉 

Hi everyone,

I filed N400 on March 19th and received the NOA pretty quickly (dated March 20th). I see a letter for Biometrics coming in the mail saying the appointment is April 10th.

I'm also an i751 filer, so hoping to combine the interviews 🤞 

Also hoping to change my last name through naturalisation, back to my maiden name (but still married), as professionally it's my preferred name. Hoping that doesn't go against my case.

Hi Feb '22 filers.. I received the 48 month extension letter yesterday for ROC. 

So I'm wrapping up my N400 paperwork today, to get that filed!

21 minutes ago, Vpanda85 said:

What document did you use at the Global Entry kiosk? When I tried to use my expired green card, it wouldn't accept it. So I have been going through the regular lines. 

I had my UK Passport in hand, Global Entry Card and Expired Green Card, but I arrived at LAX and the kiosks there use facial recognition. I was flagged to see the officer as they must've known my GC has expired, so they asked to see the letter (which was also in my hand). 

It's exactly as Mike E said too 👇 

12 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Some if not most modern GE kiosks reportedly are facial recognition only or facial recognition primary. Thus, reportedly they don’t need a green card to accept an LPR.  
 

 I  have GE but my wife doesn’t so I haven’t used GE in years.  I have however used  the general kiosks at Miami cruise port and they just wanted my face (U.S. citizen) and my wife’s face (green card).  

My green card expired in April 2021, but I have a 24 month extension letter and valid UK passport. I'm flying to the UK for Christmas and coming back to the US, both flights with Virgin Atlantic. My passport is in my maiden name, and US papers and TSA Global Entry all in my married name, so yep, the marriage certificate has to come with me.

I thought I'd call the airline to see if they're familiar with the extension letter process, to allow me return to the US. The lady on the phone had no idea what the extension letter is, and couldn't say if they would let me board.

Has anyone here travelled on an extension letter + expired green card back to the US with Virgin Atlantic from LHR? I'm a bit worried... 

I checked the Case Processing Times tool on the USCIS website today... https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ 

And no surprises, the processing time has increased for Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence (I-751) at California Service Center.

When I checked in October, it said on average, 80% of cases are completed within 10 months.

Now it's saying, for the processing time, on average, 80% of cases are completed within 14 months. 

4 hours ago, Family said:

Also try getting some marriage counseling sessions, will help both your “ talks” w spouse and very valuable to your I-751 down the road. 

If spouse is willing, have her write a Statement in Support of your marriage , now , while you two are still talking..get it notarized ( w a JURAT) and this too wil help down the road.

Thank you, sadly my husband isn't willing to try therapy whether solo or together. Though he says he is willing to support our marriage when it comes to my current ROC case, so I think that is a good thing. 

5 hours ago, Mobius1 said:

Bottom line: This is not a DIY anymore, hire a lawyer and get professional advice instead of saving some bucks and gambling with your future in the US

Thank you, this entire response makes sense and I was on the fence whether to contact a lawyer, so I will do that. 

Appreciate it!

32 minutes ago, PaulaCJohnny said:

Separation or divorce?

Separation (living apart, not legally separating or divorce yet)

We filed i751 back in Feb (approx 6 months ago) and it is currently being processed as usual. However, spouse and I are talking about separating and living in different places.

I believe I need to file both a change of address (AR-11) and write a letter to USCIS to tell them our plans to separate. Am I missing anything else?

Checked my USCIS account today to see if there were any updates.. They waived the biometrics yesterday (7/14) and updated my case to say fingerprints were taken.

Any other Feb filers had progress with their case?

Silly question, did the USCIS website used to show you what cases they are currently processing?

I feel like when I used to log in to see my status, there would be an update saying something along the lines of "we're currently processing cases from XX Date". However I can't seem to see that information anymore. 

My service center estimates 10 months to complete ROC (for 80% of cases), which is fine with me, but I am curious if this 'currently processing' data point has been removed.

19 hours ago, JasonKay said:

Does this also affect i751s that are already waiting at the field office and are ready for the interview? What do you all think?

Hmm I'd like to know the answer to this same question too....

Wonder if the folks who have already received the Green Card Extension Letter, but NOT had an i751 interview will be included. 

2 hours ago, kohldjs said:

Also have a WAC receipt.  No movement on the case just to say they received it.

 

Not sure of the exact processing times but most likely will not see anything until near the end of the year if they waive  biometrics.  Did see one VJ case from a California Service Center  where they filed in June 2021 and received their green card in March of this year. That works out to be about 9 months and they had said the interview was waived.

 

That is just one case as every case is different but gives us an idea of what we might expect

You're right, I was looking through similar timelines this week too and they were roughly between 7-9 months from NOA to receipt of green card. I guess I can be patient, haha. 

Glad to know another WAC is the same experience, thank you for sharing.

I'm hoping they waive my biometrics, as I did mine in Jan-2020 for the AOS... but who knows. Good luck!

Hi February 2022 filers, did anyone get a WAC receipt number for their i751 ROC case?

I received an NOA in the mail confirming the 24 month extension and just waiting patiently for further updates from USCIS..

Curious if anyone else has the WAC (California) service centre and estimated processing times. 

On 2/23/2022 at 5:32 PM, MeghanK said:

Exact same dates here! And looks like they cashed our check today (23rd)

Did you receive your NOA in the mail yet? 

It hasn't arrived in the mail for us, but I'm hoping it will tomorrow or early in the week.

Looks like they processed my cheque yesterday (02/24), relieved to be honest.

Now I'm just waiting for the NOA in the mail 👀