josh tree

Yep, this one is fair, but looking at the timelines page on VJ, it appears people rarely get scheduled for an interview earlier than 3-4 months after applying

It's not really vague, as USCIS' own policy manual defines examination as interview in the later section about marriage-based naturalization: In cases where an applicant has filed early and the required 3-month period of residence in a state or service district falls within the required 3-year period of continuous residence, jurisdiction is based on the 3-month period immediately preceding the examination on the application (interview) https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-3 8 CFR also defines examination as being separate from investigation (which is the part before the interview — background checks, case review, etc), see https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-335: § 335.1 Investigation of applicant. Subsequent to the filing of an application for naturalization, the Service shall conduct an investigation of the applicant. The investigation shall consist, at a minimum, of a review of all pertinent records, police department checks, and a neighborhood investigation in the vicinities where the applicant has resided and has been employed, or engaged in business, for at least the five years immediately preceding the filing of the application. The district director may waive the neighborhood investigation of the applicant provided for in this paragraph. § 335.2 Examination of applicant. (a) General. Subsequent to the filing of an application for naturalization, each applicant shall appear in person before a USCIS officer designated to conduct examinations -- The way I see it based on my layperson's understanding of USCIS policy manual and the law, I should be okay to apply. USCIS can of course disregard the law, so I understand being cautious. I've also heard of some USCIS offices basically ignoring the 3 month residency rule (even in non-early file). So I'm looking more so for personal anecdotes of people who applied early and had moved states/USCIS service districts; and especially if anyone had such an experience in the Seattle office (maybe they don't enforce the residency rule at all?)

There's another CFR passage that seems to support my thinking about this being legally permissible: 8 CFR 342.2(b): An application for naturalization may be filed up to 90 days prior to the completion of the required period of residence, which may include the three-month period of residence required to establish jurisdiction under section 316(a) or 319(a) of the Act. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-334/section-334.2

I've had a green card for close to 5 years. My 5 year anniversary will be mid-June, so the earliest day to file N-400 under the 90 day early file rule will be mid-March (aka, next week) and I would like to apply on the earliest allowed date. However, I moved states (CA -> WA) just under a month ago. Normally, having been a state resident for 3 months is a requirement to file form N-400. However, the wording of USCIS manual and relevant law passages seem to suggest that in case of early filing, the 3-month state residency requirement needs to be fulfilled by the time of examination (aka interview), not filing: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part D, Chapter 6 says: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-6 and 8 CFR 316.2(a)(5) says: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-316/section-316.2 I've searched this forum for weeks and there very few relevant topics, also tried sending a message to USCIS via online portal to clarify but their response was a templated "bullet point requirements to naturalize" without addressing my question, and the live agent/Emma was no use either; so yeah, wondering if anyone knows or had personal experience with filing early when they'd just moved to another state? I guess law is one thing, but USCIS' interpretation and implementation is the other (especially when appeals cost more than filing N-400 anew), and so the way USCIS normally handles these cases in practice is what I'm most interested in. [Especially if you have experience with the Seattle, WA office as I hear USCIS policy can vary by office]