Citizenship

Good Morning,

I had my joint I751/N400 interview this past Saturday, 08/11/18, in Baltimore, MD, and wanted to share this experience. I did not go with an atty and did not use an atty to file any portion of my application. Please see my initial post here: https://www.immihelp.com/experience/325355-N400-Baltimore-MD-July-2017-Filer.html

I initially applied for my GC in 2014 shortly after getting married and was issued a temp, conditional GC for 2 yrs due to marriage being relatively recent (6 mths old). Afterwards, you are supposed to file form I751 (removal of conditions on GC) which I filed in 2016. However, decision on that was still pending as there is a long wait-time. In the meantime, I was eligible to apply for my N400 at the 3 yrs, 9 mths mark. Some people opt to wait for a decision on the I751, while others opt to pursue naturalization concurrently. The latter was my choice.

I never received a decision on the I751 and instead, got scheduled for my N400 interview. My spouse accompanied me to the interview. The IO stated she looked over my whole application and will first take the interview on the I751 portion. She said "I'm glad you brought your spouse with you." She asked us about our marriage the past 4 yrs, asked for additional proof of our union since the time I filed in 2017 so we submitted to her the deed to our newly purchased home, mortgage stmts, bank stmts, 2017 tax return, car insurance policy, water/sewage bills, etc. She did state that I should have changed my license after moving to MD which I had not yet done. I explained to her that we were unsure if we'd be settling in MD which is why I hadn't done so yet. I plan on going to the DMV this week though and changing it now that we are homeowners. She said she was satisfied with our description of our marriage and moved onto the N400 application.

Thankfully I passed the exam and she said congratulations, let's schedule you for the oath ceremony. I was shocked that she would schedule me on the spot and so happy to hear this. She checked the computer and scheduled me for this coming Friday, 08/17/18, at the same application center where I had the interview. She did state that a supervisor will review her decision approving me, and that if any further proof is required, she will contact me before the oath ceremony. I am hoping I pass the final approval w/o any additional proof.

I wanted to share this experience with anyone who is considering applying for the N400 while decision on the I751 is still pending. Just do it. You have nothing to lose and actually will waste more time waiting for a decision on the I751 which could take more than 2 yrs as it did in my case and you will lose valuable time that you could've been in queue for the naturalization. Yes, I never rec'd a full fledged GC, only temp one. However, the goal at the end is naturalization, so I think applying for the N400 is best and thankfully that processing and approval is worth it. Best of luck to you all. Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks to Shelly for her advice and support!