2nd FP notice for N-400 application - Need your opinion.

[al_mke]

Hi all;
I received a letter from USCIS to redo fingerprints as the 1st one have expired.
The first one were in fact done in July 2010 (yes that long ago). I also did the
interview in February 2011 where I passed the test but was told that a decision could not be made.

Since then my case has been pending with no updates until last week where I got the
2nd FP notice.

I would like your expert opinion on the situation, is it a procedural letter to redo FP or something else?

Thanks in advance.

Al

 

[baikal3]

Hi all;
I received a letter from USCIS to redo fingerprints as the 1st one have expired.
The first one were in fact done in July 2010 (yes that long ago). I also did the
interview in February 2011 where I passed the test but was told that a decision could not be made.

Since then my case has been pending with no updates until last week where I got the
2nd FP notice.

I would like your expert opinion on the situation, is it a procedural letter to redo FP or something else?

Thanks in advance.

Al

The letter says that it is for a second FP appointment, but what they really want to do is remove your kidney and ship you off to a secret USCIS prison on Mars.


Seriously, a letter for a second FP appointment is just what it says it is: a letter for a second FP appointment.

Biometrics results are valid for a limited period of time (I think for 15 months); if your case is still pending after that period, they have to do a second FP before you can take the oath. If anything, the second FP notice is good news and possibly indicates some movement in you case.

However, such a long delay in adjudicating an N-400 application after the interview is unusual.
What did the IO say at the end of the interview regarding the reason why a decision could not be made then?
Does you case have any non-standard features? (e.g. criminal convictions? problems with continuous residency?)

8 U.S.C. § 1447(b) requires the USCIS to adjudicate an N-400 application within 120 days of the interview. So you could have filed a 1447(b) lawsuit quite a while ago. Did you try standard things like INFOPASS appointments, letters to Congress members, CIS Ombudsman, etc?

 

[al_mke]

Thanks for your comment Baikal3.
I don't exactly know the reason for the delay. I have called USCIS few times and was always told the case is pending additional review.
I did more search and found that fingerprints are valid for 15 months which in my case means they have expired since Oct. or Nov. 2011 and
I did not receive a notice for a 2nd fingerprint at that time.

In all cases, I hope it is a good sign for my case.

 

[cafeconleche]

Go to the appointment, but really consider contacting your lawmakers to intervene. If you're lucky, you'll get through. Do you have a name that CIS might consider questionable? How simple was your application?

Also consider sueing. Otherwise, you could be stuck for a LONG time.

 

[baikal3]

Thanks for your comment Baikal3.
I don't exactly know the reason for the delay. I have called USCIS few times and was always told the case is pending additional review.
I did more search and found that fingerprints are valid for 15 months which in my case means they have expired since Oct. or Nov. 2011 and
I did not receive a notice for a 2nd fingerprint at that time.

In all cases, I hope it is a good sign for my case.

There could be many reasons for the delay but whatever they are, it is far from normal for a post-interview delay to be so prolonged and to take more than a year.

It is certainly not enough for you to simply call USCIS a few times. Your case may be stuck for another year or more if you simply sit and wait.


You should be doing all of the following:

1) file an e-request online about the status of your case:
https://egov.uscis.gov/e-request/Intro.do

2) make an INFOPASS appointment at the local DO where you had the interview and talk to them in person:
https://infopass.uscis.gov/info_lang.php?sel_lang=en

3) Write letters to both the U.S. Senators for your state and the U.S. Representative for the area where you live.
(Find their websites and follow the instructions there regarding constituent services). An outside inquiry by a member of Congress may occasionally dislodge a USCIS case that is stuck
in bureaucratic limbo. At the very least this way you'll get a more informative and substantive info from the USCIS about what is really holding up your case.

4) Submit a request for help to the CIS Ombudsman:
http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/editorial_0497.shtm

In your place I would also be considering a 1447(b) lawsuit to force the USCIS to move on your N-400 application.