4 months after successful interview, no oath letter yet. What are my rights/options?

W

washeightsguy

Registered Users (C)
Hello all,

I had a successful interview in the New York City Office on March 23 , 2010. The officer gave me a form with "congratulations, you have been recommended for citizenship" marked on it. He said the oath letter would be mailed after reverification of my file within 30 days. This was because I had a case that was dismissed (prior to arraignment!) for which I had proof. (I was accused of the egregious "crime" of riding my bicycle on the sidewalk).

It is now almost 120 days. I have yet to get the Oath letter.

I made 2 info pass appointments, one in May, and one in June. Both times I was told that the file was in the reverification stage. No further information was given.

I read that the USCIS is bound legally to adjudicate all cases after initial interview within 4 months. That date is coming up in a week for me. What options do I have, what are my rights?
Are there others who have been waiting post-interview for the oath letter for 4 months or more?

I filed my application by myself. Should I get a lawyer?

Any advice would be much appreciated.


Thanks

washeightsguy
 
Your situation is just like mine, never heard the term of of file reverification before, they have to decide on your N-400 in 120 days no matter what the hold up is, besides they had your file right in front of you and the officer when you went to your interview otherwise there would be no interview.
You can read my story here, http://forums.immigration.com/showt...-or-thinking-about-a-lawsuit-(Merged)/page593
I had to sue them under 1447(b) on the 122nd day and you can too after 120 days, once I sued them I was given my oath on the 35 day after I filed the lawsuit.
Or another option is to sit and wait but in that you just never know when you will get it.
Or write to your Congressman, Senator, Ombudsman and wait again.
Needless to say I chose suing the government because they were breaking the law by not adjudicating in 120 days, and i know if I break the law they probably will not cut me a break and really why should they.
 
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Please read the posts under http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?194681-Anyone-with-a-lawsuit-against-USCIS-or-thinking-about-a-lawsuit-%28Merged%29

You should file 1447(b) in a federal district court after 120 days of your interview. One could do Pro Se . Get a Pro se package from your district court study it . You may need legal help as your case is not simple background check delay or name check delay.

Another link where there is useful information is http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FBI_Name_Check . This link contains information and procedure to file law suit. Same applies to your case.

Did you contact your Senator or Representative. Probably they could help before you file law suit.
 
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namecheckvictim said:
Your situation is just like mine, never heard the term of of file reverification before, they have to decide on your N-400 in 120 days no matter what the hold up is, besides they had your file right in front of you and the officer when you went to your interview otherwise there would be no interview.
You can read my story here, http://forums.immigration.com/showt...-or-thinking-about-a-lawsuit-(Merged)/page593
I had to sue them under 1447(b) on the 122nd day and you can too after 120 days, once I sued them I was given my oath on the 35 day after I filed the lawsuit.
Click to expand...

Filing a 1447(b) is definitely an option (can also be done pro se to save money). Before doing that I would get a Congressperson's office involved, or potentially the Ombudsman. In my case, the USCIS made the decision exactly on the 120th day (granted, this was in 2008), but only after I already had a Senator's office involved and had dropped hints of escalating the case to the Ombudsman or filing a lawsuit. It seems that they helped push the case through.

There have also been reports of demand letters that worked, i.e., a letter handed over to a supervisor at an InfoPass stating that a lawsuit is imminent if no decision is made within 30 days. Obviously, the OP would have to be ready to file the suit after 30 days are up.
 
i hope the issue gets resolved soon,
i have a question about your dismissed case. Did you bring any papers related to the issue along with you, or did you have to mail them? Did IO think that there were sufficient evidence that the case was dismissed?
washeightsguy said:
Hello all,

I had a successful interview in the New York City Office on March 23 , 2010. The officer gave me a form with "congratulations, you have been recommended for citizenship" marked on it. He said the oath letter would be mailed after reverification of my file within 30 days. This was because I had a case that was dismissed (prior to arraignment!) for which I had proof. (I was accused of the egregious "crime" of riding my bicycle on the sidewalk).

It is now almost 120 days. I have yet to get the Oath letter.

I made 2 info pass appointments, one in May, and one in June. Both times I was told that the file was in the reverification stage. No further information was given.

I read that the USCIS is bound legally to adjudicate all cases after initial interview within 4 months. That date is coming up in a week for me. What options do I have, what are my rights?
Are there others who have been waiting post-interview for the oath letter for 4 months or more?

I filed my application by myself. Should I get a lawyer?

Any advice would be much appreciated.


Thanks

washeightsguy
Click to expand...
 
washeightsguy said:
Hello all,

I had a successful interview in the New York City Office on March 23 , 2010. The officer gave me a form with "congratulations, you have been recommended for citizenship" marked on it. He said the oath letter would be mailed after reverification of my file within 30 days. This was because I had a case that was dismissed (prior to arraignment!) for which I had proof. (I was accused of the egregious "crime" of riding my bicycle on the sidewalk).

It is now almost 120 days. I have yet to get the Oath letter.

I made 2 info pass appointments, one in May, and one in June. Both times I was told that the file was in the reverification stage. No further information was given.

I read that the USCIS is bound legally to adjudicate all cases after initial interview within 4 months. That date is coming up in a week for me. What options do I have, what are my rights?
Are there others who have been waiting post-interview for the oath letter for 4 months or more?

I filed my application by myself. Should I get a lawyer?

Any advice would be much appreciated.


Thanks

washeightsguy
Click to expand...

You have the right to file 1447(b) lawsuit. Whether you decide to do so depends on how quickly you need naturalization and if you are willing to spend the extra cost in filing 1447(b). If you rather wait longer, contact congressperson and USCIS Ombudsman to inquire about your case on your behalf.
 
hi! Thanks for your suggestion. I'll read over your story and advice carefully. I am hoping that the Oath letter will come in the next week -- will save me a whole lot of bother. I might have more questions soon!

Thanks again.
 
I took the papers (original dismissal notice) to the interview. The officer made me a copy and kept the original. He did not seem to care about the summons (which is what it was since it was technically dismissed before the arraignment). He was almost apologetic that he could not give me an Oath date before his superior had looked over the file given my "record".

Lolitochka said:
i hope the issue gets resolved soon,
i have a question about your dismissed case. Did you bring any papers related to the issue along with you, or did you have to mail them? Did IO think that there were sufficient evidence that the case was dismissed?
Click to expand...
 
3rd INFOPASS appointment and then....

Hello All,

An update to this saga:

I had a third infopass appointment on July 22 (day 121 after interview). The officer was very polite, but did not reveal much information that I did not already know. He said that he had located my file both in the computer and knew where it was physically, and it was awaiting verification, that there was a backlog -- he knew that to be true because he worked as an IO -- and there was nothing he could do about it, nor say any more. I pressed him politely to give me a ballpark idea as to when to expect the oath letter. He declined. So, I said I was afraid that it might take years. To which, he said no. That would apparently cause his superiors to be given heat by the powers that be! So, then he ventured "a couple of months perhaps" but would not repeat that again. I left with a written notice stating "N-652 approved, file is on normal processing procedure". Now, if that is not an empty statement, I don't know what is. All in all, the officer spent about 15 minutes with me, and now that I think back, he seemed a little perplexed with his computer, so had to get up and go to his colleague next door for a couple of minutes.

So, the last couple of days I stewed over this non-news and debated as to whether I should file a 1447(b) suit or not. I wrote to my senator (Gillibrand) using her online form, and composed an email to a lawyer acquaintance asking him to put me in touch with an immigration lawyer. But for some reason, decided I'd wait till Monday to send that email out.

Since that infopass appointment, I had stopped looking in my mailbox with hope.... Today, Saturday, I just checked and there it was! The oath letter -- scheduled for August 20, and dated July 22 (postmarked July 23)!

Thinking back, I am convinced that the officer had a hand at this -- he ought to have known if my file had already been reverified (on the 22nd) when he checked, but he did not say so. So, I am guessing that he looked for it when he went back to that room (which I imagine to be full of languishing files!) and then processed it. Why else would the letter be sent out 24 hours of my inquiry, when he clearly had said a couple of months at least.

Anyway... whatever the reason, am glad I don't have to go through filing the suit or other bureaucratic hoopla. All I have to do is to make sure is to show up at 10.30 on Aug 20!

Thanks all for your advice. Will let you know how the ceremony goes.

all the best

washeightsguy
 
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washeightsguy said:
Thinking back, I am convinced that the officer had a hand at this -- he could not have not known that my file had been reverified (on the 22nd) when he checked. So, I am guessing that he looked for it when he went back to that room (which I imagine to be full of languishing files!). Why else would the letter be sent out 24 hours of my inquiry, when he clearly had said a couple of months at least.
Click to expand...

He and his supervisor probably talked about it after you left, and upon realizing (1) you are beyond the 120 day limit and (2) you took the time to show up in person to inquire about it, they figured that you were gearing up to file 1447(b) and concluded that your case should be decided ASAP if the necessary information is there.
 
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Jackolantern said:
He and his supervisor probably talked about it after you left, and upon realizing (1) you are beyond the 120 day limit and (2) you took the time to show up in person to inquire about it, they figured that you were gearing up to file 1447(b) and concluded that your case should be decided ASAP if the necessary information is there.
Click to expand...


I think you are probably right Jackolantern. Anyway -- now I think I am on the home stretch!
 
Jackolantern said:
(1) you are beyond the 120 day limit and
(2) you took the time to show up in person to inquire about it, they figured that you were gearing up to file 1447(b)
Click to expand...

Pardon, if this topic had been beaten to death, but can you kindly clarify what you imply with the "120 day limit" and "1447(b)"? Thanks.
 
poongunranar said:
Pardon, if this topic had been beaten to death, but can you kindly clarify what you imply with the "120 day limit" and "1447(b)"? Thanks.
Click to expand...

USCIS has a mandate by law to decide naturalization applications within 120 days after the interview. After day 120, you get the right to file a 1447(b) lawsuit to force them to make a decision ASAP. When you file 1447(b), the case goes under supervision of the court, and the court itself can decide the case, or they can send it back to USCIS to decide it by a given deadline.
 
Jackolantern said:
USCIS has a mandate by law to decide naturalization applications within 120 days after the interview. After day 120, you get the right to file a 1447(b) lawsuit to force them to make a decision ASAP. When you file 1447(b), the case goes under supervision of the court, and the court itself can decide the case, or they can send it back to USCIS to decide it by a given deadline.
Click to expand...

Can you please indicate the success rate of 1447(b) law suit and approximate time line for resolving the suit. In LAZYCIS thread i find lot of posts from those who are successful but hardly any from those who failed after the suit. How long can USCIS prolong the issue????
 
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