Hi everybody. Since uscis centralized N600 processing in late 2011 to the Phoenix lockbox; are all N600's sent to the NBC first (assigned an NBC receipt number)? Then are they sent to your local field office in your state or just to any random field office? Thanks everyone. Have a good day.
Does anyone know? I had always thought they were sent to the local offices but now maybe they are sent to the national benefits center first since they centralized the processing at the Phoenix lockbox. Anyone have any idea? Thank you again.
Interesting question. N-600s used to be handled at local offices only, then they were moved to Service Centers for adjudication and only some were sent to local offices to have the applicants come in and swap greencards fro Certificates and sign paperwork. Certain applicants were sent Certificates by mail.
Since centralized filing, it is unclear what USCIS is currently doing.
How about you send your question to: nbc.communityrelationsofficer@dhs.gov and share the response here?
My impression is that all N-600 applications are still processed by local DOs (even those where no interview takes place and where the certificate of citizenship is just mailed to the applicant).
At least looking at the USCIS processing times, https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do
NBC does not list there N-600 among the forms it adjudicates...
Thanks guys for responding. I too notice that the processing timelines do not show N600s being processed at the national benefits center, but when we just filed my son's N600 a couple of weeks ago the receipt letter we got had a receipt number that started with NBCxxxxxxxxx and it said it has been "routed to the national benefits center for processing". The other few people I have talked to who have filed N600 in 2012 also say they were given a receipt number that started with the letters NBC and also were told in the receipt that it was "routed to the national benefits center for processing." Any thoughts? Interesting also that of the people I have talked to who filed an n600 in 2012, no one has been able to check the status online at the uscis site.
"Routed to the national benefits center for processing" is simply the standard language in a computer generated message and it does not, in any way, indicate that NBC will actually be adjudicating the application. Every single N-600 applicant theses days gets exactly the same message and every single N-600 applicant gets a case number starting with NBC. All it indicates is that the initial receipt and initial processing are done by NBC. However, the substantive adjudication of N-600 applications that require an interview (and in fact, in my understanding, of all N-600 applications) is done by the local DOs. Incidentally, the situation is similar with N-400 applications. They are also initially routed to NBC which does initial processing (FP, background checks etc), and then they are forwarded to the local DOs for substantive adjudication. The N-400 applications also get case numbers starting with NBC.
Thanks, so you're saying that all of the new N600s initially get sent to the NBC
and after staying there for a while they are shipped on to the local office in your state?
Correct.
My understanding is that, yes, that is what happens.
However, it is conceivable, as BigJoe5 notes, that some N600 cases that do not require an interview are adjudicated directly by the NBC without being forwarded to a local DO. I personally doubt that this happens, mainly based on the fact that the official NBC processing times do not list N600 among the forms that it adjudicates, but I am not 100% sure.
As BigJoe5 notes, it'd be a good idea for you to e-mail this question directly to nbc.communityrelationsofficer@dhs.gov
and then let us know what they said.
Thanks I'd love to know.
Now I'm curious: Why do you want to know?
A generic USA.gov e-mail list sent a link to this page today: http://blog.usa.gov/post/25362210498/automatic-citizenship-children
If you look at processing times for the Service Centers you find N-600s listed in Vermont and N-565s in Nebraska, Texas and Vermont.
Also, not everything done at any particular location is necessarily listed in those online reports. For instance, NBC has sole jurisdiction for one class of I-485s but it is not listed. Nebraska handles the form I-905, and CSC does the I-924 and neither are listed. They are in too small a number to bother posting online.
The N-600 on the other hand is an odd adjudication, I know, I've done it. Very few require an interview. People show up just to get the Certificate, hand over the greencard and go through a little "feel good ceremony". The Oath is actually legally required under INA 341 for mentally competent individuals age 14 and up.