Chicago IL - N-400 Timeline

waiting in chicago

baikal3 said:
Since you only filed N-400 in mid-April, you are still within the normal processing times for N-400, and having been in a queue for an interview for 60 days is not yet out of the ordinary.
Doing an e-request is easy, so if you are really restless, do an e-request now and see what they say. If in about two months you are still not scheduled for an interview, then schedule an INFOPASS appointment and try to talk to them in person.
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Many thanks again baikal3 for your input.
One more question, out of ignorance: will an e-request delay or affect the normal course of our applications in any way?
 
baikal3 said:
No, certainly not. The worst you can expect is getting an uninformative reply from USCIS.
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You were right. Called the USCIS number on website, the gentelman was very kind but could not tell me much other than what I already know. In fact he told me that Chicago DO is working on cases form 12/28/2011 so they can only contact chicago directly in another 4 months!!!!!. I think his database needs to be updated, as we all know applicants form this year are being interview or receiving oath. He also suggested that I can write, send an e-query or make an infopass appointment directly with Chicago and that I might have better luck. It seems that one hand does not know what the other one is doing :confused:.
So my wife and I are still waiting 67 plus days after FP. :rolleyes:
 
pajerito said:
You were right. Called the USCIS number on website, the gentelman was very kind but could not tell me much other than what I already know. In fact he told me that Chicago DO is working on cases form 12/28/2011 so they can only contact chicago directly in another 4 months!!!!!. I think his database needs to be updated, as we all know applicants form this year are being interview or receiving oath. He also suggested that I can write, send an e-query or make an infopass appointment directly with Chicago and that I might have better luck. It seems that one hand does not know what the other one is doing :confused:.
So my wife and I are still waiting 67 plus days after FP. :rolleyes:
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When you call the USCIS 800 number, you get to talk to a low-level customer service rep who is a contractor (not an actual IO), unless you managed to get transferred to a second-level IO. These contractors are very poorly trained and don't know anything and most of the time the info they give is pure crap. You can conduct an experiment and call that number, say, 4 times during a single day. You'll get to talk to 4 different reps and, almost surely, will get 4 different answers, quite possibly mutually contradictory.
If you do an e-request, you will still most likely get an uninformative response, but it will be a bit more substantive and less crappy than what you get by calling their tall-free line.
For a more substantive response you'd have to schedule an INFOPASS appointment at a local DO - but I think it is too early for that in your case.
 
Still waiting for chicago

Still waiting for chicago interview. 124+ days since priority date and 70+ since FP. :(
Anybody with similar situation in Chicago?
 
Chicago IL where are you?

130 days since priority date and 75 days since FP and counting.
Still no interview letter. Other DOs are so much faster, why is Chicago so slow ?:confused: :mad:
I'll keep the forum posted.;)
 
Interview & Oath

pajerito said:
Are these 143 days since PD or since FP?
Are you in Chicago/suburbs or outside of the city like myself.
Thanks for your input :cool:
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Thanks every body, had my interview 08/22, the IO was very nice , precise and quick.

He sworn me as soon as i stepped in his room , asked me for DL , GC , Passport. Started Opening an inch file , explained me what he is going to go through today....
Then Q&A started.. I Passed reading and writing section as well.
IO started going through Application , quickly covered the entire application stressing on some of the questions.
Then he said that he is recommending my application for approval and i will get an Oath letter in mail, i asked him " can i have an oath today itself " , he said " no , you should expect an oath letter in a couple of weeks congratulations and good luck ".

Citizenship Interview Passed

Thank God

Aug 23rd 2012, USCIS called me and asked that if i can come in for the Oath ceremony as there are some spots available on Aug 24th,2012. First i could not believe what i was hearing.....
I went in for the Oath ceremony today my oath letter was ready. Oh man i am so happy.

Thank God , I am a USC
 
pajerito said:
Are these 143 days since PD or since FP?
Are you in Chicago/suburbs or outside of the city like myself.
Thanks for your input :cool:
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Since PD. I am about 2 hours away from Chicago. I guess I am stuck in the name check and will try to take an infopass when passing 5 months
 
engp7836 said:
Since PD. I am about 2 hours away from Chicago. I guess I am stuck in the name check and will try to take an infopass when passing 5 months
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Thanks for replying. Let stay in touch.
I'm in the same boat as yours. Also thinking about infopass appt after 5 months have passes since PD. I also live around 2 hrs away from Chicago (without traffic). I'm frustrated since I strongly believe our cases are very clear cut and clean. Somebody said before that if you live outside of Chiacago takes more time, I wonder why, because I see cases around the country being completed in as little as 2 1/2 months. Oh well :(
By the way the infopass appt page states that you can only make an appt, after 45 days (!!!!!!) of a written request, is this true anybody. :confused:
 
baikal3 said:
When you call the USCIS 800 number, you get to talk to a low-level customer service rep who is a contractor (not an actual IO), unless you managed to get transferred to a second-level IO. These contractors are very poorly trained and don't know anything and most of the time the info they give is pure crap. You can conduct an experiment and call that number, say, 4 times during a single day. You'll get to talk to 4 different reps and, almost surely, will get 4 different answers, quite possibly mutually contradictory.
If you do an e-request, you will still most likely get an uninformative response, but it will be a bit more substantive and less crappy than what you get by calling their tall-free line.
For a more substantive response you'd have to schedule an INFOPASS appointment at a local DO - but I think it is too early for that in your case.
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Baikal 3,

you are saying that if you live far from Chicago, your application may be delayed. Can you explain what are the reasons for this?

Moreover, you mentioned that once the namecheck is cleared the online status changes to in line for interview. how long these days the namecheck may take if it is not cleared right away?
 
antonioa77 said:
Baikal 3,

you are saying that if you live far from Chicago, your application may be delayed. Can you explain what are the reasons for this?
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As far as I can tell, for some outside of Chicago (e.g. for central Illinois), the Chicago DO likes to schedule interviews in batches, with a large number of applicants from a particular town being interviewed on the same day. E.g. when I had my interview (although it was back in March 2009 and it may be that things have changed since then), there were 4 other people having interview on the same day working in the same university department as me, and I saw even more people in the interview waiting area whom I recognized as being from our town.
If they still follow the same kind of practice, this would result in longer waiting times for people from central Illinois to be scheduled for an interview.

I do know that after the interview the applicants from central Illinois definitely do have to wait significantly longer for the oath than do people from the Chicago area. The reason is that the federal district court in central Illinois has not relinquished its exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization oaths, and all oaths for central Illinois applicants are judicial oaths. For whatever reason, the federal district court for central Illinois schedules the oath ceremonies rather infrequently - probably because they wait until a sufficiently large batch of people needing an oath has accumulated. E.g. in my town the oaths are held only 4 times a year, about once every three months. By contrast, in Chicago the oaths take place more or less every week.


Moreover, you mentioned that once the namecheck is cleared the online status changes to in line for interview. how long these days the namecheck may take if it is not cleared right away?
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This is rather unpredictable, but name check delays longer than 6 months are rather rare now and usually it takes from a few days to a few weeks.
 
baikal3 said:
As far as I can tell, for some outside of Chicago (e.g. for central Illinois), the Chicago DO likes to schedule interviews in batches, with a large number of applicants from a particular town being interviewed on the same day. E.g. when I had my interview (although it was back in March 2009 and it may be that things have changed since then), there were 4 other people having interview on the same day working in the same university department as me, and I saw even more people in the interview waiting area whom I recognized as being from our town.
If they still follow the same kind of practice, this would result in longer waiting times for people from central Illinois to be scheduled for an interview.

I do know that after the interview the applicants from central Illinois definitely do have to wait significantly longer for the oath than do people from the Chicago area. The reason is that the federal district court in central Illinois has not relinquished its exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization oaths, and all oaths for central Illinois applicants are judicial oaths. For whatever reason, the federal district court for central Illinois schedules the oath ceremonies rather infrequently - probably because they wait until a sufficiently large batch of people needing an oath has accumulated. E.g. in my town the oaths are held only 4 times a year, about once every three months. By contrast, in Chicago the oaths take place more or less every week.




This is rather unpredictable, but name check delays longer than 6 months are rather rare now and usually it takes from a few days to a few weeks.
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Thank you much for the clarification.
 
baikal3 said:
As far as I can tell, for some outside of Chicago (e.g. for central Illinois), the Chicago DO likes to schedule interviews in batches, with a large number of applicants from a particular town being interviewed on the same day. E.g. when I had my interview (although it was back in March 2009 and it may be that things have changed since then), there were 4 other people having interview on the same day working in the same university department as me, and I saw even more people in the interview waiting area whom I recognized as being from our town.
If they still follow the same kind of practice, this would result in longer waiting times for people from central Illinois to be scheduled for an interview.

I do know that after the interview the applicants from central Illinois definitely do have to wait significantly longer for the oath than do people from the Chicago area. The reason is that the federal district court in central Illinois has not relinquished its exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization oaths, and all oaths for central Illinois applicants are judicial oaths. For whatever reason, the federal district court for central Illinois schedules the oath ceremonies rather infrequently - probably because they wait until a sufficiently large batch of people needing an oath has accumulated. E.g. in my town the oaths are held only 4 times a year, about once every three months. By contrast, in Chicago the oaths take place more or less every week. "

Thanks baikal3 for your insight. You are more than likely correct. I have now been waiting 80 days since FP and 135 since PD . I have seen other cases with similar PD (more or less a few days) that have alredy been completed in Chicago DO. While I'm happy for those individuals, it seems rather unfair to make us , outside of Chicago residents, wait longer, due to our place of residence. It was my impression that cases were evaluated & adjudicated in the order in which they were received. When you talk about the federal district court of central IL, are you taking Peoria? Thanks again for your input, becuse it brings at least an explanation for the delay in my case. :confused:

Antonia: do you live outside of Chicago?. I live like two hrs away from Chicago (without traffic) and like an hr north of Peoria.
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Chicago DO N-400 - In line for Interview Scheduling >100 days

Count me and my spouse in for those "outside Chicagoland" residents in IL and having a longer wait.
We are in line for interview scheduling for over 100 days now. N-400 filed almost 6 months ago.
I agree with baikal3 and definitely see the delay pattern here for scheduling interviews for residents outside Chicago area.
I raised query over phone and the letter I received from USCIS just states that I'm in line and have to wait!
The lady (second tier support) on the phone who submitted the query told me that all the checks (FBI) are complete in our cases.
Here's our N-400 timeline:
 
cathat said:
Count me and my spouse in for those "outside Chicagoland" residents in IL and having a longer wait.
We are in line for interview scheduling for over 100 days now. N-400 filed almost 6 months ago.
I agree with baikal3 and definitely see the delay pattern here for scheduling interviews for residents outside Chicago area.
I raised query over phone and the letter I received from USCIS just states that I'm in line and have to wait!
The lady (second tier support) on the phone who submitted the query told me that all the checks (FBI) are complete in our cases.
Here's our N-400 timeline:
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Baikal3 gotta be right. There is simple no other explanation, why our cases are not moving. I wonder if there is any way to raise this issue with somebody at USCIS. For me today PD day 135, FP 81 days ago :mad:
Cathat are you considering infopass appt ? I am. The infopass procedure has changed though. It apparently only let you schedule an appt after 30 days of a written query? Baikal is there a way we can schedule with out waitng 30 days after a written query? Maybe if they start seeing more of us, rasing the issue, they will expedite things (whisful thinking here :p).
Anyway happy holiday weekend to everyone.
 
IL for Chicago !!!!!!

We finally got a text that the IL was sent 9/4/12 (no e-mail though?). Don't know date yet. I will post it once I receive letter. Ligth at the end of the tunnel hopefully :cool:
 
N400 Chicago

pajerito said:
We finally got a text that the IL was sent 9/4/12 (no e-mail though?). Don't know date yet. I will post it once I receive letter. Ligth at the end of the tunnel hopefully :cool:
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Congrats , you will receive the letter in the mail tomorrow or Thursday , and the interview date will be 10/9 or 10/10
all the best man
 
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