Interview Descheduled!!

[premv]

Hi,

My wife and I applied for citizenship and our priority date is Feb 4, 2004. We finished our finger printing within a month of that, and then a stange thing happened.

We both (about 2 weeks apart) got letters that our interview earlier scheduled for Oct 21st had been descheduled! Neither of us got the interview letter in the first place. We did move residences as we bought a new home in South Jersey, but did give a change of address at the post office, and sent the AR-11 (??) form a couple of weeks later. It is possible that the original interview letters might have gone back to the USCIS....though that is a bit unlikely. My question is, that if that was the case, then can the interview be descheduled? I heard that they also do this sometimes if they are over booked on a certian day.

Anyone who has an idea please do post your opinions/views.

Thank you so much.

Prem

 

[WouldBeCitizen]

Filing AR-11 is NOT the same as changing address with CIS. You should have called the 800 number to change the address for your N400 application. Did you do that? If not, better call now *AND* go to the local DO or write to the SVC center and give all details. That way you will be fine.

BTW change of address at post office is not a magic bullet. Sometimes post office does screw up with some letters. Particularly they can do that with government letters - a la welfare checks, unemployment checks and now may be even immigration stuff, though I am not sure. But one thing is sure, p.o does screw things.

 

[premv]

Interview descheduled..

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I did call the 800 number, but probably a few weeks after I moved. My wife got the descheduled notice to the new address, so I know that has been changed in their records.

The rules are that we must notify them of a change in address within 10 days of moving. Are they pretty strict about it? I think I did it at least 20 days after moving.

Prem

 

[phillydude]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I did call the 800 number, but probably a few weeks after I moved. My wife got the descheduled notice to the new address, so I know that has been changed in their records.

The rules are that we must notify them of a change in address within 10 days of moving. Are they pretty strict about it? I think I did it at least 20 days after moving.

Prem

They are not strict about it. But did your move end up in a change of Disstrict office?

Say from Newark to Cherry Hill?. If so, that might explain.

 

[boldlygo]

Sounds like what happened to me before except that I received the interview letter anyway. I moved when my applicatioin was pending. I was SO lucky because the INS found that I was moved and send an interview letter again.

In your case, I strongly believe that the original letter went back to the INS, and INS could not find your new address, so they canceled the interview.

BTW change of address at post office is not a magic bullet. Sometimes post office does screw up with some letters. Particularly they can do that with government letters - a la welfare checks, unemployment checks and now may be even immigration stuff, though I am not sure. But one thing is sure, p.o does screw things.

Well, the thing is, the post office probably did not make any mistake at all. All the INS correspondence is marked with "return service requested"; which means, if the person is moved, the letter will autumatically be returned to the sender with or without the change of address. In other words, even if premv was using post change of address, the letter should be returned to the INS immediately.

They are not strict about it. But did your move end up in a change of Disstrict office?

Say from Newark to Cherry Hill?. If so, that might explain.

No, just a change of district office will not cancel the interview. Even if the district office is changed, the INS will give you two optioins: 1. keep going with the old address; 2. change the old district office to the new district office with warning that it's gonna delay your application up to one year. So, as long as you notify the old district office that you will show up in the interview, you have no problem.

So, in my guess, the orginal letter was sent to the old address, and returned to the INS automatically. The INS found out that they could not locate you, so cancelled the interview.

Premv, I think you gotta talk to the district office, and reschedule the interview.

Unfortunately, yeah, it definitely is going to delay your application.