N-400 inteview experience: No decision made

topchi7

Registered Users (C)
I posted this earlier but in an old thread, so please bear with me if you've read this before.
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Inverview experience: Interesting to see all these "nice officer", "good officer", "courteous officer" blah di blah di blah messages. My experience was completely the opposite. Right from the get go it was clear that the officer was not going to approve me. Very terse tone, almost like an interrogation, and the interview took over an hour (!). I was questioned on every line, with the officer making extensive notes (all in uppercase), with quite a few details that appeared irrelevant to me put in big uppercase on my N-400 (such as that I was renting, and had not yet brought a house, that I travelled 4 times to India, that I was a contractor at Big Evil Bank, that I claim that I have no children other than those listed on the application, that I claim I have been married only once etc) (officer actually wrote this stuff in big uppercase: 'applicant claims that he has only been married once', 'applicant claims he has never been arrested abroad'). In the end, my case was not approved.

It seemed to me that the officer was just looking for something to deny me on, and because there was not much else, they came up with an nice original one: the fact that I had other US visas on my passport (B1/B2s obtained prior to coming into the US for employment) that did not have 'cancelled' stamped across their face. The great idea was that I might be lying and might have travelled on a B1/B2 after receiving my green card! Well. What can I say. I might just have been told that I do not qualify because I don't have purple hair. I said that is not something I control, I don't issue visas, and I don't cancel them. The same passport had been provided for the employment visa to begin with, and thereafter for the green card, and the US visa authorities had ample opportunity to cancel anything they wanted to.

Finally I was handed a sheet that neither approved nor denied my application, and the officer said I will receive an N-14 in the mail after my application has been reviewed thoroughly. So I am waiting for them to invent something weird. It has been 3 weeks now, nothing yet.

I went in thinking there was really not much to my case - straightforward, and clean as a whistle. I have an employment based green card, a single marriage from many years before I even thought of coming to the US, no arrests, no DUI, not even a single traffic ticket in the last 8 years here. All taxes filed timely, paid, but aaha - that B1/B2 visa... Gotcha!

Did some one else run into something like this?
 
Sorry to hear man... Hopefully you'll get approved through mail and it will be your Oath letter. I can't think of anything else to say but "Hang-in there!"
 
There was a post from someone else few weeks ago who had a similar experience. He felt that he was singled out and he sent out complain letters to USCIS director, senators, etc... He was then called back for a second interview and the same IO was really nice to him and he got approved (I think). Search for that post if you are interested in what he did.
 
Seems like the IO is suspecting that you stayed out of the country most of the time, yet applying for citizneship. Did you not tell him that you used only GC card to enter the country and you gave your passport & GC at the POE all the time? This is really weird. I never heard anyone saying that we need to have the 'cancelled' stamp on our visa stamps when we change our status. The dates and change of status indicate continuity. Those visas expire automatically after crossing the valid-until date. The option left for you is to hire a very good lawyerand tell the lawyer that you want to hire him/her to get your case expedited and also for appeal in case of denial. I am assuming you stayed in USA for the minimum required period as GC holder before applying for citizenship.
 
Spiderman,

Yes of course I've lived and worked here all the time. I provided tax transcripts for the past 8 years to the officer. All this time, I was employed by major US corporations, not any small company owned by any friends of mine where I might have got away with something fishy. Barring 4 trips to India in the last 5 yrs, each less than 3 weeks, I've been here. And of course I used the green card to exit and enter, why would I do anything otherwise? I told the officer this very clearly, and the officer looked at me as if I had six heads. Quite frankly the thought of using anything other than the green card to enter did not even enter my mind, I just assumed all the visas would have been marked 'inactive' in their system.

I cannot wait for the suspense to break to find out what they come up with next. I will wait for their response first before I engage a lawyer. I also think that I will need to let 4 months pass before I can start chasing in earnest.
 
topchi7

Sorry hear your story. Wait for another two week if nothing comes up in mail just follow up. Call the USCIS director and Senetors. You have right to get the citizenship.
 
It is strange IOs do not look at past visa history a lot and seldom take a look at applicant's passport even if
applicants present when requested. Then suddently they randomly and arbitrarily target a particular person
to routure without a reason.

How long was your B1/B2 visa? What are their issurance dates and expirations dates relative to your green d card dates?
 
Spiderman,

Yes of course I've lived and worked here all the time. I provided tax transcripts for the past 8 years to the officer. All this time, I was employed by major US corporations, not any small company owned by any friends of mine where I might have got away with something fishy. Barring 4 trips to India in the last 5 yrs, each less than 3 weeks, I've been here. And of course I used the green card to exit and enter, why would I do anything otherwise? I told the officer this very clearly, and the officer looked at me as if I had six heads. Quite frankly the thought of using anything other than the green card to enter did not even enter my mind, I just assumed all the visas would have been marked 'inactive' in their system.

I cannot wait for the suspense to break to find out what they come up with next. I will wait for their response first before I engage a lawyer. I also think that I will need to let 4 months pass before I can start chasing in earnest.

I actually think you're going to get approved. I suspect approvals/denials are cross-checked and things like 'traveling on B1 after getting a green card' will fall off the table at that time.

However, IOs have pride, so they're probably fighting for their position internally. I'd write a letter to the supervisor (perhaps someone can provide information on how to go about doing that) and explain the situation. If you have nothing else to worry about, this will all work out fine.

Do make an infopass if you don't hear from them within a month or so from your interview.
 
Spiderman,

Yes of course I've lived and worked here all the time. I provided tax transcripts for the past 8 years to the officer. All this time, I was employed by major US corporations, not any small company owned by any friends of mine where I might have got away with something fishy. Barring 4 trips to India in the last 5 yrs, each less than 3 weeks, I've been here. And of course I used the green card to exit and enter, why would I do anything otherwise? I told the officer this very clearly, and the officer looked at me as if I had six heads. Quite frankly the thought of using anything other than the green card to enter did not even enter my mind, I just assumed all the visas would have been marked 'inactive' in their system.

I cannot wait for the suspense to break to find out what they come up with next. I will wait for their response first before I engage a lawyer. I also think that I will need to let 4 months pass before I can start chasing in earnest.


I am suggesting what the IO might be suspecting, not what you might have done. As for big corporations or small ones, it doesn't matter as long as employment is legal. You don't need to wait 120 days for making a move. That 120 days is a deadline after which we can file lawsuits but we can still pursue other options before 120 days i.e a lawyer, senator etc...
 
Thanks guys for taking the time to respond. I had 3 B1/B2s - the first two had been issued for 1 year each, and had expired, and the last one was issued in 2001 for 10 years expiring in 2011. Then I also had two L-1 visas which of course have expired now, but the last one was valid for some months after the issue of the green card. Before returning me my passport, the officer wrote 'cancelled without prejudice' on all of them (all the B1/B2s, and the L-1s, including the expired ones). Of course I do not mind.

I am not really going to sweat over this, and they can take their own sweet time. I am not going anywhere, and the GC works fine for me for the moment, so I am just going to wait it out. It shocks me though that they should be so unreasonable. What good is served by spending time (which is tax payers' money (me included)) on cases like mine? I don't know. The USCIS is inundated with work. Maybe they just like to create more work for themselves.

Bureaucracy is probably the most potent force in the universe and can frustrate just about any design for the strangest of reasons. I would have expected that in my native India where bureaucrats have held back progress for decades with absurdities, but it seems the US isn't all that far behind. Sorry I have started to vent, must stop.
 
Thanks guys for taking the time to respond. I had 3 B1/B2s - the first two had been issued for 1 year each, and had expired, and the last one was issued in 2001 for 10 years expiring in 2011. Then I also had two L-1 visas which of course have expired now, but the last one was valid for some months after the issue of the green card. Before returning me my passport, the officer wrote 'cancelled without prejudice' on all of them (all the B1/B2s, and the L-1s, including the expired ones). Of course I do not mind.

I am not really going to sweat over this, and they can take their own sweet time. I am not going anywhere, and the GC works fine for me for the moment, so I am just going to wait it out. It shocks me though that they should be so unreasonable. What good is served by spending time (which is tax payers' money (me included)) on cases like mine? I don't know. The USCIS is inundated with work. Maybe they just like to create more work for themselves.

Bureaucracy is probably the most potent force in the universe and can frustrate just about any design for the strangest of reasons. I would have expected that in my native India where bureaucrats have held back progress for decades with absurdities, but it seems the US isn't all that far behind. Sorry I have started to vent, must stop.

The funny thing is, the IO in my case was criticizing the bureaucracy during my interview. When she realized that my A# file is missing and saw the disappointment in my face, she said, 'I am sorry for your disappointment but you know the bureaucracy, how things move slowly'. I said to myself, case closed when a bureaucrat criticizes the work ethics of bureaucracy. I gave a smile and left the place. :) :)
 
but the last one was valid for some months after the issue of the green card.

When was the last time you actuallu used your last B1/B2 visa before the your became a PR? And when you last used it, were you already
I485 pending, I140 filed etc?
 
I don't even remember when I used the B1/B2 last, but it was before coming to the US for employment in early 2002 on an L-1. That makes it maybe sometime in 2001. Once I was issued an L-1 work visa for employment, I used the work visa; and thereafter when the green card arrived, always the green card. Nothing else would have made sense I would think. In short, when I last used the B1/B2, I was truly a visitor, not employed in the US.
 
Maybe there was an instance where the officer at the POE mistakenly recorded your entry in the system as being B1/B2, instead of L-1 or green card.

I had B1/B2 visas with validity periods that overlapped my F-1 visa and H1B visa. So I always made sure to open my passport to the F-1 or H1B visa page before handing it over to the POE officer, and I watched what they did with the passport in case they might use the B1/B2.
 
I also had a similar situation, spoke with couple of local lawyers and they mentioned that it does happen once in a while and I will have to wait at least 90 days. Its already 42 days since the interview. Infopass also didn't help as they just said its not yet approved. On 1st Mar, I will be done with 5 months (normal processing time) and then can contact senators/congressman.
 
Oh man. I guess I may be in for a long wait. I will probably just sit and wait it out, I see little point in spending my hard earned money on lawyers. And at the end of the day if they come up with something really arbitrary, I would rather have them do it now than after the citizenship. Because if they screw me afterwards, I would have lost my Indian passport by then, and would have to live the rest of my life in some airport's Terminal..!

As for my entry being accidentally recorded as a B1/B2, well mistakes are always possible but that would have limited my I-94 to a very short period, and I remember clearly that they always used to be for 2 or 3 years. After the GC, I never filled in an I-94, so it would be extremely unlikely that someone could record my GC entry as a B1/B2. But who knows with these guys. Waiting is the only way to find out.
 
I don't really see a strong reason for them to deny you. The IO might have been suspicious, but what can he really prove?
 
I also had a similar situation, spoke with couple of local lawyers and they mentioned that it does happen once in a while and I will have to wait at least 90 days. Its already 42 days since the interview. Infopass also didn't help as they just said its not yet approved. On 1st Mar, I will be done with 5 months (normal processing time) and then can contact senators/congressman.

Since you've already had your interview, you can file a lawsuit if your case is not decided within 120 days of the interview.
 
As for my entry being accidentally recorded as a B1/B2, well mistakes are always possible but that would have limited my I-94 to a very short period, and I remember clearly that they always used to be for 2 or 3 years. After the GC, I never filled in an I-94, so it would be extremely unlikely that someone could record my GC entry as a B1/B2. But who knows with these guys. Waiting is the only way to find out.
The IO may have seen something odd in the system or your A-file, like a B1/B2 entry without an I-94 number associated with it.

Anyway, in the end you're going to get approved. The only problem is that you have to suffer the delay while they sort out whatever issue they see. Be prepared to file 1447(b) if they don't make a decision in 120 days.
 
Maybe each IO has a target ratio of approval vs denial. And this IO was unlucky because recently all applicants he had interviewed were
just straight forward cases so his approval rate is 100% sp fat and he need to deny someone to bring down that rate to the target area.
If the overall rate of denial is 10%, an IO may be froned upon by his supervisor or auditor if his approval rate is close to 100%
 
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