Will postponing my biometrics delay my interview date/approval?

C

chaimdan

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I finally received my biometric letter for dec22... I am leaving on the 9th for 3 months... (was planning on flying back for interview if its during that time.

originally I thought I would get the biometric within a month of application and would do it then...

now it says if I miss this date I may go on any following wednesday as long as I appear before 03/16/2010...

Will delaying my biometrics till just before my interview be a bad idea? how long does it take for them to clear? (will they schedule an interview before I did my biometrics?)

Does the date listed mean that's when my interview will be, or not before then?

I'm still going to try and go there tomorrow and see if they'll let me do it early...

Thanks a lot!
 
chaimdan said:
Will delaying my biometrics till just before my interview be a bad idea? how long does it take for them to clear? (will they schedule an interview before I did my biometrics?)
Click to expand...

You will not have an interview date unless you do your FP (biometrics)
 
chaimdan said:
Hi,

I finally received my biometric letter for dec22... I am leaving on the 9th for 3 months... (was planning on flying back for interview if its during that time.

originally I thought I would get the biometric within a month of application and would do it then...

now it says if I miss this date I may go on any following wednesday as long as I appear before 03/16/2010...

Will delaying my biometrics till just before my interview be a bad idea? how long does it take for them to clear? (will they schedule an interview before I did my biometrics?)

Does the date listed mean that's when my interview will be, or not before then?

I'm still going to try and go there tomorrow and see if they'll let me do it early...

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...

If you delay biometrics till after you come back, it will delay your interview. For example, if you went for biometrics Dec 22, the interview would come within about 1-2 months later..let's say sometime in February 2010. Now if you choose to do biometrics in March when you return, interview would still come 1-2 months after biometrics..so sometime in May 2010. Make sense?

The listed date of Dec 22 is for your your biometrics, not your interview.
 
Thanks!! Anyone ever hear of getting the biometrics done earlier than your stated date??

If I go tomorrow and say I'll be away for a while any chance they would allow me to go in early? Thanks
 
chaimdan said:
Thanks!! Anyone ever hear of getting the biometrics done earlier than your stated date??

If I go tomorrow and say I'll be away for a while any chance they would allow me to go in early? Thanks
Click to expand...

It can be easily done depending on DO and/or IOs at ASC.
 
chaimdan said:
Thanks!! Anyone ever hear of getting the biometrics done earlier than your stated date??

If I go tomorrow and say I'll be away for a while any chance they would allow me to go in early? Thanks
Click to expand...

If you already got your FP notice, you most liekley can do your FP
any day from now. Nowadays ASC are not that busy and are actually very idle. So it is natural for ASC to accept walkin-in FP.

But if you do that now, you may have another issue. You said you are
taking a 3month trip. Your interview letter come when you are absent and the interview date may be within your planned trvael window so you
may not be able to attend it
 
Thanks a lot for the replies... I plan on flying back for the interview if I need....

Now the only question is how much after the interview will the oath ceremony be... anyone know if it's location specific? I heard someone got same day in pitts.
 
WOW you were all right...

Went in today and the place was empty... took longer to find parking than to get the biometrics done. I just walked in 3 weeks before my appointment told them I was traveling and they let me right in....

Would this mean my interview would probably also be earlier now? How long usually between bio and interview?
 
chaimdan said:
WOW you were all right...

Went in today and the place was empty... took longer to find parking than to get the biometrics done. I just walked in 3 weeks before my appointment told them I was traveling and they let me right in....

Would this mean my interview would probably also be earlier now? How long usually between bio and interview?
Click to expand...


It depends on your priority date and what your local DO has available. But usually your interview is 2.5 months from your priority date...again depends on your DO. Best to check out your DO thread to see what others are reporting.
 
I was wondering, if they specify any certain place for FP. Or FP can be given out any USCIS office nearest to you. How does it really work ?
 
You can attempt at walk-in at a different place. However, they are not obligated to accept you if it is not the specific time and place on the FP notice. I got a 2nd FP notice during my GC processing when I was on a business trip; when I tried a walk-in they refused me (I could see the place was full so I don't really blame them). So I had to cut the trip short and fly back to my city of residence to do the FP at the specified location. But these days they are often empty so you should have better luck than me. My walk-in attempt was in mid-2007 when lots of people were rushing to apply for citizenship and green cards before the fee increase.

They normally set the FP appointment for the nearest location near where you live, so if you are at home on that date you shouldn't need to attempt a walk-in anywhere else.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
punjboy said:
I was wondering, if they specify any certain place for FP. Or FP can be given out any USCIS office nearest to you. How does it really work ?
Click to expand...

When you receive a fingerprint appointment letter, it will specify the USCIS office where you must go to have the fingerprints taken. The letter will also specify the fingerprinting appointment date and time. The letter also should have a provisor, saying that if you cannot come at the appointment time, you can come on a later date, within a 3-month day window, on a particular day of the week (e.g. any Wednesday).
 
Thanks for the information. Its just, my field office or USCIS office would be Detroit, Michigan, but i am almost 750 miles away from it. I am more closer to Duluth,MN. So lets see hopefully i can drive to Duluth instead of Detroit. Another quick question, I was going through the forums and found out that a lot of people get into trouble if they register to vote. I am in a similar predicament, i did try NOT to register or vote at anytime, but recently i moved and after changing my address on my drivers license, the associate at the SOS, registered me for voting(even i asked her not to do it). So anyhow, i got a registration card from my city, and i have to sign it and send it back to them, which i am not going to do. But i was wondering, should i go to my cities clerk office and ask her to de-register me, so should keep the letter and if asked at the interview can show them the letter that i never signed it and returned it back. Another thing, i hope University voting is not considered "voting" ?
Thanks in advance.
 
punjboy said:
Thanks for the information. Its just, my field office or USCIS office would be Detroit, Michigan, but i am almost 750 miles away from it. I am more closer to Duluth,MN. So lets see hopefully i can drive to Duluth instead of Detroit. Another quick question, I was going through the forums and found out that a lot of people get into trouble if they register to vote. I am in a similar predicament, i did try NOT to register or vote at anytime, but recently i moved and after changing my address on my drivers license, the associate at the SOS, registered me for voting(even i asked her not to do it). So anyhow, i got a registration card from my city, and i have to sign it and send it back to them, which i am not going to do. But i was wondering, should i go to my cities clerk office and ask her to de-register me, so should keep the letter and if asked at the interview can show them the letter that i never signed it and returned it back. Another thing, i hope University voting is not considered "voting" ?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
750 miles away? Are you now living in a different state than Michigan?
As for registering to vote, you never signed the document so you're not registered. The DMV started the registration process, but since you didn't sign the card and sent it back in you're not registered.If the IO asks if you are a registered voter or if you registered to vote you would answer no.
Finally, voting in University is not an issue unless it required you to make a claim of USC citizenship.
 
punjboy said:
Thanks for the information. Its just, my field office or USCIS office would be Detroit, Michigan, but i am almost 750 miles away from it. I am more closer to Duluth,MN. So lets see hopefully i can drive to Duluth instead of Detroit.
Click to expand...

You can't have fingerprints taken at a cervice center other than the one specified in the appointment letter. However, the fact that you live in an area covered by the Detroit DO does not necessarily mean that your fingerprinting appointment will be scheduled there. USCIS does look at things like geographical proximity before deciding on where to schedule an FP appointment. E.g. I live in central Illinois, in the Chicago DO area. However, the distance to Indianapolis is smaller; my FP appointment was in Indianapolis, although my naturalization interview was in Chicago.
In any event, the location of your FP appointment is not somthing that you can influence. So you just have to wait for the FP appointment letter to arrive, to see at which location USCIS schedules it.
 
Ohh, thanks Bobsymth, i really appreciate your advice. Thanks for saving me a trip to the Clerks office. As far as registered to vote is concerned, when i do look up my Registration Status, on the SOS Michigan website, it give it "Yes, you are a registered voter". Now i hope that won't create a problem. And yes i am in Up north Michigan. Closer to the MN and WI border. and it almost takes 600 - 750 miles from here to Detroit.
 
baikal3 said:
You can't have fingerprints taken at a cervice center other than the one specified in the appointment letter.
Click to expand...
Not entirely true. A few posters in the past have reported that some ASCs have been able to accommodate out of state applicants. It really depends on the ASC and how willing they are to accept someone out of state who happens to be in the area.
 
Fair enough. I will me mailing my N400 soon, i am just waiting for my FOIA reply by the CBP for the number of days i spent in Canada. I have no track record of it. So to be on the safer side i FOIA my record. Hopefully i get some information from it.
 
punjboy said:
Ohh, thanks Bobsymth, i really appreciate your advice. Thanks for saving me a trip to the Clerks office. As far as registered to vote is concerned, when i do look up my Registration Status, on the SOS Michigan website, it give it "Yes, you are a registered voter". Now i hope that won't create a problem. And yes i am in Up north Michigan. Closer to the MN and WI border. and it almost takes 600 - 750 miles from here to Detroit.
Click to expand...
Contact the voter registration office and tell them to deregister you. Also, write "not US citizen" on the card they sent and send it back unsigned.Again, you never registered to vote so you would answer no at interview.
I assume you live near Calumet, so Duluth ASC would be much closer for you. You can take a drive there on a Wednesday or Saturday and attempt a walk in FP. Ask to speak with a supervisor if the front door clerk refuses to service you.
 
punjboy said:
Fair enough. I will me mailing my N400 soon, i am just waiting for my FOIA reply by the CBP for the number of days i spent in Canada. I have no track record of it. So to be on the safer side i FOIA my record. Hopefully i get some information from it.
Click to expand...

Regarding trips abroad: you do not have to list trips that lasted less than 24 hours. Also, it is OK to provide approximate dates for some of the longer trips if you don't remember the precise dates.
 
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