Vacation to India after submitting N400

[Dinvrind]

I am planning to submit the N400 application (employment based) by end of Aug'07. We also have travel plans to go to India in Oct for few weeks. Please advice if durung the time we will be in India, will we get the finger print notice or any other subsequent steps. Appreciate if someone could please reply ASAP.
Thanks,
DK

[Dinvrind]

Would someone please respond !

Knowledgeable or someone please respond.This does not appear to be a tricky issue but nevertheless your inputs will be appreciated.

[knowledgeable]

Dicey

These days they'll try to speed up citizenship application as more US citizens converts into more votes next year.

You may get your FP notice while you're away and will eventually have to re-schedule.

I assume you can't file right away for legitimate reasons like number of days stay etc.

You'd be better off asking any of your friends/relatives to check your USPS mail rather than putting it on hold. That way if they get anything from USCIS they can scan and e-mail the document to you immediately giving you the chance to re-schedule the appointment.

The problem is that any re-scheduling etc. just delays the whole thing and then you start worrying about what's happening.

Of course, another best way is to just prepare your documents, keep them ready and ask your friend to express mail/courier them 10 days before you're scheduled to return to US.

Actually I personally know two different couples who did that and got things done so smoothly, it was a piece of cake.

Good luck.

[Dinvrind]

Thanks Knowledgeable !

I was reviewing the average time taken to get the FP notice after submitting application and it was around 40 days. So I am inclined to submit the application now and hope we get the FP notice , then go to India for vacation and be back for the final interview.
Thanks.

[madamala]

That's a good idea. I'm planning to do the same next year when I'll be eligible. Submmit N-400, get fingerprinted and then go to India, so I'll be back for interview in time. But definitely do stick around until you get FP notice.

BTW, which state and INS center do you fall under?

[Dinvrind]

I am from Michigan and we come under Nebraska.

[Dinvrind]

Madamala..Did you submit your N-400 application?

If so could you please post a status update? Thanks.

[Dinvrind]

Is there any tracking number issued ?

After submitting N-400 application? How do we the know the status of our application? Could someone please respond? Thanks.

[knowledgeable]

U.S. Citizenship Applications - 1.4 million!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ARTICLE

In the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the agency received 1.4 million petitions from legal immigrants to become United States citizens, about double the number of naturalization petitions in the 2006 fiscal year ... Also contributing to the surge are about 300,000 applications in July and August for legal permanent resident visas, commonly known as green cards, from highly skilled immigrants. Immigration officials said it could take more than a year to decide many of the recent applications. ... Citizenship and Immigration Services is required by Congress to draw most of its operating budget from fees. ... The agency plans to use the higher revenues to hire 1,500 employees, an increase of about 10 percent over its current staff of 15,000, For the time being, agency employees have volunteered to work overtime to help clear the backlog.
**** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** *

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/us/23immig.html?ref=us

THE NEW YORK TIMES / November 23, 2007


Surge Brings New Immigration Backlog



The immigration agency was flooded by requests in 2007. A citizenship ceremony was held for thousands in Los Angeles.


By JULIA PRESTON
Immigration authorities are swamped in new bureaucratic backlogs resulting from an unanticipated flood last summer of applications for citizenship and for residence visas, officials said.
In July and August alone, the federal Citizenship and Immigration Services agency received 2.5 million applications, including petitions for naturalization as well as for the entire range of immigrant visas. That was more than double the total applications it received in the same two months in 2006, said a spokesman, Bill Wright.
In the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the agency received 1.4 million petitions from legal immigrants to become United States citizens, about double the number of naturalization petitions in the 2006 fiscal year, Mr. Wright said.
The surge began after Jan. 31 when the immigration agency announced fee increases averaging 66 percent for most applications, official figures show. The increases went into effect July 30. The contentious tenor of the immigration debate also prompted legal immigrants to apply for citizenship. “We did our absolute best to foresee the surge we would have,” Mr. Wright said. “We certainly were surprised by such an immediate increase with such a volume.”
The deluge has been so great that the agency is struggling to send out notices acknowledging it has received the applications. According to a special Web page the agency set up for applicants, as of Nov. 16 the agency’s processing center in Texas is sending out receipts for naturalization petitions that arrived by July 26. The processing center in Vermont is just now acknowledging naturalization petitions that came in by July 30.
Also contributing to the surge are about 300,000 applications in July and August for legal permanent resident visas, commonly known as green cards, from highly skilled immigrants. The jump in applications for the employment-based green cards resulted from the resolution of a mix-up in June between Immigration and Citizenship Services and the State Department, which is responsible for making visas available. The agencies had first invited the applications, then said they would not be accepted. They then reversed course, agreeing to accept them.
Immigration officials said it could take more than a year to decide many of the recent applications.
The processing backlogs are different from the visa backlogs that have burdened the United States immigration system for years. Because of annual limits on all green cards, immigrants from some countries like Mexico and the Philippines often have to wait decades for visas to become available. Now the agency has fallen behind on the bureaucratic work of logging in applications and deciding whether to grant visas or allow immigrants to become United States citizens.
In addition to the fee increase, the rush of naturalization requests was also prompted by anti-immigrant language in the debate over immigration policy this year, lawyers and advocates for immigrants said. Also, the immigration authorities had announced they were preparing a new, more difficult test for aspiring citizens, which they unveiled in September.
“People are scared,” said Ignacio Donoso, an immigration lawyer at the Monty Partners firm in Houston. “And they want to avoid the fees, and they do not want to face a more demanding test. So you are going to have people running like mad to apply, yet the government doesn’t hire any more staff to handle it.”
Citizenship and Immigration Services is required by Congress to draw most of its operating budget from fees. When the agency head, Emilio T. Gonzalez, announced the fee increases in January, he pledged that the agency would become more efficient and reduce wait times for deciding applications. Fees for naturalization, for example, increased 66 percent, to $675 from $405.
The agency plans to use the higher revenues to hire 1,500 employees, an increase of about 10 percent over its current staff of 15,000, Mr. Wright said. For the time being, agency employees have volunteered to work overtime to help clear the backlog.
Much of the rush for naturalization came from legal Latino immigrants. Hispanic organizations, including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, and Univision, the Spanish-language television network, led a nationwide naturalization campaign this year in which hundreds of thousands of longtime legal immigrants signed up to become citizens.
Immigration officials said they would work to complete naturalization petitions in time for new citizens to vote in the elections next November. They strongly denied that the delays had any partisan political motivation.
“We know what this issue is,” Mr. Wright said, but he cautioned there were limits to how much the agency could expedite its procedures.
“We are not going to sacrifice quality or security to speed up just to get the numbers,” he said.
__________________

[knowledgeable]

On-line case status check

http://www.immihelp.com/timings/tracking.jsp

[Dinvrind]

Thanks !

After submitting the application how do we get the Application Receipt number? Is this letter mailed to residence on receipt of application by USICS?
And how long does it take to get the application receipt number?

[knowledgeable]

Receipt

Yes, the receipt is mailed to your residence on file as mentioned in the application itself.

It can take anything from a few weeks to a couple of months, depending upon how much backlog the agency has at the time.

You can send your personal check(s) and monitor your bank's web site for clearing of the same. That will tell you that your application process has started.

Good luck.

[Dinvrind]

Thanks !

Mr.Knowledgeable : You are not only true to your name but also prompt in response. You are a great asset to this forum.

[Dinvrind]

Another question for Mr. Knowledgeable or any other member...

In order to understand the complete impact of giving up one's native citizenship and acquiring a citizenship of another country, please explain the process of reapplying for Indian citizenship after giving it up? Is it any easier bcoz you were actually born there and also held the citizenship earlier? Appreciate your response.

[Dinvrind]

Could someone please respond to my question?

I would appreciate any inputs or experience you can share.Thanks.