United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has just announced that it will prioritize the processing of applications for citizenship (N-400) for applicants receiving SSI when:
- SSI benefits will be terminated within one year from the date on a notice sent by the Social Security Administration AND;
- an applicant’s application has been pending for more than four months.
The guidance gives specific instructions on how to inform USCIS of the pending SSI termination depending on whether or not the applicant has already filed an application for citizenship or is about to do so.
Kudos to USCIS for taking the initiative in doing what they can to speed the application process along. Applicants living in northern California are already seeing their applications processed within a four-month period but I would still recommend annotating new applications according to the USCIS guidance to be sure of timely adjudication.