Processing Rules: User Statuses and Extended Criteria

I am trying to build a processing rule that uses the User Status criteria. My service persists the document, and then updates the User status in TN. However, in the .1 seconds it takes to update the status, the system has already run through the processing rules and selected a default rule, because at the time, the User Status wasn’t there.

I have also tried to use Extended Criteria to send it out, but all variables appear to be null when TN runs through the rules, and so nothing will invoke.

Has anyone run into these issues before?

How are you submitting the document to TN? Can you list the specific steps?