N-400 NOVEMBER 2011 FILERS

[kstrozyk 13]

Congratulations Jupiter07!

[Jupiter07 12]

Congratulations Jupiter07!

Thanks! My love-hate affair with the USCIS is over!

[ingucis78 1]

congratulations Jupiter07.

[Jupiter07 12]

congratulations Jupiter07.

Thank you!

[drujan 0]

Jopiter07, congratulations on becoming the US citizen!

[Jupiter07 12]

Jopiter07, congratulations on becoming the US citizen!

Thank you!

[lucy4 11]

Congratulations! Has anyone in New York/NYC (not LI) been scheduled for an interview yet?

My interview will be at Federal plaza.

[Jupiter07 12]

My interview of 3/15. 60 people from 29 countries. I think about 30% were from Somalia but hey, this is Columbus, OH! What is interesting is that about 98% of them couldn't speak or write English. Not just speak or write English - they actually appeared like they didn't get an opportunity to go to school in their lives.I just thought perhaps they came here as refugees and what happens to their civics test? I also thought that some day soon, Somali will be a common language in the US like Spanish.

Nway, back to the interview. It was downtown, about 15 mins from my place but I woke up and left really early, didn't want to get caught in the morning traffic. The oldest candidate was 90 yrs old, a Somali lady. The night before the interview, I started to become paranoid - that my alarm will go off and I will turn in off and not even remember - happens occasionally. Or that there will be an accident, and then traffic jam and I will never make it. Or that I will forget my letter, or GC. I mean I thought of all weird things. The letter said to get there at 8am, and no later. I was there at 7.30a. So I just decided to hang outside till 8. But then after 10mins, I saw some pple who looked like naturalization candidates come and go in. So I decided to go in. Alas! there were pple there. I was like, what are all these pple doing and the letter said not to get here before 8, lol.

We were directed to the "cafe". About 8.30, the lady in charge, I think she's the deputy sthing of the court, called only the candidates to another room. First we lined in the hallway and then she called us one by one by the last 3 digits of the alien number. Mine being in the 700's, I was on the behind rows. In court, I was on the last row, bummer!

Checked our stuff, gave us our certs, we checked for accuracy, then turned everything back in including our GCs. Then a break. Then at 9am, back in the room, this time visitors were allowed to sit at the back. We were given voter registration to complete, given flags, stood up and sang God Bless America as we waved our flags, lol, oh, and we watched Obama's welcome before that. Then we lined our way out to the courtroom on the 3rd floor. Ceremony began at 10 promptly. Judge spoke, of course they followed the court protocol - arise and all that stuff- then we all had to stand one by one and say our names, country of birth, and sthing else like "I can't wait to vote". lol. I said I can't wait to travel to some countries w/out a visa. Everyone burst into laughter. I wasn't kidding though. Then we went in line to shake the judge's hand. When I shook the judge's hand he asked me where I wanted to travel to, and I said, Europe! Ha-ha. But that's true.The Somali ladies did not shake the judge's hand cos it's against their culture. The we were given our certs, and voila! We were done by 10.30. Overall, it was very beautiful. The lady who conducted everything said she has done that job for 20+ years, and she actually just has a passion for it. She injected humor wherever and so there were many laughs along the way.

I am happy that I now am a USC! I went to apply for a passport at my usps and who knew that they only do by appt? I had carried everything with me but all I did was make an appt - for late this week. They had weekdays open but they only take applications upto 3.30, so I just scheduled for Fri cos I leave work early on Fri.

Thanks to JBI, I filed everything on my own and got all my answers here! No actually, I started on another forum, I can't even remember the name. Then one of the moderators was soooo mean. He'd demean pple, blast them for incorrect English or spelling errors, you'd think it was an Eng 101 forum, lol etc. So one day we ambushed him and he banned us! The I found JBI and what a blessing in disguise! Been here ever since.

Good Luck everyone waiting for the oath ceremony or letter. I will be checking back to see how it all went. And to hear your stories!

[Bodza 0]

Congratulations to Everyone who became a US citizen in the past weeks

I had my interview on the 7th and my oath ceremony is scheduled for this coming Friday.

The interview was a very positive experience. After I swore to tell the truth, the officer took my appointment letter then looked at my green card and drivers license. She then reviewed the application form and updated the sections, both on the paper form and in her PC, were things changed (ie. I was in graduate school when I applied and finished the program since.) She also asked me about the trips I had in the past 5 years and if I still worked for the same employer. She looked at my passports and as she looked at my visas we had a short discussion about how my hair changed through years. (Although I applied for citizenship based on my 3+ years marriage, I also had B1/2, F1, and AOSed from an H1B visa.) From the supporting documents she asked me to show her the originals of my husband's naturalization certificate, his divorce decree and our wedding certificate. For the English test I had to read/write the same Columbus Day question/answer ingucis78 got. For the civics test I was asked about the 13 stripes of the flag, the rule of law, the national anthem, the ocean on the West coast, what happened on 9/11 and for how many years we elect a President. I gave one incorrect answer but realized my mistake midway, said so, then the officer repeated the question and I gave the correct answer. Then she congratulated me and gave me the form with her recommendation for approval. She couldn't tell me the exact date of the oath ceremony but told me that I should expect to be scheduled for the end of this month. And about a week after the interview I got the appointment letter for the 23rd.

Thank you All for sharing your experience with the process and good luck to those who are still waiting!

[don2008 0]

my wife is a US citizen now!!! im glad this journey is over for now!

[Alaskan 10]

Congratulations! Has anyone in New York/NYC (not LI) been scheduled for an interview yet?

JUST went to the USCIS Page to check on the timeline for N-400 in NYC and this is what they have: Field Office Processing Dates for New York City NY as of: January 31, 2012 {N-400 Application for Naturalization August 14, 2011 } so they are working with cases now from august 2011!!!!! This ppl Are super Behind Schedule! Jesus Christ!.

[arvinb 17]

Yay I get to mark my name red! Thanks for everyone's help, I'll try to find time to tell my story soon, otherwise hang in there, everyone's time will come! Mine was 4 months and 13 days from NOA to oath ceremony in Los Angeles, and also it's been 18 years 10 months and 28 days since I first arrived in the US (I really took my time )

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N-400: November 2011 Applicants

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USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox

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UserName....|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Fprints..|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office.....|

============|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=================|

D&J.........|11/01/11.|11/07/11.|11/04/11.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Newark, NJ.......|

Rosana......|11/04/11.|11/12/11.|11/20/11.|11/26/11.|12/23/11.|01/12/12.|02/27/12.|Dallas, TX.......|

liberal.....|11/07/11.|11/15/11.|11/09/11.|12/02/11.|02/21/12.|03/22/12.|--/--/--.|Louisville, KY...| EB: 11/25/11

bibiche.....|11/07/11.|11/17/11.|11/17/11.|12/12/11.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Dallas, TX.......| EB: 12/08/11

Rgnscot.....|11/15/11.|--/--/--.|11/18/11.|12/16/11.|12/26/11.|01/31/12.|--/--/--.|Buffalo,NY.......|

konner3.....|11/16/11.|12/09/11.|12/07/11.|01/03/12.|01/13/12.|02/13/12.|--/--/--.|Philadelphia, PA.|

Exasperated.|11/18/11.|11/30/11.|11/23/11.|12/19/11.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|San Antonio, TX..|

don2008.....|11/18/11.|11/28/11.|12/02/11.|12/19/11.|01/23/12.|02/29/12.|--/--/--.|Houston, TX......|

rakosik.....|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|11/25/11.|12/16/11.|03/12/12.|04/18/12.|--/--/--.|Holtsville, NY|

Bodza.......|11/21/11.|11/29/11.|11/29/11.|12/16/11.|01/30/12.|03/07/12.|--/--/--.|Miami, FL........| EB: 12/06/11

drujan .....|11/21/11.|11/29/11.|11/23/11.|12/16/11.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|New York City, NY|

prashp1.....|11/28/11.|12/02/11.|11/30/11.|01/17/12.|02/21/12.|03/27/12.|--/--/--.|Hartford, CT.....|

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USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox

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UserName....|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Fprints..|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office.....|

============|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=================|

Maad........|10/31/11.|11/04/11.|11/01/11.|not req-.|01/09/12.|02/21/12.|02/24/12.|Chicago, IL......|

Fatmouse....|10/31/11.|11/08/11.|11/04/11.|02/21/12.|02/27/12.|03/29/12.|--/--/--.|San Jose, CA.....|

arvinb......|11/04|11.|11/08/11.|11/09/11.|12/06/11.|02/02/12.|03/07/12.|03/22/12.|Los Angeles, CA..|

Steve&Mary..|11/05/11.|11/15/11.|11/08/11.|12/09/11.|12/23/11.|01/26/12.|02/02/12.|New Orleans, LA..|

gigi673.....|11/10/11.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Portland, OR.....|

Jupiter07...|11/15/11.|11/16/11.|11/16/11.|--/--/--.|12/23/11.|01/27/12.|03/15/12.|Columbus, OH.....|

kstrozyk....|11/15/11.|11/24/11.|11/26/11.|12/19/11.|01/12/12.|02/09/12.|02/23/12.|Fresno, CA.......|EB: 12/07/11

AndyZap.....|11/16/11.|11/23/11.|11/22/11.|12/23/11.|01/07/12.|02/21/12.|03/22/12.|Santa Ana, CA....|

my-angel....|11/18/11.|11/26/11.|11/23/11.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Los Angeles, CA..|

Dolphin1....|11/22/11.|11/29/11.|11/30/11.|01/09/12.|01/20/12.|02/21/12.|--/--/--.|Phoenix, AZ......|

N4OO........|11/28/11.|12/05/11.|12/07/11.|12/23/11.|02/21/12.|03/27/12.|--/--/--.|Phoenix, AZ......|EB: 12/16/11

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USCIS Lincoln, Nebraska Lockbox (Filing Under 319b, 328, or 329 of the INA)

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UserName....|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Fprints..|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office.....|

============|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=================|

ingucis78...|11/12/11.|11/21/11.|11/14/11.|12/28/11.|02/06/02.|02/28/12.|02/28/12.|Fairfax, VA......| EB:12/19/11

tanyaru.....|11/14/11.|11/25/11.|11/30/11.|not req-.|02/24/12.|04/03/12.|--/--/--.|Omaha, NE........|

anagueen83..|10/31/11.|11/07/11.|11/02/11.|NA/NA/NA.|01/17/12.|02/21/12.|02/21/12.|San Francisco, CA|

Edited March 23, 2012 by arvinb

[Jupiter07 12]

.

Edited March 23, 2012 by Jupiter07

[Jupiter07 12]

PLEASE USE THE LATEST LIST, HATE TO UPDATE TWICE! AND WE NEED TO KEEP THE LIST CURRENT ANYWAY, SO USE THE LATEST LIST.

Someone please red me. I am a USC, had already done that but someone decided to use a dated list.

[Bodza 0]

I'm A United States Citizen

The Oath Ceremony: we had to arrive at 7:30 and got there around 7:15 by which time there was a long line in front of the building (Kendall service center). Once we were inside the building, and passed security, two officers checked the invitation letter and stapled the valid green card to it. Then we had to go to a table were two officers verified all the information, checked the answers given at the back of page and asked us to submit additional documents (re-entry permit, refugee documents, expired green card, EADs) we may still had. Some people signed and dated their letters there, others brought it already signed. It didn't seem to make a difference.

After that the applicants were directed to the room where the oath took place, family members had to go stay at the general waiting area. In the ceremonial room another officer took the invitation letter with the card(s) and we were seated in order of arrival. We got a short instruction on what was going to happen, checked our envelopes - we also got a nice folder the certificate -, and one of the officers tried to cheer us up with music, singing, dancing and clapping as almost everyone was sitting very-very quietly

A few people (3-4) were called out from their seats for further questions but eventually everyone came back

Once that was over, we took an oath stating that everything in our applications was truthful. Then the family members were called in and seated.

First the leading officer recognized and honored the service members in the room, we had two, then we stood up for the national anthem. After that came a video on the history of immigrants coming to the United States and what it meant to them to become a citizen. An officer called out every country and stated the number of applicants from that country. (I was the only Hungarian.) Once every country was standing, we raised our right hands and repeated the Oath of Allegiance after the officer. (A printed copy was in the envelope and the words were also shown on the TV screens.) 2-3 officers were walking along the rows during the oath, I assume they were checking that we all raised our hands and are saying the oath. Then one of the new citizens read the Pledge of Allegiance which we followed. We had to sit down as officers came by the row to hand out the certificates which we had to review and verify before we could stand up again. Then we listened to a song, cheered and clapped. Finally, everyone was encouraged to go forward and take pictures in front of the flag.

This office doesn't handle passport applications or voter registration, so the master of ceremony asked us to use to mail-in forms they provided to us but did stress that it was important that we do so.

Edited March 23, 2012 by Bodza