N-400 April 2013 Filers

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Updating my Oath Date....

Congrats!!

[MaddyCruise 2]

Congrats!!

Thank you, Vanessa!

[Azure30 22]

Hi my dear immigration friends! I survived, it went REALLY well, and yes....I passed.
So I got there around 8:15, parked in the parking ramp next door, Costs $3.00 for 2 hours like Vanessa said, but I didn't walk down the ramp, lol (took the elevator).

Went thru security, they were really pleasant...were joking with me because they thought the spine key chain I had in my bag looked like a saw on the monitor. (Chiropractic students all have spine key chains lol lol) Went up to 2nd floor room 215. Waited for 15 mins until my name was called.

IO was a very pleasant gentleman from Kenya. Escorted me to his office, asked me to have a seat, asked for my greencard and driver's license, of which he photocopied. He then asked me to sign my name on my photos I submitted with my application. I asked him if he'd mind if i use the new ones I brought with because I cut my hair really short. He said it wouldn't matter because they will be on my file and not on the Naturalization certificate. I said ok and signed the older pics. He then asked me to stand for the Oath.

Took my seat again, very nervously. He went through the application, asking me verification of mostly everything, asking me my name, dob, soc sec#. He did ask if I've ever been out of the u.s. in the past five years, then he corrected himself and said, three years, and I said No. He asked the name of husband, hubby's ex wife's name, date they were divorced...I couldn't even remember her name...he inquired where she's from...told him Jamaica...he said, wow, your husband likes Caribbean wives...I laughed I said, it's the cooking I guess! He laughed too. I said his favorite dishes are Curried chicken and Oxtail. He laughed more and said good choices. He went on to inquire about the British owned island where I'm from...dont think it was part of the routine, just more out of his curiosity...like population, size, where it's geographically located..he seemed to have never seen a European Union passport before.

He went on to ask the general questions, with each one, looking me directly in the eye. That made me nervous but I know they're trained to do that. Under good moral character, where I hadn't noted my traffic ticket for failure to yield, I mentioned it to him, showed him the document and that it was paid. After all that, he asked me to sign the N400.

He then asked for proof of existing marriage. I had copied:

*utility bills for every 3 months since the I-751,

*recopied the tax returns,

*car insurance & joint car titles,

*health insurance cards and statements,

*copy of our joint credit cards,

*bank statements for every 3 months since the I-751

*travel tickets,

*house rental agreement.

He was happy with how it was organized neatly with tabs that described what each stapled section was. He said, "Oh great, you are making my job easier for me. This is neat." I said, thank you!

*He only took the rental agreement, health insurance docs, financial statements and utility bills. I also had pictures of us and our families taken this summer. He looked at those. I chose to print screen most of them from our facebook pages, as they showed a date, and comments from families and friends, and printed them out at Walmart.

Next were the questions. Got all 6 right. They were,

1. What is the freedom of religion

2. How many U.S. senators are there

3. When must all men register for the Selective Service

4. What ocean is on the east coast of the United States

5. When was the Constitution written

6.Name one state that borders Canada

He then asked me to say a phrase on a piece of paper, (don't remember what it was). I then had to write a phrase on another piece of paper (we pay taxes). He then made some notes on my file.

He then handed me a paper and pointed to where he checked that I passed the civics test and that he has recommended me for naturalization and congrats, etc...

He said I will get an invitation in the mail in the next ---- days (don't remember how much he said) for an Oath Ceremony at a specific location. I asked how is the location determined. He said it is according to where you live. I asked if there is any way I can please get into the Aug 9th ceremony in Davenport or the Aug 16th ceremony in Cedar Rapids. He said that more than likely, other applicants would have already received their letter for the ceremony on Aug-9th and he seriously doubts there is room available, and that he knows that the Cedar Rapids location can only hold a maximum of 30 applicants.

He said that there are instances though they are rare, that an applicant may have to change their ceremony date, and if a space becomes available he will see if I can be scheduled but I must not hold my breath. He shook my hand congratulated me, said this interview is now over and rose to escort me to the door.

The end....

Oh well, I guess I'll be waiting for November's oath ceremony Vanessa.!

[msimple1 1]

Congratulations Azure! It seems like we got the same IO.?

[claudiaarroyo49 1]

Hi my dear immigration friends! I survived, it went REALLY well, and yes....I passed.

So I got there around 8:15, parked in the parking ramp next door, Costs $3.00 for 2 hours like Vanessa said, but I didn't walk down the ramp, lol (took the elevator).

Went thru security, they were really pleasant...were joking with me because they thought the spine key chain I had in my bag looked like a saw on the monitor. (Chiropractic students all have spine key chains lol lol) Went up to 2nd floor room 215. Waited for 15 mins until my name was called.

IO was a very pleasant gentleman from Kenya. Escorted me to his office, asked me to have a seat, asked for my greencard and driver's license, of which he photocopied. He then asked me to sign my name on my photos I submitted with my application. I asked him if he'd mind if i use the new ones I brought with because I cut my hair really short. He said it wouldn't matter because they will be on my file and not on the Naturalization certificate. I said ok and signed the older pics. He then asked me to stand for the Oath.

Took my seat again, very nervously. He went through the application, asking me verification of mostly everything, asking me my name, dob, soc sec#. He did ask if I've ever been out of the u.s. in the past five years, then he corrected himself and said, three years, and I said No. He asked the name of husband, hubby's ex wife's name, date they were divorced...I couldn't even remember her name...he inquired where she's from...told him Jamaica...he said, wow, your husband likes Caribbean wives...I laughed I said, it's the cooking I guess! He laughed too. I said his favorite dishes are Curried chicken and Oxtail. He laughed more and said good choices. He went on to inquire about the British owned island where I'm from...dont think it was part of the routine, just more out of his curiosity...like population, size, where it's geographically located..he seemed to have never seen a European Union passport before.

CONGRATS!

He went on to ask the general questions, with each one, looking me directly in the eye. That made me nervous but I know they're trained to do that. Under good moral character, where I hadn't noted my traffic ticket for failure to yield, I mentioned it to him, showed him the document and that it was paid. After all that, he asked me to sign the N400.

He then asked for proof of existing marriage. I had copied:

*utility bills for every 3 months since the I-751,

*recopied the tax returns,

*car insurance & joint car titles,

*health insurance cards and statements,

*copy of our joint credit cards,

*bank statements for every 3 months since the I-751

*travel tickets,

*house rental agreement.

He was happy with how it was organized neatly with tabs that described what each stapled section was. He said, "Oh great, you are making my job easier for me. This is neat." I said, thank you!

*He only took the rental agreement, health insurance docs, financial statements and utility bills. I also had pictures of us and our families taken this summer. He looked at those. I chose to print screen most of them from our facebook pages, as they showed a date, and comments from families and friends, and printed them out at Walmart.

Next were the questions. Got all 6 right. They were,

1. What is the freedom of religion

2. How many U.S. senators are there

3. When must all men register for the Selective Service

4. What ocean is on the east coast of the United States

5. When was the Constitution written

6.Name one state that borders Canada

He then asked me to say a phrase on a piece of paper, (don't remember what it was). I then had to write a phrase on another piece of paper (we pay taxes). He then made some notes on my file.

He then handed me a paper and pointed to where he checked that I passed the civics test and that he has recommended me for naturalization and congrats, etc...

He said I will get an invitation in the mail in the next ---- days (don't remember how much he said) for an Oath Ceremony at a specific location. I asked how is the location determined. He said it is according to where you live. I asked if there is any way I can please get into the Aug 9th ceremony in Davenport or the Aug 16th ceremony in Cedar Rapids. He said that more than likely, other applicants would have already received their letter for the ceremony on Aug-9th and he seriously doubts there is room available, and that he knows that the Cedar Rapids location can only hold a maximum of 30 applicants.

He said that there are instances though they are rare, that an applicant may have to change their ceremony date, and if a space becomes available he will see if I can be scheduled but I must not hold my breath. He shook my hand congratulated me, said this interview is now over and rose to escort me to the door.

The end....

Oh well, I guess I'll be waiting for November's oath ceremony Vanessa.!

CONGRATS!

[riro 13]

Congratulations Azure30 for your interview, and MaddyCruise for having your oath ceremony scheduled!

[Azure30 22]

Congratulations Azure! It seems like we got the same IO.?

Really? That's cool!!

CONGRATS!

Congratulations Azure30 for your interview, and MaddyCruise for having your oath ceremony scheduled!

Thank you!!!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hi my dear immigration friends! I survived, it went REALLY well, and yes....I passed.

<snip>

He said I will get an invitation in the mail in the next ---- days (don't remember how much he said) for an Oath Ceremony at a specific location. I asked how is the location determined. He said it is according to where you live. I asked if there is any way I can please get into the Aug 9th ceremony in Davenport or the Aug 16th ceremony in Cedar Rapids. He said that more than likely, other applicants would have already received their letter for the ceremony on Aug-9th and he seriously doubts there is room available, and that he knows that the Cedar Rapids location can only hold a maximum of 30 applicants.

He said that there are instances though they are rare, that an applicant may have to change their ceremony date, and if a space becomes available he will see if I can be scheduled but I must not hold my breath. He shook my hand congratulated me, said this interview is now over and rose to escort me to the door.

The end....

Oh well, I guess I'll be waiting for November's oath ceremony Vanessa.!

Congrats!! So much easier than you convinced yourself hey!

I've been waiting for your update. I'm going to call USCIS probably tomorrow to see if I'm being scheduled for the Aug 9th date but i think if he said that other people should have already got their notices then we'll both be at the November date!

I'll let you know after I call them.

[MaddyCruise 2]

Congrats Azure30 for your interview!

Congratulations Azure30 for your interview, and MaddyCruise for having your oath ceremony scheduled!

Thanks riro!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Oh well, I guess I'll be waiting for November's oath ceremony Vanessa.!

As promised, here's what happened when I called the 1800 number today.

07.30.13 @ 8:42am

I called the 1800 number and selected "case status". It read me exactly what the system said online and said if I had a problem with my case to press option 3, which I did.

It put me through (with next to no wait) to a nice lady but she talked a little fast so I don't recall her ID number or anything like that. She asked me for my receipt number which I confirmed from the system. She read out the case status update exactly from the site. She asked me if I had had my interview (seeing that update was from June 14). I confirmed that I had. She asked what the officer told me. I said I was recommended for approval. She told me (in an obviously "reading from the page in front of her" reply) that the interviewing officer doesn't have final approval, that it CAN take up to 120 days for an update and if I hadn't heard in 90 days they could put in a service request. I told her I was hoping there had been some background movement and the system had not been updated.

I asked to be transferred to a Tier 2 so that I could just make sure there weren't some updates that hadn't registered online. She had no problem with that and promptly put me through.

The system told me there was a 50 minute wait to talk to someone and that I could hold my place in line by selecting a call back, which I did. I am at work and could have selected the work number but opted for my mobile/cell so it doesn't bother anyone else.

07.30.13 @ 9.35am

I got an automatic call back from the system and had to press one. I was placed on hold for a minute.

An officer picked up the phone. She had a very thick Russian accent. Seemed pretty scripted to be honest, like she was new and being watched.

She told me there weren't any other updates on my case either. That I should get an approval notice (which I still don't have) and then the Oath letter. She looked up the processing times for Des Moines (and it's hysterical to hear her say it 'cause she really emphases the s's) and told me it's about 96 days.

---

So it looks like I'll definitely miss the August date as well and we'll both be at the November one!! Huge pain but it is what it is I s'pose.

Edited July 30, 2013 by VanessaTony

[moroccogirlny 100]

Done with USCIS!

====================================

-- N-400: APRIL 2013 APPLICATIONS --

====================================

======================================

USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox

======================================

UserName.......|Eligible|Sent....|ChkCashd|NOA.....|Bio.....|In Line.|Int Ltr.|Intview.|Oath....|FieldOffice

KEVIN&LEILEI...|10/30/12|03/28/13|04/04/13|04/01/13|04/30/13|05/02/13|05/08/13|06/13/13|10/25/13|Pittsburgh, PA

GHANOU.........|03/28/12|03/28/13|04/08/13|04/01/13|05/06/13|05/28/13|07/10/13|08/14/13|--/--/--|Baltimore, MD

TYGRYS.........|03/24/13|04/01/13|04/05/13|04/02/13|04/29/13|05/22/13|06/03/13|07/08/13|07/26/13|Raleigh, NC

BJZAGS.........|07/09/10|04/02/13|04/11/13|04/09/13|05/08/13|05/10/13|07/01/13|08/05/13|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA

CHIEFS341......|--/--/--|04/02/13|04/08/13|04/04/13|05/02/13|05/06/13|06/17/13|07/22/13|07/25/13|Dallas, TX

HARRY123.......|--/--/--|04/02/13|04/04/13|04/04/13|05/06/13|05/08/13|05/14/13|06/20/13|09/05/13|Buffalo, NY

IRINASC........|04/15/09|04/02/13|04/04/13|04/11/13|05/03/13|--/--/--|05/10/13|06/13/13|--/--/--|Greer, SC

SHAUN COLE.....|11/15/12|04/03/13|04/10/13|04/16/13|05/07/13|05/03/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA (EB:05/01/13)

SOUTHLAKE......|--/--/--|04/04/13|04/09/13|04/04/13|05/06/13|05/08/13|06/03/13|07/16/13|--/--/--|Fairfax, VA

WELSHDAN.......|04/09/12|04/04/13|04/12/13|04/09/13|05/08/13|05/10/13|05/14/13|06/18/13|--/--/--|New Orleans, LA

OTTA...........|03/22/13|04/05/13|04/12/13|04/09/13|05/08/13|05/28/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York, NY (Manh.)

ROBOTVISIONTX..|05/13/07|04/11/13|--/--/--|04/16/13|05/15/13|05/20/13|06/14/13|07/24/13|08/28/13|Houston, TX

LILIB..........|--/--/--|04/11/13|04/18/13|04/15/13|05/07/13|--/--|--|06/10/13|07/16/13|08/05/13|St.Albans, VT

ANIL2013.......|04/02/13|04/13/13|04/18/13|04/15/13|05/16/13|06/03/13|07/02/13|08/10/13|--/--/--|Boston, MA

ENGLISH MUFFIN.|04/12/13|04/15/13|04/23/13|04/19/13|05/15/13|06/11/13|06/12/13|07/18/13|07/25/13|Charlotte, NC (EB: 05/07/13)

CLAUDIAARROYO49|07/--/12|04/15/13|04/--/13|04/11/13|05/10/13|05/14/13|05/15/13|06/19/13|07/19/13|San Juan, PR

IMAISHA........|06/13/12|04/16/13|04/19/13|04/17/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Boston, MA

OSEN74.........|02/04/13|04/17/13|04/28/13|04/23/13|05/17/13|05/21/13|06/03/13|07/08/13|07/19/13|Raleigh/Durham, NC

MADDY13........|03/26/13|04/17/13|04/28/13|04/26/13|05/29/13|05/31/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA

CARAQUENO18....|03/29/13|04/19/13|--/--/--|04/24/13|05/28/13|05/30/13|07/11/13|08/13/13|--/--/--|Miami, FL

MOROCCOGIRLNY..|03/31/13|04/20/13|04/25/13|04/22/13|05/23/13|05/28/13|06/06/13|07/16/13|07/30/13|New York, NY

STARLAROSE.....|04/12/13|04/24/13|04/29/13|04/25/13|05/29/13|05/31/13|--/--/--|07/24/13|--/--/--|Washington, DC

MILVA..........|05/17/12|04/24/13|04/29/13|05/01/13|05/30/13|05/31/13|06/27/13|07/30/13|--/--/--|Newark, NJ

NIMAAN.........|04/29/13|04/26/13|05/02/13|04/29/13|05/30/13|06/28/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA (EB: 05/17/13)

HAPPYDANCER....|04/07/13|04/26/13|05/02/13|04/30/13|05/21/13|06/10/13|06/11/13|07/18/13|--/--/--|Louisville, KY

CANADIAN_WIFE..|06/20/12|04/27/13|05/02/13|04/29/13|05/30/13|05/31/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA (EB: 05/29/13)

==============================

USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox

==============================

UserName.......|Eligible|Sent....|ChkCashd|NOA.....|Bio.....|In Line.|Int Ltr.|Intview.|Oath....|FieldOffice

LORDWORD.......|--/--/--|04/01/13|--/--/--|04/05/13|05/01/13|05/03/13|06/11/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA

VANESSA&TONY...|04/02/13|04/03/13|04/10/13|04/05/13|05/02/13|06/03/13|06/14/13|07/18/13|--/--/--|Des Moines, IA

WIZARDFITZ.....|11/25/11|04/08/13|04/16/13|04/11/13|05/13/13|05/15/13|05/28/13|06/20/13|08/08/13|Indianapolis, IN

MSIMPLE........|10/--/12|04/09/13|04/15/13|04/11/13|05/06/13|05/08/13|06/14/13|07/23/13|--/--/--|Des Moines, IA

MADDYCRUISE....|10/28/12|04/10/13|04/16/13|04/11/13|05/15/13|05/17/13|06/17/13|07/22/13|08/08/13|Milwaukee, WI

ROBO96815......|--/--/--|04/11/13|04/18/13|04/24/13|05/10/13|05/14/13|05/28/13|07/02/13|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA

TX_DUDE78665...|--/--/--|04/13/13|--/--/--|04/16/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA

AZURE30........|04/16/13|04/16/13|04/23/13|04/18/13|05/13/13|06/17/13|06/21/13|07/29/13|--/--/--|Des Moines, IA

RIRO...........|04/14/13|04/16/13|04/23/13|04/18/13|05/13/13|06/14/13|06/18/13|07/24/13|08/21/13|Sacramento, CA (EB: 05/09/13)

LIDOTOMATO.....|04/20/13|04/19/13|04/25/13|04/22/13|05/22/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA

INDOMEX........|04/27/13|04/27/13|05/08/13|04/30/13|05/23/13|06/26/13|06/26/13|08/01/13|--/--/--|San Francisco,CA(EB:05/17/13)

M and F........|04/08/13|04/29/13|05/03/13|04/30/13|05/28/13|06/07/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Santa Ana, CA

SPARTAN........|04/21/12|04/30/13|05/08/13|05/03/13|05/31/13|06/04/13|06/06/13|07/16/13|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA

===========================================================================

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

===========================================================================

UserName.......|Eligible|Sent....|ChkCashd|NOA.....|Bio.....|In Line.|Int Ltr.|Intview.|Oath....|FieldOffice

EXAMPLE........|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|City, ST

IMPORTANT!

* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply (to do this, click the little grey switch on the top left of the edit box then remove the tags).

* Please add yourself to the list in "Sent" order, under the office at which you filed

* Please CAPITALIZE YOUR VJ NAME when adding it to the list and ensure the "..." line up

* Please check that you have not deleted anyone's NAME & DATA.

* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that (except when posting "I'm a US Citizen" which you should change to RED

* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.

* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly (helps the rest of us)

* If you cannot add (or update) your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

* Eligible = window opened, NOA1 date = Priority date, Bio = Date of appointment, In Line = date of letter, Int. Ltr = date of letter, Intview = date of interview, Oath = date of Oath

[moroccogirlny 100]

Here's my review for Brooklyn, NY:

We arrived at the courthouse at 8:15am, went through security within minutes. We did not bring any electronic devices as they mention on their website not to, many still brought them and had to leave them with security however it seemed like the they were secure with security. I have to say I was very impressed with the courthouse, very well kept!

Those taking oath were seated in a courtroom, there had to be at least three hundred new citizens today. Visitors were sent to the third floor where they have a nice cafe with one big screen TV to watch the oath ceremony.

The first two hours were spent with the court clerks doing paper work and having people come up one by one handing in their GC and exchanging for a Naturalization Certificate. The judge arrived around 11am and lead the oath and pledge of allegiance. She then gave a speech about her family immigrating to America. By this point I was in tears as it hit me that we finally made it to the finish line! By 12pm the ceremony was over.

Right next to the courthouse is the Cadman Plaza Post Office. We were already prepared with the passport application so we headed in. There was already a line but we took a number. While waiting there is a very nice postal clerk who helps people fill out their application (not common in most post offices). About an hour later our number was called. The clerk that helped us was very helpful. Ten minutes later we were out the door.

There are many nice places in the area, Brooklyn Bridge, eateries, farmers market.....so plan on making it a full day trip.

I'm so happy to be done with USCIS

[Azure30 22]

As promised, here's what happened when I called the 1800 number today.

07.30.13 @ 8:42am

I called the 1800 number and selected "case status". It read me exactly what the system said online and said if I had a problem with my case to press option 3, which I did.

It put me through (with next to no wait) to a nice lady but she talked a little fast so I don't recall her ID number or anything like that. She asked me for my receipt number which I confirmed from the system. She read out the case status update exactly from the site. She asked me if I had had my interview (seeing that update was from June 14). I confirmed that I had. She asked what the officer told me. I said I was recommended for approval. She told me (in an obviously "reading from the page in front of her" reply) that the interviewing officer doesn't have final approval, that it CAN take up to 120 days for an update and if I hadn't heard in 90 days they could put in a service request. I told her I was hoping there had been some background movement and the system had not been updated.

I asked to be transferred to a Tier 2 so that I could just make sure there weren't some updates that hadn't registered online. She had no problem with that and promptly put me through.

The system told me there was a 50 minute wait to talk to someone and that I could hold my place in line by selecting a call back, which I did. I am at work and could have selected the work number but opted for my mobile/cell so it doesn't bother anyone else.

07.30.13 @ 9.35am

I got an automatic call back from the system and had to press one. I was placed on hold for a minute.

An officer picked up the phone. She had a very thick Russian accent. Seemed pretty scripted to be honest, like she was new and being watched.

She told me there weren't any other updates on my case either. That I should get an approval notice (which I still don't have) and then the Oath letter. She looked up the processing times for Des Moines (and it's hysterical to hear her say it 'cause she really emphases the s's) and told me it's about 96 days.

---

So it looks like I'll definitely miss the August date as well and we'll both be at the November one!! Huge pain but it is what it is I s'pose.

Yup!! Pretty much!!! August is looking more and more like a night time dream! LOL LOL!!!!!!!

But boy, am I glad to shred all these old utility bills, lock all my immigration papers away into the filing cabinet, shred all the other unnecessary stuff!!! I'm SOOOO glad to be done with storing all this stuff for USCIS!

AND thank you sooo much for the congratulatory remarks MADDYCRUISE!!

AND Congrats to you MOROCCO GIRL!!! WOOHOO!!!

Edited July 30, 2013 by Azure30

[claudiaarroyo49 1]

Congrats Moroccogirl on becoming a new US Citizen,by the way I New York, my second home. I will be visiting soon!

[moroccogirlny 100]

Thank you Azure and Claudia!