Citizenship so near yet so far ...

[JanB 0]

Yesterday I traveled to Detroit to take my citizenship test and interview. The good news is I passed. The bad .... no date for the ceremony/swearing in.

It would seem that because I'm from Northern/Western Michigan I have to take my oath in Grand Rapids (this is news to me and hasn't been mentioned anywhere else) The building they use for oath ceremonies in GR has been under renovation for quite a while and there are **allegedly** between 400 and 500 people backlogged and waiting patiently for the judiciary/USCIS to sort this out. The agent I talked to said they had been doing extra ceremonies in Detroit throughout December but the backlog will still take an estimated 6 to 12 months or MORE to sort out.

So as I sat there watching at least 40 others getting their orders to turn up Monday for their ceremonies I am told because I live "up north" i have to wait. I don't judge on skin colour or race but of the 40 or so I saw yesterday (while waiting) maybe 2 were white and they were Russian and Polish so now I wonder if this is an actual thing or if its to do with quotas.

I personally know 2 others who have recently (from my area) taken their tests interviews and oaths. One had her case expedited and the other is living in the Sault and Honduran ... it really is very fustrating to feel 'left behind'

This morning I will be approaching Michigan State Senators and my Congressman to see if I can get answers not only for myself but for the other 4-500 who are waiting. If the facility they were using is unavailable why hasn't another been found? In the past there have been ceremonies at ball parks, hotels and other locations. This whole backlog dilemma seems to me to be created through either lack of awareness of the situation or just simply that the USCIS and the whole immigration system is in fact broken.

[Dario2012 51]

So as I sat there watching at least 40 others getting their orders to turn up Monday for their ceremonies I am told because I live "up north" i have to wait. I don't judge on skin colour or race but of the 40 or so I saw yesterday (while waiting) maybe 2 were white and they were Russian and Polish so now I wonder if this is an actual thing or if its to do with quotas.

Wait, what? Of what you speak?

[JimmyHou 611]

Yesterday I traveled to Detroit to take my citizenship test and interview. The good news is I passed. The bad .... no date for the ceremony/swearing in.

It would seem that because I'm from Northern/Western Michigan I have to take my oath in Grand Rapids (this is news to me and hasn't been mentioned anywhere else) The building they use for oath ceremonies in GR has been under renovation for quite a while and there are **allegedly** between 400 and 500 people backlogged and waiting patiently for the judiciary/USCIS to sort this out. The agent I talked to said they had been doing extra ceremonies in Detroit throughout December but the backlog will still take an estimated 6 to 12 months or MORE to sort out.

So as I sat there watching at least 40 others getting their orders to turn up Monday for their ceremonies I am told because I live "up north" i have to wait. I don't judge on skin colour or race but of the 40 or so I saw yesterday (while waiting) maybe 2 were white and they were Russian and Polish so now I wonder if this is an actual thing or if its to do with quotas.

I personally know 2 others who have recently (from my area) taken their tests interviews and oaths. One had her case expedited and the other is living in the Sault and Honduran ... it really is very fustrating to feel 'left behind'

This morning I will be approaching Michigan State Senators and my Congressman to see if I can get answers not only for myself but for the other 4-500 who are waiting. If the facility they were using is unavailable why hasn't another been found? In the past there have been ceremonies at ball parks, hotels and other locations. This whole backlog dilemma seems to me to be created through either lack of awareness of the situation or just simply that the USCIS and the whole immigration system is in fact broken.

I'm very sorry to hear that you have to wait longer. It must be very frustrating.

Legally, naturalization falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts. These courts, in some areas, have allowed USCIS to naturalize applicants on behalf of the courts (these are called Administrative Oaths). Other courts have not authorized this and so an applicant must attend a Judicial Oath. The court which has jurisdiction over your case is determined by where you live.

http://www.fjc.gov/federal/courts.nsf/autoframe!openform&nav=menu1&page=/federal/courts.nsf/page/181

The map on the link shows the borders between the courts and you can see that Michigan has an Eastern and a Western district. I assume that the Eastern district allows the USCIS office in Detroit to conduct ceremonies but the Western district does not (you can check with the court to see if this is actually true). You can also contact the court directly to see when the next ceremony will be.

Now, if you live within the bounds of the Eastern district or if the Western district has also given USCIS authorization to naturalize applicants, then I'm pretty sure that what you were told isn't entirely accurate... there's no law that says that USCIS can't naturalize you... that may just be an office policy in Detroit.

I hope your fears of bias prove to be wrong, but either way, it wouldn't hurt to contact your representatives in order to speed up your case. However, most of us wait a month or two for oath ceremonies, so I wouldn't be too concerned yet. Best of luck to you.

[TBoneTX 45,834]

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