N-400 January 2017 Filers

[jane78 12]

Oh I should also mention that I brought passport photos with me but was not asked for them. Still glad I had them with me in case they needed them. I get the impression that they are in a transitional time there and we might start to see more consistency one way or the other on the photos question in the future. 

[weakheart 118]

2 hours ago, topazfae said:

Bugs is correct - on my green card application, i put down 6 professional organizations that I was involved with, but on my citizenship application, I only put down 3.  Then she said it's not the same, I told her, it has been a long time ago and some of committee that I am no longer on the board or a member of.  So she corrects it - so when you remind her about the jobs (I only had one job from day one so it is only one job but with many different job titles - they don't care about that but the company that I work for.  They will correct all mistakes that they may find, then you're all good.  Unless you did something bad - like getting arrest between the application and the interview - that will delay your application for sure.

 

Shannon

thanks

[topazfae 31]

9 hours ago, jane78 said:

Oh I should also mention that I brought passport photos with me but was not asked for them. Still glad I had them with me in case they needed them. I get the impression that they are in a transitional time there and we might start to see more consistency one way or the other on the photos question in the future. 

I'm so glad that your interview experience went smoothly!  Agreed about photos - better be safe than sorry.  Use the photos for the passport when you apply for it.  In other forum - they said it depends on field office - I was thinking - why didn't they use the picture that they took of me during biometics,  but *shrug*, I gave them my photos anyway.

 

We all are nearing the end of our journey!

 

Shannon

[IloveUSCIS 11]

10 hours ago, jane78 said:

I had mine at the Los Angeles field office today too! Maybe we were in the waiting room at the same time!

 

Will give a brief rundown and put this review on my Immigration Timeline too.

Pre-Interview:

The LA field office is on the 8th floor of the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles. I'd been to the federal building once before and the last time I went there was no waiting for the security screening area in the lobby. This time I had to wait for a couple of minutes (truly, just a minute or two) in a short line outside the building, before they let me in the door into the security screening area. I took the elevator to the 8th floor and gave my appointment notice to the security guard in front of the door to the field office who said "thank you <jane78>, please wait in this room" and pointed me to a large waiting room behind him. I arrived pretty much exactly 30 minutes before my appointment and my name was called pretty much exactly at my appointment time.

 

Interview:

The field officer who interviewed me was very professional and friendly. This was the procedure as I remember it:

1. As soon as I walked in the door of her office she had me swear that I would answer all questions truthfully

2. Had me give her my greencard, driver license and passport

2. English reading test (gave me one printed sentence to read aloud)

3. English writing test (spoke a sentence and had me write it down)

4. US Civics/History (asked 6 out of 10 questions and then stopped as I had gotten them all correct). I don't remember every one of the questions but they included:

Who is in charge of the Executive branch? (the President)

Name one reason why colonists came to America? (religious freedom)

What was the main concern of the U.S. during the Cold War? (communism)

5. Went through my N-400 pretty much item by item. She didn't dwell on anything for too long but just systematically went through each page. I had made a couple of typing errors eg. I put my greencard date as 02/07/2012 when it was actually 02/07/2013. She simply corrected it on the form with her pen. She was understanding about it, not suspicious or critical. Notably, although I had brought the originals of my husband's birth certificate to prove his citizenship and of our marriage certificate to prove our marriage, along with tax transcripts for the past 3 years, she did not ask to see any of these documents. Of course, I would not recommend to anyone that they leave such documents at home based on my experience, as she certainly had the right to ask for them.

6. When we got to the question about the oath I asked for modified language (removal of "so help me God"). She crossed that wording out on the oath page, explained what I would do during the oath ceremony (when the judge gets to that part, replace with with "I so affirm"), then had me sign the oath page. Just want to say she was completely neutral and respectful of this request, no judgement or negativity.

7. Printed out a sheet of paper with my details on it and and had me review them for my certificate of citizenship (A#, name, height, city of residence, country of original citizenship etc.)

8.  Gave me my "Naturalization Interview Results" (N-652) form that said I had passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government and that my application had been recommended for approval. It was stapled to a sheet giving general information about what to expect at the oath ceremony.  She let me know that I should receive an oath ceremony notification with 30-45 days.

8. Took a xerox of my greencard, driver license and passport.

9. Asked if I had any final questions and said congratulations!

 

Such a relief. My best wishes to all waiting for their interview to be scheduled or with interviews coming up. And my congratulations to those with oath ceremonies coming up or who have taken the oath!

 

When she went over your N400 page by page, did she ask you the dates of all jobs and home addresses and travel dates, or did she just ask you to confirm them after she read them out to you? 

[weakheart 118]

11 hours ago, jane78 said:

I had mine at the Los Angeles field office today too! Maybe we were in the waiting room at the same time!

 

Will give a brief rundown and put this review on my Immigration Timeline too.

Pre-Interview:

The LA field office is on the 8th floor of the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles. I'd been to the federal building once before and the last time I went there was no waiting for the security screening area in the lobby. This time I had to wait for a couple of minutes (truly, just a minute or two) in a short line outside the building, before they let me in the door into the security screening area. I took the elevator to the 8th floor and gave my appointment notice to the security guard in front of the door to the field office who said "thank you <jane78>, please wait in this room" and pointed me to a large waiting room behind him. I arrived pretty much exactly 30 minutes before my appointment and my name was called pretty much exactly at my appointment time.

 

Interview:

The field officer who interviewed me was very professional and friendly. This was the procedure as I remember it:

1. As soon as I walked in the door of her office she had me swear that I would answer all questions truthfully

2. Had me give her my greencard, driver license and passport

2. English reading test (gave me one printed sentence to read aloud)

3. English writing test (spoke a sentence and had me write it down)

4. US Civics/History (asked 6 out of 10 questions and then stopped as I had gotten them all correct). I don't remember every one of the questions but they included:

Who is in charge of the Executive branch? (the President)

Name one reason why colonists came to America? (religious freedom)

What was the main concern of the U.S. during the Cold War? (communism)

5. Went through my N-400 pretty much item by item. She didn't dwell on anything for too long but just systematically went through each page. I had made a couple of typing errors eg. I put my greencard date as 02/07/2012 when it was actually 02/07/2013. She simply corrected it on the form with her pen. She was understanding about it, not suspicious or critical. Notably, although I had brought the originals of my husband's birth certificate to prove his citizenship and of our marriage certificate to prove our marriage, along with tax transcripts for the past 3 years, she did not ask to see any of these documents. Of course, I would not recommend to anyone that they leave such documents at home based on my experience, as she certainly had the right to ask for them.

6. When we got to the question about the oath I asked for modified language (removal of "so help me God"). She crossed that wording out on the oath page, explained what I would do during the oath ceremony (when the judge gets to that part, replace with with "I so affirm"), then had me sign the oath page. Just want to say she was completely neutral and respectful of this request, no judgement or negativity.

7. Printed out a sheet of paper with my details on it and and had me review them for my certificate of citizenship (A#, name, height, city of residence, country of original citizenship etc.)

8.  Gave me my "Naturalization Interview Results" (N-652) form that said I had passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government and that my application had been recommended for approval. It was stapled to a sheet giving general information about what to expect at the oath ceremony.  She let me know that I should receive an oath ceremony notification with 30-45 days.

8. Took a xerox of my greencard, driver license and passport.

9. Asked if I had any final questions and said congratulations!

 

Such a relief. My best wishes to all waiting for their interview to be scheduled or with interviews coming up. And my congratulations to those with oath ceremonies coming up or who have taken the oath!

 

Thanks for update and of course congrats 🎉🎊🍾🎈 

[cocann 54]

19 hours ago, cocann said:

Hi All,  just sharing a quick update on the topic of submitting an inquiry on your case after being in-line for a long period.......

 

@CookieCat  has posted in a couple of forums the process for submitting an "I did not get my notification letter" inquiry after being in line for interview for over 90 days.  Following this advice, in May I submitted an inquiry on my case after being in line 92 days.  My field office is Seattle.  Following the submission, I got an email that said it had been received and I should expect a response approximately one month later (by mid June).  Since then, every time I check my online case status I've seen a note about this inquiry on the right side of the page, with a statement saying it had not been assigned for processing.  June passed without any update.    Oddly enough, today when I checked my status I see that it has moved into the left column of the page and has been assigned to an officer for review and response (with today's date).  I didn't get any email or text updates about this, and the "Last Updated" date has not changed either.  It still reflects the date I was placed in line......

 

I hope others may find this useful.  In the end, some activity is better than none!  As of today, I'm just a couple of days past being in-line for 5 months.  The waiting continues....... Good luck All!

Quick update on this -- later in the day yesterday I received an email response that essentially said "Your status is 'in line for Interview'.  Contact us again in 90 days if needed.....".  In other words, keep waiting.  Below is what showed up on my status page following this - just so everyone can see how the process and notifications work for inquiries.  I did not get any automated updates for this inquiry, only the email response, so it seems the email/text notification process for inquiries is not the same as for status changes at the various stages of the naturalization process.

 

It was a good thing to try I believe, but in the end it had no effect on my case.  Good luck All!

 

 

[daigo 39]

17 hours ago, waitforit said:

That's great news for other Chicago applicants!

 

How long after the interview did your status change to oath scheduled?

8 days. I had the interview on June 28th, status changed to "in line for oath ceremony scheduling" on July 3rd, and then I got the notice that the ceremony was scheduled on July 6th. The actual notice came in the mail on July 10th.

[jane78 12]

1 hour ago, IloveUSCIS said:

When she went over your N400 page by page, did she ask you the dates of all jobs and home addresses and travel dates, or did she just ask you to confirm them after she read them out to you? 

On the jobs pages she only asked me about my current job, whether I still work there or if my job has changed since I submitted the application.

 

On the address page she also only asked me about my current address, whether I still live there. She also asked me if my husband and I lived at the same address and I said yes.

 

For all past jobs and past addresses, she just visually scanned them and did not ask me any questions. She didn't read them out to me, she just looked at them. Maybe if she'd seen something concerning she would have asked me about it. 

 

On the travel page she didn't ask me the dates of travel I'd listed, she only asked me if I had traveled outside of the country any time after the last trip I listed on the form. When I said "No" she wrote on the form in pen something like "Claims no further travel". Also, although I gave her my passport at the beginning of the interview which had all the entrance and exit stamps in them for the trips I listed on the form, she didn't look in my passport to verify the dates of those trips.

It was interesting, whenever she asked a question and I answered (eg. "Have you filed for divorce since submitting this application?") I would answer and she would hand write the answer on the form but it always started with "Claims..." eg. "Claims no divorce" in other words, she's just recording my statements, not that they are verified fact. Very interesting. 

 

Hope this helps!

[IloveUSCIS 11]

2 minutes ago, jane78 said:

On the jobs pages she only asked me about my current job, whether I still work there or if my job has changed since I submitted the application.

 

On the address page she also only asked me about my current address, whether I still live there. She also asked me if my husband and I lived at the same address and I said yes.

 

For all past jobs and past addresses, she just visually scanned them and did not ask me any questions. She didn't read them out to me, she just looked at them. Maybe if she'd seen something concerning she would have asked me about it. 

 

On the travel page she didn't ask me the dates of travel I'd listed, she only asked me if I had traveled outside of the country any time after the last trip I listed on the form. When I said "No" she wrote on the form in pen something like "Claims no further travel". Also, although I gave her my passport at the beginning of the interview which had all the entrance and exit stamps in them for the trips I listed on the form, she didn't look in my passport to verify the dates of those trips.

It was interesting, whenever she asked a question and I answered (eg. "Have you filed for divorce since submitting this application?") I would answer and she would hand write the answer on the form but it always started with "Claims..." eg. "Claims no divorce" in other words, she's just recording my statements, not that they are verified fact. Very interesting. 

 

Hope this helps!

Excellent, thanks. I had visions of juggling all my job dates, and travel dates etc.. in my head. I appreciate the comprehensive response.

 

Cheers.

[jane78 12]

5 minutes ago, IloveUSCIS said:

Excellent, thanks. I had visions of juggling all my job dates, and travel dates etc.. in my head. I appreciate the comprehensive response.

 

Cheers.

You're welcome! The officer who worked with me did not approach it as a memory test. It seems that they just want to verify that the info you gave originally is correct and to find out if anything has changed since you submitted the form. To prepare for the interview I would suggest going through your N-400 and checking for any errors made originally on your end, and for any changes to your status since you submitted (eg. if you have changed address, job, marital status, any new travel, any arrests, any changes to any answers on the form). Be ready to address them as the officer works through the form. But at least from my experience there was no attempt to "catch" me not remembering a specific date or anything. I suppose if there was a suspicion of your character or intentions behind becoming a citizen they could approach it that way but that was not my experience.

[feroze895 47]

13 hours ago, topazfae said:

Hi feroze, 

 

Since both of us are from the same area and had the same interview day (even though the date when my status change is different than yours), but I'm curious - where will the oath ceremony be. I haven't gotten the letter yet and more likely will get it on Friday since my status has been updated today (maybe Thursday but highly unlikely).  We probably will have the same oath date but I won't be able to make it since I will be in New Orleans at that time -- boo hoo! but since I am not going to Canada this summer after all so I'm not in rush anymore.  Just a bit sad that the next time that I will be in Canada would be next summer and it would be 2 long years.  I always go up there every summer and the longest that I didn't go was 18 months.

 

Anyway back to the main question - curious on the location.

 

Thanks.

 

Shannon

My oath will take place in Oakton High School in Vienna. 

[nooha 16]

On 7/10/2017 at 11:27 AM, MyJourney said:

whywere you denied?

sorry for my delay answer, there was no exact reason why a decision cannot be made , im not denied yet,  still they didnt tell me if im approved or denied, my interview was in June 29, i was supposed now to have oath scheduled, but my online status  is still " interview has been scheduled" its 2 weeks now since i had my interview, im not sure if i should make an info pass or i should just wait  90 days then i can make an infopass like i was informed at the interview? what do you think guys what should i do, i need to travel ovearses and i feel i cant do it in case if they schedule an oath for me while im ovearses,  i appreciaite your  advice 

[MyJourney 276]

i would follow what they said at the interview. it is good that it is just decision cannot be made. it is good that you have not heard back yet, because if they wanted to deny it, then won't waste any time and won't make you wait. i wish you patience and good luck.

[nooha 16]

Just now, MyJourney said:

i would follow what they said at the interview. it is good that it is just decision cannot be made. it is good that you have not heard back yet, because if they wanted to deny it, then won't waste any time and won't make you wait. i wish you patience and good luck.

Thank you for your kind words, i wish you a good luck too

[ac8238 8]

15 hours ago, jane78 said:

I had mine at the Los Angeles field office today too! Maybe we were in the waiting room at the same time!

 

Will give a brief rundown and put this review on my Immigration Timeline too.

Pre-Interview:

The LA field office is on the 8th floor of the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles. I'd been to the federal building once before and the last time I went there was no waiting for the security screening area in the lobby. This time I had to wait for a couple of minutes (truly, just a minute or two) in a short line outside the building, before they let me in the door into the security screening area. I took the elevator to the 8th floor and gave my appointment notice to the security guard in front of the door to the field office who said "thank you <jane78>, please wait in this room" and pointed me to a large waiting room behind him. I arrived pretty much exactly 30 minutes before my appointment and my name was called pretty much exactly at my appointment time.

 

Interview:

The field officer who interviewed me was very professional and friendly. This was the procedure as I remember it:

1. As soon as I walked in the door of her office she had me swear that I would answer all questions truthfully

2. Had me give her my greencard, driver license and passport

2. English reading test (gave me one printed sentence to read aloud)

3. English writing test (spoke a sentence and had me write it down)

4. US Civics/History (asked 6 out of 10 questions and then stopped as I had gotten them all correct). I don't remember every one of the questions but they included:

Who is in charge of the Executive branch? (the President)

Name one reason why colonists came to America? (religious freedom)

What was the main concern of the U.S. during the Cold War? (communism)

5. Went through my N-400 pretty much item by item. She didn't dwell on anything for too long but just systematically went through each page. I had made a couple of typing errors eg. I put my greencard date as 02/07/2012 when it was actually 02/07/2013. She simply corrected it on the form with her pen. She was understanding about it, not suspicious or critical. Notably, although I had brought the originals of my husband's birth certificate to prove his citizenship and of our marriage certificate to prove our marriage, along with tax transcripts for the past 3 years, she did not ask to see any of these documents. Of course, I would not recommend to anyone that they leave such documents at home based on my experience, as she certainly had the right to ask for them.

6. When we got to the question about the oath I asked for modified language (removal of "so help me God"). She crossed that wording out on the oath page, explained what I would do during the oath ceremony (when the judge gets to that part, replace with with "I so affirm"), then had me sign the oath page. Just want to say she was completely neutral and respectful of this request, no judgement or negativity.

7. Printed out a sheet of paper with my details on it and and had me review them for my certificate of citizenship (A#, name, height, city of residence, country of original citizenship etc.)

8.  Gave me my "Naturalization Interview Results" (N-652) form that said I had passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government and that my application had been recommended for approval. It was stapled to a sheet giving general information about what to expect at the oath ceremony.  She let me know that I should receive an oath ceremony notification with 30-45 days.

8. Took a xerox of my greencard, driver license and passport.

9. Asked if I had any final questions and said congratulations!

 

Such a relief. My best wishes to all waiting for their interview to be scheduled or with interviews coming up. And my congratulations to those with oath ceremonies coming up or who have taken the oath!

 

Congrats on your interview too!

 

Yes, we might have been on the same room! Man oh man...I was cutting it close though. The stupid security line in front of the building moved very slow. The don't tell you about this in the letter, I should have known better. They tell you not to arrive earlier than 30min before the appointment, so I arrived exactly 30min before the interview. Little did I know that there is a security check in front of the building and it almost took exactly 30min to get into the building. So just FYI for everyone, give yourself enough time.