Washington, DC Field Office Filers

[LRP 26]

Hi everyone, this post is about my infopass experience. I went for an infopass appointment last Friday to inquire about my oath ceremony - more specifically why my oath hadn't been scheduled despite it being 6 weeks since my interview. My case was put on quality review on the day of the interview and I hadn't had any communication since then. The customer service officer called the I.O. in charge of my case but he wasn't available. I didn't get any update other than that my file is with him. It was good to know that my file hasn't been lost or misplaced. The customer service officer said to wait for a few more weeks as it hasn't been 90 days as yet (that's the timeline to complete a quality review). With the holiday season on our doorstep I believe it would take a miracle for some movement to take place on my case now. Today marks 7 weeks that my case is in quality review and no oath ceremony has been scheduled. 

 

Regardless, I learned a few general things from my appointment: 

 

1. The Washington DC field office only schedules naturalization ceremonies at the field office for military personals and people who had to be re-tested. Everyone else gets scheduled through the courts I'm assuming. 

 

2. The officer in customer service can directly call the I.O. in charge of your case file for an update. If the I.O. isn't there, the customer service officer can (hopefully) pass on the message to him/her 

 

3. If your case goes for quality review then their system will mention the officer it was assigned to. If the system shows it is with the I.O. originally in charge of your case then either the file has come back to him/her and completed the quality review or it hasn't been sent out in the first place .

[LRP 26]

After 10 WEEKS of being in Quality Review, I finally have my oath ceremony date: Jan 20, 2018. @airborne any updates on your case?

[jxn 86]

On 1/3/2018 at 12:10 PM, LRP said:

After 10 WEEKS of being in Quality Review, I finally have my oath ceremony date: Jan 20, 2018. @airborne any updates on your case?

Any updates, @Air_Borne (correcting username)?

[R & M 14]

Just wanted to provide information on my case. It may be useful for those who need to re-schedule their interviews with the Washington, DC Office.

 

On Nov. 28, 2017, my case status was updated and my interview was scheduled for Jan. 2, 2018. Since I was going to be out of the country that day, I requested for the interview to be rescheduled. I was able to do it by e-mail with the Washington, DC Office. I followed the steps mentioned here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/387053-rescheduling-n400-interview-by-e-mail/. I wrote them on Nov. 30 and on the same day I got an electronic copy that my interview had been de-scheduled (I applied online).

 

Today, Jan. 22, 2018 I finally got a case update status that my interview has been scheduled again. The interview letter hasn't been uploaded yet, so I don't know when it will be. I assume it will be a month from now.

 

Interestingly, it took approximately the same time (53 days) for the interviews to be scheduled (following the biometrics and the de-schedule notice, respectively).

[elturko 0]

Hi all,

I had my interview at Fairfax,VA on 11/27 and i passed the test. Due to my pending i751 IO gave me a paper saying desicion cannot be made. He asked me to wait in the waiting area by the time he gets the approval from a supervisor, he came back and told me that supervisor just steped out. He said they will send me a letter. After the interview he asked me to check and sign the paperwork regarding the naturalization certificate. 

 

Is there anyone in the same boat like me ? Passed the test while pending i751?

 

Thanks

Edited January 22, 2018 by elturko

[jxn 86]

Is there a list of locations that host the Washington, DC naturalization ceremonies? I know the dates are posted on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, but online there are videos of the ceremonies being held at various different federal buildings (U.S: Treasury, National Archives, et cetera). Are those one-off ceremonies for special occasions, or are they regularly held at different locations in DC?

[Haideraaz 19]

applied since August 15th and still in line for interview ! any news anyone here in DC area  ? how long does it take usually for the interview to be scheduled ?  

[tkdwls0131 20]

Finally progress on the case. Fingerprints on 5/22/2017 and In Line for interview on 2/15/2018. Its been whole 9 months of background check. It seems like it takes about 2~3 months to get an interview scheduled and 1 month from the letter. 

[R & M 14]

On 10/20/2017 at 11:28 AM, LRP said:

Everyone - I had my interview at the Washington D.C. office yesterday and just wanted to relay my experience. I will try to be as detailed as possible so please bear with me if its turns out to be a long post. 

 

My interview was at 11:30 AM in the morning and I got there at 11:10 AM. For other/future D.C. filers, you can find parking right across the street (beside the line of shops and restaurants) where if you park from 0-3 hours, its free. I went in through the front door and past security check. The security guards were very friendly and joked with me when they saw how nervous I was. I took the elevator to the 2nd floor based on their instructions, submitted my interview letter to the reception and waited for my name to be called. Around 11:30, an IO called out my name and asked me to come with him. He led me to his office where he confirmed my name and A number. After I took the oath, he asked for my passport (old and new), Driver's license and GC. He also asked for my biometrics appointment date (I did an early walk in) and looked at my copy of the biometrics letter to confirm. He took fingerprints of both my index fingers and a picture. When I jokingly said that I didn't put on enough make up for this picture to be on my naturalization certificate, he said this is just for their records and won't be on the certificate. He asked me if I was ready to take the civics test and proceeded to ask the following questions:

What is the name of the national anthem?

Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?

What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?

What is the rule of law?

How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

The reading section was this question: "How many U.S. Senators are there?". The writing section was the answer to the question. Based on previous interview experiences, I asked specifically if I should write in print or cursive to which he replied "print". All this was done on paper (he wrote down my answers of the civics test) and scanned into the system right after. 

 

Next, we went through my application. He asked me my full name, DOB, social security number, height (not sure why haha), phone number, address, the last time I traveled outside the U.S. and if I had taken any trips in between then and my interview date, where I worked, my wedding anniversary date, my husband's full name, his naturalization date, whether we lived together, whether we had children, how I met my husband and all the questions on Part 12 of the form. He told me I had passed all the tests then asked me to confirm my A-number, name and other personal details on a screen and sign it. The Oath of Allegiance then came up on the screen and I was asked to sign it as well. He gave me the paper recommending me for approval and told me to wait for mail confirming the oath taking ceremony date. I asked him how long that would take to which he replied about one month. I also asked him if I should bring anything to the ceremony to which he said there will be instructions on the mail but to make sure to bring the paper he just gave me, both my GCs and international passport. With that I was done!

 

While I left like the whole interview must have been an hour long, my husband said it was only 20 minutes (theory of relativity folks!). The IO was very nice and calm. He was patient with my nervous joking and elaborate answers. All in all, a great experience!

 

My online status on ELIS changed within the day to confirm my case was approved and to wait for the oath taking ceremony letter in the mail. But curiously USCIS.gov displayed this message: Case Was Submitted For Quality Review Based On An Approval Recommendation. I am not putting too much importance on this since ELIS is the most updated one. 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Just passed my interview in DC. My experience was very similar to LRP's. 

 

I took the metro there (orange line: Dunn-Loring station) and it was a short walk from the station (5 minutes or so). I was impressed with how much that area changed since my last interview back in 2013.

 

During the interview, I was asked the following questions (I forgot one of the questions asked):

 

- One war the US. fought in the 1900s

- When do we vote for President? (month)

- Who is the Chief Justice?

- How many voting Representatives are there in the House? 

- For how long do we elect U.S. House Representatives?

 

I was then told to write "Washington was the first President" and to read "Who was the First President?".

 

All is all it was a very pleasant experience. Officer was very professional but also friendly. My case status changed almost immediately after I left the building and it is now "My Oath Ceremony will be scheduled". Hopefully I will able to be scheduled for the April ceremony in DC.

 

Best of luck to all of you who are going through the process!

[Waitingforczship 2]

Congrats to those who got their citizenship.  For those that had the interview going through the NBC, how long was your wait time.  Seems that IOE is much faster.  Thanks.

[Haideraaz 19]

On 3/13/2018 at 3:03 PM, Waitingforczship said:

Congrats to those who got their citizenship.  For those that had the interview going through the NBC, how long was your wait time.  Seems that IOE is much faster.  Thanks.

just had my status to Interview was scheduled after 7 months of filing by mail  NBC! . Good luck ! 

Just now, Haideraaz said:

 

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Haideraaz

[Waitingforczship 2]

Haideraaz, thanks for the update.  Good luck on your interview

[Haideraaz 19]

Got my interview letter today for April 20th ! .. I applied on August 18th ..  after 8 months of waiting ! Good luck everyone 

[Waitingforczship 2]

4 hours ago, Haideraaz said:

Got my interview letter today for April 20th ! .. I applied on August 18th ..  after 8 months of waiting ! Good luck everyone 

Congratulations.  Is your interview in DC or in Virginia?  I wonder if it there is a significant difference between locations.

[Haideraaz 19]

7 hours ago, Waitingforczship said:

Congratulations.  Is your interview in DC or in Virginia?  I wonder if it there is a significant difference between locations.

Thanks , I guess all DC applicants go to Fairfax office for interview . I live inside DC but I ll have my interview in Virginia( Fairfax)