N-400 July 2017 Filers

[alejandreska 136]

Good evening everyone! My interview was today, and I passed . Also, I was surprised that the officer asked me to wait for my Oath letter (no need to wait for it on the mail!) and an even bigger surprise was that they scheduled my Oath Ceremony for next week! WUT!  I will become a citizen on November 2nd 

 

My interview experience, Boston office:

 

My interview time was 12:30 PM, I arrived at 12:20 PM. No line at security, so it was pretty quick [they asked me to take my boots off]. The lobby seemed deserted, so I expected the waiting room to be relatively empty as well . To my surprise, the place was packed! However I noticed that most people were waiting for InfoPass appointments. I waited for about 20 min and someone called my name. I ran to the other side of the room and tripped over someone else that was waiting   but he was nice about it and laughed (he probably was nervous too).

 

So I went into the officer's office, he was very nice, young man in his 30s. He scanned my fingerprints, took a picture and asked me to swear to say only the truth. Then he asked for my passport, green card and driver's license. Then we went straight to the questions. They were:

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

What are the 2 major political parties?

What is the political party of the President?

Who is the Commander in Chief of the Military?

Name a state that borders Mexico.

Name 3 of the original States.

 

I answered all the questions correctly and then we went for the English test. Then he grabbed my file (huge about 2 ft thick) and we joked about it. He said that my file was a little thicker than needed but that was OK. Then to my surprise, he said there was only one extra document he needed to see. Since I applied earlier due to being married to a US Citizen,  I included copies of all our previous joint leases for the past 3 years. Since I filed in July, the current lease at the time expired this October. So he asked if I had a copy of my current lease renewal. I started to panic since I did not think of that (brought a bunch of other documents, but that slipped my mind). So I told him I did not have that with me... And after a few seconds I said that I could look it up in my email on my phone if that would be OK. He said yes please, and thankfully I was able to find it quickly and showed it to him. He said that was enough proof and he was satisfied with the application *Phew!*. He went over my N-400 form page by page to make sure that all my info was accurate.

 

He also mentioned that he noticed that my I751 was recently approved, and his wife is still waiting for hers to get approved, so I joked that he is also on the other side now and he understands us applicants lol.

 

At the end he asked me all the N400 yes/no questions (asking if I'm a terrorist, human trafficker etc...)

Finally, he asked if I wanted to change my name. I said technically yes, but I'm really just ditching my second last name (hispanics have 2 last names, first one is the father's, second one the mother's). He said that since that is so common it is not considered a name change. He said he will make sure that my certificate only has one last name. I asked "what happens if on the day of the Oath I have both last names on the certificate" (thought of that girl Goingthrough mentioned) and he assured me that would not happen because he would type in his computer the correct information. Then he printed a page with my name, DOB and height and asked me to sign if correct. He said my certificate would have exactly that same info and they ask us to sign it in case we complain later there's proof that the applicant proofread it .

 

Then he said he would recommend me for approval and congratulated me. He asked me not to leave the Lobby and wait an extra 30 min to get my process finished and wait for my Oath letter. Very nice experience overall!

 

I am so excited that my Oath Ceremony will be so soon, still can't believe it!! 

Good luck everybody!!!

Edited October 24, 2017 by alejandreska

[Going through 5,669]

@alejandreska you have been updated!!!  

N-400: July 2017 Applicants

==================================
Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox
==================================
UserName......|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE
Maridiego.....|09/25/14|06/27|07/10|07/10|08/22/17|08/25/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York City....|NBC
kmdr..........|09/22/14|07/03|07/12|07/11|08/07/17|08/22/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA......|NBC
lover5........|--/--/--|07/10|07/15|07/13|08/08/17|08/28/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York City....|NBC
alejandreska..|08/31/14|07/03|07/11|07/10|08/03/17|09/05/17|09/21/17|10/23/17|11/02/17|Boston, MA.......|NBC
bountyhunter..|10/06/14|07/08|07/13|07/12|08/08/17|09/06/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Houston, TX......|NBC
Kuzzy.........|09/20/14|07/18|07/25|07/21|08/16/17|08/22/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Jacksonville, FL.|NBC
Tim&Helga.....|06/27/14|07/05|07/19|07/20|08/15/17|08/22/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Montgomery, AL...|NBC
rt1012........|10/28/14|07/31|08/07|08/07|08/31/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New Orleans, LA..|NBC
JT4/25........|10/--/07|07/12|07/18|07/20|08/18/17|09/05/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Mount Laurel, NJ.|NBC
tictoc........|05/23/07|07/02|07/06|07/06|07/25/17|07/27/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA......|NBC
LongWalk......|02/12/14|07/01|--/--|07/07|08/03/17|08/07/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Tampa, FL........|NBC

================================
USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox
================================
UserName......|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE
SETTI.........|05/22/08|06/29|07/03|07/03|07/25/17|07/27/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.....|NBC
SJS87.........|08/26/17|07/05|07/12|07/10|08/02/17|08/28/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Seattle, WA......|NBC
Jaxx..........|08/23/09|07/13|07/17|07/20|08/10/17|08/28/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco,CA.|NBC
kumamon.......|10/11/12|06/28|07/02|07/05|07/17/17|07/19/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.....|NBC
CA1234........|09/08/12|07/05|07/12|07/17|07/31/17|08/08/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA..|NBC
Greatdane.....|10/22/14|07/22|07/26|07/31|08/15/17|10/10/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Seattle, WA......|NBC
nit407........|06/17/14|07/25|07/28|08/01|08/24/17|08/28/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Seattle, WA......|NBC
Margiee.......|06/06/13|07/17|07/20|07/20|08/14/17|08/28/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Denver, CO.......|NBC
rerto.........|10/14/14|07/29|08/07|08/02|08/21/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco,CA.|NBC
Huvvaligen....|09/11/14|07/11|07/18|07/24|08/14/17|08/28/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|St. Louis, MO....|NBC
shuashua......|10/06/12|07/07|07/12|07/10|08/08/17|09/18/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA..|NBC
mia166........|04/10/17|07/05|07/13|07/--|08/03/17|08/28/17|09/24/17|10/25/17|--/--/--|Yakima, WA.......|NBC
JonSnow.......|--/--/--|07/10|07/14|07/14|08/08/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA..|NBC
orange2017....|08/--/11|07/08|07/14|07/10|08/09/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|???????????, CA..|NBC

==================================
USCIS Chicago, Illinois Lockbox
==================================
UserName......|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE 
u_got_that....|08/13/11|07/14|07/19|07/14|08/23/17|08/25/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA.|NBC
peachlings....|10/--/12|07/15|07/21|07/18|08/15/17|09/11/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Chicago, IL......|NBC
marieMH.......|08/16/12|07/14|07/17|07/17|08/08/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Chicago, IL......|NBC
rangrut.......|07/13/11|07/22|07/25|07/24|08/18/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA.|NBC
Venice000.....|10/10/14|07/22|08/01|07/31|08/24/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA.|NBC 
MEXIAMERICAN..|--/--/--|07/--|--/--|07/17|08/09/17|08/28/17|10/12/17|11/21/17|--/--/--|St. Louis, MO....|NBC
reema.........|09/--/13|07/10|--/--|--/--|08/08/17|08/11/17|09/25/17|10/30/17|--/--/--|Columbus, OH.... |NBC

==================================
USCIS Online Filing
==================================
UserName......|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE
LRP...........|10/01/14|07/04|07/05|07/04|07/21/17|07/27/17|09/13/17|10/19/17|--/--/--|Washington, DC...|IOE
Tranquillity..|--/--/08|07/04|07/05|07/05|07/24/17|--/--/--|09/28/17|11/01/17|--/--/--|New York City....|IOE 
Bsze..........|10/26/10|07/09|07/10|07/10|08/03/17|08/04/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Fargo, ND........|IOE
AK_2014.......|10/09/14|07/12|07/12|07/12|08/02/17|09/28/17|--/--/--|11/02/17|--/--/--|Chicago, IL......|IOE
GoingThrough..|08/18/05|07/14|07/14|07/14|08/08/17|08/14/17|08/21/17|09/27/17|10/19/17|Queens, NY.......|IOE
SamBillz......|05/24/11|07/16|07/17|07/16|08/11/17|09/27/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Houston, TX......|IOE
NewOrleansJerry10/04/14|07/17|07/17|07/17|08/08/17|09/13/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Montgomery, AL...|IOE
ARDallas......|10/18/14|07/26|07/26|07/26|08/15/17|08/19/17|09/22/17|10/25/17|--/--/--|Dallas, TX.......|IOE
vkhutchings...|07/22/14|07/28|07/28|07/28|08/14/17|08/16/17|08/21/17|09/27/17|10/19/17|Queens, NY.......|IOE
ragex.........|07/13/17|07/28|07/29|07/28|08/22/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Chicago, IL......|IOE
danielp60.....|10/28/14|07/30|07/30|07/31|08/17/17|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Miami, FL........|IOE
reneesuarez...|10/20/14|07/31|07/31|07/31|08/22/17|08/22/17|09/28/17|11/01/17|--/--/--|Greer, SC........|IOE

Instructions for adding/updating yourself (or assisting others) to this list:
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6. Red Font = "I'm A United States Citizen"!

 

Legend: 
GC-Date: The 'Resident Since' Date located on your first green card.
Sent: Date N-400 was mailed to USCIS.
Cashd: Date your check was cashed / credit card was charged by USCIS.
NOA: Receipt Notice Date Printed on your official I-797 notification.
Fprints:  Date assigned for fingerprinting (Bio-metrics). If you do your biometrics via walk-in prior to your scheduled appointment, please enter the date in bold blue.
In Line: Date you received e-notification about the start of your interview scheduling.
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview.
Interview: Date of your interview.
Oath: Date Oath taken.

Field Office: Your local USCIS office where you will have the N-400 interview.

Edited October 24, 2017 by Going through

[LRP 26]

9 hours ago, alejandreska said:

Good evening everyone! My interview was today, and I passed . Also, I was surprised that the officer asked me to wait for my Oath letter (no need to wait for it on the mail!) and an even bigger surprise was that they scheduled my Oath Ceremony for next week! WUT!  I will become a citizen on November 2nd 

 

CONGRATS! That is probably the best interview experience one can hope for! Yaayyy!

[LRP 26]

Currently my status on ELIS says that my case has been approved but uscis.gov says:

 

Case Was Submitted For Quality Review Based On An Approval Recommendation

We recommended that your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization , Receipt Number IOE9120453770, be approved. On October 19, 2017, your case was submitted for quality review. This is a standard process we use to ensure the quality of our decisions. Once our quality review is done you will be scheduled for an oath ceremony. 

 

I had my interview on Oct 19 and my status has not changed since then.  I was hoping to catch an oath ceremony soon but looks like there will be no such luck. I looked around VJ for similar statuses but it seems like not a lot of people had gotten it and if they did, it only delayed their process. 

[JT4/25 38]

yeah...congratulations on a great interview experience.

 

[reneesuarez 21]

Hi guys, my husband's interview is in exactly one week. I am getting anxious, and starting to pull together all the documents we need to take with us. I looked all around the Naturalization thread, but could not find the info... Does anyone have a good link to what all to bring to interview? I want to make sure not to miss anything!

[alejandreska 136]

Thank you!! @LRP @JT4/25 @Going through

@reneesuarez There is a list in the interview notice (I attached it to this msg in case you lost it). I brought that and other documents I submitted with my N400 to be safe. The officer only wanted to see my new lease to prove that I was still living with my husband. And I brought his original birth certificate just in case, as well as my own.

 

Doc Oct 24, 2017, 17_00.compressed.pdf

[ARDallas 59]

Hi everyone!!!! I passed the test and my status is now placed in  line for oath ceremony!!!!

 

Below is my interview experience. Please note that my I 751 is still pending.

 

My husband arrived early at the Dallas FO. Within 5 mins, an officer called my name. I asked her if it will be just me and she responded both of us. She mentioned that she is glad we came early because she came early hoping we would be there! In her office, I can see lots of stacks with labels N400 and I751. She explained that I will have 2 interview. She will do the I751 interview and then another officer will conduct the N400. She asked for both our IDs.

 

Questions for my I751 : how long we have been married, how did we meet, where do we work, have we lived separately longer than 2 weeks. That's it. I asked if she will need anything else. She said "I don't". Then she said I will not receive my 10 years GC given if I pass the N400 test. So during the oath ceremony, I just have to hand over the 2 years GC.

 

We were back on the waiting room. I was replying work email when an officer called my name. In her office, She asked for my ID, GC, and passport. She proceeded to do the test first.

 

Reading Test: When is Columbus Day?

Writing Test: Columbus Day is in October (After I wrote it down, I double checked what she said by repeating it and she said yes)

History Question: 

 

1. What does the Cabinet do?

2.We elect US senator for how many year?

3. If president and VP can no longer serve, who becomes the president?

4.What did the Declaration of Independence do?

5. How many justices are on the Supreme Court

6. Name on branch of government

 

She wrote down the answers while I answered the questions.

 

She then went through my application. I had to correct some dates and she did. Then she told me to sign on the IPAD for the Oath of Allegiance and the change of information.

 

After that I recalled there are some redacted info on my application so I told her about it while showing my application papers ( I filed online but I printed the completed form ). She was happy I brought my application because she did not have the papers in her folder. I am so glad I brought the application papers. She asked if I needed a copy. I said no, I have the soft copy in my computer. She then took my application papers and put them in her folder. So just a tip here, make sure you bring your N400 filled up form.

 

She  printed the paper stated my application has been recommended for approval. I asked her what the next step is. She said another department will review and take care of the oath scheduling. She said she was not supposed to say how long it will take. But she heard from others that it usually takes about 2-3 weeks. THAT'S ALLL!!!!

 

As I was walking to the parking lot, I got 7 text messages and 5 emails from USCIS stated my oath ceremony will be scheduled...We placed you in line for your oath ceremony..etc etc...

 

Overall it has been a great experience!!!!!! I am so glad! Good luck to everyone!

[JT4/25 38]

yeah...congratulations on a great interview experience.

 

[JoeSchmoe2017 92]

@ARDallas Congratulations!!!

[ARDallas 59]

28 minutes ago, JT4/25 said:

yeah...congratulations on a great interview experience.

 

 

19 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe2017 said:

@ARDallas Congratulations!!!

Thank you folks! I am so glad. I feel like a big burden lifted off my shoulders.

[vkhutchings 15]

Thank you all for the warm wishes, and congratulations to everyone in return who is nearing the end of this process!!  I still can't believe how short it's been for so many of us - I had come to expect anything involving USCIS should take a year.

 

Also, apologies for being so late in posting my experiences. We literally had the citizenship ceremony from 8.30-10.30 last Thursday and then came home, got our bags and went to the airport (it was a pretty stressful day!) to go visit family in Colorado. 

 

I fully agree with your experience @Going through, I was so incredibly disappointed by the oath ceremony in Brooklyn. I'm glad my husband and baby were at least allowed in the room towards the end (and didn't have to stay in the cafeteria the whole time, as we were expecting), so I could share the occasion with them. I won't go over everything that happened as @Going through gave a great account of our ceremony. All I'll add is that I couldn't believe how silent it was in the room. The atmosphere was like that of a funeral, or like we were going to be punished for something?!! I felt like a tentative schoolgirl even asking a staff member if I could go to the bathroom because it seemed like we couldn't leave the room - and actually, at one point towards the end of the ceremony we were basically told, "Yes, you can leave the room but if you're not here when the judge arrives, you won't get your citizenship, and we don't know when the judge will come." It honesty felt like we had been rounded up to be reprimanded for something.

 

I understand that the Queens/Brooklyn center does A LOT of these ceremonies - more than one a day I think - but that's no excuse for not even welcoming us at the beginning and explaining what will happen. And I had really been looking forward to hearing everyone's countries read out, but as @Going throughmentioned, it seems they forgot the list that day. The staff basically couldn't wait to get the ceremony over with, and didn't try to add any symbolism, joy, or acknowledgement of our journeys to the event. I was pretty surprised actually, as I feel like the US normally loves to go over the top with any patriotic occasion. How weird that there's more USA pride at sporting events than at some of the naturalization ceremonies! Heck, even when I went to Sea World and saw the orca show we all sang the national anthem and stood up to salute veterans!! So would it have been so difficult for the Brooklyn courthouse to have put on a CD with some patriotic tunes? Or for one person there to have something significant prepared to say? The judge literally said "I found out I was doing this this morning, so I Googled if anything important happened in history today." 

 

Anyway, rant over. I'm happy I'm done with USCIS. I was excited to see @Going through and congratulate her. And I'm going to have a little party with friends in a couple of weeks, because at least it's important to them that I'm a citizen, even if the Brooklyn courthouse doesn't care. I'm also really thankful for this forum community - not just for the invaluable info, but because we all understand how hard this process is, and the support from everyone here over the last few years from K1 visa to Naturalization has kept me going when it's been tough. 

[JoeSchmoe2017 92]

@vkhutchings Congratulations on becoming a citizen!!!

[LRP 26]

Big congrats to @vkhutchings and @ARDallas!!!

[Going through 5,669]

@vkhutchings it's good that you will have a little party later on to celebrate!  

 

You put the experience we had in good words....the atmosphere *was* somewhat like a funeral.