Chicago N400 filers

[agrzybianek 34]

3 hours ago, podapodapunnaku said:

Thank you Steelers and kdg for your prompt answers. I forgot to ask two related question ( from my wife actually)

 

1. Do we need to take passport size photos (2)?

2. How long does the interview last and how long should I plan for the entire event from parking to parking? My wife has an appointment in the city  after our interview. 

3. We don’t plan to bring children in since Both of them are US citizens. Do I need to bring their birth certificates? Also, are children even allowed?

 

thanks guys

 

 

4

1. no photos are necessary ( I didn't bring any - I think that the interviewing officer took a photo of me with his webcam if I'm not mistaken)

 

2. my interview lasted maybe 15 minutes if that. it was at 9am, i got to the building at 8:30 and there was a fairly long line to register but it went pretty quickly maybe 5 minutes of waiting. I entered the room around 9:15 so the whole process took maybe an hour. when you get to the third floor you have to wait in line to check in and get a number for you interview. 

 

3. I don't know about the third question but the seating seems pretty limited so i would advise against bringing them unless necessary I would bring their birth certificates Just to be on the safe side. better to be prepared in my opinion! Good luck and feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

[podapodapunnaku 11]

16 minutes ago, agrzybianek said:

1. no photos are necessary ( I didn't bring any - I think that the interviewing officer took a photo of me with his webcam if I'm not mistaken)

 

2. my interview lasted maybe 15 minutes if that. it was at 9am, i got to the building at 8:30 and there was a fairly long line to register but it went pretty quickly maybe 5 minutes of waiting. I entered the room around 9:15 so the whole process took maybe an hour. when you get to the third floor you have to wait in line to check in and get a number for you interview. 

 

3. I don't know about the third question but the seating seems pretty limited so i would advise against bringing them unless necessary I would bring their birth certificates Just to be on the safe side. better to be prepared in my opinion! Good luck and feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

Thanks again to kdg!

thanks very much agrzybianek.

 

This is very helpful. Looks like I should show up to the entrance of the building about 45 minutes before the interview time. After your comments, I will not bring my children for sure.

 

Also, is this a very crowded place?  I was of the opinion that there will be be no more than 10 people at a given time! When you say long queue, I am imagining an airport immigration queue. Anyway, thanks to you and kdg for your detailed description. I will plan on spending 1 hr and 30 minutes. 

 

I am bit bit confused about third floor? You mean the check in is done at a different place and the interview at a different place. The reason that I ask this is because during fingerprinting all of them happened in a single office. Thanks 

 

 

[kdg 24]

14 minutes ago, podapodapunnaku said:

Thanks again to kdg!

thanks very much agrzybianek.

 

This is very helpful. Looks like I should show up to the entrance of the building about 45 minutes before the interview time. After your comments, I will not bring my children for sure.

 

Also, is this a very crowded place?  I was of the opinion that there will be be no more than 10 people at a given time! When you say long queue, I am imagining an airport immigration queue. Anyway, thanks to you and kdg for your detailed description. I will plan on spending 1 hr and 30 minutes. 

 

I am bit bit confused about third floor? You mean the check in is done at a different place and the interview at a different place. The reason that I ask this is because during fingerprinting all of them happened in a single office. Thanks 

 

 

No problem!

you go through a security just like at an airport when you arrive. Then head for the third floor. There is a check in window and they give you a ticket with your number thatvtou wait to hear. Don’t be fooled by numbers,  the number called at first was P34 and I was P98 so I thought I had a long wait. I was the next person. 

Theh take your photo and fingerprint you in the interview room after you have sworn to tell the truth etc. 

[heeman 0]

I am curious if anyone interviewed in June'18 already got their oath date, or at least, the letter notification?

How many days passed between the interview day and the message of oath letter?

Thank you.

[kdg 24]

2 minutes ago, heeman said:

I am curious if anyone interviewed in June'18 already got their oath date, or at least, the letter notification?

How many days passed between the interview day and the message of oath letter?

Thank you.

It does depend on your location... i interviewed June 19th and because I am central Illinois and not Chicago itself my wait for interview is months....

[agrzybianek 34]

1 hour ago, podapodapunnaku said:

Thanks again to kdg!

thanks very much agrzybianek.

 

This is very helpful. Looks like I should show up to the entrance of the building about 45 minutes before the interview time. After your comments, I will not bring my children for sure.

 

Also, is this a very crowded place?  I was of the opinion that there will be be no more than 10 people at a given time! When you say long queue, I am imagining an airport immigration queue. Anyway, thanks to you and kdg for your detailed description. I will plan on spending 1 hr and 30 minutes. 

 

I am bit bit confused about third floor? You mean the check in is done at a different place and the interview at a different place. The reason that I ask this is because during fingerprinting all of them happened in a single office. Thanks 

 

 

for me it was very crowded it was kind of hard for me and my wife to get seats next to each other but I'm sure it depends on the day. Just so you know there are 3 sections. Left, Middle, Right. Middle section is reserved for Oath ceremonies only. if you sit in the oath section they will ask you to move once oath people start coming in. After you check in they will tell you what door number they will call you from and depending on that you sit either on left or right side it sounds confusing I know but it's actually very easy once you get there. 

 

no sorry, when you get into the building you have to first go through security as in metal detectors, put your cell phone, shoes, belt, purse etc inside a bin and walk through. they will ask you what brings you in and you just say that you are there for your naturalization interview. they will instruct you to go to the third floor.

 

Once you get to the third floor on the escalator you will right away see a sign "check in" with an arrow pointing to it. that's the line you want to get into. once you are checked in (you will need to give your N400 interview notice and i believe they take another fingerprint if I"m not mistaken maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong) after you are checked in they will give you a piece of paper with a number. mine was J34. on that piece of paper they will write what door you will be called into so just watch for your door and sit by it

 

like I said the check in line was very long but it moved fast.

 

just so you know third floor is also where you will go for your oath! for you interview you go right after you get off the escalator and once you are there for your oath - the ceremony is to the left. 

 

I would get there 45 min early not more I'm not sure if they will let you check in 

 

let me know if you have any more questions! I love answering these  

 

(Edit - sorry i know this is long but I'm trying to provide as many details as i can remember)

Edited July 6, 2018 by agrzybianek

[Lovie Lovie 9]

3 hours ago, agrzybianek said:

for me it was very crowded it was kind of hard for me and my wife to get seats next to each other but I'm sure it depends on the day. Just so you know there are 3 sections. Left, Middle, Right. Middle section is reserved for Oath ceremonies only. if you sit in the oath section they will ask you to move once oath people start coming in. After you check in they will tell you what door number they will call you from and depending on that you sit either on left or right side it sounds confusing I know but it's actually very easy once you get there. 

 

no sorry, when you get into the building you have to first go through security as in metal detectors, put your cell phone, shoes, belt, purse etc inside a bin and walk through. they will ask you what brings you in and you just say that you are there for your naturalization interview. they will instruct you to go to the third floor.

 

Once you get to the third floor on the escalator you will right away see a sign "check in" with an arrow pointing to it. that's the line you want to get into. once you are checked in (you will need to give your N400 interview notice and i believe they take another fingerprint if I"m not mistaken maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong) after you are checked in they will give you a piece of paper with a number. mine was J34. on that piece of paper they will write what door you will be called into so just watch for your door and sit by it

 

like I said the check in line was very long but it moved fast.

 

just so you know third floor is also where you will go for your oath! for you interview you go right after you get off the escalator and once you are there for your oath - the ceremony is to the left. 

 

I would get there 45 min early not more I'm not sure if they will let you check in 

 

let me know if you have any more questions! I love answering these  

 

(Edit - sorry i know this is long but I'm trying to provide as many details as i can remember)

You are awesome lol, I love reading this even thou the questions don’t belong to me. I’m learning everyday my interview has been scheduled for 31st of July. 

[Steelers1020 64]

10 hours ago, podapodapunnaku said:

Thank you Steelers and kdg for your prompt answers. I forgot to ask two related question ( from my wife actually)

 

1. Do we need to take passport size photos (2)?  My husband did take passport pictures but they never asked for them. So he just used them for his passport application. 

 

2. How long does the interview last and how long should I plan for the entire event from parking to parking? My wife has an appointment in the city  after our interview. My husband was inside for maybe 15-20 minutes. The whole process from the time we parked was probably 1.5 hour. 

 

3. We don’t plan to bring children in since Both of them are US citizens. Do I need to bring their birth certificates? Also, are children even allowed? We did not take our kids (they were at school) but my husband did have there birth certificates and our marriage license. He was never asked to show any of those things but he was asked how long we've been married and how many kids we have and there ages. 

 

thanks guys

 

 

 

[Steelers1020 64]

6 hours ago, podapodapunnaku said:

Thanks again to kdg!

thanks very much agrzybianek.

 

This is very helpful. Looks like I should show up to the entrance of the building about 45 minutes before the interview time. After your comments, I will not bring my children for sure.

 

Also, is this a very crowded place?  I was of the opinion that there will be be no more than 10 people at a given time! When you say long queue, I am imagining an airport immigration queue. Anyway, thanks to you and kdg for your detailed description. I will plan on spending 1 hr and 30 minutes. 

 

I am bit bit confused about third floor? You mean the check in is done at a different place and the interview at a different place. The reason that I ask this is because during fingerprinting all of them happened in a single office. Thanks 

 

 

There are multiple things going on at once on the 3rd floor so it is a busy room. It's a large waiting room that you wait to hear your token number. People do bring kids but they are absolutely not necessary and it's probably bothersome for them since they can't go in. 

[agrzybianek 34]

On 7/6/2018 at 4:43 PM, Lovie Lovie said:

You are awesome lol, I love reading this even thou the questions don’t belong to me. I’m learning everyday my interview has been scheduled for 31st of July. 

July 31st? getting closer  make sure you study your questions, bring your tax returns and most importantly try to relax. as long as you don't have a criminal record and you paid your taxes and all you have absolutely nothing to worry about! its important to remember that the interviewing officers are people too and they know that this is stressful for us even if it's not for them.

[ordjnb 40]

Any i751 combo filers here? I hear Chicago doesn't approve both at the same time and thus aplying for N400 while i751 is pending actually takes longer than if I just wait for conditions to be removed first. 

[Lovie Lovie 9]

15 hours ago, agrzybianek said:

July 31st? getting closer  make sure you study your questions, bring your tax returns and most importantly try to relax. as long as you don't have a criminal record and you paid your taxes and all you have absolutely nothing to worry about! its important to remember that the interviewing officers are people too and they know that this is stressful for us even if it's not for them.

Haha So true  I can’t wait actually I just want to be done with the whole USCIS scene , I think I have over studied too 😂.  Thank you so much for always being positive. 

[agrzybianek 34]

7 hours ago, Lovie Lovie said:

Haha So true  I can’t wait actually I just want to be done with the whole USCIS scene , I think I have over studied too 😂.  Thank you so much for always being positive. 

I know exactly what you mean. leaving the USCIS office after taking my oath was probably one of the best moments of my life. just knowing that you will not have to deal with them again is a HUGE huge huge relief!

it's hard to explain the feeling, it's something you have to experience for yourself and soon looks like it too. I waited 2 weeks for my oath from the date of my interview so unless something has changed you should have your oath by middle of August. 

[Lovie Lovie 9]

3 hours ago, agrzybianek said:

I know exactly what you mean. leaving the USCIS office after taking my oath was probably one of the best moments of my life. just knowing that you will not have to deal with them again is a HUGE huge huge relief!

it's hard to explain the feeling, it's something you have to experience for yourself and soon looks like it too. I waited 2 weeks for my oath from the date of my interview so unless something has changed you should have your oath by middle of August. 

That’s true, oh my goodness I’ll be more than happy to get my oath done by middle of August as I’m traveling for my mother’s knee surgery in Africa and I will have to spend some times with her during the healing process so there’s probability I miss my oath but I asked before on here if I can ask for a early oath date on my interview but from the answers people gave so far nothing looks really positive  even thou I have all the medical paperwork with me. 

[flash9153 28]

On 7/9/2018 at 12:44 PM, ordjnb said:

Any i751 combo filers here? I hear Chicago doesn't approve both at the same time and thus aplying for N400 while i751 is pending actually takes longer than if I just wait for conditions to be removed first. 

I hate this process so much, there is all kinds of conflicting information out there. I am a Chicago filer with pending i751. Hoping to God that the i751 gets adjudicated before an interview is scheduled for the N400.