Chicago N400 filers

[egroeg 66]

Any I-751/N-400 combo filers from Chicago who were approved ? Seems like most folks weren't allowed a combo interview and were asked to come in for separate interviews ?

[tgkc168 0]

Any info on the naturalization ceremony in Chicago?

After having her interview August 2017 and being approved and placed in line for an oath ceremony a week later  my wife finally received her naturalization ceremony date of July 23rd at 9am at the USCIS building in chicago.

How early should we arrive?

Can we take cameras or pictues with cell phone during the ceremony?

How many people are usually becoming citizens that day?

Will there be room for myself and kids to watch/sit?

Anything else anyone can recommend?

[kdg 24]

On 7/5/2018 at 8:57 AM, agrzybianek said:

I live in northern Illinois (about 20 miles from the Wisconsin border) I had my interview on May 9th, 2018 and my oath was may 23rd, it's strange that central IL residents have to wait that long. I wonder why that is

Oh you're sooo lucky!!!  Central Illinois residents apparentl MUST have a judiscial ceremony - as decided by Chicago??!!  They just do not move very fast.... .. even with the Senators office trying to help me there is no chance of speeding things along. The next ceremony is Friday - which I am obviously not in line for, then not til the end of September. After that it is October then nothing til next year.  

[gabreigns 75]

I heard some people who had I-751 and N-400 simultaneously were refused on arrival for an interview? I have mine on 21st of August. Would love to hear some experiences. I have already read a few like @AK_2014 who were denied based on pending I-751.

[agrzybianek 34]

16 hours ago, tgkc168 said:

Any info on the naturalization ceremony in Chicago?

After having her interview August 2017 and being approved and placed in line for an oath ceremony a week later  my wife finally received her naturalization ceremony date of July 23rd at 9am at the USCIS building in chicago.

How early should we arrive?

Can we take cameras or pictues with cell phone during the ceremony?

How many people are usually becoming citizens that day?

Will there be room for myself and kids to watch/sit?

Anything else anyone can recommend?

congrats!

when i had my oath we arrived about 45 minutes to an hour early i believe, i wouldn't come any any earlier than that because you'll wait for a long time and I'm not sure if they will even let you come that early.

yes! You can take pictures, when I had my ceremony the person that was swearing us in told us when we can take pictures and at the end you can even take a photo with him/her as you receive your diploma.

when i had my oath there were between 130-150 people I can't remember on the exact number 

yes there will be a whole area reserved for family during the ceremoney.

 

only thing I can recommend is make sure your wife enjoys her special day! she will never have to deal with USCIS again! 

[podapodapunnaku 11]

All,

     My wife and I had our interview today. I will explain the details in a separate post. All went straightforwardly. We both got a paper that says we have passed the test.

      Thrilled, but before we  reached home we got a text that one of our cases is under supervisor review? Why would that be? The online status for the other case remains the same as in that the interview is scheduled. Note: my wife had requested a change in the last name. 

      I am not sure what this means. Are we OK? Bit worried. 

Edited July 18, 2018 by podapodapunnaku

[egroeg 66]

16 hours ago, podapodapunnaku said:

All,

     My wife and I had our interview today. I will explain the details in a separate post. All went straightforwardly. We both got a paper that says we have passed the test.

      Thrilled, but before we  reached home we got a text that one of our cases is under supervisor review? Why would that be? The online status for the other case remains the same as in that the interview is scheduled. Note: my wife had requested a change in the last name. 

      I am not sure what this means. Are we OK? Bit worried. 

@podapodapunnaku Did you have your I-751 pending ? or were you already in possession of a 10 year green card ?

[podapodapunnaku 11]

29 minutes ago, xilef said:

@podapodapunnaku Did you have your I-751 pending ? or were you already in possession of a 10 year green card ?

No to both. Our paper clearly says “Congratulations! You application is recommended for approval”. 

 

My wife said she found a typo in the name during the interview and they said it a data entry mistake and then they corrected it. i am wondering if this is causing the delay. Someone may have to check againI suppose?

Edited July 19, 2018 by podapodapunnaku

[Commando 13]

I have a question please, Changing the address could delay the processing more, because I want to move to another house??

 

 

 

[Ahmed666 3]

On 7/17/2018 at 3:49 PM, tgkc168 said:

Any info on the naturalization ceremony in Chicago?

After having her interview August 2017 and being approved and placed in line for an oath ceremony a week later  my wife finally received her naturalization ceremony date of July 23rd at 9am at the USCIS building in chicago.

How early should we arrive?

Can we take cameras or pictues with cell phone during the ceremony?

How many people are usually becoming citizens that day?

Will there be room for myself and kids to watch/sit?

Anything else anyone can recommend?

I have My oath cermony same like your wife tommrow and we coming from South Beloit 100 miles from the place, willing to be there an hour early and hope things go fine , my wife and my kids will be with me as well

[podapodapunnaku 11]

All,

    Here is my detailed post. We had our interview last week In chicago. We had filed on Aug 2017. We got fingerprinted in Sept 2017. Originally, we had been scheduled for October for fingerprinting but I did a walk-in. Had to given an explanation with documents for travel and then they agreed to fingerprint us. So, biometrics done in September 2017. Then, standing in the queue since Oct 31,2017. After long long wait and reading this forum gave me hope. I want to thank “Steelers” at this point. As predicted I got a interview date schedule for July 2017. Then, we prepared well and went to the interview.

    We had an afternoon interview. We went 1 hr ahead and came out ahead of our original time! My interview was straightforward. There was not many people in there. At max, the whole area had eight people!

 

 

After asking six questions, and going through my N-400 form asking the No and yes questions, she verified if my job has changed. It wasn’t. She also printout a final document that she asked me to check my address and names as it would appear on the oath certificate. I checked and said it all looks OK.  After this,  the officer gave me a sheet stating that you have been approved. She also said we will receive a note in the mail for a oath date. At that point, I said that my wife is changing her last name and she said then my oath will happen two blocks down in some street name that sounded like Bourbon street. No clear what she exactly said. She walked me out of the door. 

              When I came out, I waited for my wife at the waiting area. She came about 10 minutes later. She said she found a typo in her name in the system and the her officer appreciated my wife that my wife had caught the error. She also received a sheet that states that you have been  approved. 

      After the interview, we arrived home and I got a text stating that my status has changed and when I checked it says under supervisor review ( for my wife) but no updates for my case yet. 

      At this point, I would like to thank kdg and arbyinek, who response was so so helpful regarding n-400.  Trust me, those responses were kind and encouraging and very helpful to plan ahead. I parked at 730 S Clark Street. Paid $14 for four hours.

     Also, all VJers who responded quickly and compassionately deserves a special thanks. My status hasn’t changed since our interview. I think I have to wait atleast two weeks for something to happen. Finger crossed for the oath date. 

     For those who had interview in July 2017 at Chicago, have anyone received their oath yet. More helpful would be those who have changed their name. Thanks all.

   

 

     

     

[kdg 24]

2 minutes ago, podapodapunnaku said:

All,

    Here is my detailed post. We had our interview last week In chicago. We had filed on Aug 2017. We got fingerprinted in Sept 2017. Originally, we had been scheduled for October for fingerprinting but I did a walk-in. Had to given an explanation with documents for travel and then they agreed to fingerprint us. So, biometrics done in September 2017. Then, standing in the queue since Oct 31,2017. After long long wait and reading this forum gave me hope. I want to thank “Steelers” at this point. As predicted I got a interview date schedule for July 2017. Then, we prepared well and went to the interview.

    We had an afternoon interview. We went 1 hr ahead and came out ahead of our original time! My interview was straightforward. There was not many people in there. At max, the whole area had eight people!

 

 

After asking six questions, and going through my N-400 form asking the No and yes questions, she verified if my job has changed. It wasn’t. She also printout a final document that she asked me to check my address and names as it would appear on the oath certificate. I checked and said it all looks OK.  After this,  the officer gave me a sheet stating that you have been approved. She also said we will receive a note in the mail for a oath date. At that point, I said that my wife is changing her last name and she said then my oath will happen two blocks down in some street name that sounded like Bourbon street. No clear what she exactly said. She walked me out of the door. 

              When I came out, I waited for my wife at the waiting area. She came about 10 minutes later. She said she found a typo in her name in the system and the her officer appreciated my wife that my wife had caught the error. She also received a sheet that states that you have been  approved. 

      After the interview, we arrived home and I got a text stating that my status has changed and when I checked it says under supervisor review ( for my wife) but no updates for my case yet. 

      At this point, I would like to thank kdg and arbyinek, who response was so so helpful regarding n-400.  Trust me, those responses were kind and encouraging and very helpful to plan ahead. I parked at 730 S Clark Street. Paid $14 for four hours.

     Also, all VJers who responded quickly and compassionately deserves a special thanks. My status hasn’t changed since our interview. I think I have to wait atleast two weeks for something to happen. Finger crossed for the oath date. 

     For those who had interview in July 2017 at Chicago, have anyone received their oath yet. More helpful would be those who have changed their name. Thanks all.

   

 

     

     

Woohoo! The end is in sight!! Congratulations!

 

No news for me as a June interviewee, I know the next ceremony takes place in Central Illinois in September 21st and another September 25th and I am doubtful to even get either one. It’s slow for us down south of Chicago. Hope you get a speedy ceremony for you and your wife. 

 

Keep us updated! 

[Lovie Lovie 9]

20 hours ago, podapodapunnaku said:

All,

    Here is my detailed post. We had our interview last week In chicago. We had filed on Aug 2017. We got fingerprinted in Sept 2017. Originally, we had been scheduled for October for fingerprinting but I did a walk-in. Had to given an explanation with documents for travel and then they agreed to fingerprint us. So, biometrics done in September 2017. Then, standing in the queue since Oct 31,2017. After long long wait and reading this forum gave me hope. I want to thank “Steelers” at this point. As predicted I got a interview date schedule for July 2017. Then, we prepared well and went to the interview.

    We had an afternoon interview. We went 1 hr ahead and came out ahead of our original time! My interview was straightforward. There was not many people in there. At max, the whole area had eight people!

 

 

After asking six questions, and going through my N-400 form asking the No and yes questions, she verified if my job has changed. It wasn’t. She also printout a final document that she asked me to check my address and names as it would appear on the oath certificate. I checked and said it all looks OK.  After this,  the officer gave me a sheet stating that you have been approved. She also said we will receive a note in the mail for a oath date. At that point, I said that my wife is changing her last name and she said then my oath will happen two blocks down in some street name that sounded like Bourbon street. No clear what she exactly said. She walked me out of the door. 

              When I came out, I waited for my wife at the waiting area. She came about 10 minutes later. She said she found a typo in her name in the system and the her officer appreciated my wife that my wife had caught the error. She also received a sheet that states that you have been  approved. 

      After the interview, we arrived home and I got a text stating that my status has changed and when I checked it says under supervisor review ( for my wife) but no updates for my case yet. 

      At this point, I would like to thank kdg and arbyinek, who response was so so helpful regarding n-400.  Trust me, those responses were kind and encouraging and very helpful to plan ahead. I parked at 730 S Clark Street. Paid $14 for four hours.

     Also, all VJers who responded quickly and compassionately deserves a special thanks. My status hasn’t changed since our interview. I think I have to wait atleast two weeks for something to happen. Finger crossed for the oath date. 

     For those who had interview in July 2017 at Chicago, have anyone received their oath yet. More helpful would be those who have changed their name. Thanks all.

   

 

     

     

Congratulations!!!! Do you mind sharing those six questions with us if you can remember. 

[himanshu.7710 14]

Hello fellow Chicago filers

 

Are we maintaining any timeline for the Chicago filers? Any google doc or anything? 

 

It will be really useful to see and assess whats going on with Chicago office. Let me know if you guys think along the same lines.

 

Thanks 

[agrzybianek 34]

On 7/24/2018 at 1:59 PM, himanshu.7710 said:

Hello fellow Chicago filers

 

Are we maintaining any timeline for the Chicago filers? Any google doc or anything? 

 

It will be really useful to see and assess whats going on with Chicago office. Let me know if you guys think along the same lines.

 

Thanks 

I waited 11 months for my interview. filed June 2017 and had my interview May 2018. my oath was exactly 2 weeks later. seems like most paper filers wait about that long for their interview. For online filers the wait time is much shorter. 

I don't think we have a google doc of that but i could be wrong.