N-400 Filers @ New York City, Queens and Long Island Field Offices

[Sherja 17]

1 minute ago, Alla2020 said:

Congratulations!!! For N400?

Thanks . Yes it’s for my n400 

[inthebigapple 0]

7 hours ago, Sherja said:

Thanks . Yes it’s for my n400 

Congrats! Giving hope to everyone else!  When did it get rescheduled? Also, did you get a notification about it of any kind?

Edited September 28, 2020 by inthebigapple

[Sherja 17]

17 minutes ago, inthebigapple said:

Congrats! Giving hope to everyone else!  When did it get rescheduled? Also, did you get a notification about it of any kind?

It got schedule sept 18 . And yes I got notifications in the document tab and also a letter in mail 

[Gijo12 14]

On 9/1/2020 at 10:43 AM, simsim2 said:

Hi everyone,  just to add a datapoint, especially for the people that are still waiting on their rescheduled interview. 

 

Field Office: New York (7th Fl), Manhattan Office (I am a resident of Manhattan) 

Receipt Date: 06/09/2019

Based on: 3-YR Rule

Biometrics: 06/24/2019

Original Interview: 03/31/2020 - Cancelled due to COVID 

Rescheduled Interview: 08/31/2020 - Was scheduled on 08/12/2020

Result: Approved 

In Line for Oath: 09/01/2020 

 

Let me give you all a bit of details about my interview and situation, as I am sure someone will find it helpful. 

 

My receipt notice had an issue with the date. It stated that the receipt date was 06/08/2020 and not 06/09/2020, which would get me out of the allowed filing window. This was due to the fact that in my excitement to file for my N-400, I did not consider that their website would not be on Eastern Time (yes, I saw after the fact that there is already a post by @Hypnos about it). A word of advise: if you are in a hurry to file, file at 12:01AM Hawaiian Time!!! (this is the timezone the website goes by). Anyway, when I saw the issue, I called USCIS right away and they responded 5 months later that I would need to address it at my interview. With that being said, the rep on the phone was very helpful and she confirmed that she saw both dates depending on which system she was looking at. 

 

Let's be real, we're dealing with USCIS here - so I was not going to wait for my interview to address this. I reached out to the Ombudsman, my Senator (Gillibrand), and my representative (Nadler) - as a side note, don't bother reaching out to Schumer, they never got back to me. All 3 reached out to the NY Field Office to ensure this was not going to be an issue during my interview and as a matter of fact it was not an issue at all. All that was done in Feb 2020 ahead of my originally scheduled interview.

 

Now, fast forward to 08/31/2020. I arrived at the NY Field Office at 8:50AM for an interview at 9:20AM. The security downstairs was fast and let me through 30 minutes ahead of my appointment time, despite the notice stating that we should not arrive more than 15 minutes early. Another word of advise here - the 15 minute ahead may work for all offices in the United States but it does not work for the NY Office because they cover 3 different regions in the same building. I arrived on the 7th floor at 8:55AM and got in line to check in. That took 40 minutes. After that, I waited for my interview for 2 hours and was called in at 11AM. The NY office does allow you to have your computer and your phone - I did not know that and wish I had brought my laptop to get some work done during the 2 hours. Also, bring a snack and water as there is nothing in the building. 

 

The office is organized to allow for social distancing, everyone has to wear a mask on at all times, and officers are protected by a plexiglass window. Makes it hard to heard the officers and I really do feel for people that are not very fluent in English. Everyone respected all rules but that may be because NY'ers are probably traumatized by how hard the city was hit with COVID. 

 

I got into the Officer's office and as soon as I put my bag down he made me take the oath that I will only tell the truth and we dove right in. I was **stressed** to say the least. He pulled my A-file and it was fun to see everything I had ever sent to USCIS. Right away he asked me for the following: 

• Green Card 
• Passport 
• Drivers' License (not mentioned on my interview letter) 
• Social Security Card, if I had it on me (not mentioned on my interview letter) - thankfully, I had it 
• Proof of Selective Service - weirdly, he took the original card and gave me a copy 

At first, the officer wasn't very very warm but he warmed up throughout the interview and I had a good time overall - it will be a nice memory. We then went over my biometrics info (full name, address, DOB, employment, marriage info, history of travel, etc). I had changed jobs and had travelled quite a bit between filing and the interview so I had prepared two simple documents on Word: 

• One table showing all my employment history with dates, address, employer, and job title 
• One table showing all my travels, with dates and counties visited, as well as total number of days outside the US broken by year, and percentage of time spent abroad 

He liked that I had put this together so I didnt have to dictate everything to him (remember my point about not hearing anything because of the mask and plexiglass) and he just added them to my A File. 

 

He then asked me if I was ever arrested or convicted - I told him that between filing and the interview I had a traffic violation. He asked me for the ticket and proof of payment, which I gave to him. Without any warning, we got into the US History questions, I got asked 6 questions: 

• How long is the President elected for? 
• How many senators are there? 
• How many years do senators serve for? 
• Before being President, Eisenhower served in which war? 
• What is one promise you make when you become a US Citizen?
• I honestly cannot remember the last one

Then we did the reading test on an iPad - I had to read "Who was George Washington?" and I had to write "Washington was the first President" . We then went over the 50 or so Y/N questions very quickly. Then I finally brought up the date issue and he told me "that has been resolved a very long time ago, it was good you reached out" so at that point I finally relaxed. I also asked him if he needed more evidence or my 2019 taxes (given that I filed in June 2019, I did not submit them) and he told me "trust me I know you're married" and laughed. At that point, I understood that the 260 pages of evidence that I had brought to my interview would not be needed. 

 

Then I was asked to review the changes he made to my application and sign these changes, I was asked to give a new signature for my naturalization certificate, I had to sign that I was willing to take the oath of naturalization, and that was it! I was given a form recommending me for approval. I asked if I could have my oath scheduling notice during the interview and he told me NY was still too backlogged from COVID but I should get it online shortly after, and I was on my way. Finally, today my status updated to "In Line for Oath". 

 

In regard to attire, I was dressed business casual, as was everyone else there. 

 

I hope this helps calm someone's nerves ahead of the interview and that you guys will have a good time

 

Hi SimSim - Thank you so much. My interview date is getting close next Tuesday. couple final questions - Did you bring or did the officer asked for supporting like update joint banking statement, or tax return or any supporting showing joint financial? Did you get any update on your Oath?

[simsim2 50]

4 hours ago, Gijo12 said:

Hi SimSim - Thank you so much. My interview date is getting close next Tuesday. couple final questions - Did you bring or did the officer asked for supporting like update joint banking statement, or tax return or any supporting showing joint financial? Did you get any update on your Oath?

Hey, anytime. 

I came to my interview with a lot of documents: 

• Bank Statements covering the period from when I filed for Naturalization to interview 
• 2019 Taxes 
• New lease for my apt 
• New medical insurance showing my husband and me 
• New assets acquired since filing for naturalization 
• Letters sent to both of us as recently as the week before my interview 
• Photos 
• Travel Receipts 
• Original of my marriage certificate 
• Original of my Selective Service Registration 
• And a bunch of other documents covering rom the date we got married 

I offered these documents to the Officer but he said that he did not need them - I had sent a bunch of documents as part of my N-400, and a lot as part of my I-751 which was approved just 2 months before my interview. As I said previously, he just took my Drivers' License, my Social Security Card, my passport, my green card, he kept my original SS Card. I am a worrier so I would rather be over-prepared than take the chance of the officer asking me for something that would have been readily available at home, but that I just didnt take with me. The whole process is long enough in NY to not take any chances to make it even longer. Also, with the pandemic going on, who knows if the offices wont shut down again... Better be safe than sorry! 

 

I did hear back about my oath. My interview was 08/31/2020 and I was given the notice saying that I was recommended by approval, official approval came on 09/01/2020 online, and I was scheduled for my oath 14 days later on 09/15/2020, and my oath will be on 10/07/2020 in Manhattan. 

 

Let me know if you have any other questions! 

Edited September 30, 2020 by simsim2

[Gijo12 14]

42 minutes ago, simsim2 said:

Hey, anytime. 

I came to my interview with a lot of documents: 

• Bank Statements covering the period from when I filed for Naturalization to interview 
• 2019 Taxes 
• New lease for my apt 
• New medical insurance showing my husband and me 
• New assets acquired since filing for naturalization 
• Letters sent to both of us as recently as the week before my interview 
• Photos 
• Travel Receipts 
• Original of my marriage certificate 
• Original of my Selective Service Registration 
• And a bunch of other documents covering rom the date we got married 

I offered these documents to the Officer but he said that he did not need them - I had sent a bunch of documents as part of my N-400, and a lot as part of my I-751 which was approved just 2 months before my interview. As I said previously, he just took my Drivers' License, my Social Security Card, my passport, my green card, he kept my original SS Card. I am a worrier so I would rather be over-prepared than take the chance of the officer asking me for something that would have been readily available at home, but that I just didnt take with me. The whole process is long enough in NY to not take any chances to make it even longer. Also, with the pandemic going on, who knows if the offices wont shut down again... Better be safe than sorry! 

 

I did hear back about my oath. My interview was 08/31/2020 and I was given the notice saying that I was recommended by approval, official approval came on 09/01/2020 online, and I was scheduled for my oath 14 days later on 09/15/2020, and my oath will be on 10/07/2020 in Manhattan. 

 

Let me know if you have any other questions! 

Thank you so much!!! This is super helpful!! 

[MrT 17]

Had my interview yesterday and I too definitely found the post from @simsim2 super helpful! My interviews was at 2pm, and there was not that many people, so it took me 5 min to get into the building, and another 5 in line to check in. After that I waited for my interview for about 15 minutes before I was called in.

 

The officer asked me for my green card and my appointment letter, and asked me to tell him my SSN. He asked me if I had been abroad, which I had a couple of months ago. I offered the printed documents with address changes and my travels abroad since my application submission, but he said it wasn't necessary. 

 

I the took the oath and answered a number of the questions from the application again, followed by the civics test, the reading and writing test. After another couple of questions about current employer, marital status, etc I  was told that I was recommended for approval. I asked about the timeline for the oath ceremony, he told me that he wasn't involved in the scheduling so he couldn't tell me any details. All in all the interview took about 15 minutes.

 

So I was in and out of the building in 45 minutes, much faster than I had expected.

 

I'm now waiting for the status to change online. I am a little concerned because I realized that one travel abroad that was on my printed list never got registered, the address changes are probably not as important, at least I assume so since the officer didn't need to see them. Hopefully it all works out!

 

[Ring of The fire 55]

On 10/1/2020 at 10:18 PM, MrT said:

Had my interview yesterday and I too definitely found the post from @simsim2 super helpful! My interviews was at 2pm, and there was not that many people, so it took me 5 min to get into the building, and another 5 in line to check in. After that I waited for my interview for about 15 minutes before I was called in.

 

The officer asked me for my green card and my appointment letter, and asked me to tell him my SSN. He asked me if I had been abroad, which I had a couple of months ago. I offered the printed documents with address changes and my travels abroad since my application submission, but he said it wasn't necessary. 

 

I the took the oath and answered a number of the questions from the application again, followed by the civics test, the reading and writing test. After another couple of questions about current employer, marital status, etc I  was told that I was recommended for approval. I asked about the timeline for the oath ceremony, he told me that he wasn't involved in the scheduling so he couldn't tell me any details. All in all the interview took about 15 minutes.

 

So I was in and out of the building in 45 minutes, much faster than I had expected.

 

I'm now waiting for the status to change online. I am a little concerned because I realized that one travel abroad that was on my printed list never got registered, the address changes are probably not as important, at least I assume so since the officer didn't need to see them. Hopefully it all works out!

 

Congratulations, In which office You were interviewed? And when did you apply ?

[MrT 17]

23 hours ago, Ring of the lord said:

Congratulations, In which office You were interviewed? And when did you apply ?

Thanks! Manhattan, applied last week of July 2019.

Edited October 4, 2020 by MrT

[Amazinggrace123 20]

On 9/24/2020 at 10:10 AM, vic2016 said:

Nothing... it’s been 2 weeks already 😐 frustrating 

Hi, any update about your oath?

[vic2016 11]

30 minutes ago, Amazinggrace123 said:

Hi, any update about your oath?

Nothing .... it still says “ oath ceremony will be scheduled”

[Gijo12 14]

On 10/1/2020 at 10:18 PM, MrT said:

Had my interview yesterday and I too definitely found the post from @simsim2 super helpful! My interviews was at 2pm, and there was not that many people, so it took me 5 min to get into the building, and another 5 in line to check in. After that I waited for my interview for about 15 minutes before I was called in.

 

The officer asked me for my green card and my appointment letter, and asked me to tell him my SSN. He asked me if I had been abroad, which I had a couple of months ago. I offered the printed documents with address changes and my travels abroad since my application submission, but he said it wasn't necessary. 

 

I the took the oath and answered a number of the questions from the application again, followed by the civics test, the reading and writing test. After another couple of questions about current employer, marital status, etc I  was told that I was recommended for approval. I asked about the timeline for the oath ceremony, he told me that he wasn't involved in the scheduling so he couldn't tell me any details. All in all the interview took about 15 minutes.

 

So I was in and out of the building in 45 minutes, much faster than I had expected.

 

I'm now waiting for the status to change online. I am a little concerned because I realized that one travel abroad that was on my printed list never got registered, the address changes are probably not as important, at least I assume so since the officer didn't need to see them. Hopefully it all works out!

 

Thanks @MrT for sharing your experience. My interview is coming in 2 days 9:20am in Manhattan office. Quick question:I wonder if the officer will ask about the proof of my husband's selective service registration. I am the one having N400 interview though. Thanks.

[Gijo12 14]

I just had my interview today. Checked in on time in the morning at 9:20am and I was called in an hour. A lot of people in the morning.

The officer was a little bit cool . We went straight to Oath once I got to the office and officer asked for my green card, SSN , ID, and passport.  We went ahead to the Civic test, English and written test. Next, the officer started going through the questions on the application and focused on my unemployment history (2 months unemployed), asked how I was able to support myself. I said I was using my savings and supported by my husband. Then continues to go through all questions. Signed the iPad for the changes made on the application. Officer next asked for my 2019 tax return and all joint banking statement. Then I was giving the result : I passed the English and written test. But it said “A decision cannot yet be made” saying I will get a letter from the mail. Then she led me out and I saw her eyes smile saying have a nice day. Omg what does that mean... I’m worried now.

[Sherja 17]

Remain positive everything will work ok. But why did they need joint bank statements? Is it 3 year rule? My interview is in 3 weeks but I was planning on bringing a joint bank statement 

[Amazinggrace123 20]

2 hours ago, Gijo12 said:

I just had my interview today. Checked in on time in the morning at 9:20am and I was called in an hour. A lot of people in the morning.

The officer was a little bit cool . We went straight to Oath once I got to the office and officer asked for my green card, SSN , ID, and passport.  We went ahead to the Civic test, English and written test. Next, the officer started going through the questions on the application and focused on my unemployment history (2 months unemployed), asked how I was able to support myself. I said I was using my savings and supported by my husband. Then continues to go through all questions. Signed the iPad for the changes made on the application. Officer next asked for my 2019 tax return and all joint banking statement. Then I was giving the result : I passed the English and written test. But it said “A decision cannot yet be made” saying I will get a letter from the mail. Then she led me out and I saw her eyes smile saying have a nice day. Omg what does that mean... I’m worried now.

What floor did you attend your interview?