N-400 Newark/Mt Laurel New Jersey

[Geek2255 0]

Congrats Snorlux!!

[MaLo 15]

Anyone had the experience of having combo I751 and N400 at Newark? I wanted to know the time between successful interview and oath? I assume it cannot be the same day as usual because of pending I751. 

[Snorlux 58]

2 hours ago, MaLo said:

Anyone had the experience of having combo I751 and N400 at Newark? I wanted to know the time between successful interview and oath? I assume it cannot be the same day as usual because of pending I751. 

I did. N400 is an electronic application so they can approve everything on the spot since everything is in the system. the i751 will be a huge pile of paper in front of the immigration officer. I was approved on the spot but the officer said that he will need some extra time to "process" the approval of the i751 because it's a paper application and "there are some extra things" he has to do.

 

It took a little less than a month before I got the notification of the approval notice for the N400 and the i751 and then 1 week after that I got the notification for the oath ceremony and then once you get the electronic notification for the oath ceremony that probably means that your ceremony is scheduled for 3 weeks from that date. Check my signature and good luck!

 

 

[MaLo 15]

18 minutes ago, Snorlux said:

I did. N400 is an electronic application so they can approve everything on the spot since everything is in the system. the i751 will be a huge pile of paper in front of the immigration officer. I was approved on the spot but the officer said that he will need some extra time to "process" the approval of the i751 because it's a paper application and "there are some extra things" he has to do.

 

It took a little less than a month before I got the notification of the approval notice for the N400 and the i751 and then 1 week after that I got the notification for the oath ceremony and then once you get the electronic notification for the oath ceremony that probably means that your ceremony is scheduled for 3 weeks from that date. Check my signature and good luck!

 

 

Thanks! My interview is scheduled for Nov 13th. So N400 and I751 should be approved in first week of December and oath scheduled for January.

Question: I may need to reschedule the oath as I'm travelling too from Nov.29 till Jan 10th. What did you write in the letter?

[Snorlux 58]

Just now, MaLo said:

Thanks! My interview is scheduled for Nov 13th. So N400 and I751 should be approved in first week of December and oath scheduled for January.

Question: I may need to reschedule the oath as I'm travelling too from Nov.29 till Jan 10th. What did you write in the letter?

I just said unfortunately I will be out of the country during my scheduled oath ceremony so please reschedule on any day except on the dates below and then i put 2 date ranges from now until the end of the year where I thought that i might take some vacation just in case. Any date that you think you might not be available for the ceremony just put it down in the letter just in case.

[MaLo 15]

3 minutes ago, Snorlux said:

I just said unfortunately I will be out of the country during my scheduled oath ceremony so please reschedule on any day except on the dates below and then i put 2 date ranges from now until the end of the year where I thought that i might take some vacation just in case. Any date that you think you might not be available for the ceremony just put it down in the letter just in case.

Where did you send the letter? Address it to Newark field office?

[Snorlux 58]

Just now, MaLo said:

Where did you send the letter? Address it to Newark field office?

Yeah just send it back to the address from which the letter came. Your ceremony letter will be mailed out from the Newark office and it will have the address on the top of the letter somewhere so you basically just send the letter back with your explanation.

[Wilkintina 16]

Hi Everyone,

 

I wanted to share my n400/i751 status with all of you. As you know from my previous post that Newark Office was handling both my i751 and N400 cases. Although I had passed my N400 interview on June 26th' 2018 the officer had not made a decision as she did not want to adjudicate my i751 the same day(super mean and the most unhelpful officer- V Rodriguez)

Anyway after waiting 2 months and 1 week from the time I passed my interview I received a letter in the mail to appear for my i751 interview and to bring my spouse. (No email or case status updates on website)

Interview was scheduled on Oct 17th and I took every document from bank statements, tax copies, pictures together, mortgage copies, insurance cards, car insurance ,etc. This time I was asked to go to the 14th floor and it took about 1 hour for my name to be called. Officer Collazo was an angel sent from heaven especially after dealing with officer Rodriguez. He told me as soon as he had us sit in his cabin that if he finds my evidence satisfactory he will talk to his supervisor and get my n400 approved and also take the Oath the same day so I don't have to come back again- V Rodriguez needs to learn from her subordinates.

He started by making both my husband and I raise our right hand and to swear to tell the truth.

I751 interview 

Husband was asked when did we first meet

He asked me how did we meet

If we have taken any international trips together- Yes

He took all the copies of evidence I had brought with me. In the end he said I was approved and the supervisor had agreed to process my N400 as well. He asked us to wait outside and he will get back to us in 15 minutes with the progress of my N400 case.

I waited for 10 minutes in the waiting room and then Officer Collazo said that my N400 was approved and I will be taking my Oath the same day. He said that I may be waiting the whole day for the Oath and that If we were hungry we can grab something to eat . theres a canteen on the 2nd floor and also on the 1st floor. He told me to come back in an hour so he can give us further updates on the Oath time. We ate and came back on the 14th floor. 

N400 Case

A few minutes later Officer Rodriguez (the same officer that took my N400 interview)shows up and asks me to go with her to the 15th floor . 

She made my husband sit in the waiting area and I went with her and she started to tell me how the system has changed and everything is electronic. She looked upset and kept telling me how she wasn't told I was coming today for my I751 interview and now She will have to enter all my details in the computer and not sure if the computer will approve my N400. I was once again disheartened by her talks and lost any hope . At this point I wasn't sure who to believe in . It took 15 minutes for her to enter all the application details. I was further shocked to see that all the documents I had given her at my interview , she asked for them all over again . I said I had given all of them at the I751 interview . She looked at my file next to her and started scanning everything in the system.She had not touched my case after the N400 interview as per what I could see . Almost 4 months since I interviewed.She kept telling me she had a doctors appointment to go to and she also had to pick up her daughter from school. She called her husband in front of me to get her daughter from school. She told me her supervisor made her wait to process my case. She kept telling me if I wanted to come back some other day for her to process my N400. I kept my cool and told her I've waited a year for this so I'm okay to wait a few more hours and if it would be possible for some other officer or supervisor to process my case if she had to leave. She didn't say anything  Finally she  approved my case in the NATS system.

Oath Ceremony

Once the N400 was approved in the system, she said I'm not sure if you can take the Oath today. There are many people waiting to take the Oath so im not sure if there is a slot available for you today. You can try tomorrow or we will send you a notice in the mail for Oath Ceremony. I told her that the  Supervisor who spoke to Officer Collazo said that I could take the Oath today. She said I will call my supervisor- Supervisor told her to give me the Oath Notice and that she has plenty of seats in the room for me to take the Oath 😅 It really felt like this officer just did not want to put in any effort and she was negative about everything. She lied to me at my n400 interview that no officer had authority to adjudicate I751 cases In Newark and then she lied about the system won't approve me and then about the Oath slots.

She really made me feel like  it was my fault I  applied for citizenship. 

Minutes later I got the Oath letter from her and she left me in the waiting area back with my hubby. We waited 3 hours for the Oath Ceremony- no complaints

I waited for an hour for the front office to call my name and hadn't them my green card and sign my naturalization certificate. They gave me a white envelope with passport form and voter registration .

Ceremony finished at 5 pm we all got our Certificate in hand. You are allowed to bring family and friends to witness your Oath ceremony.They will be seated in the back though.

 

Not going to write anything about the ceremony as I think every individual should experience it and I don't want to ruin it for anyone who is waiting.

Oct 21st- received Approval notice for I751 and that I will get my green card in the mail(Not going to happen)

 

Passport Timeline

Oct 22nd -Applied for Passport at New York Office

Oct 22nd- Passport received same day as I travel overseas tomorrow.(Its a 3-4 hour wait to get same day passport after the documents are verified and processed)

 

Sorry I know this post  is long but I wanted to take the time and share my experience incase one of you is in the same boat as I was - I really hope not. My case was only delayed because of one officer . There are many other officers and supervisors in that office that are knowledgeable and very professional . So please don't lose hope and faith .

Im glad my journey with USCIS is finally over and I wish all of you waiting the best of luck .

Edited October 24, 2018 by Wilkintina

[mariaaa 14]

I had my N-400 interview and oath taking in Newark last October 25th. The actual interview is quick, but there is a lot of waiting in between. And by the way, they are now using tables to administer the reading and writing part of the interview.

[mariaaa 14]

8 hours ago, mariaaa said:

I had my N-400 interview and oath taking in Newark last October 25th. The actual interview is quick, but there is a lot of waiting in between. And by the way, they are now using tables to administer the reading and writing part of the interview.

I meant to say they were using TABLETS

[Im-patient 4]

Is there like a spreadsheet or some kind of tracker for this group? Trying to get an estimate of the actual wait time from filing till interview at Newark office.

[stomo 32]

I had my interview and oath on 10/23.  So happy this process is over and I am finally a US Citizen!  No more green cards!!  

[mariaaa 14]

On 10/31/2018 at 2:29 PM, stomo said:

I had my interview and oath on 10/23.  So happy this process is over and I am finally a US Citizen!  No more green cards!!  

Hope you filed for passport already! 

 

I filed for my passport Oct 27 and will be getting it this weekend.

[MaLo 15]

Hello. Passed the citizenship interview today but a decision cannot be made due to pending I751. The officer said we will have response within 30 days and they will contact if additional information is needed. More waiting...

[Vass 0]

E-filed: May 1,2018 
Field office: Newark, NJ. 
Basis: 5 yrs on employment based PR 
Online Notice for Fingerprints: 5th May 2018 
Fingerprints schedule date: 21st May 2018 
Interview Was Scheduled(Text Msg): 26th Nov 2018