2018 San Francisco filers

[parampara 15]

3 hours ago, gopinatht said:

Thanks @init18 for the info. Much appreciated!

 

One more question. After I submitted my application last year, I got a parking ticket. I intend to mention it during the interview but was wondering what impact it could have on the approval process. If it helps, the ticket was $33.

The speeding ticket will not impact your approval process in any way. I suggest that you be upfront and mention it. My spouse had a speeding ticket which  mentioned it to the I/O . She asked if the penalty was paid and then moved on.

Edited August 31, 2019 by parampara

[gopinatht 11]

1 hour ago, parampara said:

The speeding ticket will not impact your approval process in any way. I suggest that you be upfront and mention it. My spouse had a speeding ticket which  mentioned it to the I/O . She asked if the penalty was paid and then moved on.

Thanks!

[isy1025 2]

7 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Have any non-spouse based applicants been asked to show tax transcripts in the interview?

I was not asked to submit any additional doc at the time of interview. 

[gopinatht 11]

Hey Guys, are cell phones allowed during the interview? I am told it is airport style security so I am guessing cell phones are OK.

[parampara 15]

45 minutes ago, gopinatht said:

Hey Guys, are cell phones allowed during the interview? I am told it is airport style security so I am guessing cell phones are OK.

You are allowed to have the cell phone with you, just cannot use it in the waiting room or interview room. I turned the ringer off once we checked in on the 2nd floor.

[gopinatht 11]

42 minutes ago, parampara said:

You are allowed to have the cell phone with you, just cannot use it in the waiting room or interview room. I turned the ringer off once we checked in on the 2nd floor.

Thanks @parampara!

[gopinatht 11]

Hello folks,

 

I and my wife had our interviews today and were told that we will be recommended for approval. Quick question, how long before the status typically shows up online? And how long before the oath ceremony is scheduled?

 

About our experience in the SF office:

------------------------------------------------------------

I also want to share a few things that were important to me and hope it will help some others who are going through the process in SF:

 

- We brought our 6 yo kid with us to the interview. No issues what so ever.

- The spouse and I had separate interviews on the 2nd floor. The interview officers were very friendly and professional.

- You can bring food with you. We mainly brought food for the kid as we were not sure how long the interview would take.

- If you get there really early in the morning (like we did, to beat the traffic), there is a cafe across the street on Sansome, "Cafe Me" where you could spend some time. They open at 5.30 AM. However, there is no "inside seating" in the cafe. It is only outside and it can be cold in SF in the morning. So bundle up especially if you get there early in the morning.

- Even if you join a long line outside, they call out people by the time of their appointment so you can jump the queue if they call out your time. You need to pay keen attention though as their call is not that loud.

 

Hope this helps someone. 

[init18 0]

On 8/29/2019 at 1:54 PM, init18 said:

My wife and I attended our interview on 8/14. Immigration officers were extremely friendly. They apologized for the technical difficulties that caused delay. They informed our cases are being approved and they would put in a note to make sure our oath ceremony gets scheduled on the same day.

 

We both got a status update for case approval the next day. My wife got oath scheduled on 8/20 for 9/18. However, my case is still stuck in you are in queue for scheduling oath ceremony. Has anyone here had a similar experience (waiting for over 2 weeks for scheduling oath ceremony)? Also any luck in getting more info from customer service than just reading the status update?

Finally, my Oath is scheduled for 9/18 - same time as my wife. In case someone wants to know in the future, I updated my name (after changing my name in court) on the application during the interview. This is likely what caused a 2 week delay to get the oath scheduled.

 

Does anyone know if infants are allowed to accompany you for the oath ceremony? I read family gets to sit in a separate section, but not sure about kids.

1 hour ago, gopinatht said:

Hello folks,

 

I and my wife had our interviews today and were told that we will be recommended for approval. Quick question, how long before the status typically shows up online? And how long before the oath ceremony is scheduled?

 

About our experience in the SF office:

------------------------------------------------------------

I also want to share a few things that were important to me and hope it will help some others who are going through the process in SF:

 

- We brought our 6 yo kid with us to the interview. No issues what so ever.

- The spouse and I had separate interviews on the 2nd floor. The interview officers were very friendly and professional.

- You can bring food with you. We mainly brought food for the kid as we were not sure how long the interview would take.

- If you get there really early in the morning (like we did, to beat the traffic), there is a cafe across the street on Sansome, "Cafe Me" where you could spend some time. They open at 5.30 AM. However, there is no "inside seating" in the cafe. It is only outside and it can be cold in SF in the morning. So bundle up especially if you get there early in the morning.

- Even if you join a long line outside, they call out people by the time of their appointment so you can jump the queue if they call out your time. You need to pay keen attention though as their call is not that loud.

 

Hope this helps someone. 

Congrats!

[gopinatht 11]

1 hour ago, init18 said:

Congrats!

Thanks @init18!

Edited September 3, 2019 by gopinatht

[gopinatht 11]

3 hours ago, gopinatht said:

Hello folks,

 

I and my wife had our interviews today and were told that we will be recommended for approval. Quick question, how long before the status typically shows up online? And how long before the oath ceremony is scheduled?

 

About our experience in the SF office:

------------------------------------------------------------

I also want to share a few things that were important to me and hope it will help some others who are going through the process in SF:

 

- We brought our 6 yo kid with us to the interview. No issues what so ever.

- The spouse and I had separate interviews on the 2nd floor. The interview officers were very friendly and professional.

- You can bring food with you. We mainly brought food for the kid as we were not sure how long the interview would take.

- If you get there really early in the morning (like we did, to beat the traffic), there is a cafe across the street on Sansome, "Cafe Me" where you could spend some time. They open at 5.30 AM. However, there is no "inside seating" in the cafe. It is only outside and it can be cold in SF in the morning. So bundle up especially if you get there early in the morning.

- Even if you join a long line outside, they call out people by the time of their appointment so you can jump the queue if they call out your time. You need to pay keen attention though as their call is not that loud.

 

Hope this helps someone. 

Just checked and the status got updated to approved for both me and my wife. Now the wait is for the oath scheduling letter.

[jamrep 105]

24 minutes ago, gopinatht said:

Just checked and the status got updated to approved for both me and my wife. Now the wait is for the oath scheduling letter.

Congratulations

[gopinatht 11]

56 minutes ago, jamrep said:

Congratulations

Thanks @jamrep!

[califant 5]

@gopinatht thanks for the update and congrats! When did you apply?  

Didnt see your screename (or some of the others) in the tracker on this thread. Thanks!

[parampara 15]

Does anyone know if you can take your minor child for your oath ceremony ( he is a US Citizen).The Naturalization ceremony is such an important event. My spouse and I would really want him to be part of the experience.

Edited September 4, 2019 by parampara

[gopinatht 11]

1 hour ago, califant said:

@gopinatht thanks for the update and congrats! When did you apply?  

Didnt see your screename (or some of the others) in the tracker on this thread. Thanks!

Hi @califant, yeah, apologies, I did not update in the tracker. Will do so in a day or two. I became eligible in June of 2018 and applied in August 2018. It took slightly more than a year to get to the interview which seems to be the going norm with SF.