N400 Seattle (merged)

[MGMA 55]

16 hours ago, JFH said:

You won’t get the passport that fast - not even an expedited one. It’s actually a federal crime for a US citizen to enter the US using any other passport, even if they are dual citizens. Aside from that, your other passport has no valid visa or green card to show that you have permission to enter and not leave. If you arrive with any other passport and the CBP officer says “what’s the purpose of your visit here?” (as he will assume you are a visitor) and you say “actually I live here” you will have to show evidence of that, which you won’t have.

 

You should delay the oath. 

OMG, I never know about issues using foreigner passport. I might be actually be in the same position in the summer while waiting for my interview/ passport, and thought I can travel with my home country passport. Do you know if you can reschedule the interview if it came while traveling? I heard rescheduling the interview could cause some trouble. 

[murph32 2]

On 2/19/2021 at 11:23 AM, nikgon said:

Just called the Seattle court about name change. They said that if you show up in person and pay the fee in cash, they will schedule your hearing for the next available slot right there, without having to wait 30 days (as you would if you paid in a different form or scheduled online). Some courts are busier than others, but there's no way to know which one is in which state before you pay. But looks like, Seattle is holding more hearings than others.

 

Once you're at the hearing, they'll give you a certificate of change, which I believe, murpth32 was referring above.

 

So, I guess, the conclusion is that if you pay cash and are lucky to be scheduled for a hearing that's pretty soon, you should be good. But no guarantee.

 

Anyone has any experience with scheduling name change hearings lately? How long does it take? 

Sorry about the delay in updating everyone - my computer charger broke so posting was a little difficult as I don't have my VJ login saved on my phone. I got my name change done on Friday - I filed at the Shoreline Court, but since they only do name change hearings every second Friday (the court website has not been updated to reflect this) the next slot they had available was March 12. They said if I chose to get it done at the Seattle courthouse I could get it done the next day - I was scheduled for 1.15, there were 2 other people there also getting name changes (and a couple of no shows) - was pretty quick, got all 5 copies of my name change order day of and was out of the courthouse by 1.25.

On 2/22/2021 at 5:13 PM, JFH said:

FINALLY!!! My status has changed to “interview scheduled”! No document displayed yet. It must have only changed in the last 20 minutes as I have been checking constantly all day. I imagine I will have the appointment letter on the online portal tomorrow. 

Delighted to hear this JFH - seems like you've been waiting forever.

Edited March 1, 2021 by murph32

[Shivoham 19]

question on Citizenship interview: 

I had already submitted my last 5 year tax transcripts until the date of applying for citizenship in sep 2019. So i only need to take tax transcripts that i have after applying for citizenshup, correct? OR Do i need to take all pre and post application tax transcripts? 

 

[nikgon 11]

15 hours ago, Shivoham said:

question on Citizenship interview: 

I had already submitted my last 5 year tax transcripts until the date of applying for citizenship in sep 2019. So i only need to take tax transcripts that i have after applying for citizenshup, correct? OR Do i need to take all pre and post application tax transcripts? 

 

Hm, I don't remember this being a requirement (at least when I applied in Nov 2019). Did I miss something? Should I upload those now as I'm still waiting on the interview to be scheduled?

 

Also what's the difference between transcripts and just a copy of the submitted form? If you can bring the latter, there shouldn't be any limit on how many you could get if you keep your own copies. 

[murph32 2]

5 hours ago, nikgon said:

Hm, I don't remember this being a requirement (at least when I applied in Nov 2019). Did I miss something? Should I upload those now as I'm still waiting on the interview to be scheduled?

 

Also what's the difference between transcripts and just a copy of the submitted form? If you can bring the latter, there shouldn't be any limit on how many you could get if you keep your own copies. 

No idea why, if this is indeed a requirement, it's not listed on the interview notice documentation list, but they do mention bringing certified tax transcripts here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/G-1151.pdf

[nikgon 11]

1 hour ago, murph32 said:

No idea why, if this is indeed a requirement, it's not listed on the interview notice documentation list, but they do mention bringing certified tax transcripts here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/G-1151.pdf

Thank you! Never heard of this before. Could anyone who's gone already comment on what they did and how it played out?

 

Also, https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript doesn't mention anything about "certified" (which the guide you mentioned does). So which transcript type is "certified"? And also, do you need to request the ones by mail or the online ones would work? What about this year's taxes -- are they going to available as a transcript right after you file or is there a wait time?

[MGMA 55]

3 hours ago, nikgon said:

Thank you! Never heard of this before. Could anyone who's gone already comment on what they did and how it played out?

 

Also, https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript doesn't mention anything about "certified" (which the guide you mentioned does). So which transcript type is "certified"? And also, do you need to request the ones by mail or the online ones would work? What about this year's taxes -- are they going to available as a transcript right after you file or is there a wait time?

When applied, my attorney said it's not needed at submissions time, but asked to bring it at time of interview. 

[SHV 1]

I passed my citizenship interview on Feb 24, 2021 in Seattle. I thought I would be able to take the oath the same day, but was told I would be notified when my oath ceremony is scheduled at a later date. Has anyone had this same experience? How long did it take after the interview to receive the oath ceremony date? And how long after the date did it take place? 

[JFH 12,189]

1 hour ago, SHV said:

I passed my citizenship interview on Feb 24, 2021 in Seattle. I thought I would be able to take the oath the same day, but was told I would be notified when my oath ceremony is scheduled at a later date. Has anyone had this same experience? How long did it take after the interview to receive the oath ceremony date? And how long after the date did it take place? 

Oh! No more same-day oaths in Seattle? That’s a mess. It means the wait goes on....

[kocher 5]

2 hours ago, JFH said:

Oh! No more same-day oaths in Seattle? That’s a mess. It means the wait goes on....

If I just knew Seattle is so damn slow compare to many other location from beginning! I filed June 202, but I think I should not expect anything in the next one year based on the excel sheet. I have the option of moving to another state/city since I work from home. Do you think moving is a good idea to expedite the process?

[SHV 1]

2 hours ago, JFH said:

Oh! No more same-day oaths in Seattle? That’s a mess. It means the wait goes on....

Honestly I'm not sure - I saw someone post on visajourney that they had an interview the day before mine and did have the oath the same day, and several people in Jan who had the same. So not sure if I'm the edge case or the new norm.

[JFH 12,189]

3 hours ago, SHV said:

Honestly I'm not sure - I saw someone post on visajourney that they had an interview the day before mine and did have the oath the same day, and several people in Jan who had the same. So not sure if I'm the edge case or the new norm.

Were you maybe interviewed by a junior officer? I have heard that they sometimes need to have a supervisor sign-off if they are not fully trained/qualified. 

[nikgon 11]

7 hours ago, SHV said:

but was told I would be notified when my oath ceremony is scheduled at a later date

Yeah, wow, not exactly surprising that everything changes all the time, but very upsetting and it's a constant source of unnecessary stress. 

 

How's the ceremony related to name changes? Which one goes before or after another? I'm very confused about whether my name change will go through as part of naturalization or should I apply for it separately in the country court or just let it roll and do it after I get the passport.

 

Also, does anyone know how to get through the USCIS's automated customer support system to get a real human being on the phone? I tried, but the robot just hangs up on me all the time.

[MGMA 55]

5 hours ago, SHV said:

Honestly I'm not sure - I saw someone post on visajourney that they had an interview the day before mine and did have the oath the same day, and several people in Jan who had the same. So not sure if I'm the edge case or the new norm.

One of the biggest mistakes I have done, was not moving, but it's to late for me now if expecting things within the next 6 months. At the time, the wait time was like 10 months, and I was fine with that. Then COVID hit, and everything have changed. Now as COVID is calming down, do you think they will start to process faster? It's really your call. Just make a research where you could move to and understand what does it mean and how long you have to wait for your case to be transferred, then how long you need to establish residency in that state, and if that will be added on top of your wait time there. 

[JFH 12,189]

I think @Shivoham had an interview today. It will be interesting to hear what the oath situation was today.