N400 Seattle (merged)

[mbalih 35]

28 minutes ago, Vasto_Lorde said:

Just got home so sharing this recap of my experience from earlier today.

 

Interview Process

My interview was scheduled for 12:15PM so I got to the front door of the USCIS building at 12 noon. Showed the security team the notice letter USCIS sent me for the interview and then you go through their security screening. The next stage is the intake process during which they take your temperature, review your notice and then give you a ticket with a number that will be called when it's your turn to be interviewed. They ask you to go upstairs to wait to be called. Note that there are two wings you can choose to be seated in. There are at least 4 areas your number can be called from so pay attention. After I was called to the back, the office swore me in and proceeded with the civics questions, English comprehension, and writing test. I completed all that and then she went through the yes/no portion of my N-400. Made a few minor updates and after all righteousness was fulfilled, she administered the oath. Afterwards, she asked me to wait outside for 30 minutes to get my naturalization form. It probably took 10 minutes for the form to come out and that was it. From the time I walked in to the time I exited the building was an hour and 15 minutes total. The office did not ask for any of the documents I brought nor did she give me a hard time. I pretty much only spoke up when I was spoken to. 

 

Passport Application

After I got done with USCIS, I drove straight to the Bellevue Passport office on Bel-Red to apply for both a passport and passport card. I did not have an appointment so I had to wait a bit for the people who had appointments to be seen. I probably waited between 30 to 45 minutes. I had already completed and printed a copy of the passport application form found on the State Department website and the gentleman at the passport office took my photograph for $15. I paid for expedited processing and to require a signature when USPS delivers it to my house. Cost me about $265.

 

Conclusion

It feels great to be done with USCIS so that's awesome. I don't know about any of you here but I have been in the US for 20 years and to finally get the thing I have been chasing for such a long time has me feeling a bit odd. It's like you anticipate a thing for so long and then you get it and afterwards, you're not quite sure what to do with yourself. I think that's where I am mentally at the moment. I am thrilled and happy but there's still that *thing* in my mind. Finally, if someone is driving you to the USCIS building, I recommend not paying to park there. If you go down on Marginal way for like 5 minutes, there's a Starbucks with lots of open and free parking that the person who drove you can just go hang out and wait for you until you're done. For the remainder of you about to go through the process, I wish you the best. I am rooting for all of you. Cheers!

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience - very detailed. Much appreciated. 

[Shivoham 19]

37 minutes ago, Vasto_Lorde said:

Conclusion

It feels great to be done with USCIS so that's awesome. I don't know about any of you here but I have been in the US for 20 years and to finally get the thing I have been chasing for such a long time has me feeling a bit odd. It's like you anticipate a thing for so long and then you get it and afterwards, you're not quite sure what to do with yourself. I think that's where I am mentally at the moment. I am thrilled and happy but there's still that *thing* in my mind. Finally, if someone is driving you to the USCIS building, I recommend not paying to park there. If you go down on Marginal way for like 5 minutes, there's a Starbucks with lots of open and free parking that the person who drove you can just go hang out and wait for you until you're done. For the remainder of you about to go through the process, I wish you the best. I am rooting for all of you. Cheers!

Congratulations. It was fun reading about the feelings part. It was overwhelming before i entered that building, and after coming out, i had the strange feeling too. In some ways, i felt a different connection with US, the kind i never felt before. 

And off course, 3 cheers for the Bellevue Passport office guy. he rocks. 

[Ashi2ash 2]

32 minutes ago, mbalih said:

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience - very detailed. Much appreciated. 

When did u applied!? 

[Ashi2ash 2]

When did u apply?

[Danko1 1]

41 minutes ago, mbalih said:

Hi there, how did you interview go?

Hi! It went exactly as Vasto_Lorde's. The officer was very nice and didn't ask any extra questions/papers. Just straight no/yes. They make you put your papers in a box, so better to memorize changes. I changed my job and totally forgot the address, but the officer somehow found it himself 🤷‍♂️

I wanted to change my name, but didn't investigate this part properly, so decided to go with old one just to get my certificate the same day...

[mbalih 35]

18 minutes ago, Danko1 said:

Hi! It went exactly as Vasto_Lorde's. The officer was very nice and didn't ask any extra questions/papers. Just straight no/yes. They make you put your papers in a box, so better to memorize changes. I changed my job and totally forgot the address, but the officer somehow found it himself 🤷‍♂️

I wanted to change my name, but didn't investigate this part properly, so decided to go with old one just to get my certificate the same day...

Cool! Congrats and thanks for sharing! 

[Danko1 1]

17 minutes ago, mbalih said:

Cool! Congrats and thanks for sharing! 

Thank you!

Probably out of the topic now, but I wonder if I can schedule an appointment an any USPS office for passport? I'll give a shot at Bellevue of course, but if it doesn't work, can I just apply in Yakima for example? Seems like they have tons of time slots and I don't mind driving lol

[mbalih 35]

4 minutes ago, Danko1 said:

Thank you!

Probably out of the topic now, but I wonder if I can schedule an appointment an any USPS office for passport? I'll give a shot at Bellevue of course, but if it doesn't work, can I just apply in Yakima for example? Seems like they have tons of time slots and I don't mind driving lol

Oh I think you will be fine, from what I read online it sounds like it really doesn't matter where you go, and I'd try the walk-in option if you have the time - you shouldn't wait too long.

[JFH 12,189]

1 hour ago, Danko1 said:

Thank you!

Probably out of the topic now, but I wonder if I can schedule an appointment an any USPS office for passport? I'll give a shot at Bellevue of course, but if it doesn't work, can I just apply in Yakima for example? Seems like they have tons of time slots and I don't mind driving lol

Here in Grays Harbor county every slot was available. So if anyone needs a passport appointment, consider a trip to the beautiful coast! 

[JFH 12,189]

3 hours ago, Vasto_Lorde said:

Just got home so sharing this recap of my experience from earlier today.

 

Interview Process

My interview was scheduled for 12:15PM so I got to the front door of the USCIS building at 12 noon. Showed the security team the notice letter USCIS sent me for the interview and then you go through their security screening. The next stage is the intake process during which they take your temperature, review your notice and then give you a ticket with a number that will be called when it's your turn to be interviewed. They ask you to go upstairs to wait to be called. Note that there are two wings you can choose to be seated in. There are at least 4 areas your number can be called from so pay attention. After I was called to the back, the office swore me in and proceeded with the civics questions, English comprehension, and writing test. I completed all that and then she went through the yes/no portion of my N-400. Made a few minor updates and after all righteousness was fulfilled, she administered the oath. Afterwards, she asked me to wait outside for 30 minutes to get my naturalization form. It probably took 10 minutes for the form to come out and that was it. From the time I walked in to the time I exited the building was an hour and 15 minutes total. The office did not ask for any of the documents I brought nor did she give me a hard time. I pretty much only spoke up when I was spoken to. 

 

Passport Application

After I got done with USCIS, I drove straight to the Bellevue Passport office on Bel-Red to apply for both a passport and passport card. I did not have an appointment so I had to wait a bit for the people who had appointments to be seen. I probably waited between 30 to 45 minutes. I had already completed and printed a copy of the passport application form found on the State Department website and the gentleman at the passport office took my photograph for $15. I paid for expedited processing and to require a signature when USPS delivers it to my house. Cost me about $265.

 

Conclusion

It feels great to be done with USCIS so that's awesome. I don't know about any of you here but I have been in the US for 20 years and to finally get the thing I have been chasing for such a long time has me feeling a bit odd. It's like you anticipate a thing for so long and then you get it and afterwards, you're not quite sure what to do with yourself. I think that's where I am mentally at the moment. I am thrilled and happy but there's still that *thing* in my mind. Finally, if someone is driving you to the USCIS building, I recommend not paying to park there. If you go down on Marginal way for like 5 minutes, there's a Starbucks with lots of open and free parking that the person who drove you can just go hang out and wait for you until you're done. For the remainder of you about to go through the process, I wish you the best. I am rooting for all of you. Cheers!

Congratulations and thank you for the detailed update!

[JFH 12,189]

For those who have recently had their interviews, which photo did they put on your certificate of Naturalisation? The one from the biometrics appointment or did they take your picture again at the interview? 

[Vasto_Lorde 12]

31 minutes ago, JFH said:

For those who have recently had their interviews, which photo did they put on your certificate of Naturalisation? The one from the biometrics appointment or did they take your picture again at the interview? 

Yup! it was the picture of me from my biometrics appointment

[JFH 12,189]

30 minutes ago, Vasto_Lorde said:

Yup! it was the picture of me from my biometrics appointment

Oh heck! I looked terrible that day. I rushed there from work and my hair had been blowing in the wind as I drove there with the car windows down. 

[Vasto_Lorde 12]

21 minutes ago, JFH said:

Oh heck! I looked terrible that day. I rushed there from work and my hair had been blowing in the wind as I drove there with the car windows down. 

Oh, I feel you. I looked like ####### that day. I made sure the picture for my passport and passport card looked much better.

[murph32 2]

13 hours ago, JFH said:

For those who have recently had their interviews, which photo did they put on your certificate of Naturalisation? The one from the biometrics appointment or did they take your picture again at the interview? 

They reused my photo from the biometrics appt - I looked horrible that day but it saved some time I guess.