N400 Seattle (merged)

[kocher 5]

21 minutes ago, na-1 said:

Oh boy - I'm in a very similar situation. Photo and prints are from the GC process which was about 6.5 years ago. The only difference is that I have a beard now (vs. in my GC photo). Seems like an easy fix to try ? USCIS always finds a way to fu surprise us.  

I wouldn't worry much about it, my case probably was one in a million. I would try to look the same as your green card picture. The rest is out of your control.

[na-1 13]

Just now, kocher said:

I wouldn't worry much about it, my case probably was one in a million. I would try to look the same as your green card picture. The rest is out of your control.

Agreed - was chatting with my wife and she mentioned that the GC photo (being the most recent biometrics) is what gets printed on the naturalization certificate. That's maybe why they created a fuss for you. Hope your ceremony gets scheduled soon!

[MGMA 55]

Anyone with name change have recently updated SSN? What documents do you need to send and to which address? Did anyone try the drop off option? 

Edited December 11, 2021 by MGMA

[Wayne- 11]

17 hours ago, MGMA said:

Anyone with name change have recently updated SSN? What documents do you need to send and to which address? Did anyone try the drop off option? 

Just did this last month mailed to the downtown Seattle office.  NC was returned in 2 weeks, name was changed in 2 weeks and the new card arrived in mail at  3 weeks. 

 

After a call to the help line

 - they asked for our address and then told us to send to the Seattle Office (915 2nd ave).   The Rep I talked to said you should send to the office that serves your area.  Afterwards, I used this webpage and it gave me the same address  secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp

 - we sent overnight USPS

 - the Rep also said

   * send to: ATTN CSR Unit (department that does name changes)

   * use certified mail

 - we included all docs to show name change, which for us was NC and Marriage certificate (she waited until NC to use marriage name)

 

We watched for progress by creating an account on "My Social Security" on ssa.gov.    The last name changed on the online account a week before we received the new card in the mail.  

 

A rant on USPS,  the online tracking of the letter showed it was delivered to a different zip code then the office location.   I had waved the signature requirement,  as I did not want the letter held up a day or so waiting for a mail room person providing a signature, knowing that some of the large buildings just get mail left in a lock box in the basement.   This was because of a DOL issue I posted earlier.  This caused us a bit of stress thinking about lost mail, as I was looking up wait times for the replacement  time Certificate of Naturalization Document.

 

.  

[MGMA 55]

On 12/11/2021 at 11:29 AM, Wayne- said:

Just did this last month mailed to the downtown Seattle office.  NC was returned in 2 weeks, name was changed in...

 

.  

Thanks for you response. Did you have to send your Driver License? 

[Wayne- 11]

31 minutes ago, MGMA said:

Thanks for you response. Did you have to send your Driver License? 

We did not send a copy of Drivers license.   

 

To be complete, you do send FORM SS-5 -  While the name of the form is misleading "Application for Social Security card", the form instructions call out the use for changes.     

[nyahchen 11]

Hello fellow friends in the waiting line! :) I just came back from the Tukwila office and I am a US citizen. :)

I'm an Aug 2020 filer based on marriage.

I arrived at the building about 20min before my scheduled time, they let me in. After security check, I waited in the check-in line where the staff checked my appointment notice, took a photo of me and took my finger prints.

The lobby on the 2nd floor was very busy, but I got called in only 5min past my scheduled time. The officer was very nice and thorough. I first did the reading test to read a sentence on a tablet. Then she asked me to write a sentence on the same tablet. Then we moved on to the civic test where I needed to answer 6 questions right out of 10.

Questions I remember are: Name one senator of WA state. How many senators are there? What's the name of the ocean on the east coast? What was the concern during the Cold War? How many justices are in the Supreme Court? We stopped at question #6 coz I got all of them correctly.

After the test, we moved on to more routine questions like where I live, where I work, etc. We spent some time talking about the trips I took outside of the US in the past few years.

And then we stood up to take the allegiance and I was officially a US citizen!

 

I did request a name change in my original application, but the officer said the Seattle office doesn't have the capability to do that, I'll have to get a court order on my own. She then updated my application to say "no name change request" and I received the certificate of citizenship with my original legal name.

 

Wish everyone here good luck! It will be your turn soon!

[JFH 12,189]

4 hours ago, nyahchen said:

Hello fellow friends in the waiting line! I just came back from the Tukwila office and I am a US citizen.

I'm an Aug 2020 filer based on marriage.

I arrived at the building about 20min before my scheduled time, they let me in. After security check, I waited in the check-in line where the staff checked my appointment notice, took a photo of me and took my finger prints.

The lobby on the 2nd floor was very busy, but I got called in only 5min past my scheduled time. The officer was very nice and thorough. I first did the reading test to read a sentence on a tablet. Then she asked me to write a sentence on the same tablet. Then we moved on to the civic test where I needed to answer 6 questions right out of 10.

Questions I remember are: Name one senator of WA state. How many senators are there? What's the name of the ocean on the east coast? What was the concern during the Cold War? How many justices are in the Supreme Court? We stopped at question #6 coz I got all of them correctly.

After the test, we moved on to more routine questions like where I live, where I work, etc. We spent some time talking about the trips I took outside of the US in the past few years.

And then we stood up to take the allegiance and I was officially a US citizen!

 

I did request a name change in my original application, but the officer said the Seattle office doesn't have the capability to do that, I'll have to get a court order on my own. She then updated my application to say "no name change request" and I received the certificate of citizenship with my original legal name.

 

Wish everyone here good luck! It will be your turn soon!

Congratulations!!!

[mnt96 22]

On 12/14/2021 at 3:48 PM, nyahchen said:

Hello fellow friends in the waiting line! I just came back from the Tukwila office and I am a US citizen.

I'm an Aug 2020 filer based on marriage.

I arrived at the building about 20min before my scheduled time, they let me in. After security check, I waited in the check-in line where the staff checked my appointment notice, took a photo of me and took my finger prints.

The lobby on the 2nd floor was very busy, but I got called in only 5min past my scheduled time. The officer was very nice and thorough. I first did the reading test to read a sentence on a tablet. Then she asked me to write a sentence on the same tablet. Then we moved on to the civic test where I needed to answer 6 questions right out of 10.

Questions I remember are: Name one senator of WA state. How many senators are there? What's the name of the ocean on the east coast? What was the concern during the Cold War? How many justices are in the Supreme Court? We stopped at question #6 coz I got all of them correctly.

After the test, we moved on to more routine questions like where I live, where I work, etc. We spent some time talking about the trips I took outside of the US in the past few years.

And then we stood up to take the allegiance and I was officially a US citizen!

 

I did request a name change in my original application, but the officer said the Seattle office doesn't have the capability to do that, I'll have to get a court order on my own. She then updated my application to say "no name change request" and I received the certificate of citizenship with my original legal name.

 

Wish everyone here good luck! It will be your turn soon!

Congratulations @nyahchen!!  Please add you info in the sheet for better future predictions, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FcItCasVItCDsUNEbDu15IRQ-AbDMRJWsiljwtz5WRI/edit#gid=1497976778

 

Thanks!

[PedroDaGr8 245]

On 8/25/2021 at 11:18 AM, PedroDaGr8 said:

As promised, here is the Google Sheet of compiled historical data: PNW - N-400 Naturalization Historical Case Load Data

 

The file includes data for Seattle, Spokane, Yakima, and Portland.

They finally uploaded 2021Q4 data, I have updated the spreadsheets with the new data. Of note, Seattle trended up slightly with the total pending going from 23,176 to 23,868. All other sites (Spokane, Yakima, Portland) all saw decreases in pending.

Edited December 20, 2021 by PedroDaGr8

[D-1 4]

I’m in an interesting situation. Good news - I finally received my interview notice for January (July 2020 filer). However, the notice asks me to come to Boise, ID field office instead of Seattle. I’ve never moved out of WA.
 

My wife had her interview earlier this month in Seattle. It was virtually done by an officer from Boise. So I believe the location on my notice is a mistake. 
 

i can go to Boise if needed, but prefer not to. I’m wondering if I should call them and ask for a change. On the flip side, I have waited so long that I don’t want the interview canceled. Based on same posts here, I may have to wait again indefinitely for it to be rescheduled. 
 

I’ve heard of Portland interviews in the past. Was anyone else in a similar situation where interview was scheduled in Boise or other states? I’m curious about what you did. Any suggestions?

[mnt96 22]

2 hours ago, D-1 said:

I’m in an interesting situation. Good news - I finally received my interview notice for January (July 2020 filer). However, the notice asks me to come to Boise, ID field office instead of Seattle. I’ve never moved out of WA.
 

My wife had her interview earlier this month in Seattle. It was virtually done by an officer from Boise. So I believe the location on my notice is a mistake. 
 

i can go to Boise if needed, but prefer not to. I’m wondering if I should call them and ask for a change. On the flip side, I have waited so long that I don’t want the interview canceled. Based on same posts here, I may have to wait again indefinitely for it to be rescheduled. 
 

I’ve heard of Portland interviews in the past. Was anyone else in a similar situation where interview was scheduled in Boise or other states? I’m curious about what you did. Any suggestions?

If you aren't too far i would suggest going to Boise.  You don't want another headache of rescheduling.  Maybe also call them and make sure it's fine to go despite never having moved. Just my suggestion.  Congratulations though!

[SnailRaceSeattle 16]

D-1

If i would be in your situation, i would call uscis and make sure that it’s not a human mistake, or system mistake, that immigration officer will really expect me to be physically at Boise field office. And, if that’s the case, i would go for the interview anywhere where our very special, outstanding, inimitable in their ability to give an endless pause,  notorious and glorious Seattle office would send me, including International Space Station, to finally be done with them. Forever.

[mnt96 22]

Whaatttt OMG!!!  I just got my interview notice for 1/25/2022.  Thank you God and praying he see's me through.  For those waiting, your time will come   

[D-1 4]

17 hours ago, Orm said:

D-1

If i would be in your situation, i would call uscis and make sure that it’s not a human mistake, or system mistake, that immigration officer will really expect me to be physically at Boise field office. And, if that’s the case, i would go for the interview anywhere where our very special, outstanding, inimitable in their ability to give an endless pause,  notorious and glorious Seattle office would send me, including International Space Station, to finally be done with them. Forever.

 

23 hours ago, mnt96 said:

If you aren't too far i would suggest going to Boise.  You don't want another headache of rescheduling.  Maybe also call them and make sure it's fine to go despite never having moved. Just my suggestion.  Congratulations though!

 

Update: I logged in this morning and there is a 'Interview De-scheduled' notice. They apparently canceled my interview due to unforeseen circumstances. No other info and when I call I cannot get thru' to an agent since my interview isn't scheduled currently. I have to assume that the location was a system or human error and they rectified it. However, ended up as a cruel joke and my waiting game continues. I hope it is days/weeks and not months before it gets scheduled again. 

 

Thank you @Orm and @mnt96 for your excellent suggestions. I was planning to call them and preparing to travel to Boise as you suggested before this happened.