Thank you VJ!

[Mithmeoi 29]

My husband is finally a US citizen! I wanted to say thank you to all those on VJ that have helped along the way.  We were 100% clueless when we first got married and this site was a lifesaver.  

 

We filed the N-400 online at the beginning of March and he was approved at the end of May!  I'm still kind of amazed at how quickly it went.  His interview only lasted about fifteen minutes, he breezed through the test part, and they didn't ask him very many personal questions other than who he was married to and where we had gotten married.  He was a little nervous when he first was called back but the officer interviewing him was very laid back and he was put at ease after a minute or so.  He had brought evidence of marriage, selective service, and his old passport with original visa, but was not asked for any of it.  We filed under the 5 year rule.

 

He was told after being approved that the oath ceremony could take one to two months to schedule but they emailed an update two days later saying the ceremony had been scheduled a little over a week later!

The ceremony took place yesterday and took about 40 minutes.  It was in Spokane, WA.  There were roughly 20 people there. Everyone was very friendly, even with us being confused and going to the wrong floor first.  haha 

They had everyone start to come in to the courtroom around 10:30am and the ceremony started at 11am.  After the judge entered and everyone was seated the judge stated the duties and responsibilities that everyone who is a citizen is expected to do.  Then an officer called out each person's country.  Whenever a country was called they'd have anyone from there stand and remain standing until everyone's country had been acknowledged and they had all said the oath and the pledge of allegiance.  Everyone was allowed to sit after that and they proceeded to call each person up individually to get their certificates.  At this particular one they were also handing out flag pins from a group of ladies who are direct descendants of those who were here at the founding of the US too. 

Once the certificates were all passed out the judge said a few words and congratulated everyone.  Then we were dismissed.  She stuck around though so those who wanted photos with her and family could get them.  They also had someone taking high quality photos during the ceremony for those who didn't have anyone there to take any.  Then before leaving the building they had a table set up so you could register to vote.  Overall it was a really good experience.

 

It's been 8 years to the month since we started this journey.  It was long and sometimes very stressful, but we've made it!  Thank you again to those who run this site and have such lovely guides to follow, and to all the fellow forum folks who have answered my questions over the years!  

[KazuriSana 324]

[Bfree3 132]

Congratulations! always nice to see someone get to the end of one journey to begin another..God bless!

[Momknowsbest 13]

Congratulations!!!

[thatangela 134]

Thank you so much for this! I just filed for my N-400 and I'm hoping it goes as quickly as yours did.

 

[NewOrleansJerry 12]

Congratulations!  We're right behind you.  This site has been wonderfully helpful

[Mithmeoi 29]

On 6/30/2018 at 11:43 AM, thatangela said:

Thank you so much for this! I just filed for my N-400 and I'm hoping it goes as quickly as yours did.

 

 

2 hours ago, NewOrleansJerry said:

Congratulations!  We're right behind you.  This site has been wonderfully helpful

 

Good luck to you both!    Hopefully things will move quickly!

[Mithmeoi 29]

Also updating this thread to say he's got his US passport now, it took less than two weeks to come in!  Less time than it took for me to renew mine. lol  The book came in the mail first then his naturalization certif showed up two days later.

[NewOrleansJerry 12]

Thank you, Visa Journey and all fellow travelers on this difficult path.

 

My wife and I have finished our visa journey.  I found this site about 5 years ago, when I was exploring waiver requests and I-130 procedures.  This site and the help here has been invaluable.  We have successfully proceeded from an I-130 process to the N-400 naturalization process (using the newer automated USCIS system).  My wife became a citizen on July 19nth, 2018, and we are very happy and proud to have completed the process.

 

The timelines, Wikipedia's, and forums on Visa Journey are extremely helpful.  I have tried to contribute to the wiki's when I have had the knowledge, and have also responded to forum questions when I have been able to supply a precise answer.  I urge all of you to keep your timelines up to date: this really helps those coming later to understand how much time they may have to wait in these processes.

 

And the waiting, even if you understand what it may be, is interminable

 

I wish you all the best of luck!  I will continue to monitor the site for a while and contribute when I can, but I will happily forget the details in the near future.

 

Jerry