Citizenship Interview Waiting Times Portland, Or.

[supremecomplex 8]

I'm finally a citizen!!!!!!!

 

So, of course, I have to share my experience with fellow VJ'ers because it's only right. (And searching for experiences made me more chill about mine.)

 

My original interview was scheduled the day ALL THE OFFICES CLOSED on March 31st, 2020 because of COVID. So you can only imagine my surprise come earlier this month to find out that it was rescheduled for last week! Here's a quick review on my interview + oath process:

 

My interview was at the USCIS building here in Portland, OR last week. I came about 10 minutes before my interview, and there were already 5 other people who looked like they were also getting their naturalization waiting upstairs in the waiting room (it's very spaced and blocked off). Name was called, and I was taken to the Immigration officer's office. I got sworn in, and gave my ID's. I brought ALL the documentation that they asked for on the application form PLUS my actual application form printed: 

- passport, green card, husband's passport + birth certificate 

- our child's birth certificate, my birth certificate, our marriage certificate

- summary of the last three years of our bank + cc statements we share 

- insurance / wills / beneficiary forms / mortgage + home statements and titles

- copies of everything 

 

Luckily, I didn't have to bring ANY of that out. Officer then started off with the Civics/history test first: 

1) What is the supreme law of the land? (The Constitution) 

2) When is Independence Day? (July 4) 

3) How many amendments does the Constitution have? (27) 

4) What is one of the two longest rivers in the US? (Mississippi River) 

5) Why did the colonists fight the British? (High taxes) 

6) Name one right of American citizens. (Vote in a federal election)

 

Then I had to read a sentence off the tablet (I totally forgot what it said), and then write a sentence (California has the most people). After that, we went into my application. I had a few changes, and the officer was able to update it. Once that was done, the officer let me look through it again on the tablet, I signed, and then said I was approved! I signed the tablet again, then was given back my ID's minus my green card, and then was given two envelopes - one had a "Congratulations, you're a US Citizen" paperwork inside, and another one had a holder for my certificate. After that, I read the oath with the officer, signed another document (officer said that since we were doing same day oath swearing in, that it would basically be the document that says that I "attended" my ceremony), and that was it! Officer told me to wait in the waiting room for 5-10 minutes as they would sent the certificate the printer upstairs, and someone would come down and look for me (since my photo would be on the certificate). 

 

Officer walked me out, and I probably waited for 5 minutes in the waiting room before someone did come down, call out my name, verified my name / birthdate / information on the certificate, and let me know to sign the certificate in black ink. Did that right away, and that was it! From start to finish, it was probably... 30-35 minutes? SUPER QUICK and BEST DAY EVER. I was and am super thankful to be done and finished with USCIS! 

 

To those waiting for an interview: don't worry! It'll happen and come. Don't forget to check MyUSCIS - I didn't even check mine, I only found out that I was getting an interview because I have access to my scanned mail through USPS and saw something coming from USCIS. If I didn't see that, I would've never known! And GOOD LUCK! Don't be nervous - this is just the last step before becoming a citizen! 

 

To those who received their citizenship: congratulations! I now know how it feels and honestly - what a relief. I'm super thankful and happy - now all I have to do is head to the DMV, register to vote, get my passport, and change my SSN whenever the offices decide to open here in Oregon! 

[MaleAlpha 314]

Wow! Glad to know they are finally scheduling interviews and it looks like they are speeding the last part of the process too!

Interview + Oat + Certificate all in a day. Impressive.

 

Good luck to everyone waiting and Congratulations to everyone approved!

[chinesesatellite 13]

Hi there! I'm wondering if any of you guys have had updates on your cases yet? Here's my N-400 timeline.
 

02/27/2020 - Filed N-400 online
02/29/2020 - Biometrics scheduled
03/17/2020 - Biometrics completed (this was the day before all USCIS offices had to close)
 

My estimated case completion date says September 2020 (1 month) but my interview has yet to be scheduled. (Pre-lockdown, it actually said January 2021. To my surprise, a month into the lockdown it changed to September 2020.) I'm wondering if I should anticipate a delay due to COVID, or is this estimate accurate?

[ORCoast 13]

I filed in January 2020 and had my biometrics done in February. I'm already past my estimated completion date and have a message about my application taking longer to process than expected. To be honest, at this stage who knows? It's a little frustrating though.

[MaleAlpha 314]

49 minutes ago, ORCoast said:

I filed in January 2020 and had my biometrics done in February. I'm already past my estimated completion date and have a message about my application taking longer to process than expected. To be honest, at this stage who knows? It's a little frustrating though.

Same boat. filed in November 2019 and I have the same status as yours.

I noticed the Receipt date for a case inquiry has been updated from January 2019 to July 2019 so it looks like they are making some progress.

 

Hopefully we get some updates soon.

[chinesesatellite 13]

On 8/20/2020 at 4:40 PM, ORCoast said:

I filed in January 2020 and had my biometrics done in February. I'm already past my estimated completion date and have a message about my application taking longer to process than expected. To be honest, at this stage who knows? It's a little frustrating though.

I have that same message about my application too, and my completion date also still hasn't changed. I hope we don't have to wait much longer!

On 8/20/2020 at 5:34 PM, MaleAlpha said:

Same boat. filed in November 2019 and I have the same status as yours.

I noticed the Receipt date for a case inquiry has been updated from January 2019 to July 2019 so it looks like they are making some progress.

 

Hopefully we get some updates soon.

Oh wow, you've been waiting for a while. Did you have an estimated completion date?

[MaleAlpha 314]

2 hours ago, shebeingbrand said:

Oh wow, you've been waiting for a while. Did you have an estimated completion date?

I did and it changed a couple of times. Started with May 2020, to June 2020 and then to November 2020.

Next month will be 10 months since I filed. I'm just hoping they adjudicate before the voter registration ends. That was my main motivation for getting citizenship.

[Foxdanx 3]

Any news about Portland? I applied on 11/21/2019 and had my biometrics done on 12/12/2019.... my completion time had been changed a couple of times... the last one was October 2020 and then it says “it’s taking longer than expected”....

Edited September 6, 2020 by Foxdanx

[MaleAlpha 314]

9 hours ago, Foxdanx said:

Any news about Portland? I applied on 11/21/2019 and had my biometrics done on 12/12/2019.... my completion time had been changed a couple of times... the last one was October 2020 and then it says “it’s taking longer than expected”....

None. I applied a day before you did and did my biometrics on 12/09. Still waiting.

Portland seems to have ground to halt. I will update the group when I hear anything.

 

Are there any Portland October 2019 filers in here?

[Foxdanx 3]

I have a friend who applied in the beginning of November 2019. She lives in Vancouver, but her office is Portland. She will interview on September 14th or 15th.

[MaleAlpha 314]

I received a notification and confirmed on the https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/ site that an interview was scheduled today. The interview date is not showing yet.

The https://my.uscis.gov/account site still shows 'we are taking longer than usual.. blah blah' message so seems like the other site is more up to date.

[Foxdanx 3]

This is awesome! Please let me know the date they schedule your interview. My account haven’t change anything yet. Again, congratulations 

[MaleAlpha 314]

6 minutes ago, Foxdanx said:

This is awesome! Please let me know the date they schedule your interview. My account haven’t change anything yet. Again, congratulations 

Will definitely do when I get any updates. Considering you applied a day after mine, I'm positive your interview will most likely be scheduled this week as well.

I will recommend checking the https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus site as that has the most updated information. 

[MaleAlpha 314]

Interview letter showed up in the portal this morning with the interview date = October 28 (12.30 PM).

They must be really backlogged if they are scheduling interviews over 7-8 weeks out.

Edited September 10, 2020 by MaleAlpha

[Foxdanx 3]

Wow that’s a long time... I was expecting something about 4 weeks... by the way, I still didn’t get anything.