N400 APRIL 2019 FILERS

[wbeem 568]

On 11/19/2019 at 12:14 PM, JohnBCol said:

My Interview was yesterday, passed the exam without problems.

Then I got a printed notice that I passed the exam but that "A decision cannot yet be made about your application".

 

I just feel cold dead. At least I don't have to study anymore......

As far as i understand, not all the interviewers have authority to grant approval on the spot. Sounds like your interviewer had to pass your file to someone who is to grant the approval. Hang in there. The waiting is the worst. How many years of suspense now?!?!  

[zbd142 12]

My interview was yesterday and I got approved!  The officer told me that the ceremony should be on December 2, but didn't receive an official notice yet. They did move the case to approved last night, so just waiting for the official ceremony letter now!

 

The interview lasted about 45 min - 1 hour. The officer was a tough guy, but I figured eventually that he was just frustrated with some of the immigration processes, so he was pretty much just venting about the world and not targeting me personally at all. So imagine someone like Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec  At the end, he said I was approved, and my oath will be on December 2. He said "Congratulations, it looks like you worked hard to get to this point, you did everything right along the way, and you succeeded. It is nice to see immigrants like you wanting to become citizens."  

 

I can't even remember all the 6 civics questions to be honest, but it was a mixture of every section. The sentence he wanted me to read was "Where is the White House", and he wanted me to write "The White House is in Washington, D.C." Other than that, just went through the N400 questions. He kinda gave me a hard time about how I answered some of questions based on the one speeding ticket I have, and changed 2 of the answers to Yes. But he said it's ok, just changing these for accuracy, and it is not going to affect my case. 

 

It was definitely an interesting conversation overall, but below are a few funny highlights:

 

Officer: "This job is a lot of paperwork, look at all these papers I have to go through... and there is just more in all of these drawers."

Me: "Yeah that's a lot of paper." 

Officer: "Do you know who has more paperwork than this? Lawyers. But if you ever decide to change careers and go back to school, go to law school, it's just as much paperwork but more fun." 

 

(after I passed my civics test)

Officer: "See that was easy, right?"

Me: "Well yeah, they already give you the questions beforehand so as long as you study them, this should be fairly easy."

Officer: "You would think... You have no idea how many people fail this test." 

 

(after I wrote down the sentence he said on the tablet without a stylus so it looks like a 1st grader's handwriting)

Me: "Wow this is tough without a real pen and paper or a stylus... I actually have a pretty good handwriting, so this is kinda sad that this will be in my record forever instead."

Officer: "Yeah I know, they will look at this and be like "she is very educated, why does her handwriting look like a 6-year-old's?"" 

And then he told me about how it used to be pen and paper but they automated everything to make the officers' job easier instead of providing extensive training for them, and how things were different back in the day.   

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by zbd142

[wonkystats 4]

Hello guys, I discovered this forum pretty late in the game but it did gave me relief during those anxious final days when you just want everything to be over with and be done with being an immigrant once and for all. I thank each and everyone of you for posting your entries and wish all the best for everyone who is still waiting. I know how good it is to read other people's experiences and I will post mine in the hope that some of you find it useful.

 

I entered US on a work visa in 2008 and stayed on a work authorization for the next 7 years until I married my USC spouse in 2015. The dates are in my profile if anyone is interested. We filed for GC in Feb of 2016 and it got approved within 4 months! 🥳🥳🥳 That kind of gave me a false hope of how fast my I-751 will be approved LOL. We did file for I-751 in May of 2018 and did not receive any notification until more than a month later (I had to call in USCIS to get a receipt number a week before my conditional GC expired.) There was no movement on I-751 at all for more than a year. I did receive the mail extending my conditional residence for 18 months however. In April of 2019 based on the 3 year - 90 days rule we filed for N-400, not expecting anything to be done anytime soon. We received notice for N-400 biometrics and completed it on May 1. However with the workload reshuffling that USCIS started in June our files moved and in Aug I received a notification of my I-751 being transferred to my 'local office'. On Aug 29 I also received my interview confirmation for N-400 and it was scheduled for Oct 3. We have kept the same lawyer throughout and he advised that even though they have not explicitly mentioned it, it is going to be a combo I-751/N-400 interview so you should prepare likewise and make sure your spouse goes with you.

 

On interview day we did have a combo where we were asked some basic Qs about our marriage and stuff, but by then we had a kid so the interview was pretty much a formality. After that my wife was told to step outside and my N-400 interview started. It was pretty basic and I answered the 6 Qs correctly and also did the read and write part. During writing I accidentally brushed my finger on the screen and asked the officer to erase it and she was like absolutely not. Luckily there was enough space for me to complete the rest. In the end we did hit a glitch when she asked for W2s for the last 3 years, even though I had the tax returns. But she wanted W2s and I got a RFE for it 🥴. I was given the letter which said I passed the test but no decision can be made 😑. My lawyer sent the documents the same day but for the next 18 days there were no update on the case status. It still said waiting for response. On the 19th day I just uploaded the documents online and the status immediately changed to response received, and on Oct 24 status changed to approved! So my advice is to definitely use the online portal to submit evidence when you can. Got my oath ceremony notification on Oct 28 and took the oath on Nov 12! 🤠🤠🤠Applied passport the same day with expedited option and received it today on Nov 23. Pro tip for passport is to get the picture taken at a Costco. It is about a third of what you will end up paying in some other place. And if available then go to a library for passport. They are open till much later and people are way more nicer than a post office. Some post offices do take photos on the spot and you have to book an appointment in advance for the same. I did that first but on the oath day I received a voicemail that they cannot keep my appointment because their passport guy is out for 5 weeks 🙄. Anyways thanks for reading my essay, I hope everyone all the best in their immigration journeys and after. Peace! 🇺🇸✌️

[Vikingoutwest 193]

Latest stats:

62 applicants

49 have had/are scheduled for interviews

33 have become citizens

1 more is scheduled for the Oath

 

This coming week our group has 5 interviews!

@Vikingoutwest (me yay!) has an interview 11/25

@butalas has an interview 11/25

@Mila has an interview 11/25

@Natfor2019 has an interview 11/25

@EA & AM has an interview 11/27

 

Congratulations and good luck to everyone!!! 😄

[Catalan-American 40]

1 minute ago, Vikingoutwest said:

Latest stats:

62 applicants

49 have had/are scheduled for interviews

33 have become citizens

1 more is scheduled for the Oath

 

This coming week our group has 5 interviews!

@Vikingoutwest (me yay!) has an interview 11/25

@butalas has an interview 11/25

@Mila has an interview 11/25

@Natfor2019 has an interview 11/25

@EA & AM has an interview 11/27

 

Congratulations and good luck to everyone!!! 😄

 

Thank you very much! I'm very excited :😃

 

My I-751 is still pending, and the instructions for this interview don't mention anything about it. My husband will come with me + I'll print and bring all the I-751 and N-400 paperwork that I submitted just in case.

 

I'll keep you posted!

[chars 151]

16 hours ago, Vikingoutwest said:

Latest stats:

62 applicants

49 have had/are scheduled for interviews

33 have become citizens

1 more is scheduled for the Oath

 

This coming week our group has 5 interviews!

@Vikingoutwest (me yay!) has an interview 11/25

@butalas has an interview 11/25

@Mila has an interview 11/25

@Natfor2019 has an interview 11/25

@EA & AM has an interview 11/27

 

Congratulations and good luck to everyone!!! 😄

I'm here just waiting for the good news. ,🙌🙏🙌🙏 "You're Approved"

[zbd142 12]

I got my oath ceremony letter over the weekend online! To be exact, I had my interview on Thursday, and got the notification Friday afternoon that my oath ceremony was scheduled. The document was available online around 7am Saturday morning. So my oath ceremony will be 12/2 at 9am! This time next week I'll be a USC 😃

 

Good luck to everyone this week that have their interviews! Keep calm and get approved!! 😄

[Gulya 13]

I had my interview on Friday after 7 montys of waiting and Oath Ceremony today on Monday. I am so happy i am finally done with uscis journey. And i would like to Thank all of the active and eager to help membets of this group. Thank you for your advices, tips and wishes. And for those who are still waiting for their interview l, i wish you the soonest and smoothiest interview. Best of luck to everyone! You all Rock guys❤

[Natfor2019 23]

Happy to share cleared the interview today

IO was a sweet lady and overall it took around 15-20 minutes

 

Don't remember all six questions but listing some:

 

1. What is freedom of religion (Answer: You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion)

2. Who signs bills to become laws (Answer: the President)

3. I don't remember which of the two (What is one responsibility/right for only US citizens) was the question but the answer is 'to vote in a federal election' ;)

4. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President (I answered '18' and she said 'you mean 18 and older right')

 

For Reading: What do we have to pay to the government

For writing: We pay taxes

 

And then the routine questions around application form - full legal name, marriage, place of residence, where do you work etc questions. Followed by the 'Yes'/'No'  questions on the application form

 

She handed the N-652 form at the end and asked me to wait outside for next steps on naturalization.

 

The N-652 form had boxes crossed for the below when she handed it to me:

 

You passed the English test and the US history and government test

 

Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval. At this time it appears that you have established your eligibility for naturalization. If final approval is granted, you will be notified when and where to report for your naturalization ceremony.

 

While waiting outside near reception, checked the USCIS site and below was the status:

My case was submitted for quality review based on an approval recommendation

 

In about 15-20 minutes, status on USCIS changed to the below:

My oath ceremony notice was mailed

 

Soon after, they called me at the reception and gave the Form N-445 (which has oath ceremony details).

My oath ceremony is scheduled for December 12.

There is also a questionnaire attached which we are expected to fill on the day of the oath to indicate any changes from the day of interview until oath ceremony day.

 

Thanks to everybody at visajourney - this is an amazing forum that shares and cares for others in their visa journeys!

 

 

 

 

 

[butalas 18]

Had the interview yesterday and everything went well. Officer did a I-751/N-400 combined interview, so there were technically two separate parts to the interview. I would say it is important to make sure your spouse comes with you if your case is similar (3yr through marriage to US citizen). Officer was nice and polite but intense, and asked a number of personal questions. The combined interviews in total took about an hour. He asked the following questions for citizenship:

 

-Who is the Vice President now?

-Who becomes President if the President can no longer serve?

-Name one war fought by the US in the 1900s.

-Name one right only for US citizens.

-What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

+1 more I can't remember.

 

He said he had a lot of paperwork to do because of the combined cases, and that instead of making us wait an hour+ in the lobby he would just mail the oath notice. He said the ceremony should either be next week or the following week. Thanks to everyone in this (and other) groups on here for the support and advice throughout the years.

[Natfor2019 23]

1 hour ago, butalas said:

Had the interview yesterday and everything went well. Officer did a I-751/N-400 combined interview, so there were technically two separate parts to the interview. I would say it is important to make sure your spouse comes with you if your case is similar (3yr through marriage to US citizen). Officer was nice and polite but intense, and asked a number of personal questions. The combined interviews in total took about an hour. He asked the following questions for citizenship:

 

-Who is the Vice President now?

-Who becomes President if the President can no longer serve?

-Name one war fought by the US in the 1900s.

-Name one right only for US citizens.

-What happened at the Constitutional Convention?

+1 more I can't remember.

 

He said he had a lot of paperwork to do because of the combined cases, and that instead of making us wait an hour+ in the lobby he would just mail the oath notice. He said the ceremony should either be next week or the following week. Thanks to everyone in this (and other) groups on here for the support and advice throughout the years.

Congrats!!

[Toy 18]

Just got an sms notification saying interview has been scheduled. 

[Vikingoutwest 193]

First of all Congrats to all of you that just had your interviews! Second, I will outline my experience at the interview yesterday below - it will be a long one - you can skip to the end:-)

 

My husband and I arrived at the Portland field office at 12.10 yesterday (a half hour before my appointment at 12.40), and get checked through security. I had to give the guard my appointment letter and ID and then put all my stuff (bags, overcoat, random things from my pockets, and my shoes) in bins and go through a metal detector. Pick up all the stuff again, then go check in at the front desk. The front desk took my appointment letter and my green card, checked it against a list on their computer, and then they took my picture, and scan my left and right index fingers. Then they gave me the letter back, with a numbered ticket attached to it, and we were told to go upstairs to the second floor and wait to be called. 

The waiting room is apparently shared for both people waiting to be interviewed, and people waiting for infopass...the only sign posted anywhere there said "for infopass, wait here for your name to be called" - so I was worried I went to the wrong place somehow, but figured out after a bit that officers were coming out from a different hallway and calling people by name to go with them for interviews.

I waited until about 1.10, and was finally called by a friendly female officer. She showed me back to her office, asked me to remain standing and had me swear to tell the truth. After I sat down, she goes "before we even start this, I have to ask you to outline how you obtained this green card". See, I have had a total of two cards. My first one was conditional, and from 2006. In 2007, my husband and I moved back to Denmark for a while. We thought (as it says in the rules) that if you do not apply to remove conditions, and retain your card while living overseas, you automatically lose your residency and will have to reapply if you want to return to the US. In 2009, we returned to the US and reapplied. At first, it got denied - on the grounds that I had residency already! We had to appeal and tell them their own rules about us having abandoned residency in 2007, the appeal was granted and I got my permanent green card in 2010. Now, the officer was telling me this might be a problem, and that they had to make sure my status was adjusted correctly in 2010. I have her the whole timeline and showed proof, and she said we will get back to this, let's do the test. The questions were:

1. What is one promise you make when you become a US citizen?

I said: to defend the Constitution and follow the laws of the US. She looked puzzled, so I added: and to serve in the military if needed. Then she was happy.

2. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

3. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

4. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

5. What is the name of the Vice President of the US now?

6. There were 13 original states, name three?

I then had to read: Where is the White House located?

And write: The White House is in Washington, D.C. 

Then she asked some questions from the N400. I can't remember them all, but some were full legal name, prior marriages for both my husband and I (none), if my parents were citizens, current address, any kids, any travels in the last 5 years, if I had been a prostitute, involved with torture, in the military, or if I was in the communist party. Then if I was willing to take the oath and support the Constitution (of course). Then my name and original country and birth date etc popped up on the tablet and I had to sign it was correct. Then I had to sign that I was willing to take the oath. After that she hands me the N652 (interview results), and two boxes are checked.

1. You passed the English test and the U.S. history and government test

2. A decision cannot be made yet about your application.

In my head I was freaking out, but I tried to not show that and calmly just asked her what this meant? She told me that she had to confirm with a senior officer that my status was adjusted correctly in the past, but that she would fight for me (her words 0.o) and push for my approval. She took some copies of my IDs and said that they would contact me by mail.

So, I left the interview pretty deflated and kinda sad. 

5 hours later I got a notification from the case tracker app that I had been put in line to be scheduled for the Oath Ceremony. I was not sure at that point if that meant I was approved for sure now, so I kept checking the uscis account - and finally this morning that account read:

"We approved your application. Your final step to becoming a citizen is to attend your naturalization ceremony. We will mail you a letter when we schedule your naturalization ceremony."

 

APPROVED!!!!!! 😄 

[EmsVnt 15]

@Vikingoutwest Congratulations!!! 

[Catalan-American 40]

Hi,

 

We just got back home from the interview. I've been APPROVED!!! 😃

 

My husband and I waited for an hour until we were called. We stayed together throughout the whole interview.

 

The first part focused on the I-751. Even though my instructions for the interview mentioned nothing about the I-751, I brought some more supporting evidence just in case. I had the feeling it was going to be a combo interview. I had requested it when I filed the N-400 but never got any confirmation whether that had been granted or not. The officer asked for more evidence for the I-751, so I gave it to him – I brought a copy of our current lease, utility bills, and tax transcripts. He asked how we met and where had we lived before we moved to Salt Lake City. This part was short, smooth, and pleasant, and it involved both my husband and me. The officer approved the I-751, and the system now says that my new green card is being produced. I wonder if that's true considering that my oath should take place in 1-2 months at the latest, and my conditional green card was extended up until late January 2020 when I filed to remove conditions in July 2018.

 

The second part focused on the N-400, and my husband had to stay quiet. I answered some questions that I had already dealt with when I filled in the form and confirmed my name change and personal/contact data. I pledged allegiance and signed on a tablet to verify that all the information was correct. I was asked to read "What do we have to pay to the government," and I had to write "We pay taxes." Then, I was asked six civics questions and answered all of them correctly:

 

• What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? – The Bill of Rights
• How many U.S. Senators are there? – One hundred (100)
• Name one branch or part of the government: The Congress
• There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them: Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
• The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers: (James) Madison.
• Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? – Native Americans

 

After handing me the N-652 with the approved result, the officer gave me some tips on how to get my SSN and state ID updated after the ceremony, as well as requesting a passport and registering to vote ☺️

 

As of now, the system says that my case was submitted for quality review based on an approval recommendation. I look forward to the naturalization ceremony and the oath. I'll keep you posted when I have more information!

 

I want to thank everybody here for sharing their stories and their advice 🤗