N400s Filed at Manhattan (NYC) Field Office

[Bineek 3]

On 9/6/2019 at 10:04 PM, Polis said:

Good luck! Your interview is on birthday! Still waiting for mine...@Polis (January 2019)

Happy Birthday @Polis!!!

As  I said you brought me luck as I just passed my interview 3 hours ago.

I have my oath scheduled on November 1st.

I applied November 6th 2018 and will become a citizen on November 1st 2019. Basically the whole process took 360 days... 

 

 

[N400NYC 380]

On 10/16/2019 at 5:25 PM, Bineek said:

Happy Birthday @Polis!!!

As  I said you brought me luck as I just passed my interview 3 hours ago.

I have my oath scheduled on November 1st.

I applied November 6th 2018 and will become a citizen on November 1st 2019. Basically the whole process took 360 days... 

 

 

Congrats! Such a marathon. I hope I will be able to say the same thing in 6 months time. I am 6 months into my waiting sentence!!!

[Ring of The fire 55]

Is there anybody who belongs to Brooklyn’s office? I’m curious to learn how long they are currently taking to schedule an interview?

[Bineek 3]

On 10/20/2019 at 5:36 PM, N400NYC said:

Congrats! Such a marathon. I hope I will be able to say the same thing in 6 months time. I am 6 months into my waiting sentence!!!

Thank you @N400NYC!!!

I hope that you’ll get it sooner than that. 

Good luck and don’t worry too much about this process. 

When I forgot about it,I received the interview notification. 

[Ring of The fire 55]

12 minutes ago, Polis said:

I am and they went pretty fast in my opinion, I applied on January 15, 2019 and got my Interview yesterday on October 22nd. Waiting for my letter for the ceremony, went faster than estimated on their website.

Wow congratulations! Your comments relaxed me a lot 

[Greenpoint11222 8]

Hi all,

 

December 2018 Brooklyn filer here. As said a few posts above, I took the naturalization interview on 10/9 and the myUSCIS website was updated a few hours later with the message "we have approved your application"

 

Another update: this past Friday, the website got updated to "we scheduled your oath ceremony" and on Monday, the N-445 form got uploaded. My ceremony will be in Brooklyn (Cadman Plaza) on 10/31. I should be American by Halloween night

 

[N400NYC 380]

I try my best not to get disheartened by the LONG wait for an interview for Manhattan residents and then I see things like this and it's like a kick in the stomach! Processing time for Manhattan continues to get worse despite the supposed plan to speed things up by moving some cases to other offices. These numbers were updated yesterday/today, up from 13.5 to 25.5. Not moving in the right direction.....

 

 

 

 

[Mark_Shalini 3]

Hello All,

 

I had my citizenship interview at 26 Federal Plaza on Oct 28th. The process for me was not too long, got to the waiting place (7th Gl-unit 700) between 1230-1245, registered my name, got a number and called in by 1pm as per the time provided in the letter. 

 

The interviewer was was very friendly, asked me about where I lived and what I did and if I travelled anywhere out of US. Got me to read a  sentence first (who is Washington?) followed by writing a sentence (Washington was the first president). Then we pursued with the 6 questions (as long as you get the first 6 right, you are good to move on!). He then got me to sign few verifications, also answer some required questions and I was done! Told me, he will send my information for citizenship approval also provided the date and time for my oath, which will be on Nov 15th at 11am. Sent me to another waiting room, in which we waited longer just to find out that their printer doesn’t work and gave me a preliminary document till I get the official one in my mail. In fact I got the text and email update as well as the copy online on Oct 29th.

 

Hope this information helps. Good luck to everyone. 

 

 

[summer eyes 7]

Hi fellow Visajourney voyagers,

 

I had my interview on October 31 in Newark and was contemplating about putting on a Statute of liberty costume for Halloween ))) Good, I didn't wear any costume. The atmosphere was formal and uptight in their Newark office. And getting to Newark from the Upper Manhattan was excruciating. I got there on donkeys, camels and my feet. I was scheduled for a 7:45 am appointment that is why I left my home at 5 am. Google map directed me to Penn Station to take a train from there. When I got to Newark I bought round trip ticket ($3.20) for the local bus at the cashier window inside the terminal station. The bus came in 6 minutes and I ended up getting to the place at 7.10am. I can hardly call my experience with the security guys there as pleasant. They behaved a bit rude with an older guy with a cane who was in front of me in the line. They decided to be super diligent in their inspection of his personal belongings. The older guy was calm and you have no other choice but let them do their job and keep your cool although they were very loud and some of their comments were a bit inflammatory or I might have been a bit sensitive because of the long travel in pouring rain, thick fog and dark early morning.

 

After I was in the building I took an elevator to the 15th floor. There was another security guy checking our IDs and letters and inviting us to proceed to the window in the waiting room. The officer behind the window checked my green card and letter and invited me to sit down.  I was called for my interview at 7.45am. They were precise with their timing.

 

The officer invited me to come to the window and asked me to show my green card, my passport and my NYC ID. She asked me about my old passport because she wanted to check my travels. I told her my old passport was taken away when I got my new passport. Her next question was how I made sure that all my travels in the application were correct. I used my flight booking information that I have in my email. She was satisfied with that answer and asked me to follow her to the door number 1 behind which was a very long corridor with glass doors along it. You could see interviews were happening almost in every room. 

 

Once we were in her room, the officer introduced herself and asked me to stand for the Oath to be truthful in my interview. She was nice and a little distant in a professional way. She was mainly looking at her two screens and a brown folder with all my information. In that folder she had all the documents that I submitted 7 years ago when I was applying for my green card. She asked me about my name and if I wanted to keep it or change it. Then she went through all those security questions that you are supposed to respond negatively. "No, I'm not a communist nor a prostitute." That long list of security questions transitioned into the next set of questions about your loyalty to the USA and you start answering "yes". After we were done with that part she started going through my application and asked me about my family, travels (if there were any travels after I submitted my application, what was the longest travel), work, and taxes. English test was next with a very simple sentence that I was offered to write on a tablet and read from the same tablet. Then I answered 6 civics question. The whole interview lasted for about 25min. In the end she had me review the info and if everything was correct so she could print a letter that recommends me for the US citizenship. She told me that I'd get my Oath ceremony scheduled in the NYC office. 

 

I left the office. It was still raining. The bus brought me to a terminal station where I got on a PATH that finally brought me to the World Trade station. I was glad to be back in Manhattan. 

 

In the evening, the status of my application changed online in myUSCIS portal to "we approved your application - your final step to becoming a citizen is to attend the naturalization ceremony. My estimated wait time is three months." 

 

I hope it will be sooner than three months. 

 

Also I was wondering if I could apply for a passport right after I have my Oath ceremony and what is the wait time to obtain the passport. 

 

Thank you!

 

To be continued...

[N400NYC 380]

13 minutes ago, summer eyes said:

Hi fellow Visajourney voyagers,

 

I had my interview on October 31 in Newark and was contemplating about putting on a Statute of liberty costume for Halloween ))) Good, I didn't wear any costume. The atmosphere was formal and uptight in their Newark office. And getting to Newark from the Upper Manhattan was excruciating. I got there on donkeys, camels and my feet. I was scheduled for a 7:45 am appointment that is why I left my home at 5 am. Google map directed me to Penn Station to take a train from there. When I got to Newark I bought round trip ticket ($3.20) for the local bus at the cashier window inside the terminal station. The bus came in 6 minutes and I ended up getting to the place at 7.10am. I can hardly call my experience with the security guys there as pleasant. They behaved a bit rude with an older guy with a cane who was in front of me in the line. They decided to be super diligent in their inspection of his personal belongings. The older guy was calm and you have no other choice but let them do their job and keep your cool although they were very loud and some of their comments were a bit inflammatory or I might have been a bit sensitive because of the long travel in pouring rain, thick fog and dark early morning.

 

After I was in the building I took an elevator to the 15th floor. There was another security guy checking our IDs and letters and inviting us to proceed to the window in the waiting room. The officer behind the window checked my green card and letter and invited me to sit down.  I was called for my interview at 7.45am. They were precise with their timing.

 

The officer invited me to come to the window and asked me to show my green card, my passport and my NYC ID. She asked me about my old passport because she wanted to check my travels. I told her my old passport was taken away when I got my new passport. Her next question was how I made sure that all my travels in the application were correct. I used my flight booking information that I have in my email. She was satisfied with that answer and asked me to follow her to the door number 1 behind which was a very long corridor with glass doors along it. You could see interviews were happening almost in every room. 

 

Once we were in her room, the officer introduced herself and asked me to stand for the Oath to be truthful in my interview. She was nice and a little distant in a professional way. She was mainly looking at her two screens and a brown folder with all my information. In that folder she had all the documents that I submitted 7 years ago when I was applying for my green card. She asked me about my name and if I wanted to keep it or change it. Then she went through all those security questions that you are supposed to respond negatively. "No, I'm not a communist nor a prostitute." That long list of security questions transitioned into the next set of questions about your loyalty to the USA and you start answering "yes". After we were done with that part she started going through my application and asked me about my family, travels (if there were any travels after I submitted my application, what was the longest travel), work, and taxes. English test was next with a very simple sentence that I was offered to write on a tablet and read from the same tablet. Then I answered 6 civics question. The whole interview lasted for about 25min. In the end she had me review the info and if everything was correct so she could print a letter that recommends me for the US citizenship. She told me that I'd get my Oath ceremony scheduled in the NYC office. 

 

I left the office. It was still raining. The bus brought me to a terminal station where I got on a PATH that finally brought me to the World Trade station. I was glad to be back in Manhattan. 

 

In the evening, the status of my application changed online in myUSCIS portal to "we approved your application - your final step to becoming a citizen is to attend the naturalization ceremony. My estimated wait time is three months." 

 

I hope it will be sooner than three months. 

 

Also I was wondering if I could apply for a passport right after I have my Oath ceremony and what is the wait time to obtain the passport. 

 

Thank you!

 

To be continued...

I enjoyed reading this! Glad it's nearly over for you. 

[summer eyes 7]

3 minutes ago, N400NYC said:

I enjoyed reading this! Glad it's nearly over for you. 

Thank you! I hope you'll get on a lucky train that brings you fast and smooth to the US citizenship. 

[sgzr 3]

3 hours ago, summer eyes said:

Also I was wondering if I could apply for a passport right after I have my Oath ceremony and what is the wait time to obtain the passport. 

I believe all you need is your certificate of naturalization, and you leave the ceremony with that. Once you're a citizen the requirements and paperwork become so little. 

 

I'm planning on going to a passport appointment same day as my oath ceremony cos I need it super rushed. 

[N400NYC 380]

19 minutes ago, sgzr said:

I believe all you need is your certificate of naturalization, and you leave the ceremony with that. Once you're a citizen the requirements and paperwork become so little. 

 

I'm planning on going to a passport appointment same day as my oath ceremony cos I need it super rushed. 

It seems absurd to me that you have to wait 2 months for the oath ceremony when other people who get interviewed in Manhattan have it within 2-3 weeks. Being redirected to Newark shouldn't put you (and others) at a disadvantage. Have you thought about calling (again haha!) to see if there is any way to get an earlier ceremony? The insanity is that there are other people being interviewed now in Manhattan who will become citizens before you do. This entire process is maddening at seemingly all stages....

Edited November 1, 2019 by N400NYC

[Maite&Osmar 9]

3 hours ago, summer eyes said:

Hi fellow Visajourney voyagers,

 

I had my interview on October 31 in Newark and was contemplating about putting on a Statute of liberty costume for Halloween ))) Good, I didn't wear any costume. The atmosphere was formal and uptight in their Newark office. And getting to Newark from the Upper Manhattan was excruciating. I got there on donkeys, camels and my feet. I was scheduled for a 7:45 am appointment that is why I left my home at 5 am. Google map directed me to Penn Station to take a train from there. When I got to Newark I bought round trip ticket ($3.20) for the local bus at the cashier window inside the terminal station. The bus came in 6 minutes and I ended up getting to the place at 7.10am. I can hardly call my experience with the security guys there as pleasant. They behaved a bit rude with an older guy with a cane who was in front of me in the line. They decided to be super diligent in their inspection of his personal belongings. The older guy was calm and you have no other choice but let them do their job and keep your cool although they were very loud and some of their comments were a bit inflammatory or I might have been a bit sensitive because of the long travel in pouring rain, thick fog and dark early morning.

 

After I was in the building I took an elevator to the 15th floor. There was another security guy checking our IDs and letters and inviting us to proceed to the window in the waiting room. The officer behind the window checked my green card and letter and invited me to sit down.  I was called for my interview at 7.45am. They were precise with their timing.

 

The officer invited me to come to the window and asked me to show my green card, my passport and my NYC ID. She asked me about my old passport because she wanted to check my travels. I told her my old passport was taken away when I got my new passport. Her next question was how I made sure that all my travels in the application were correct. I used my flight booking information that I have in my email. She was satisfied with that answer and asked me to follow her to the door number 1 behind which was a very long corridor with glass doors along it. You could see interviews were happening almost in every room. 

 

Once we were in her room, the officer introduced herself and asked me to stand for the Oath to be truthful in my interview. She was nice and a little distant in a professional way. She was mainly looking at her two screens and a brown folder with all my information. In that folder she had all the documents that I submitted 7 years ago when I was applying for my green card. She asked me about my name and if I wanted to keep it or change it. Then she went through all those security questions that you are supposed to respond negatively. "No, I'm not a communist nor a prostitute." That long list of security questions transitioned into the next set of questions about your loyalty to the USA and you start answering "yes". After we were done with that part she started going through my application and asked me about my family, travels (if there were any travels after I submitted my application, what was the longest travel), work, and taxes. English test was next with a very simple sentence that I was offered to write on a tablet and read from the same tablet. Then I answered 6 civics question. The whole interview lasted for about 25min. In the end she had me review the info and if everything was correct so she could print a letter that recommends me for the US citizenship. She told me that I'd get my Oath ceremony scheduled in the NYC office. 

 

I left the office. It was still raining. The bus brought me to a terminal station where I got on a PATH that finally brought me to the World Trade station. I was glad to be back in Manhattan. 

 

In the evening, the status of my application changed online in myUSCIS portal to "we approved your application - your final step to becoming a citizen is to attend the naturalization ceremony. My estimated wait time is three months." 

 

I hope it will be sooner than three months. 

 

Also I was wondering if I could apply for a passport right after I have my Oath ceremony and what is the wait time to obtain the passport. 

 

Thank you!

 

To be continued...

Hello Summer Eyes,

Congratulations for passing you Citizenship Interview.  My husband also had his interview yesterday 10-31-19 and he was also approved at Newark, New Jersey.  His interview was at 8:30 am and we got there around 8:00 am, so most likely you were inside having your interview when we were in the waiting room.  Keep us updated if you get your oath scheduled since we were approved the same day.  Our USCIS portal also says “We approved your application and the completion time is 3 months also.  Hopefully, they will speed up the process.  

Thanks,

Osmar & Maite

[Maite&Osmar 9]

Hello VJ members,

I have decided to join this thread because it is more specific to Manhattan field office.  I would like to share our experience so far.  

Applied online 10-16-18

Biometrics 10-29-18

Interview Letter 09-13-19

Interview 10-31-19

Oath- Waiting- Estimated time of completion 3 months

 

My husband’s case was transferred to Newark, NJ even though we live in Manhattan.  We took a taxi to get to Newark and we got there a little bit before 8am and the interview was scheduled for 8:30 am and he was called at 9:30 am.  The officer was an old man and according to my husband he was a nice person.  On our way back we took bus 62 to Newark Penn Station and then we took the train to Penn Station 34 th Street.  The interview for him was very fast 10 minutes approximately, but I saw people there with interviews that lasted 30 minutes.  I scanned a lot of evidence when I submitted N400 online for my husband and probably that was the reason why they didn’t ask for any documents.  They only asked him for his green card, passport, driver’s license and the transcript for 2018 because the officer had all the previous years in the system.  I will recommend to print out the form N400 with all the answers submitted online and study that information because the officer asked him all the information submitted in the application.  He was asked 6 civis questions only because he got all of them correct.  Then he had to read a sentence out loud and write a sentence in a tablet but with a pen, they don’t have a keyboard.  They asked a lot of questions about our relationship since he applied under the 3 years rule married to an US citizen and there is an age difference between my husband and I.  They even asked him where we met and if we didn’t had any issues before with any immigration process because of the age difference and my husband responded that we have been together 11 years and we have never had any issues because the age difference.  Other than that it was an smooth process for us.  Hope this review will be helpful for other people.  Wish you all the best.