N-400 Seattle (Part 2)

[vts 2]

 

I had my N400 appt. at Seattle office early morning - was surprised by face 2 face interview with officer instead of remote as others experienced. All went well, we had good conversation while waiting for officer to finish paperwork and schedule for 11am oath. Got  my naturalization cert immediately after oath - long journey and wait for scheduling interview but glad it is all done.

 

-v

[Bd1981 2]

On 4/24/2022 at 11:21 AM, Seattle2021 said:

thanks. No i did not apply for FOIA .. i read about it here but never did anything. Best of luck. i will also update the spreadsheet

Hope everything went well with your parents’ interviews. If I remember correctly your parents had an overseas trip over 6 months due to COVID related flight cancellation. I was also stuck out of USA over 6 months due to the same situation and my interview is coming up in 2 weeks. Would you mind sharing what they were asked about the Covid related overstay ? Thanks 

[PedroDaGr8 245]

Just noticed from the spreadsheet that somebody from June 2021 just received their interview notice yesterday. Seems like Seattle is actually starting to catch up a bit. 

Edited May 27, 2022 by PedroDaGr8

[Seattle2021 10]

On 5/27/2022 at 2:26 PM, Bd1981 said:

Hope everything went well with your parents’ interviews. If I remember correctly your parents had an overseas trip over 6 months due to COVID related flight cancellation. I was also stuck out of USA over 6 months due to the same situation and my interview is coming up in 2 weeks. Would you mind sharing what they were asked about the Covid related overstay ? Thanks 

Hey.. a good news and bad news for my parents

 

Good news: the interviewer did take corona as a reason and didnt had issue with more than 6 months absense.

Bad news: I did a miscalculation on number of days in USA - 5 years before and applied 20 days early. so they didnt meet the residency requirement :(. I even told the officer that they have not left outside of USA past 1.5 year. and to consider it. they said no, its the time before the application and not he interview.

 

they said to apply again, as they qualify again. but they get back into the queue and need to give interview and test again (which they aced)

 

thats a bummer. wish i was a bit lazy and took another month to apply for them. well it is what it is.

[ABCW 0]

On 5/26/2022 at 4:17 PM, A1982 said:

Hey. I'm up at 2.10 too, a couple of weeks after you though. I'd be grateful if you could post here after your interview to confirm that you weren't offered a same-day oath.

Hi, I did not make it. My appointment was at 2:10 but I wasn’t actually seen until 2:38 I did pass and was approved for naturalization by 3:00 but they needed to reapprove my biometrics which could take a day or so. I explained my situation to my interviewing officer and she told me to wait in the waiting room until 4:00 (the cutoff for the 4:30 ceremony) if my biometrics weren’t approved by then, she would help me figure it out. At 4:00 she had me come back into her office and wrote on my original interview scheduling  letter that I am to attend the oath ceremony this Tuesday (May 31) at 10:30am. I need to come early and ask for her so she can give me the proper paper that I need to attend the ceremony with. 
I will update on Tuesday to let you know how it all went. 

[Bd1981 2]

2 hours ago, Seattle2021 said:

Hey.. a good news and bad news for my parents

 

Good news: the interviewer did take corona as a reason and didnt had issue with more than 6 months absense.

Bad news: I did a miscalculation on number of days in USA - 5 years before and applied 20 days early. so they didnt meet the residency requirement :(. I even told the officer that they have not left outside of USA past 1.5 year. and to consider it. they said no, its the time before the application and not he interview.

 

they said to apply again, as they qualify again. but they get back into the queue and need to give interview and test again (which they aced)

 

thats a bummer. wish i was a bit lazy and took another month to apply for them. well it is what it is.

Oh no !!! It’s so disappointing! I am so sorry to hear that ! Thanks for your reply though. Really appreciate it.

[A1982 9]

3 hours ago, ABCW said:

Hi, I did not make it. My appointment was at 2:10 but I wasn’t actually seen until 2:38 I did pass and was approved for naturalization by 3:00 but they needed to reapprove my biometrics which could take a day or so. I explained my situation to my interviewing officer and she told me to wait in the waiting room until 4:00 (the cutoff for the 4:30 ceremony) if my biometrics weren’t approved by then, she would help me figure it out. At 4:00 she had me come back into her office and wrote on my original interview scheduling  letter that I am to attend the oath ceremony this Tuesday (May 31) at 10:30am. I need to come early and ask for her so she can give me the proper paper that I need to attend the ceremony with. 
I will update on Tuesday to let you know how it all went. 

Thanks for letting me know. 

 

I'm one of the people whose biometrics were waived altogether the very same day that I submitted my N 400. I remember reading that this was happening to a couple of people around that time, likely a mix of covid related efficiency-seeking measures and the fact that they felt that they had enough info on me already. I wonder if, in my case, they will still need to update biometrics during / after the interview. Were your biometrics waived when you submitted the N 400 too, or did you actually have to get them done at some point? 

[ABCW 0]

12 minutes ago, A1982 said:

Thanks for letting me know. 

 

I'm one of the people whose biometrics were waived altogether the very same day that I submitted my N 400. I remember reading that this was happening to a couple of people around that time, likely a mix of covid related efficiency-seeking measures and the fact that they felt that they had enough info on me already. I wonder if, in my case, they will still need to update biometrics during / after the interview. Were your biometrics waived when you submitted the N 400 too, or did you actually have to get them done at some point? 

Yes, they were waived when I submitted the N400 in Jan of 2021.
They said they needed to re-approve them after I had finished my interview last week. 
When I checked in for my interview appointment last Wednesday, they checked my two index prints and took a new picture. 

Edited May 30, 2022 by ABCW

[A1982 9]

On 5/29/2022 at 6:40 PM, ABCW said:

Yes, they were waived when I submitted the N400 in Jan of 2021.
They said they needed to re-approve them after I had finished my interview last week. 
When I checked in for my interview appointment last Wednesday, they checked my two index prints and took a new picture. 

Got it. Thank you. So since i'm exactly in the same case, and have my appointment at the same time, it looks like i'm likely not going to have a same-day oath in that case. well, so it is. will plan accordingly for passport, travel etc. Thx again.

[ABCW 0]

20 hours ago, A1982 said:

Got it. Thank you. So since i'm exactly in the same case, and have my appointment at the same time, it looks like i'm likely not going to have a same-day oath in that case. well, so it is. will plan accordingly for passport, travel etc. Thx again.

Update. I did the morning oath ceremony today I’m naturalized. The picture on my certificate is the same picture from my green card. 

[RaajThilak 0]

On 5/30/2022 at 8:08 PM, A1982 said:

Got it. Thank you. So since i'm exactly in the same case, and have my appointment at the same time, it looks like i'm likely not going to have a same-day oath in that case. well, so it is. will plan accordingly for passport, travel etc. Thx again.

Maybe I have some good news for you. Here goes my interview experience (which was at 2:10pm)

 

I brought $7 exact cash to pay for parking, but was surprised to see it's $8 now. When I provided that exact change, I was told they now take debit/credit cards only! I was a little off balance with this new rule.

 

Anyways, after crossing the airport style security (they permitted water bottle), I was checked in (they took a photo, and fingerprints of two index fingers). Then we went upstairs in the waiting room. While both of us had the interview scheduled at 2:10pm, I was called at 2:30pm, while my spouse at 3pm. The interviewer allowed my toddler to be at the interview room, and even let the iPad on (in airplane mode), where he watched cartoons. Right after swearing me in, the very nice and accommodating officer started the CIVICS test, followed by Reading and Writing test. After I passed all these, he asked a few questions from my N-400. I found out that my address was not updated correctly even though I filed AR-11 timely. Afterwards, he asked about 5 NO questions, and 5 YES questions. Finally he asked if I'd like to attend the 4pm Oath Ceremony, and I said yes. The whole process took less than 10 minutes.

 

My spouse had similar experience. He was finally done with the interview at 3:20pm, and still he was scheduled for the 4pm oath. FYI, both of us had our biometrics waived initially, and clearly the officers didn't need to resubmit our biometrics during the interview. Also, from my understanding, everyone in the afternoon Naturalization interview session took the oath same day.

 

A few notes - they will call you in a very out of order fashion. My spouse's token number was before me, but still he was called 30 minutes after. 

When the officer asked if I was every cited by law enforcement, I asked "Does minor traffic ticket count". He asked me the fine amount, and after learning the small amount, he said I can answer "No".

Please bring a pen, as you'll need to fill our a form before Oath.

Your naturalization Certificate will have your photo from your Green card Biometrics appointment, and the signature from the N-400 interview (on a tablet with stylus)

Before the oath ceremony, they will take your green card, and you're also supposed to return all your past EAD cards, so please bring those as well, if you want same day oath.

 

 

Overall very positive experience, everyone in the ASC was very nice and professional.

 

 

[A1982 9]

6 hours ago, RaajThilak said:

Maybe I have some good news for you. Here goes my interview experience (which was at 2:10pm)

 

I brought $7 exact cash to pay for parking, but was surprised to see it's $8 now. When I provided that exact change, I was told they now take debit/credit cards only! I was a little off balance with this new rule.

 

Anyways, after crossing the airport style security (they permitted water bottle), I was checked in (they took a photo, and fingerprints of two index fingers). Then we went upstairs in the waiting room. While both of us had the interview scheduled at 2:10pm, I was called at 2:30pm, while my spouse at 3pm. The interviewer allowed my toddler to be at the interview room, and even let the iPad on (in airplane mode), where he watched cartoons. Right after swearing me in, the very nice and accommodating officer started the CIVICS test, followed by Reading and Writing test. After I passed all these, he asked a few questions from my N-400. I found out that my address was not updated correctly even though I filed AR-11 timely. Afterwards, he asked about 5 NO questions, and 5 YES questions. Finally he asked if I'd like to attend the 4pm Oath Ceremony, and I said yes. The whole process took less than 10 minutes.

 

My spouse had similar experience. He was finally done with the interview at 3:20pm, and still he was scheduled for the 4pm oath. FYI, both of us had our biometrics waived initially, and clearly the officers didn't need to resubmit our biometrics during the interview. Also, from my understanding, everyone in the afternoon Naturalization interview session took the oath same day.

 

A few notes - they will call you in a very out of order fashion. My spouse's token number was before me, but still he was called 30 minutes after. 

When the officer asked if I was every cited by law enforcement, I asked "Does minor traffic ticket count". He asked me the fine amount, and after learning the small amount, he said I can answer "No".

Please bring a pen, as you'll need to fill our a form before Oath.

Your naturalization Certificate will have your photo from your Green card Biometrics appointment, and the signature from the N-400 interview (on a tablet with stylus)

Before the oath ceremony, they will take your green card, and you're also supposed to return all your past EAD cards, so please bring those as well, if you want same day oath.

 

 

Overall very positive experience, everyone in the ASC was very nice and professional.

 

 

Congratulations. 

 

So it looks like we have contrarian data points about the odds of a same-day oath for a 2.10 PM interview in Seattle. I'll just wait and see I guess. I've booked a USPS appointment for a new passport 3 business days after the interview just in case.

 

Are you allowed to take your telephone in btw?

[SnjvSea 9]

3 hours ago, A1982 said:

Congratulations. 

 

So it looks like we have contrarian data points about the odds of a same-day oath for a 2.10 PM interview in Seattle. I'll just wait and see I guess. I've booked a USPS appointment for a new passport 3 business days after the interview just in case.

 

Are you allowed to take your telephone in btw?

It looks like for those that do not have their biometrics pending to be re-approved, same day oath is being scheduled, even if the interview is in the afternoon.  That's a good thing.

 

Yes, telephones are ok (Of course the silent mode requirement)

[RaajThilak 0]

27 minutes ago, SnjvSea said:

It looks like for those that do not have their biometrics pending to be re-approved, same day oath is being scheduled, even if the interview is in the afternoon.  That's a good thing.

 

Yes, telephones are ok (Of course the silent mode requirement)

It's okay to use the phone in waiting room, although you can't turn the speaker on, and the phone needs to be in silent mode.

As you enter the interview area, you are supposed to turn the phone off. According to the notice posted there, your interview might end abruptly if your phone makes sound (possibly vibration is also not allowed).

[RaajThilak 0]

By the way, does anyone know how to properly sign the naturalization certificate? Is it your regular signature, or your full name in cursive handwriting? I'm getting conflicting information online. There doesn't seem to be any official USCIS policy. Folks who have interview/oath in the coming days, could you ask the USCIS officer?