N-400 Seattle (Part 2)

[Sharknado33 2]

Hey all!

 

Long time lurker but my interview is finally coming up (anxiety through the roof) and I had a few questions that I was hoping you could help me with.

 

1) For new couples with a marriage based N400, how was your experience like? Did the IO prod too much about the nature of your relationship etc or was it more focused on the civics/english part?

The reason this worries me a bit is because my wife and I had to relocate for work during our relationship and was wondering if that could be an issue.

 

2)Does Seattle do same day oaths on Fridays or just Mon-Thurs? 

[LoveAndLight2045 18]

1 hour ago, Sharknado33 said:

Hey all!

 

Long time lurker but my interview is finally coming up (anxiety through the roof) and I had a few questions that I was hoping you could help me with.

 

1) For new couples with a marriage based N400, how was your experience like? Did the IO prod too much about the nature of your relationship etc or was it more focused on the civics/english part?

The reason this worries me a bit is because my wife and I had to relocate for work during our relationship and was wondering if that could be an issue.

 

2)Does Seattle do same day oaths on Fridays or just Mon-Thurs? 

Hey there.
 

Would you mind providing some info about your case as well? Every bit of info will help us gauge the wait, 5Y vs 3Y marriage based for instance could be an interesting data point:

- did you apply after 3 or 5 years?

- when did you apply, when did you hear back for your interview and when is your interview?

- is your SO a US citizen?

- citizenship? (Feel free to disregard this one if too personal. I’m asking because in the past, for I485, citizenship plays a role in the waiting game, as not all countries have the same average wait time). 
 

Thank you kindly ☺️

Edited June 14, 2022 by LoveAndLight2045
Forgot some stuff

[PedroDaGr8 245]

10 hours ago, Sharknado33 said:

 

1) For new couples with a marriage based N400, how was your experience like? Did the IO prod too much about the nature of your relationship etc or was it more focused on the civics/english part?

The reason this worries me a bit is because my wife and I had to relocate for work during our relationship and was wondering if that could be an issue.

 

2)Does Seattle do same day oaths on Fridays or just Mon-Thurs? 

1. In general, your relationship status should be considered bonafide by this point since you have already been through i130/i485 and i751 process. Most reports state the main focus is on the civics/english portion with some precursory questions about where you live/work/etc. That being said, the interviewer can ask you about pretty much anything if they are curious, let alone if they feel something is amiss or being withheld. I'm not sure what you mean by you and your wife had to relocate for work. Did you move from somewhere else to the Seattle area or did you move from Seattle to another area and not notify USCIS? 

 

2. Looking at the historic data, it does appear that Seattle does same day oaths on Fridays as well. 

 

9 hours ago, LoveAndLight2045 said:

Hey there.
 

Would you mind providing some info about your case as well? Every bit of info will help us gauge the wait, 5Y vs 3Y marriage based for instance could be an interesting data point:

- did you apply after 3 or 5 years?

- when did you apply, when did you hear back for your interview and when is your interview?

- is your SO a US citizen?

- citizenship? (Feel free to disregard this one if too personal. I’m asking because in the past, for I485, citizenship plays a role in the waiting game, as not all countries have the same average wait time). 
 

Thank you kindly ☺️

Considering they state a "marriage-based N400", they are applying based upon the 3 year rule. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a "marriage-based N400". 

Citizenship of the applicant isn't really relevant for N400 processing because all of the checks which are done at the earlier levels. The relationship has already been established as bonafide during the i485 and i751 process, which is where citizenship of the applicant can come into play. At this point, it is mostly about do they meet the requirements for the 3 year rule plus the civics/English test. 

 

In case you haven't seen it, there is a tracking spreadsheet for N-400 at the Seattle FO. It looks like yesterday, someone from August 2021 received an interview notice for late July. 

 Tracking Spreadsheet Link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FcItCasVItCDsUNEbDu15IRQ-AbDMRJWsiljwtz5WRI/edit?usp=sharing

Edited June 14, 2022 by PedroDaGr8

[LoveAndLight2045 18]

4 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

1. In general, your relationship status should be considered bonafide by this point since you have already been through i130/i485 and i751 process. Most reports state the main focus is on the civics/english portion with some precursory questions about where you live/work/etc. That being said, the interviewer can ask you about pretty much anything if they are curious, let alone if they feel something is amiss or being withheld. I'm not sure what you mean by you and your wife had to relocate for work. Did you move from somewhere else to the Seattle area or did you move from Seattle to another area and not notify USCIS? 

 

2. Looking at the historic data, it does appear that Seattle does same day oaths on Fridays as well. 

 

Considering they state a "marriage-based N400", they are applying based upon the 3 year rule. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a "marriage-based N400". 

Citizenship of the applicant isn't really relevant for N400 processing because all of the checks which are done at the earlier levels. The relationship has already been established as bonafide during the i485 and i751 process, which is where citizenship of the applicant can come into play. At this point, it is mostly about do they meet the requirements for the 3 year rule plus the civics/English test. 

 

In case you haven't seen it, there is a tracking spreadsheet for N-400 at the Seattle FO. It looks like yesterday, someone from August 2021 received an interview notice for late July. 

 Tracking Spreadsheet Link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FcItCasVItCDsUNEbDu15IRQ-AbDMRJWsiljwtz5WRI/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks.
 

How do you know that relationship, etc. has been established by the end of I-485//I-751? Because my take is that if it was the case, wouldn’t N400 then have a faster turnaround than I-485s? Same questions for the citizenship not mattering at this stage. Something still differentiate the way N400 are processed, and I think citizenship might be one of them, unless heard otherwise by USCIS. 
 

Thanks for the spreadsheet, I’ve looked it up before but it doesn’t differentiate marriage based vs not, which might be another different way of triaging N400 and might explain why some requests seem to be faster than others, in the same field office. 

Edited June 14, 2022 by LoveAndLight2045

[Sharknado33 2]

4 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

1. In general, your relationship status should be considered bonafide by this point since you have already been through i130/i485 and i751 process. Most reports state the main focus is on the civics/english portion with some precursory questions about where you live/work/etc. That being said, the interviewer can ask you about pretty much anything if they are curious, let alone if they feel something is amiss or being withheld. I'm not sure what you mean by you and your wife had to relocate for work. Did you move from somewhere else to the Seattle area or did you move from Seattle to another area and not notify USCIS? 

 

2. Looking at the historic data, it does appear that Seattle does same day oaths on Fridays as well. 

 

Considering they state a "marriage-based N400", they are applying based upon the 3 year rule. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a "marriage-based N400". 

Citizenship of the applicant isn't really relevant for N400 processing because all of the checks which are done at the earlier levels. The relationship has already been established as bonafide during the i485 and i751 process, which is where citizenship of the applicant can come into play. At this point, it is mostly about do they meet the requirements for the 3 year rule plus the civics/English test. 

 

In case you haven't seen it, there is a tracking spreadsheet for N-400 at the Seattle FO. It looks like yesterday, someone from August 2021 received an interview notice for late July. 

 Tracking Spreadsheet Link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FcItCasVItCDsUNEbDu15IRQ-AbDMRJWsiljwtz5WRI/edit?usp=sharing

 

Thank you PedroDaGr8!

 

To clarify what I meant by relocating was that we had to live apart for a number of months due to either one of us relocating for a new job.I notified USCIS whenever I changed addresses. 

[Sharknado33 2]

14 hours ago, LoveAndLight2045 said:

Hey there.
 

Would you mind providing some info about your case as well? Every bit of info will help us gauge the wait, 5Y vs 3Y marriage based for instance could be an interesting data point:

- did you apply after 3 or 5 years?

- when did you apply, when did you hear back for your interview and when is your interview?

- is your SO a US citizen?

- citizenship? (Feel free to disregard this one if too personal. I’m asking because in the past, for I485, citizenship plays a role in the waiting game, as not all countries have the same average wait time). 
 

Thank you kindly ☺️

 

After 3 years and an April 2021 filer. SO is US citizen. 

[AndyGT 14]

On 5/19/2022 at 9:18 AM, AndyGT said:

Hi, a question for anyone that also has or had a pending I-751 along with their N400:

 

My wife received an interview notice last week for her N400 (applied April 2021), it doesn't mention the I-751 (applied January 2020) and the case status for the I-751 has not changed (still says case ready to be scheduled for interview since Oct. 2020). We called USCIS to ask and they said it is up to the discretion of the interviewing officer on whether they want a separate interview for the I-751 and/or if they will combine them into a single interview. The USCIS representative also said I wouldn't be able to enter the building since my name is not on the N400 interview notice, obviously this would make it hard to participate in an interview if the officer wants to do one. 

 

What have the experiences been from other members with pending I-751 and N400 applications? Did you receive separate notice for the I-751 interview and did that case status change? Were you able to accompany your spouse with only their N400 interview notice? 

For anyone interested here is an update following my wife's interview yesterday June 15 (she passed!):

Appointment was at 6:30am, their first appointment time slot of the day. Parking booth opens at 6am so don't arrive earlier, the office opened shortly after 6am. As the spouse I was not allowed into the building since my name was not on the interview letter. After going through security my wife said they took biometrics again and directed her to a waiting room. 

 

The interview was in person and the officer explained there would be three parts: civics test, I-751 interview, N-400 interview. Civics test included the questions (who makes federal laws, who is the speaker of the house, what are the political parties, why 13 stripes on the flag, what does the Constitution do, one more) and she was asked to write "Columbus Day is in October." I-751 part included questions about our marriage, where we lived and for how long, and foreign travel. The officer didn't ask to see any documents and said he had everything he needed. N-400 part had questions about the application, what my wife does for work, etc. There was one issue in that she had changed her name after moving to the US and even though she applied for the N-400 under that name and had changed it with the Social Security Administration, her green card was in her previous name and we had not updated that. Fortunately the officer was able to process the change after about a 15 minute wait and she was approved. The whole interview lasted maybe 15 minutes.  

 

The oath ceremony occurred right afterwards and I was able to enter the building for it. They waited until there were about 15 new citizens and the ceremony started about 7:45am and didn't last more than 10 minutes. Afterwards we were quickly ushered out so they could let the next batch into the auditorium, so it seems like they were doing continuous oath ceremonies whenever they had enough people. If you have a very early appointment it's a plus because the office is much quieter before 7:45-8am.

 

Hope this helps and good luck to everyone. We're glad the long journey is over!

[Bd1981 2]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:24 PM, Bd1981 said:

I appeared for my N400 virtual  interview in Seattle center on 6/10. I passed English and Civic test, but the officer said that she was taking my interview from home. My files are in her office and doesn’t have access to my files from home. She said that she will need  to review  the files once she is in office . Until then she won’t be able to approve the case. Hence I have ‘passed’ box checked , but also ‘no decision can be made yet’ box checked. She mentioned that approximately a month might take for me to receive the decision. Has anyone have a recent experience similar to mine? If so, could you please let me know how long it took to receive the decision? Thanks 

I got the approval today. Now waiting for oath scheduling.

[dondoncat 5]

Got my interview at Portland OR, at 10:30 am 15 of jun it was visual interview, through tablet and headphones, the interviewer wasn’t happy for some reason she didn’t smile even once for the whole interview she start the interview immediately asking questions about my application and what changes since I filled and then she ask me about a traveling outside US which I didn’t mention it in my application cuz it was to Canada and it was less then 24 hours I explained that to her and why I didn’t mention it she also asked me about my ex and how we got divorced for what reason and asked me also about if I join to any military or army forces and I said yes back to my country it’s mandatory and I must do it since she keep her data entry and start with the civic and eng questions and said there are notice came to ur printer and it was about the interview results which was congratulations you been approved and she said one of other officers will assist u next then another girl came and said congratulations u gana conduct your oath so it happened immediately right after  and on the site were was my interview conduct she ask me to wait on the 1st floor to get my certificate with punch of ppl which they had one for Oregon and another for Washington which was way less my journey is done was long and worth it good luck for u all and thanks for VJ .

[PedroDaGr8 245]

5 hours ago, dondoncat said:

Got my interview at Portland OR, at 10:30 am 15 of jun it was visual interview, through tablet and headphones, the interviewer wasn’t happy for some reason she didn’t smile even once for the whole interview she start the interview immediately asking questions about my application and what changes since I filled and then she ask me about a traveling outside US which I didn’t mention it in my application cuz it was to Canada and it was less then 24 hours I explained that to her and why I didn’t mention it she also asked me about my ex and how we got divorced for what reason and asked me also about if I join to any military or army forces and I said yes back to my country it’s mandatory and I must do it since she keep her data entry and start with the civic and eng questions and said there are notice came to ur printer and it was about the interview results which was congratulations you been approved and she said one of other officers will assist u next then another girl came and said congratulations u gana conduct your oath so it happened immediately right after  and on the site were was my interview conduct she ask me to wait on the 1st floor to get my certificate with punch of ppl which they had one for Oregon and another for Washington which was way less my journey is done was long and worth it good luck for u all and thanks for VJ .

Congrats! 

[Sharknado33 2]

Sorry if weird question, but I recently got naturalized and as I was going through my docs and apps, I realized that I forgot to disclose a minor traffic infraction that I got a few years ago (~$100, and I paid it). Is there a way to disclose this now to USCIS to avoid any future issues? The question stated arrests/detains/citations and I focused too much on the arrests and detains and not the citation piece.

 

[arnab221 29]

6 hours ago, Sharknado33 said:

Sorry if weird question, but I recently got naturalized and as I was going through my docs and apps, I realized that I forgot to disclose a minor traffic infraction that I got a few years ago (~$100, and I paid it). Is there a way to disclose this now to USCIS to avoid any future issues? The question stated arrests/detains/citations and I focused too much on the arrests and detains and not the citation piece.

 

If getting denaturalized because of this issue surfacing is the concern(future issues) that's making you ask this , relax. USCIS has a valid prosecution case only when the information that was suppressed was material to the degree where naturalization could have been denied had it been disclosed . Example : Illegal Entry , Impersonation , etc . This is not a piece of information which would have impacted the Naturalization had it been known. 
Also denaturalization is a hugely expensive litigation intensive process which is done very rarely only for very serious cases. 

[A1982 9]

Hi. My husband and I had our interviews in Seattle this week. The interviews went swimmingly and were in-person in our case (i.e. not with a remote USCIS offer via tablet, as some have reported here). The interviewing officer was very friendly.

 

They weren't offering same-day oaths at all though, and we were both immediately scheduled for our oath ceremonies on July 4 at Seattle Center. Looks like the naturalization ceremony there on July 4 is a fun affair that takes place every year, complete with music, dignitaries et al (details here: https://seattlecenter.com/events/featured-events/naturalization-ceremony#:~:text=Every July 4th,welcome them to the country.). Newspaper articles from previous years suggest that they swear in 500 people at this Independence Day ceremony every year, and I'm guessing that if you're interviewing this week or next week, there's a good chance they'll try to get you scheduled to take your oath there. 

 

Our background: We are French citizens, arrived in the US on an L1A (+ dependent visa) in 2015, got our green cards (EB1) in 2016 and applied for naturalization in April 2021. 

 

All the best to those waiting! 

 

PS There's ample free parking next to the synagogue that's 8 minutes away by foot from the USCIS office.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by A1982

[Hamilton 511]

So according to the spreadsheet, people who filed in July 2021 are getting their interviews scheduled for July this year. That means the wait time has reduced to about a year! 

 

Do you all think the wait time will continue to reduce? I'm trying to figure out the rate of reduction... if June/July 21 filers are being scheduled in July 22, maybe Aug/Sept 21 will be in August 22, Oct/Nov 21 in September 22, and Dec 21/Jan 22 by October 22. That's assuming they do two months' worth of cases every month -- probably too ambitious. 

[seattlegc 36]

Applied 9/7/2021

 

Just checked my account and see there's an interview scheduled dated today (haven't yet received email or text notifications) for August 4th. 

 

That's an 11 month turnaround. 

 

5 year stream