N-400 Seattle (Part 2)

[PedroDaGr8 245]

To clarify, she called at around 5:30-6:00pm in the evening (Pacific Time).

[arnab221 29]

2 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

To clarify, she called at around 5:30-6:00pm in the evening (Pacific Time).

Could you please tell us about the evidence of the emergency that you needed to show. I am assuming this the Seattle Passport Agency ? 

 

 

[melodsal 3]

1 minute ago, arnab221 said:

Could you please tell us about the evidence of the emergency that you needed to show. I am assuming this the Seattle Passport Agency ? 

 

 

Also I’ve heard it’s next to impossible to get an appointment unless you call 14 days in advance. Is it much easier now?

 

thanks!

[LoveAndLight2045 18]

4 hours ago, arnab221 said:

Could you please tell us about the evidence of the emergency that you needed to show. I am assuming this the Seattle Passport Agency ? 

 

 

Yep, would love to know about this one as well thanks. 

[ZeeJ 1]

On 8/17/2022 at 7:32 PM, PedroDaGr8 said:

Yep, she picked it up yesterday.

 

Since we are travelling at the end of the month, she called to get an appointment that evening after getting her citizenship. 

 

I was absolutely stunned that she was able to get a passport appointment so easily. The phone tree said waits were over an hour, but then immediately an agent picked right up and she had an appointment for two days later (last Friday). Since we weren't traveling in the next couple days, she got her passport in two business days. Otherwise, she would have gotten it the same day. 

How much did it cost?

[PedroDaGr8 245]

On 8/17/2022 at 10:06 PM, arnab221 said:

Could you please tell us about the evidence of the emergency that you needed to show. I am assuming this the Seattle Passport Agency ? 

On 8/18/2022 at 2:32 AM, LoveAndLight2045 said:

Yep, would love to know about this one as well thanks. 

Correct, the Seattle Passport Agency. To clarify, this was the Urgent Travel Service (international travel within 14 days of the appointment or within 28 days if a visa is needed) and not the Life-Or-Death Emergency Service. To provide proof of travel within 28 days (since she needs a visa), she just had to provide a copy of our already booked flight itinerary. 

On 8/17/2022 at 10:09 PM, melodsal said:

Also I’ve heard it’s next to impossible to get an appointment unless you call 14 days in advance. Is it much easier now?

 

thanks!

I had heard the same thing and honestly thought there was zero chance of getting an appointment that late in the day but figured why not try. As I mentioned, despite the phone tree warning that hold times were over 60 minutes, a rep answered right away (literally immediately after that warning, in fact). Once my wife clarified that she needed a visa, which means you can get an appointment up to 28 days out, the rep offered her several appointment times with the first being 9am two days later (the appointment she took).  

 

9 hours ago, ZeeJ said:

How much did it cost?

Surprisingly, no different than an expedited passport, $225 in total: $130 Application Fee + $35 Execution Fee + $60 Expedite Fee

Edited August 19, 2022 by PedroDaGr8

[eugene-eugene 14]

On 7/18/2022 at 7:49 AM, eugene-eugene said:

Interestingly, my wife still hasn't received the interview notice, even though I filled out her application the next day. She received her GC through a slightly different route and has a more complex visa history (but no violations or anything like that).

A few updates! My wife got her interview notice too. For whatever reason our interviews are one month apart even though we applied one day apart.

 

Also I am a citizen now! My interview was scheduled for 10:30am. I arrived at 10am, checked in and then spent over an hour sitting and waiting there. Interview was remote and pretty straightforward: test questions (didn't get anything hard, just a mix of easy and medium questions), read / write a trivial sentence and then the majority of time was spent going over n400. The person was friendly and I never got a sense that I have to remember everything 100% but they did go pretty thoroughly over my form, including branching off into a few details that I can best describe as an informal conversation / small talk around your form (e.g. hey where does your wife work? oh you worked at the same place, did you guys meet there? etc etc). After passing everything, I went downstairs, waited in the room for 30 mins and had a ceremony with several other people. 

[Hamilton 511]

5 minutes ago, eugene-eugene said:

 

 

Also I am a citizen now! 

Congrats!! Did you have any trouble with the remote interview (headphones etc.)? And did you need to get stuff scanned by the assistant person?

[eugene-eugene 14]

4 minutes ago, Hamilton said:

Congrats!! Did you have any trouble with the remote interview (headphones etc.)? And did you need to get stuff scanned by the assistant person?

I had minor troubles - the connection was good but whatever app they use has a minor delay between when the person speaks and when it starts recording so sometimes the first few sounds are lost. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but the person interviewing me had a fairly heavy accent (not that I am in the position to complain - my accent is much heavier) so I had to ask to repeat a few things.

Assistant asked me to take out all the IDs (green card, etc) and keep them on the table. At the end of the interview, I held them in front of the camera and the person interviewing me probably took screenshots.

[Hamilton 511]

On 8/20/2022 at 1:59 PM, eugene-eugene said:

I had minor troubles - the connection was good but whatever app they use has a minor delay between when the person speaks and when it starts recording so sometimes the first few sounds are lost. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but the person interviewing me had a fairly heavy accent (not that I am in the position to complain - my accent is much heavier) so I had to ask to repeat a few things.

Assistant asked me to take out all the IDs (green card, etc) and keep them on the table. At the end of the interview, I held them in front of the camera and the person interviewing me probably took screenshots.

Good to hear it wasn't a huge issue.

 

Are we allowed to take bags and cell phones into the interview? I'm planning to take a bunch of thin file folders in a messenger bag.

 

 

[eugene-eugene 14]

1 minute ago, Hamilton said:

Good to hear it wasn't a huge issue.

 

Are we allowed to take bags and cell phones into the interview? I'm planning to take a bunch of thin file folders in a messenger bag.

 

 

I took a small backpack with a bunch of stuff. Once I sat into the chair, their assistant told me to take out a few things like IDs and put the rest into the cabinet next to the table.

[Hamilton 511]

1 minute ago, eugene-eugene said:

I took a small backpack with a bunch of stuff. Once I sat into the chair, their assistant told me to take out a few things like IDs and put the rest into the cabinet next to the table.

Ty! And were you able to take your cell phone in? 

[eugene-eugene 14]

Just now, Hamilton said:

Ty! And were you able to take your cell phone in? 

Well kind of - yes but it basically ended up in that cabinet with my backpack and everything else. Also I personally had absolutely no connection while inside that building, not sure if my provider is crappy or if they do something with the signal there.

[Hamilton 511]

3 minutes ago, eugene-eugene said:

Well kind of - yes but it basically ended up in that cabinet with my backpack and everything else. Also I personally had absolutely no connection while inside that building, not sure if my provider is crappy or if they do something with the signal there.

Hah this cabinet sounds weird. Cool, thanks! I'll let my wife know I probably won't be able to contact her until I'm out. 

[Jujuy 8]

So... I received my interview notice today!!! 
My interview will take place exactly 6 months after I filed my case. (04/11/2022 - 10/11/2022).
I just want to thank all of you who post updates about your case, why? Because when I filed and I saw that my "estimated time* until case decision was approx. 18 months", I started to make travel plans, but out of the blue I found this community and it made me cancel all my plans as I noticed the cases were speeding up! 
This is my thankful post

 

Random fact, if I pass the test and become a US citizen that day, it would be 3 years, 3 months and 7 days since I came to the US.