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JaLady

Cranbury Office interview experience (split)

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Filed: AOS (pnd) Country: Jamaica
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Had my N400 interview in Cranbury yesterday, and it's one of the best govt offices I've visited. Literally everyone in there is pleasant. Everything took place on one floor. I arrived about 30 minutes before my appointment and was told to come back 15 minutes later. So one advice is not to go too early, they'll ask you to come back. 

Entered the building, the security checked me in then I went to window 1 for her to scan by letter, then assign a number. After that I sat for about 10 minutes and my number was called before my appointment time. Interview was quick, after scanning my index fingers the officer dived right into the civics question no warning. Lol. Then the yes, no questions. They ask you to write on an iPad with your finger instead of a sheet of paper (yayyy for being tech forward)! 

The interview lasted less than 10 minutes and I was given a sheet of paper with results and told to wait outside for the oath. The office is new so no one knew exactly what time the oath was. We were told some days they've done it at 10:30am depending on appointments for the day and when they have critical mass. Eventually it happened at 12, lasted 10 minutes. By 12:15 I was a US citizen and out of there!

 

The office is very nice - much smaller than Newark. Surplus parking and it's free! The supervisor who administered the oath told us this is the first of many offices in the US to come with this model. We were the 10th group to have been sworn in at the location. No name change available at the location, so if you requested a name change and your interview is here, you won't be sworn in for months or longer. That process hasnt been established there yet. 

 

Cranbury USCIS office is great! Had my interview and became a U.S. citizen all in under 3 hours! 

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On 7/22/2023 at 9:29 AM, JaLady said:

Had my N400 interview in Cranbury yesterday, and it's one of the best govt offices I've visited. Literally everyone in there is pleasant. Everything took place on one floor. I arrived about 30 minutes before my appointment and was told to come back 15 minutes later. So one advice is not to go too early, they'll ask you to come back. 

Entered the building, the security checked me in then I went to window 1 for her to scan by letter, then assign a number. After that I sat for about 10 minutes and my number was called before my appointment time. Interview was quick, after scanning my index fingers the officer dived right into the civics question no warning. Lol. Then the yes, no questions. They ask you to write on an iPad with your finger instead of a sheet of paper (yayyy for being tech forward)! 

The interview lasted less than 10 minutes and I was given a sheet of paper with results and told to wait outside for the oath. The office is new so no one knew exactly what time the oath was. We were told some days they've done it at 10:30am depending on appointments for the day and when they have critical mass. Eventually it happened at 12, lasted 10 minutes. By 12:15 I was a US citizen and out of there!

 

The office is very nice - much smaller than Newark. Surplus parking and it's free! The supervisor who administered the oath told us this is the first of many offices in the US to come with this model. We were the 10th group to have been sworn in at the location. No name change available at the location, so if you requested a name change and your interview is here, you won't be sworn in for months or longer. That process hasnt been established there yet. 

 

Cranbury USCIS office is great! Had my interview and became a U.S. citizen all in under 3 hours! 

That is brilliant. I interviewed in Cleveland OH five days ago and am still waiting for my oath ceremony to be scheduled. 

 

Congratulations on your speedy naturalization experience!

ROC from CR-1 visa (Green Card expiration date was Nov 24th 2016)

 

Link to the evidence I submitted. Be sure to send evidence spanning your entire marriage (especially for K-1) or as far back as you can. Just one or two bank statements will not cut it. I primarily focused on the two years of living here since I came in on a CR-1. If you don't have the fundamentals (i.e. joint accounts/policies), you can explain why in the covering letter. E.g. "While we do not have joint utilities, we both contribute to them from our joint bank account".

 

September 26th 2016: I-751 package sent to CSC

September 28th 2016: Package delivered
September 30th 2016: Check cashed
October 3rd 2016: NOA1 received with receipt date of 09/28/16
November 3rd 2016: Biometrics received with appointment date of 11/14/16.
November 14th 2016: Attended biometrics appointment
October 30th 2017: Infopass appointment to get I-551 stamp
February 26th 2018: I-751 case number (aka the NOA1 receipt number) becomes trackable
March 14th 2018: Submitted service request due to being outside of processing time.

March 15th 2018: ROC approved. 535 days (1 year, 5 months and 17 days)

March 29th 2018: Card being produced

April 4th 2018: Card mailed out

April 6th 2018: Card in hand. Has incorrect "resident since" date. Submitted service request on I-751 case (typographical error on permanent resident card) and an I-90 online.

April 2018 - August 7th 2018: Tons of service requests, emails and now senator involvement to get my corrected green card back because what the heck, USCIS. Also some time in May I sent a letter to Potomac telling them I want to withdraw my I-90 since CSC were handling it.

August 8th 2018: Card in production thanks to the direct involvement of Senator Sherrod Brown's team

August 13th 2018: Card mailed

August 15th 2018: Card in hand with correct date. :joy:

October 31st 2018: Potomac sends out a notice stating they have closed out my I-90 per my request. Yay for no duplicate card drama.

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
On 7/22/2023 at 9:29 AM, JaLady said:

Had my N400 interview in Cranbury yesterday, and it's one of the best govt offices I've visited. Literally everyone in there is pleasant. Everything took place on one floor. I arrived about 30 minutes before my appointment and was told to come back 15 minutes later. So one advice is not to go too early, they'll ask you to come back. 

Entered the building, the security checked me in then I went to window 1 for her to scan by letter, then assign a number. After that I sat for about 10 minutes and my number was called before my appointment time. Interview was quick, after scanning my index fingers the officer dived right into the civics question no warning. Lol. Then the yes, no questions. They ask you to write on an iPad with your finger instead of a sheet of paper (yayyy for being tech forward)! 

The interview lasted less than 10 minutes and I was given a sheet of paper with results and told to wait outside for the oath. The office is new so no one knew exactly what time the oath was. We were told some days they've done it at 10:30am depending on appointments for the day and when they have critical mass. Eventually it happened at 12, lasted 10 minutes. By 12:15 I was a US citizen and out of there!

 

The office is very nice - much smaller than Newark. Surplus parking and it's free! The supervisor who administered the oath told us this is the first of many offices in the US to come with this model. We were the 10th group to have been sworn in at the location. No name change available at the location, so if you requested a name change and your interview is here, you won't be sworn in for months or longer. That process hasnt been established there yet. 

 

Cranbury USCIS office is great! Had my interview and became a U.S. citizen all in under 3 hours! 

 

I had my interview at Cranbury today and can vouch for everything you said, I had basically the same experience!

 

The space was beautiful -- I will mention that the interview rooms currently have glass walls (floor to ceiling) and are fully visible from the waiting room, so we were able to see IO's prepping and going over files while we waited. Kindof weird for the lack of privacy, but it also meant that we had a view of the lake while waiting and during the interview itself, which was serene!

 

I had a similar experience through security and check in as well. The lawyer I hired to attend with me was on laughing/joking/friendly terms with every clerk/manager/security guard who wasn't a new hire, as the majority of staff at this office were transferred from Newark and they'd all known eachother for decades. All the staff who've been transferred from Newark are apparently thrilled to be at Cranbury, so the vibe is very pleasant.

 

Waited about a half hour past my scheduled interview time before being called in. I was sworn in, took the reading/writing/civics test, and we went over my N400. IO confirmed my name/birthday/address, and my height "because that's what we'll be putting in your certificate" which made it obvious that the decision about my approval had been made before I even stepped into the room. Did not ask for originals of any supporting documents, tax returns, or anything else -- interview itself was under 10 mins for sure!

 

IO took my GC and reminded me that I'll need to apply for/receive a passport before I can travel outside of the country again. I was handed the "Congrats you passed the interview!" paper and told to wait back in the waiting room until the next oath ceremony. Ultimately a small ceremony was held after about an hour. I was in and out of the building in under 3 hours with Natz Certificate in hand!

 

 

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline

~~Hijack post and related replies split off to their own thread. It is important to not post about your experiences in other member's threads. It helps members when they can find all these threads individually to get a better idea about the process.~~

Spoiler

Met Playing Everquest in 2005
Engaged 9-15-2006
K-1 & 4 K-2'S
Filed 05-09-07
Interview 03-12-08
Visa received 04-21-08
Entry 05-06-08
Married 06-21-08
AOS X5
Filed 07-08-08
Cards Received01-22-09
Roc X5
Filed 10-17-10
Cards Received02-22-11
Citizenship
Filed 10-17-11
Interview 01-12-12
Oath 06-29-12

Citizenship for older 2 boys

Filed 03/08/2014

NOA/fee waiver 03/19/2014

Biometrics 04/15/14

Interview 05/29/14

In line for Oath 06/20/14

Oath 09/19/2014 We are all done! All USC no more USCIS

 

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