N-400 October 2023 Filers

[Laure&Colin 557]

5 hours ago, stillbaffled said:

For anyone interested in reading about my experience:

Ohmygosh was it a most unceremonious and terrible experience to start. Well, pretty much the entire thing. (It was on Friday June 14)
I went to the San Francisco immigration building. (444 Washington)
 

 

Yeah I'm not surprised by your experience. Unfortunately nobody there, except for the officers conducting the interviews, was really professional...

Good news is now you're a citizen, so you can always contact your representative or Senator to complain about how you were treated at a federal agency. They deserve it. The security guards were also very unpleasant with people when I went.

 

Regarding your passport I don't think you could have gone the day of your oath ceremony without an appointment. I think they used to do that, but nowadays it's by appointment only, and only if you have urgent travel - otherwise you have to go through the post office. Which I did last week and the experience was quite poor too...

[Lj32 41]

My N400 application was submitted October 11 2023, Interview Scheduled December 5 2023, Interview took place Jan 9 2024. Here in Orlando they are doing predominantly same day interviews and ceremonies. However at the end of my interview the interviewer lets me know they won't be able to do my oath ceremony today as he doesn't have 'one of the pieces of paperwork, it hasn't arrived yet' and he asks me to wait to see if he can get it today. So we sit in the waiting area for an hour or so after which he comes out and lets us know that unfortunately it won't be today, but we should get called back 'in a couple of weeks'. I have still not been called back, it has been 165 days since my interview at this point. I have called and asked to escalate since it has been past the 120 day decision window, but the last person I spoke to said that there is no point escalating anything until after November 2024 as my application is still considered within normal processing times.

 

Anyone had any experience with anything similar? Any advice?

[brainless69 251]

8 hours ago, Lj32 said:

My N400 application was submitted October 11 2023, Interview Scheduled December 5 2023, Interview took place Jan 9 2024. Here in Orlando they are doing predominantly same day interviews and ceremonies. However at the end of my interview the interviewer lets me know they won't be able to do my oath ceremony today as he doesn't have 'one of the pieces of paperwork, it hasn't arrived yet' and he asks me to wait to see if he can get it today. So we sit in the waiting area for an hour or so after which he comes out and lets us know that unfortunately it won't be today, but we should get called back 'in a couple of weeks'. I have still not been called back, it has been 165 days since my interview at this point. I have called and asked to escalate since it has been past the 120 day decision window, but the last person I spoke to said that there is no point escalating anything until after November 2024 as my application is still considered within normal processing times.

 

Anyone had any experience with anything similar? Any advice?

 

Damn, sorry to hear this, did they say what the piece of paperwork was?

[Duggu 60]

9 hours ago, Lj32 said:

My N400 application was submitted October 11 2023, Interview Scheduled December 5 2023, Interview took place Jan 9 2024. Here in Orlando they are doing predominantly same day interviews and ceremonies. However at the end of my interview the interviewer lets me know they won't be able to do my oath ceremony today as he doesn't have 'one of the pieces of paperwork, it hasn't arrived yet' and he asks me to wait to see if he can get it today. So we sit in the waiting area for an hour or so after which he comes out and lets us know that unfortunately it won't be today, but we should get called back 'in a couple of weeks'. I have still not been called back, it has been 165 days since my interview at this point. I have called and asked to escalate since it has been past the 120 day decision window, but the last person I spoke to said that there is no point escalating anything until after November 2024 as my application is still considered within normal processing times.

 

Anyone had any experience with anything similar? Any advice?

 

 

File WoM

Link

 

In the naturalization process, after passing the English and civics tests, you can be approved immediately or may have to wait months, or even years, before a final decision. On U.S. Citizenship cases, USCIS has 120 days from the date of the interview to render a decision; when USCIS fails to do so, the law allows an applicant to seek judicial intervention by filing a 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b) lawsuit in Federal District Court. This action is also called “Writ of Mandamus“.

 

[gogogo786 38]

Getting ready for my interview next week on July 1st. Any last minute suggestions y'all like to share? I'll be taking hard copies of the important documents for sure like my expired green card, wife's birth certificate, my passports, interview letter etc. Should I print out everything and take hard copies of other documents as well like all the tax transcripts, joint bank accounts etc?

[OldUser 6,581]

6 hours ago, gogogo786 said:

Getting ready for my interview next week on July 1st. Any last minute suggestions y'all like to share? I'll be taking hard copies of the important documents for sure like my expired green card, wife's birth certificate, my passports, interview letter etc. Should I print out everything and take hard copies of other documents as well like all the tax transcripts, joint bank accounts etc?

Answered here

 

 

[Lj32 41]

On 6/22/2024 at 9:31 PM, Duggu said:

 

 

File WoM

Link

 

In the naturalization process, after passing the English and civics tests, you can be approved immediately or may have to wait months, or even years, before a final decision. On U.S. Citizenship cases, USCIS has 120 days from the date of the interview to render a decision; when USCIS fails to do so, the law allows an applicant to seek judicial intervention by filing a 8 U.S.C. § 1447(b) lawsuit in Federal District Court. This action is also called “Writ of Mandamus“.

 

 

Thank you for this suggestion! I am going to look further into it as this is the first I've heard of it.

[Lj32 41]

14 hours ago, gogogo786 said:

Getting ready for my interview next week on July 1st. Any last minute suggestions y'all like to share? I'll be taking hard copies of the important documents for sure like my expired green card, wife's birth certificate, my passports, interview letter etc. Should I print out everything and take hard copies of other documents as well like all the tax transcripts, joint bank accounts etc?

 

I took records of trips taken out of the country together as well as pictures from these trips and photos from large events (family Christmas, Weddings etc) and showed them when the officer asked to see 'anything extra'

On 6/22/2024 at 8:22 PM, brainless69 said:

 

Damn, sorry to hear this, did they say what the piece of paperwork was?

 

They did not - so I am at a complete loss as I filed online, so everything that I have sent them is digital and they should've been able to just print a copy if they needed it. So assuming it was something they have to provide?

[stillbaffled 25]

On 6/18/2024 at 12:27 PM, Ricky+Vanessa said:

The only part I'm going to comment on is the Passport.  Maybe someone should have been able to tell you where to go but maybe you also could have researched that beforehand?

 

Anyway, congratulations.  The passport process was pretty quick for me and I only expedited one part (that was the processing and not the delivery) so I'm hoping that yours comes through super fast and you are able to travel to see your mother.  Best of luck.

I decided to forego trying to do an expedited passport application through the post office and some websites like "rush my passport", and made an appointment at SF Passport Agency right in downtown San Francisco. I went on Monday at my allowed time of 10:30am, and got out out of that not-so-pleasant experience, except for the last person I saw at the counter with the bullet proof glass. She was so nice, and is processing my passport super quick. I'm going back there to pick it up today at 2pm!!! YAY. I can drive to Montreal to see my mom in hospice. PHEW! Now fingers crossed that the weather won't be too extreme. 

As for passport advice to others that I CAN say:
Even without any flight info or hotels booked I was able to get a super expedited passport book by filling out the paperwork, bringing it with me, along with photocopy of my naturalization certificate, photocopies of my driver's license (front and back), and leaving my original certificate for pickup with my passport today, by going to the actual agency that makes the passports.

I'm very happy with the quickness of this process. 😊

Best of luck to everyone still trying to get things done.

[Japm 64]

And my journey is over. Thank you to everyone for all the help 💗

[jackiegringa 419]

On 6/22/2024 at 10:30 AM, Lj32 said:

spoke to said that there is no point escalating anything until after November 2024 as my application is still considered within normal processing times.

That's incorrect, 120 after interview is definitely past regular processing time. You should contact your representative and state that you have been waiting for over 170 days and they could try to help you move this along before you file a whole process over it. You have a right to have a decision in a reasonable time!

On 6/25/2024 at 8:57 AM, Lj32 said:

They did not - so I am at a complete loss as I filed online, so everything that I have sent them is digital and they should've been able to just print a copy if they needed it. So assuming it was something they have to provide?

Do you have a pending ROC by any chance?

[Lj32 41]

3 hours ago, jackiegringa said:

That's incorrect, 120 after interview is definitely past regular processing time. You should contact your representative and state that you have been waiting for over 170 days and they could try to help you move this along before you file a whole process over it. You have a right to have a decision in a reasonable time!

Do you have a pending ROC by any chance?

 

 

I did have a pending ROC (Since September 2021), the officer at my naturalization interview said that would be approved in the mean time. So I'm now assuming that is the hold up. I filed a request for outside of processing time for my ROC about a month ago and two days ago received notice that it was approved. My US Representative today sent me an email saying the USCIS have approved my ROC and will adjudicate on my naturalization 'in the next 60 days'.

[gogogo786 38]

Pleased to share my recent interview experience. Had my N-400/I-751 combo interview on July 1st. It was the most pleasant and humble experience one could ask for.

• Things might have been delayed the day of since we had to wait 90 minutes past our appointment time to be finally called up by the most friendly IO. She greeted my and my wife both, but politely asked my wife to wait in the lobby as she would not be needing her to adjudicate the case, even though she had called me a week before the appointment to remind me to bring my wife since there is a pending 751.
• After the pleasant greetings, swearing in, and fingerprints and photo, I was asked to provide my greencard and DL(these ended up being the only documents she asked for out of the almost 500-page file I had).
• Started with the civics questions, which I passed with ease. Then to the yes/no questions. I was asked if there were any changes, there were a couple changes since I had an international vacation between filing and interview, we updated that and signed it.
• She congratulated me and said I passed the N-400 part of the interview, we will now proceed to the 751.
• Asked my wife's full name. And congrats again that's all she needed.
• Handed me the paper which said I passed the test. Explained the 751 transfer process, it will be approved once she has the file transferred. Once approved, oath ceremony notice will be mailed to me.
• Walked me to the exit door, where my awesome pregnant wife waited patiently. 😁

July 2nd - 751 was transferred.

July 3rd - 751 case was approved.

July 3rd - N400 has been recommended for approval and submitted for quality review.

July 3rd - N400 oath ceremony will be scheduled.

July 4th - First 4th of July in this country of the last 20 years of me being here which had all the feels and emotions and that proud feeling of being an American.(Almost an American, I know)

July 9th - Oath ceremony has been scheduled for July 23rd. 🇺🇸

 

Thanks a lot to everybody on this forum. A lot of useful and helpful insight in here. Good luck to all who are still waiting.

Edited July 9 by gogogo786

[SteveInBostonI130 3,429]

My wife obtained her citizenship yesterday, Oct 31, 2024.

 

Our experience:

 

1.  Filed ROC in August, 2022.  Biometrics October, 2022.  Approved without interview in August, 2024.

2.  Filed N400 in October, 2023.  Biometrics reused from ROC.  

3.  Interview Oct 31, 2024, at 12:45 at JFK Federal building in Boston.

4.  It was a joint interview.  Officer asked for my ID (DL), looked at it, and returned it.  Officer asked for my wife's ID and GC, scanned her GC, and returned both.

5.  Most questions were to my wife, but the officer asked me 2 questions:  1) Where did we go for honeymoon.  2) Tell him about all the places we went on vacation after marriage.

6.  Officer asked my wife about a dozen questions regarding our relationship - date and place of marriage, where and when we first met, have we lived together the entire time, etc.

7.  Officer asked if I was a USC, if we have our marriage certificate, if we have divorce certificates.  He did not want to see our evidence - he just wanted my wife to answer the questions.

8.  Three (3) things we were not prepared for:

• Officer asked if we had any letters that show both of us on the address.  We did not.  I was able to download a bank statement on my phone and show him my phone
• Officer asked if we had any recent photos of us together.   We didn't bring any photos, and it took a while searching our phones, past photos of our dogs, house, parties/events where one of us was in the photo but not the other, for me to find photos of both of us from our last vacation.
• Officer asked if we had bank statements showing joint account and deposits from both of our jobs.  I used the bank statement download from my phone and showed him my phone.

9.  My wife passed her civics and English tests.  Then she was asked some questions from the N400 application:  did she file her taxes, were she charged or convicted of any crime, etc.

10.  Officer congratulated us, told my wife she passed, and handed her a receipt.  He said we can head up to the 9th floor for the oath ceremony.  

11.  Apparently the Boston office holds oath ceremonies about every hour or so.  The attendant at the room looked at the receipt and asked my wife to hand in her greencard.

12.  After waiting about 45 minutes, the attendant performed the oath ceremony and handed my wife her certificate.  He advised everyone to check their certificates thoroughly.  If there was an error, they can make the corrections next door right away.  If we left the building, then any corrections would need to be made via the normal UCSCIS forms and take about a year.  He also reminded everyone to apply for passports and register to vote. 

13.  The video from the President was not shown.  Instead, they had a QR code to see the video on our phones.

14.  Overall process took about 2 hours. 

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,429]

On 11/1/2024 at 12:47 PM, SteveInBostonI130 said:

My wife obtained her citizenship yesterday, Oct 31, 2024.

 

 

 

UPDATE:

 

Yesterday, my wife received her passport.  Our passport journey:

 

1.  We had a trip planned Nov 15-17 to Quebec City, CA.  We thought we might need to cancel, but took a chance on urgent travel processing.

2.  Wife filled out the passport application PDF and printed it on 10/31.

3.  Wife set up an appointment with the Boston passport office for Nov 5.

4.  She took her application and hotel booking confirmation.

5.  The passport office made my wife fill her parent's information.  Wife thought this was an optional section on the online tool, but looking at the DS-11, it seems to be required.

6.  The office made my wife change the emergency contact information.  She had me down, but because we were travelling together, it had to be someone else.

7.  She submitted the application, passport photos, copy of her MA DL, copy of her Naturalization Certificate, and the original Naturalization Certificate.

8.  Apparently, even when presenting the original NC in person, they still keep it for passport processing.

9.  She was told the passport and certificate would be mailed to her by Wednesday, Nov 13.  She was offered the option of express mail (additional fee) for it to arrive by Friday, Nov 8.  She declined.

10.  The passport and certificate arrived by mail on Nov 7.