N-400 January 2024 filers

[zentaco 28]

Completed my interview! I was the last interview of the day for the officer (USCIS San Jose was pretty quiet at that point too). I passed and was recommended for approval.

[Shroy123 749]

8 minutes ago, zentaco said:

Completed my interview! I was the last interview of the day for the officer (USCIS San Jose was pretty quiet at that point too). I passed and was recommended for approval.

Congratulations! 

[minivatreni 193]

1 hour ago, zentaco said:

Completed my interview! I was the last interview of the day for the officer (USCIS San Jose was pretty quiet at that point too). I passed and was recommended for approval.

Congrats  what documents did they ask for at interview? 

[zentaco 28]

16 minutes ago, minivatreni said:

Congrats  what documents did they ask for at interview? 

Hardly anything! Just my letter and green card.  

[Brit_C 21]

Applied Jan 11

Was sent 2 letters on the same day; One acknowledging receipt of the application, and the other stating that I do not need to do my biometrics 

 

Application is based on 5 year rule (I applied early, within the 90 day period)

 

Website initially stated eight months for a decision when I submitted it, and the following day it changed to three months.

 

Still waiting for an interview date.

[Rearviewmirror 397]

On 2/26/2024 at 10:19 AM, leilabird said:

August 

 

Your three year anniversary is in August?! That's pretty confusing as your interview will be before you're eligible to be approved. Unless you mean you've already passed the 3 years.

[minivatreni 193]

23 minutes ago, Rearviewmirror said:

 

Your three year anniversary is in August?! That's pretty confusing as your interview will be before you're eligible to be approved. Unless you mean you've already passed the 3 years.

The Interview can be scheduled before the residency requirement has been met, but the Oath will have to wait. 

[minivatreni 193]

19 hours ago, Shroy123 said:

I have received my biometrics reuse letter today after 40 days of filing N400.

 

what are the next steps? Should I start studying for exams or wait?

Next steps are to wait for your interview date. 

 

You can study in the meantime. 

[samdog 56]

I randomly got a letter in the mail yesterday (47 days after applying) that was just confirming the receipt of my application. I already did get the NOA and biometric use within a week of applying, so I have no idea why they sent me another letter this week.

 

No news about interview, though - Saint Louis, MO office.

[zentaco 28]

Woke up this morning and saw that my oath ceremony was scheduled for March 15th. Seems like USCIS is moving fast this year (not that I mind)!

[samack 79]

Just finished my interview! I passed! I'll try to recap what I remember, but parts of it honestly felt like an out of body experience.

 

My appointment was at 10:45 and we got there 20ish minutes early. It was super busy at the Pittsburgh FO today - my husband and I and another couple got off the elevator and one of the security guards said "are they ever going to stop coming today?!" lol. I think my interview started a couple of minutes late, but I hadn't checked my watch because I jumped up mid-sentence and hustled to the door when they called my name. 

 

My IO was *super* nice and put me at ease right away. I remarked on how busy it was today and she said "I know! I don't know WHAT they were thinking! There are interviews all day AND ceremonies! There's a lot going on here today!" We started with the reading and writing portion ("what do we pay to the government?"/"we pay taxes") and then the civics test. My questions were:

 

1) Name two cabinet level positions

2) What is the supreme law of the land?

3) Who is the current speaker of the house?

4) We elect a US representative for how many years?

5) Why are there 50 stars on the flag?

6) What is the highest court in the land?

 

I got all of them right and told her that my husband had laughed at how hard I had studied, but that I wanted to be prepared to be able to run all 100 if I needed to. She laughed and said it was a good strategy. We went over some of the yes/no questions on the N400 and she yawned a couple of times but laughed and apologized. She said it wasn't a reflection on me, just that those questions are very repetitive for IOs. We also fixed one old address I'd accidentally entered wrong. I'd dropped my interview letter off at a window when I first arrived, so all she wanted to see was my current green card. Literally nothing else.

 

I signed off on the oath, verified my information, and then she asked if I was prepared to be naturalized today! I guess today is the first day they've started to do same day ceremonies again because they've been short staffed, so that was great timing. We have to go back in a couple of hours for the oath to happen, but I'm glad it'll all be done!

 

As she was walking me out, we were talking about nerves and preparing for the test. She asked if I'd noticed that she has some of the answers posted on her wall, and when I said that I didn't she took me back to her office to show me. She has the full anthem, the bill of rights, the constitution, etc all on large posters, and she was like "we want to help people when we can and realize that it's harder for some than others, so those are just there in case." I thought it was really sweet.

 

Anyway, I can post a brief update about the ceremony itself but I wanted to write out the interview details while I can still remember them! Good luck to everyone who still has to do their interview - I was so nervous, but it really is the smoothest part as long as you're prepared. 

[Rearviewmirror 397]

3 minutes ago, samack said:

As she was walking me out, we were talking about nerves and preparing for the test. She asked if I'd noticed that she has some of the answers posted on her wall, and when I said that I didn't she took me back to her office to show me. She has the full anthem, the bill of rights, the constitution, etc all on large posters, and she was like "we want to help people when we can and realize that it's harder for some than others, so those are just there in case." I thought it was really sweet.

 

Congratulations!!!

It's really heartening to hear an IO who wants to see people succeed - a really nice counterpoint to some of the horror stories you hear about IOs being jerks.

[Jacobo 122]

13 minutes ago, samack said:

Just finished my interview! I passed! I'll try to recap what I remember, but parts of it honestly felt like an out of body experience.

 

My appointment was at 10:45 and we got there 20ish minutes early. It was super busy at the Pittsburgh FO today - my husband and I and another couple got off the elevator and one of the security guards said "are they ever going to stop coming today?!" lol. I think my interview started a couple of minutes late, but I hadn't checked my watch because I jumped up mid-sentence and hustled to the door when they called my name. 

 

My IO was *super* nice and put me at ease right away. I remarked on how busy it was today and she said "I know! I don't know WHAT they were thinking! There are interviews all day AND ceremonies! There's a lot going on here today!" We started with the reading and writing portion ("what do we pay to the government?"/"we pay taxes") and then the civics test. My questions were:

 

1) Name two cabinet level positions

2) What is the supreme law of the land?

3) Who is the current speaker of the house?

4) We elect a US representative for how many years?

5) Why are there 50 stars on the flag?

6) What is the highest court in the land?

 

I got all of them right and told her that my husband had laughed at how hard I had studied, but that I wanted to be prepared to be able to run all 100 if I needed to. She laughed and said it was a good strategy. We went over some of the yes/no questions on the N400 and she yawned a couple of times but laughed and apologized. She said it wasn't a reflection on me, just that those questions are very repetitive for IOs. We also fixed one old address I'd accidentally entered wrong. I'd dropped my interview letter off at a window when I first arrived, so all she wanted to see was my current green card. Literally nothing else.

 

I signed off on the oath, verified my information, and then she asked if I was prepared to be naturalized today! I guess today is the first day they've started to do same day ceremonies again because they've been short staffed, so that was great timing. We have to go back in a couple of hours for the oath to happen, but I'm glad it'll all be done!

 

As she was walking me out, we were talking about nerves and preparing for the test. She asked if I'd noticed that she has some of the answers posted on her wall, and when I said that I didn't she took me back to her office to show me. She has the full anthem, the bill of rights, the constitution, etc all on large posters, and she was like "we want to help people when we can and realize that it's harder for some than others, so those are just there in case." I thought it was really sweet.

 

Anyway, I can post a brief update about the ceremony itself but I wanted to write out the interview details while I can still remember them! Good luck to everyone who still has to do their interview - I was so nervous, but it really is the smoothest part as long as you're prepared. 

Congratulations! And thank you so much for sharing! ❤️

[samack 79]

43 minutes ago, Rearviewmirror said:

 

Congratulations!!!

It's really heartening to hear an IO who wants to see people succeed - a really nice counterpoint to some of the horror stories you hear about IOs being jerks.

 

She also said that she goes to the naturalization ceremonies when she's not busy with interviews so that she can cheer loudly for everyone. There are definitely great IOs out there who are happy to be part of your journey! 

[minivatreni 193]

1 hour ago, samack said:

Just finished my interview! I passed! I'll try to recap what I remember, but parts of it honestly felt like an out of body experience.

 

My appointment was at 10:45 and we got there 20ish minutes early. It was super busy at the Pittsburgh FO today - my husband and I and another couple got off the elevator and one of the security guards said "are they ever going to stop coming today?!" lol. I think my interview started a couple of minutes late, but I hadn't checked my watch because I jumped up mid-sentence and hustled to the door when they called my name. 

 

My IO was *super* nice and put me at ease right away. I remarked on how busy it was today and she said "I know! I don't know WHAT they were thinking! There are interviews all day AND ceremonies! There's a lot going on here today!" We started with the reading and writing portion ("what do we pay to the government?"/"we pay taxes") and then the civics test. My questions were:

 

1) Name two cabinet level positions

2) What is the supreme law of the land?

3) Who is the current speaker of the house?

4) We elect a US representative for how many years?

5) Why are there 50 stars on the flag?

6) What is the highest court in the land?

 

I got all of them right and told her that my husband had laughed at how hard I had studied, but that I wanted to be prepared to be able to run all 100 if I needed to. She laughed and said it was a good strategy. We went over some of the yes/no questions on the N400 and she yawned a couple of times but laughed and apologized. She said it wasn't a reflection on me, just that those questions are very repetitive for IOs. We also fixed one old address I'd accidentally entered wrong. I'd dropped my interview letter off at a window when I first arrived, so all she wanted to see was my current green card. Literally nothing else.

 

I signed off on the oath, verified my information, and then she asked if I was prepared to be naturalized today! I guess today is the first day they've started to do same day ceremonies again because they've been short staffed, so that was great timing. We have to go back in a couple of hours for the oath to happen, but I'm glad it'll all be done!

 

As she was walking me out, we were talking about nerves and preparing for the test. She asked if I'd noticed that she has some of the answers posted on her wall, and when I said that I didn't she took me back to her office to show me. She has the full anthem, the bill of rights, the constitution, etc all on large posters, and she was like "we want to help people when we can and realize that it's harder for some than others, so those are just there in case." I thought it was really sweet.

 

Anyway, I can post a brief update about the ceremony itself but I wanted to write out the interview details while I can still remember them! Good luck to everyone who still has to do their interview - I was so nervous, but it really is the smoothest part as long as you're prepared. 

Congrats!