InspectorGrover

I just had my N-400 interview late February. My Green Card was in my maiden name and I wanted my Naturalization Certificate (NC) be in my married name. My interviewing Officer said that this is not a legal name change, it's assuming my husband's name and because I provided the original marriage certificate, that this was evidence to do so. At the end of the interview, you will review your information on their screen to confirm it is correct, which includes the name to appear on your NC. Had my oath ceremony last week (4 weeks after my interview) and my NC is correct with my married name. I too was confused about whether this is legal name change and would delay things, but my Officer said it is not a legal name change...knowing how these things go, you might get another answer in another office though.

Ok, not sure why I can't find the edit button on my previous comment. I misread the thread earlier, you were not born in the US. So the 2009 work permit was required because you did not have your citizenship yet, correct?

Why did you need a US work permit in 2009 if you are a US Citizen?

I am wondering if this might be the issue. We had essentially the same situation. My husband is a US Citizen (by birth) and was in Canada on a work permit 2012 - 2018. Our son was born in Canada in 2017, filed for CRBA, interviewed in Toronto at the US Embassy and got the approval no issues. My husband was almost exclusively in Canada from 2012 - 2018, so too much time in Canada cannot be the issue. He provided his US birth certificate, high school graduation record, US university transcripts from 2002 - 2012, tax returns for 5 years. I might try and provide evidence of consecutive years in the US from your childhood, college years (if applicable), and certainly your US birth certificate.

this makes more sense, thanks for clarifying!

I also follow a USCIS subreddit (currently has 67,000 members) and I am seeing some posts of people saying they were approved without interview for a I-130 & I-485 application. Not sure if because the I-485 is there that it's the reason. I also just saw a post where someone said they were approved for a 10-year Green Card without interview - they didn't specify what application they made. (sorry if this is not relevant or just repeating what you are already saying).

I also had similar trouble getting my first US job despite having earned a master's degree and working for a very large institution for 10+ years. Like others have said, it helped when I added "US Permanent Resident" right at the top of my resume. Another thing I did that helped was I worked with a temp agency to get a role tangentially related to my field just so I could get some experience on my resume. I actually wanted a temp role so I could leave more easily. Less than 2 months into a temp role I could apply for jobs actually in my field and got interviews much more often. I know temp work isn't exactly desirable for everyone, but I think it was helpful to be able to demonstrate I was in the US and working for a US company without trouble.

An update from this morning, my Case changed to "recommended for approval, undergoing quality assurance" and then "Oath Ceremony will be scheduled". Yay! I did a bunch of searching and reading and found that my interview outcome of you did great and now we just have to wait for your file, is actually somewhat common. What I gather is there is some kind of physical file that lives at a central location that then has to be sent to your Field Office before final approval.

Hi everyone - I had my naturalization interview this morning at the Irving office and thought I would share some details for those who might be heading to interviews there soon. My appointment was scheduled for 10:15 am. I entered at 10:00 am, went through security, was assigned a number and asked to head upstairs to the interview waiting room (capacity 88 people, so it a decent size room). There are restrooms, tvs that were not on, and people were freely using their cell phones. I had to wait until 11:15 before being called for my interview, but the Officer apologized several times for the wait saying that it had been an "interesting day". The impression I got was that this was a longer wait than usual. During my wait, I would estimate about 35 other people were called for interviews. Usually they were gone for about 10 - 20 minutes, so things do move along. After being called, I was taken to an office, attested that my answers would be truthful, and then had the interview. Part 1, civics test, answered six correctly, pass. Part 2, read a sentence in English, then write a sentence in English, pass. Part 3, questions about me and my spouse: when we married, when I moved, where I work, confirm I have filed taxes, confirm address, phone numbers etc. Piece of cake. Part 4, respond to a set of questions that were on the N400 application (have you ever been in a terrorist group, have you ever lied to an immigration official, will you defend the USA if required by law). Then we double checked on a tablet that all my information was correct and signed. He said great you did wonderful you've passed everything I just have to wait for your file to get to us, it's moving quickly, so probably less than 30 days. Huh? He asked if I had questions and I said, oh so you don't have my file? And he said yes it will be here soon and there's no reason it won't be stamped approved and you will get your approval notice and Oath Ceremony date. So I am slightly confused, but he said several times I did great, everything is passed, and it will get approved. Perhaps because I only applied on 11/22/22 and have already interviewed that my case moved too fast, but anyways here I am waiting. My USCIS online case has no change from "Interview Scheduled". So, aside from my weird ending, everything was very smooth. All the Officers that came out to call interviewees were very nice. My Officer was very friendly and made some nice small talk about young children (since we both have them). I filed online and he did not ask to see any originals (marriage certificates, birth certificates, etc.) but I had everything with me in case. I was finished in 15 minutes. Hope this is helpful to those interviewing in the future! I will share any updates I get on when they "receive my file"?! in case this happens to others!

I filled online and like others have said it was so easy and there are many convenient features. I started working on it over a few weeks at my own pace and when my filing day arrived, I just hit submit. You can upload any number of files you want for additional evidence. One of my mail notices got lost in the mail, well no big deal because I can see all the notices I have been mailed in my online portal and I can print a copy of the one that is missing. Another huge perk was I got in the habit of checking once a day to see what my case status was and I saw my interview had been scheduled about 5 days before the letter arrived in the mail. Since there is such a short timeframe between the interview notice going out and the actual interview, those 5 days made a big difference in being able to schedule time off work, etc. If you live far from the USCIS office you will interview at, that additional lead time can be helpful.