WozAnon - NM

Can anyone share their recent experience applying for OCI at SFO? Thanks!

What is the address of the Campbell center that is on your Oath scheduling notification?

Thanks! I am sure your interview is around the corner as well since SFO is not too far off. Also, SFO has same day Oath. All the best!

Thanks! Cool, I will also look out for a notification and expect to get the August 28th date then. See you there 🙂

To @Pinnacle and all others interested in the latest experience at the San Jose center. Background N400 Applied - 5/1/2024 (5-y rule and 90 days prior) N400 Biometrics appt - 5/17/2024 N400 Interview scheduled - 6/11/2024 (FO was originally SFO but was changed to San Jose for all applications in my Zip code which turned out to be a blessing in disguise :-)) N400 Interview - 7/19/2024 Finally, the eagerly awaited step towards Citizenship got done successfully today with my interview at the San Jose, USCIS office. I went to the center on Coleman Ave about 30 minutes prior to my appointment as mentioned in the letter. After security check, ID check and handing over the appointment letter at the reception, I was asked to be seated in the waiting area. It is a large hall that would seat easily around a hundred people at a time. I counted that there were about 25 folks already waiting ahead of me and they were being called in one at a time. On the right side, a door would open at different intervals and an IO would come by and call out to people for interview. Most of them would ask to see your ID before taking you back to their office. The offices look exactly like the ones shown in the Civic test videos on the USCIS YouTube channel. (check those if you have not - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edk8n9arEL8&list=PLpNZsaiyFfG0mZUx6aS8Tn2pANNymRDaJ). Exactly at my appointment time (to my pleasant surprise), a lady IO came out and called my name. On checking my ID, we headed to her office and had some small talk about me having my day off and it was so conveniently scheduled to have the interview here instead of SFO. On reaching her office, she asked me to keep my bag and conducted the oath before asking me to take a seat. Once seated she asked me for my passport, GC and License. On verifying all those, she said that she would be conducting all the 3 tests starting with the civics questions. I think these are the questions she asked me. - Who is the “Father of Our Country”? - Name one state that borders Canada. - Who did the United States fight in World War II? - Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II? - What is the capital of the United States? - Where is the Statue of Liberty? Since I cleared all the 6 questions, she asked me to read and write the following simple sentences using the tablet ahead of me. - Reading : Why do people come to America? - Writing : People come here to be free. She confirmed that I had passed all the tests and then went thru the form and verified my basic information like name, dob, spouse name, who petitioned me, taxes owed, citations etc and some of the Yes/No questions. I did not have to show any additional documents other than the ones I had already uploaded with the application. I then told her that I wanted to bring up a couple of possible changes w.r.t my original application and mentioned those. I had made a recent international trip of 9 days just prior to the interview and updated her on the dates. Since there was a mismatch between my dates and her record, I showed her the actual ticket copy I had with me that resolved the gap and she thanked me for carrying it. I also have an upcoming address change and she asked me to notify them with AR-11 form when the change occurs but it did not seem to be a big deal since I am at the end of the process now. She finally asked me to verify and sign the information on the form using the tablet for any minor changes done. Note: Do not rush and read this carefully and clarify any questions you may have. I noticed some odd changes and showed to her and she mentioned that it was due to a glitch in the system. She then said that I had had passed all tests and my form looked good but since I had not completed my 5 year anniversary yet, she could not schedule me for the Oath. She said that she will get an alert end of the month on my anniversary which she will approve and it will get scheduled then. She asked me to look out for notifications on my online account and that I would get the Oath notification a couple of days after my anniversary date. I then asked her when is the Oath being conducted at San Jose? She said that in the past it used to happen twice a month in the parking lot and just this month they made a change and they are now being conducted monthly in a large hall in Campbell. They conducted the one for this month recently and the one in August will likely be around mid-August or the end of August and alerted me not to plan a trip soon after since we would be unable to travel with out the GC and till we get the passport in hand. With that she asked me if I did not have any questions, we are done. I thanked her and overall had a very pleasant experience talking with her and headed out after having spent about 45-50 minutes in all with the interview lasting for around 15 minutes. Looking forward getting the Oath done soon and seeing @Pinnacle and others here! Wishing you all the very best and let me know if there are any follow-up questions.

Great and hearty congratulations buddy! I was eagerly waiting to hear your experience. Thank you so much for taking the time. I guess we may see each other during the Oath since I also complete my anniversary late in July. Let me know once you get your date. I think the next Oath in August is expected on the 9th if I am not mistaken.

@Pinnacle Wishing you the very best. Please share a detailed account. I am up next on the 19th 😁

Congratulations, all done now! Would you know if they conduct the Oath on a Friday or any other day in August at San Jose?

That's perfect. Just what I was looking for, take care bro! Thanks for your wishes.

Congratulations! Can you share your experience other than the civics questions. I am also interviewing at San Jose next month. Thanks!

Thanks! No it was under the 5-yr rule. I am at San Jose, CA.

I am a May filer too. Interview on 19th July.

It is peak travel time now. Should we be concerned that if we game the system, folks with genuine travel/emergency needs would not get their passports on time?

Just curious, which field office was this at?

Sorry to hear about your challenging times. Here are my thoughts as a fellow applicant in this process, I did not see any issues but I am not a lawyer. - Your travel record does not seem to be an issue - no trips over 6 months and you meet the physical presence criteria as well. In any case, prepare to show proof of residency. That is all they would ask you in addition to a typical marriage based application. - Spending more than 180 days out of the US in 2024 calendar year does not seem to be an issue by itself due to the time between those trips. That said, I would be judicious when planning these as well. - For a marriage based application, I think the spouse is allowed to attend, you may want to check your instructions when you get the notice - You may soon become eligible to file under the 5 year rule as well (If I got the dates right) which is relatively straight forward - If it helps, get a legal advice without having to spend much to help reduce a lot of your apprehensions Be sincere and truthful as you come across here and all will be fine. Wishing you the very best!