BBGG's US Immigration Timeline
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Petitioner's Name: BB Beneficiary's Name: GG VJ Member: BBGG Country: Russia Last Updated: 2024-01-25 |
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Immigration Checklist for BB & GG:
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Member Reviews:
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Timeline Comments: 7
Nephie on 2019-08-20 said:Your case going pretty fast. Congratulations I'm still waiting on response for my rfe🙄
BBGG on 2019-08-28 said:Report on my medical exam at Knightsbridge (London, Aug 28, 2019)
I live in Reading, so to get to my appointment I had to take a 8:00am train to London Paddington, I arrived in London at 8:30 and then I just walked to the clinic for about 30 minutes. I could take the tube or a bus, but the day was nice, and I decided to walk.
I started my medical at 9:55am and finished at 11:20am.
My appointment was officially for 10:10am, I arrived at the clinic at 9:00am hoping I could get in faster, but that did not happen (which is fair). I was politely asked to sit in the waiting area, I went to the reception again at 9:55 and asked if I can already fill in forms and be done with the urine sample. The answer was yes, I handed over all the documents I prepared as per the list from the appointment confirmation email, and that was the start of my appointment.
By the way, it will really help if you bring a copy of every document including your passport (page with photo and name only) and GP records for them to take away. They have a large copier right there at the reception and can make all the copies for you, but it will be faster if you have all the copies ready.
Step 1. Filling forms and giving urine sample at the reception
The receptionist gave me a small plastic cup for the urine sample. I went to the toilet right next to the reception and then returned the cup to the reception right away. I came prepared and drank some water before the appointment, but that is actually not needed, you can do your urine sample at any time while waiting to be called by one or the other doctor, there is drinking water available in the waiting area.
The receptionist also handed me over a few papers to fill in:
Page 1 - terms and conditions of the medical exam and confirmation that I understand that medical exam is needed for my visa
Page 2 - a few very general Y/N questions about my health condition (pregnancy, chickenpox history, etc.), very similar to the PDF questionnaire that they ask to fill in at home before the appointment
Page 3 - about 30 check boxes on different aspects of my health (heart, kidneys, liver, blood pressure conditions, surgeries, STD, you have to check Y or N for each specific condition). It also asks you to list all your medications that you are currently taking.
Page 4 - only for the doctor to fill in, nothing to be filled in by the patient (we'll get to that)
I went to the waiting area, filled pages 1-3 in and returned it to the reception. I was asked to go back to the waiting area and wait to be called out.
Step 2. Vaccination records
A lady (nurse?) came and called me, I followed her to her office. We sat down, she took the set of copies that I gave to the reception a bit earlier, she picked my vaccination records from there and entered them in my DS-3025 form.
For vaccination records, I had:
(1) UK GP patient summary/care summary where my latest 2 x MMR and 1 x DTaP shots were listed
(2) My old Soviet medical card with vaccinations during the first two years of my life, with a certified translation of it into English that I did at a UK translation agency (the translator was not a special medical translator, but the nurse did not check or ask for it)
(3) Russian vaccination records from when I was 21-22 years old, with a certified translation into English (again, not a special medical translation, just certified)
All my above medical records were accepted without questions, and their data used for my DS-3025 as much as the number of fields in this form would allow.
The nurse gave the DS-3025 form to me for a quick review, she mostly asked me to check my name, date of birth, and the NVC case number, but I also looked through what she filled in the form.
I noticed that “K visa applicant voluntarily completed vaccination requirements†was checked. I asked her if this means I’m up to date with the US vaccination requirements. She said that was correct, and I can use the copy of the DS-3025 (that would be given to me at the end of the medical) for my AOS.
So, I was already up to date with my vaccination, and I did not need any new shots at this medical exam at Knightsbridge.
Step 3. X-rays
After vaccination talk, the nurse took me directly to the room right next door which appeared to be the X-ray room.
There was a new lady (a bit strict, but still okay), she showed me chairs behind the curtain, game me a large dark-blue clean cotton gown and asked me to strip to the waist completely, leave shoes and jeans on, and put the gown on. After I did that, she asked me to step in front of the X-ray machine and press my shoulders and chest against it (I did not have to take the gown off for that). A few seconds later the X-ray was taken. The lady told me to get dressed but to keep the gown for now and go with it back to the waiting area.
I saw on of the VJ'ers recommending taking a hairband with you to lift your hair for the X-ray, I had one on me and I used it. Not sure if they have any available if you don’t have your own.
Step 4. General examination
I sat in the waiting area for about 15 minutes before the next doctor called my name. I followed him to yet another examination room. The doctor was very friendly, and we had a very nice chat while he was examining me.
He asked if I needed a chaperone, I said no and had to sing a paper about it.
The doctor filled in some details in my medical examination form (remember page 4 from above?) and had me sign my picture on this form (I had to write my initials so that they are partially on the paper, and partially on the photo).
Next, he asked me if I wore glasses, I said no. He asked me to stand up and go to the eyesight checking chart. He asked me to close one eye and read the line second from the bottom, then the same with the other eye.
After that he asked me to sit on the couch, he looked into my ears with a special tool, asked me to open my mouth and say “Aaahâ€, felt my glands on the neck.
After that he asked me to take off my top (but not bra) behind the curtain, and put that dark-blue gown back on, and also to take my shoes and socks off. The jeans could stay on.
After I was ready, he asked me to lay on the couch and he took a blood sample from my right arm.
Then he listened to my lungs with a stethoscope from the chest side (asked me to breath in deeply and breath out – a few times), then he asked me to sit up and he listened to my lungs with the stethoscope again but from the back side. Then he pressed a few times on my stomach and asked if there was any pain (there was none). He also quickly felt the upper part of each of my feet, I’m not sure for what.
After that he said my medical exam was officially over and everything seemed to be fine. I was asked to go back to the waiting area and wait until the reception gives me the final documents (payment receipt and DS-3025 copy).
Step 5. Payment and getting DS-3025 copy from the reception
I had to wait for another 10 minutes, and lady from the reception called me. She handed me over a copy of my DS-3025 and reminded I shall keep it because I will need it for AOS (so nice of them to know that and to remind me of that a few times).
Then she asked me to pay 350 GBP for the medical (again, I did not have any additional vaccinations), I paid with my credit card and was given a receipt.
In the end, the lady said that they have everything they need, my medical is complete and will be sent directly to the US embassy in London, which will take 5 (working?) days.
Step 6 (optional). Checking DS-3025 before leaving the clinic
I returned to the waiting area and said down to check the details in my DS-3025. I prepared a check list at home and went through it. I will make a separate post about the DS-3025, what I had in it and what I checked before leaving the clinic.
Results of my medical:
Step 1: Urine sample results will be ready a couple days after the medical, if something is wrong/any diseases found, they will call me. If nothing is wrong, then I just don’t hear from them and go to my interview.
Step 2: Vaccination is signed off as complete. No follow up needed here.
Step 3: X-ray results will be ready in a few days after the medical, if something is wrong/any diseases found, they will call me. If nothing is wrong, then I just don’t hear from them and go to my interview.
Step 4: General examination results are already good, the doctor told me he did not find anything concerning. Only blood sample results will be ready a couple days after the medical, if something is wrong/any diseases found, they will call me. If nothing is wrong, then I just don’t hear from them and go to my interview.
BBGG on 2019-08-28 said:As promised, my checklist that I used to verify my DS-3025 was in order.
After the examination but before walking out the clinic’s doors I checked my copy of DS-3025:
1. Checked personal data – Name, Case number, Date of birth
2. Checked that all check boxes that have vaccination dates or wavers are complete
a. Checked that they filled in correctly old Russian and Soviet vaccinations (as many as the DS-3025 fields would allow)
b. Checked that they filled in correctly the latest UK vaccinations – they are the most important as the most recent
c. Checked that Varicella history is checked (pun not intended)
d. Checked that Influenza has a waiver “F†because it’s not flu season
e. Checked that all other fields are marked with "A" waiver ("Not age appropriate")
3. Lastly, checked that “US vaccination requirements COMPETE†is checked (actually, I compiled this list using an outdated form, in my actual form it was “K visa applicant voluntarily completed vaccination requirementsâ€).
Find this discussion for a better overview of what a correct DS-3025 should look like, together with a photo of my actual DS-3025: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/714115-how-many-tdap-and-mmr-shots-if-i-have-no-previous-records/
BBGG on 2019-10-02 said:Report on my K1 visa interview (London US embassy, 30 Sep 2019): Appointment was for 9am.
8:40 - I got to the embassy doors, there was a long queue.
8:50 - I showed my passport and DS-160 confirmation page, got some kind of hand-written mark on the form and was let in. Then I quickly got through airport-style security.
9:00 – I got inside the building, there was another long queue at the reception.
9:10 – The receiptionist called out if there was anyone with immigration visas, I stepped out and asked if K1 qualified for it, she said yes and let me go agead of the queue immediately. She put a sticker with my queue number on my DS-160 confirmation page print out and told me to go to Level 1 using the elevator, then take a left and left again.
9:15 – I got to Level 1, took left and left again, and was in a small area with about 6 windows, obviously for immigration visa applicants. When I got there I saw my number was already on the screen so I went straight to the window, and my first conversation started.
Visa officer:
Took my passport and DS-160 with the queue number sticker.
Asked if I had a USA visa, I said yes and gave him my old (but still valid) passport, he said they will cancel the B1/B2 visa before K1 is issued. So both my passports were taken away at this point.
The officer asked when I planned to travel to the US, I said beginning of November but I didn’t have the tickets yet. He said I had time until Feb 28 to travel and marked that in some kind of form on his table.
The officer asked for my original Russian birth certificate, I gave it and the certified translation from Russian into English.
He went away for a few seconds, came back and brought my case from another table behind his back, then he gave me the medical CD in opened envelope. I asked if it was a problem that the envelope was open, he said it’s just a CD for now, so does not matter, and I will be given a sealed envelope later.
He asked for my UK phone number and filled it in the form on his table.
He asked me if I was married before, if I ever changed my name, if I served in military, I said no to all, he marked it in the same form as before.
He asked if I only lived in Russia and UK, I said yes, he asked for the police certificates for these countries, I gave them with the certified translation for the Russian one.
He asked for affidavit of support: I-134 form and supporting documents, I handed them over (only tax transcript and W2 for 2018 for supportind documents, he said it was enough).
He asked for one my passport photo, scanned it and returned it to me right away.
Then he took my fingerprints and asked me to go back to the waiting area and wait for my queue number to be called out again.
9:25 – I got back in the waiting area. There were just two queue numbers before me – 901 and 902, my number was 903, but then number 904 (also a fiancé visa applicant) was let ahead of me for an unknown reason. so I ended up waiting for 1.5 hours for my second conversation with the visa officer.
11:00 – My number appeared on the screen and I was invited to another window in the same area. Here is how my second conversation with another visa officer went:
The visa officer asked me to take an oath (I raised my right hand, she read the oath that said that I confirm I will tell the truth, I only had to say yes)
She verified my fingerprints once again.
She returned the original of my Russian birth certificate (but kept the translation).
She voided my B1/B2 visa in the «older» passport and returned this passport to me right away. My K1 visa was to be issued in the «newer» passport that she kept.
She asked me if I’m in London only to apply for visa, I said I live and work nearby London.
She asked me what I do, I said I was an engineer.
She asked me the name of my company, I said what it was, and added it’s a USA based company with an office in the UK.
She asked if my company will transfer me to their USA office, I explained the situation that this depends on whether they will have my position open by the time I get my EAD.
She asked how me and my fiancé met, I told her he worked in the same company’s USA office.
She asked me when we last saw each other, I told her he came to see me in London a couple weeks ago.
She asked me if I had our pictures together, I showed her three printed pictures from one of our trips.
She asked what education I had, I said I was a bachelor and a master degree in humanities area.
She asked me why I picked the job in engineering that is not in accordance with my degrees, I told her my story in short.
She asked where I studied, I told her in what Russian city it was.
She asked if that was where I’m from, I said yes.
She asked if I had a Russian police certificate, I said it should be in the folder, she found it and the translation.
Then she asked the name if my company again, and asked me to spell it as if she did not really need it but was just checking me.
Then she confirmed my middle name.
She entered things in her system and said they «should be able to issue the visa» (a bit confusing, not a solid «yes» or «no») and that I will receive my passport back via the courier service within 2 weeks, together with the sealed envelope.
Then I was allowed to go.
11:08 – The interview was over (took just 8 minutes), and I collected my things and left the building. I was not given any confirmation papers, they only gave back to me the original of the birth certificate and my «older» passport where they voided the B1/B2 visa.
1 day after the interview, on Oct 1 the status at NVC site changed from «Ready» to «Administrative Processing»
2 days after the interview, on Oct 2 the status changed from «Administrative Processing» to «Issued».
BBGG on 2020-12-18 said:My I-485/AOS interview experience in Portland, OR: My spouse and I went to the interview together. Our interview was scheduled for 1:55pm on Thursday, Dec 17, 2020. We were at the USCIS office’s doors at 1:30pm. There were two long lines outside on the street, one (marked with red tape crosses on the pavement) appeared to be for those who had biometrics appointments, the other one (yellow) – for interview attendees. We got in the yellow line, and the security officer at the door called “those who have appointments at 1:55pm†in just a few minutes. We went in. We had 4 large folders with our documents and our cell phones on us. We took our jackets and shoes off and put them in trays, also put our documents and cell phones in trays. We went through the metal detector. We were not asked to leave out any of the things we brought with us, and we could get inside with all of them. After that, we went one level up the stairs into the waiting area and waited for my name (I’m the I-485 applicant) to be called out. That happened around 2:05pm, we only had to wait for maybe 10-15 minutes in the waiting area before we got called out. There were a few cubicles/counters right next to the chairs in the waiting area, and the officer first invited us to sit at one of these counters with her. She was behind the glass from us and we could not really hear her. She asked us if we wanted to have our interview in one of the offices and we said yes. She guided us into one of the offices. When we settled (put our coats and things on the chairs and identified where we have to sit), interview started. Part 1 - we were asked to stand up, raise our right hands, the officer recited the oath and we had to say “yes†to the oath. Part 2 – checking our IDs, the officer asked us for originals of two forms of identification – a passport and a state-issued ID (in our case, Oregon driver’s license) from each of us. Part 3 – the officer asked to confirm that we used an attorney to fill out and file the I-485 application for us, we confirmed that was correct. She asked if we would like our attorney to be present with us in the room or on the phone, we said we did not need that. She asked us to sign a waiver expressing that we did not want our attorney to be present with us at the interview. Each of us signed a separate waiver form. It was handy to have a couple blue or black pens – for some reason our officer did not have pens and did not even look like she was going to offer them to us. It was specified in the invitation that we should bring pens with us, so I had some on me. Here the officer also asked us if we had any questions before we began, I asked when I’m supposed to hand over the documents that I collected in accordance with the interview invitation, she said I could do it right away or later in the interview, I suggested doing it later and we moved on. Part 4 – the officer opened my I-485 application that she had in her folder and confirmed the following information: my full name; if I used any other names; my date of birth; my city and country of birth; my current address in the US; whether it is also my mailing address; date when I entered the US on K1 visa; if I’m working in the US (I said “yesâ€); the name and the location of my present employer in the US (she wrote it down with a pen right on my I-485 application, that was addition #1 because of course it was not in the application when I filed it); that my previous place of work was in the UK; the name of my previous UK employer; the birthday of my spouse; how many marriages I had in my life besides my present marriage (I said “zeroâ€, she wrote it down in my I-485 application, that was addition #2, this addition was due to the fact that originally the form asked how many marriages including the present one I had, and the answer was “oneâ€, the officer just worded her question differently so she had to write my answer down and mark it as an addition to the application); full names of my mother and father; if we have any children; if I participated in any sort of organizations in the US or internationally (I said “noâ€, the officer wrote my answer in my I-485 form, and this was addition #3). Part 5 – the officer read all the questions from I-485 that you usually say “no†to (like participation in human trafficking, money laundering, etc.) and I had to answer them in front of her (I answered “no†to all of them). Part 6 – the officer counted how many additional pages to the standard I-485 form I had (it was 3 pages including page #18 “Additional information†from the original I-485 form and two additional letter-sized pages with extended history of my addresses and jobs that did not fit in the I-485 form itself), she filled out “Part 13. Signature at interview†with information on the 3 additions and 3 additional pages and had me signed in the “Applicant’s signature†field. Part 6 – questions about our relationship history, the officer asked and wrote our answers down in her notes by hand: how we met; when we decided to start seriously dating; when and why we decided to get married; when we started collecting documents for the fiancé(e) petition. She did not ask any of us specifically to answer any of the questions, we just looked at each other, and one of us would start answering the question, the other one would sometimes add something. Part 7 – the officer reminded me I offered to hand over documents that I brought with me in the beginning of the interview, I asked her what she thought was essential to submit at this point, she suggested that usually applicants submit the most recent evidence of bona fide marriage, luckily, I had it put together and ready: I did not have any paper clips or staples, it was all one big pile of letter-sized copies of various documents, sheet to sheet, only with “post-itâ€-like labels with names of each document to easily separate them. To my surprise, the officer did not ask me to remove these post-it labels and took my pile of papers with them. I heard from other applicants that they were made remove all paper clips, staples, labels, folders, and clear plastic sheet protectors before handing the documents to the officer. The officer praised me for such an organized set of documents (yay!). My evidence contained: copies of our joint account bank cards side by side; joint account statements for the past 3 months; copies of joint credit cards side by side; joint credit card statements for 3 months; joint health insurance – general, dental, visual (I’m a beneficiary on my spouse’s insurance); joint life insurance for each of us where the other spouse is specified as the beneficiary; joint car insurance; joint gas and electricity bills for the past 3 months; some correspondence mailed to our address with both our names specified – letters from our gas company, car insurance, and a couple greeting cards from friends and family; flights and hotel reservations for our honeymoon trip; engagement ring receipt; our driver’s licenses side by side on the same page showing that we live at the same address; about 15 photos including wedding photos and pictures with us, friends and family from different time after our marriage. The officer looked through my labels to see what I had there in the pile, and she said there was everything she needed, she did not take anything out to return to us, just took the set of documents exactly as we handed it over. We did not hand over any other copies of documents apart from the above mentioned evidence even though we prepared them and had them on us. Part 8 – the officer said that everything looks good, and she can confirm our Green Card is approved by her. The only problem was that she could not make it official on that day, she said she would not be able to approve it before end of day Thursday, and she was off for the next 1.5 weeks, so she would only officially stamp our application as “approved†after she returns to work. That is was a bit disappointing to hear that, after all the waiting that we had already gone through, but it was a good news that she confirmed right away that the Green Card is approved and no further reviewing will be necessary. Additional notes: The officer was quite friendly and relaxed, so we were not really nervous. The interview took about 30-40 minutes. In preparation for the interview, we put together the following folders: (1) “main†folder with documents and evidence (only copies, no originals) exactly in accordance with the list in the invitation notice; (2) “additional†folder with many other documents and evidence outside the invitation notice list, basically, everything we could think of that could be bona fide relationship evidence; (3) separate folder with all the originals – birth, divorce, marriage certificates, etc.; (4) photo album with ~200 additional photos of us from the moment we started dating to the present day.
BBGG on 2020-12-18 said:Another note on my AOS interview: I only had medical exam when I applied for K1 visa (corresponding DS-3025 form was signed in August 2019 with confirmation that my vaccination is up to date), I filed my I-485 in November 2019 (within a year from my K1 medical) and I did not re-do a medical in the US with a civil surgeon. I had my interview in December 2020, almost 1.5 years after my K1 medical, and the officer looked at my DS-3025 at the interview and said "your medical is completed, all good", and did not tell me to do a new medical.
BBGG on 2024-01-25 said:N-400 (naturalization) interview experience: 2024-01-25 N-400 interview experience
~~~ A few days before the interview ~~~
Originally, my interview was scheduled for Jan 19, 9:15am. However, ice storm hit Portland and getting around was not safe. In the afternoon of Jan 18, my lawyer emailed me and said that USCIS called her and rescheduled my interview for Jan 25, same time 9:15am. USCIS also said to her on the phone that they would not send any additional notice about that. It made me a bit nervous that I did not have a written confirmation that the interview was rescheduled. I made a request through my USCIS online profile (“Did not receive a notice”) and got a response that their record shows I failed to show for Jan 19 interview, and I now need to reschedule, so they would forward my request to the Portland office for rescheduling. That did not make me very happy, but I decided to just try my luck and show up for the interview on Jan 25, 9:15am. I printed out email from my lawyer as this was the only written confirmation of new interview date/time that I had. However, as noted below, USCIS let me in with my original Jan 19 invitation on Jan 25 and did not ask any questions.
~~~ Interview day - arrival and check in ~~~
Interview was scheduled for Jan 25, 2024, 9:15am, my husband and I arrived at the Portland USCIS office doors at 8:35am.
Even though it is recommended to not arrive earlier than 30 mins before the interview, we were let in.
We went through security, they were very friendly. They asked me to show my invitation letter. The letter was for January 19, I explained that I got a phone call and was told I’m rescheduled for today, Jan 25. The security officer sad was ok and we can come in. We had to take our jackets/coats and belts. I was on heels and they asked me to take of my shoes, my husband was in sneakers - and he did not have to take them off. We put all our wallets, phones, my purse, my Garmin fitness watch, and the folder with documents in the tray. We went through the metal detector frame and collected our items on the other side.
Then we went to 2nd floor, checked in at window 3, there was no line.
The check-in offices in window 3 asked me for my interview invitation letter and one ID (I gave my DL).
I asked if my husband can go to the interview with me, the check-in officer said if he is not a translator, then no, he would need to sit in the waiting area
Sat in waiting area for ~25 mins, from around 8:45 to 9:10am, then the interview officer walked through the door to the waiting area and called me out by my first name. I followed the officer to their room. My husband stayed in the waiting room (he actually went to the restroom when the officer called me, so I went alone with the officer, me and my husband agreed that he would just wait in the waiting room).
~~~ Interview process ~~~
When I walked in the room, the room looked like a small standard office with a desk, a computer, and three chairs for visitors. I put my coat and purse on one chair, put my folder with all prepared documents on another chair, and sat in the third chair - the one that let me be in front of the officer and see them. There was an iPad on the officer’s desk staining upright and facing me.
I was told to stand up, raise my right hand, the officer said the oath (if I would be telling the truth) and told me to answer yes or no, I said yes.
I asked the officer a couple questions:
• I said I wanted to make some corrections to my form. He asked, oh, like, travel dates? I said, yes, something like that - my employer address; I want to change my answer to the question if I want to change my name; and I also want to submit the correct PDF with my flights to Mexico (a trip outside the US). He said no problem, we can do that after the test.
• I also asked if my husband needs to be in the room. The officer said we provided sufficient evidence of bona fide relationship, and he does not require for my husband to be present at this interview.
Then the officer asked me to give him the originals of my US ID (driver’s license), my Russian passport, and my latest Green Card. The officer also confirmed casually if I already completed my Removal of Conditions process and received my Green Card recently, I said yes.
The officer then took my fingerprints - index finger on left hand, then index finger on right hand. The scanner was standing on their desk right in front of me.
The officer said he sees in my application that I used a lawyer, and he asked if my lawyer will be present at the interview, I said no. He asked me if I’m OK with doing this interview without my lawyer, I said yes. He made me sign a waiver on the iPad that I won’t be using a lawyer.
Next part was the test. First, civics questions:
1. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States? (I said freedom of speech, freedom of religion)
2. Wo is the commander in Chief of the military? (I said the president)
3. Why did the colonists fight the British (I said: high taxes, British army stayed in their houses, they did not have self-government)
4. Who was the first president? (I said: George Washington)
5. We elect a US senator for how many years? (I said: 6 years)
6. In what month do we vote for president? (I said: November)
The officer said “you passed the civics test”. He only asked me 6 questions because I answered them in a row, and I only need to answer 6 questions out of 10 correctly.
Next was the reading test. The officer displayed a sentence to me on the iPad - “Who was George Washington?”. He asked me to read it - I read it out loud. The officer said “you passed the reading test”.
Next was the writing test. The officer displayed an application on the iPad that would allow me to hand-write something with a stylus (or with my finger). It allowed correcting mistakes before I submit my answer. He repeated a sentence 5 times slowly “Washington was the first president”. While he was saying that, I wrote the sentence on the iPad and hit Submit. The officer said “you passed the writing test”.
The officer explained that the “speaking” part of the test will be just him listening to me talk and checking how I understand his questions during the interview.
Next, he asked me what corrections I want to make to my application. I said:
• I want to change my current employer’s address. I had it printed out and I handed it over to the officer, he entered it in the computer.
• I want to submit the correct flights for my Mexico trip (I accidentally submitted incorrect flights for March 4-10, and we later changed flights to March 3-10). I handed over the printed correct flights to the officer, he said he would scan them. I let him know they are already attached to my N-400 online as supporting documents.
• I want to change my answer from ‘Yes’ to ‘No’ to the question as to whether I want to change my name.
Officer accepted these changes. He said, next is going to be the interview. It turned out to be checking my application information. It went like this:
Officer: Please tell me your full legal name.
Me: <said my legal name>.
Officer: Did you ever use any other names?
Me: No.
Officer: Please tell me your date of birth.
Me: <said my date of birth>.
Officer: What is your current address?
Me: <said my current address>.
Officer: Who do you live at this address with?
Me: My husband.
Officer: Is there anyone else living at this address?
Me: No.
Officer: What is a good phone number for us to reach you?
Me: <said my cell phone number>.
Officer: What is your country of birth?
Me: Russian Federation.
Officer: Are you currently a citizen of Russian Federation?
Me: Yes.
Officer: Are you a citizen of any other country?
Me: No, apart from Russian Federation, I’m not a citizen of any other country.
Officer: Are your parents US citizens?
Me: No.
Officer: Are your parents still in Russia?
Me: My mom - yes, my dad passed away (but he is buried in Russia).
Officer: How long have you worked for your current employer?
Me: 3 years.
Officer: What is your occupation?
Me: Occupations in Data Communications and Networking, but for more details, I’m a pre-sales engineer and I help customers understand my company’s technology. “Pre-sales engineer” is not the official position name, only a description.
Officer: Do you like your job?
Me: Yes, very much.
Officer: Next let’s look into your travel. The dates seem to match.
(I guess because I just submitted my correct Mexico travel flights, we sort of already discussed the dates.)
Officer: How many times have you been married?
Me: Including current marriage, one time.
Officer: So, no previous marriages?
Me: No, before this current marriage I was not in an officially registered marriage, I had only been in long term relationships.
Officer: Like Common Law Marriage, right?
Me: Yes, something like this, where we just verbally agreed we are in a long committed relationship. But not officially registered.
(Officer seemed to agree and did not expect that Common Law Marriage is officially registered anywhere and we moved on)
Officer: How did you and your husband meet?
Me: In 2016, I came to the US for a job interview, and he was on the panel, that’s how we met.
Officer: Looks like you’ve built a nice life together :)
Me: Haha, yes, indeed.
Officer: Do you have children?
Me: I have one stepchild.
Officer: Do you have any biological children in the US or any other country?
Me: No.
Additional questions:
Have you EVER claimed to be a US. citizen (in writing or any other way)? (Me: No)
Have you EVER registered to vote in any Federal, state, or local election in the United States? (Me: No)
Do you owe any overdue Federal, state, or local taxes? (Me: No)
Have you EVER been a member of, involved in, or in any way associated with, any organization, association, fund, foundation, party, club, society, or similar group in the United States or in any other location in the world? (Me: No)
Have you EVER been a member of, or in any way associated (either directly or indirectly) with: A. The Communist Party? (Me: No)
Have you EVER been a member of, or in any way associated (either directly or indirectly) with: C. A terrorist organization? (Me: No)
Have you every worked for the Russian government? (Me: No)
Were you EVER a member of, or did you EVER serve in, help, or otherwise participate in, any of the
following groups: A. Military unit? (Me: No)
Have you ever hurt anyone on purpose? (Me: No)
Have you every killed someone? (Me: No)
Did you EVER sell, give, or provide weapons to any person, or help another person sell, give, or provide
weapons to any person? (Me: No)
Did you EVER receive any type of military, paramilitary (a group of people who act like a military group
but are not part of the official military), or weapons training? (Me: No)
Have you ever been stopped by the police in any country? (Me: I was stopped a couple times by traffic control for traffic things in Russia. Officer: No, for criminal offenses? Me: No)
Have you EVER been convicted of a crime or offense? (Me: No)
A. Have you EVER been in jail or prison? (Me: No)
Have you EVER given any US. Government officials any information or documentation that was false,
fraudulent, or misleading? (Me: No)
Have you EVER lied to any US. Government officials to gain entry or admission into the United States or
to gain immigration benefits while in the United States? (Me: No)
Have you EVER been removed, excluded, or deported from the United States? (Me: No)
Have you ever been in trouble with immigration in the US? (Me: No)
Do you support the Constitution and form of Government of the United States? (Me: Yes)
Do you understand the full Oath of Allegiance to the United States? (Me: Yes)
Are you willing to take the fill Oath of Allegiance to the United States? (Me: Yes)
If the law requires it, are you willing to bear arms on behalf of the United States? (Me: Yes)
If the law requires it, are you willing to perform noncombatant services in the US. armed forces? (Me: Yes)
1f the law requires it, are you willing to perform work of national importance under civilian direction? (Me: Yes)
After that, officer displayed my changes in the N-400 application (the employer address and my ‘No’ answer to change of name) and asked me to check and sign these changes.
Next, he displayed information on the iPad that will go in my naturalization certificate - my full name, date of birth, country of previous citizenship, city of current residence (Portland), etc. He asked to check there were no typos.
Next, he displayed the oath text on the screen and asked me to sign it, it had all the same six points as the N-400:
Support the Constitution and form of Government of the United States
Understand the full Oath of Allegiance to the United States
Willing to take the fill Oath of Allegiance to the United States
If the law requires it, willing to bear arms on behalf of the United States
If the law requires it, willing to perform noncombatant services in the US. armed forces
1f the law requires it, willing to perform work of national importance under civilian direction
He said something like there is no need to memorize the oath, someone will say it during the ceremony and you only have to repeat. I believe I had to sign this part on the iPad as well.
The officer handed over the printed interview results (Form N-652).
There was a check in the checkbox “You passed the English test and the U.S. history and government test.”
Then the officer asked me if I can attend the ceremony on the same day at 3pm, I said yes. The officer gave me a print-out of the ceremony schedule and information. He also said to bring to the ceremony any green cards, EAD cards, or any documents that USCIS ever issued for me.
After that the N-400 interview was over and the officer saw me out.
*Notice about estimates: The estimates are based off averages of other members recent experiences
(documented in their timelines) for the same benefit/petition/application at the same filing location.
Individual results may vary as every case is not always 'average'. Past performance does not necessarily
predict future results. The 'as early as date' may change over time based on current reported processing
times from members. There have historically been cases where a benefit/petition/application processing
briefly slows down or stops and this can not be predicted. Use these dates as reference only and do not
rely on them for planning. As always you should check the USCIS processing times to see if your application
is past due.
** Not all cases are transfered
ver 5.0