N-400 January 2017 Filers

[Deribas_Alma-Ata 32]

1 hour ago, ruby_7 said:

Thanked God, this is almost over.

 

To those who are still waiting for the interview letter, I hope you guys will receive it soon.  I understand the wait is very agonizing and depressing but sooner or later you will get there.  

 

As for Deribas_Alma-Ata ,   I wish you "Good luck"  in your upcoming interview.   All the best for you.

 

 

Hey Ruby_7! Congratulations, You are almost there! Thank you for the wishes, I hope my interview will be as nice and easy as yours.  

[sunshinestate2013 136]

2 hours ago, ruby_7 said:

Finished my interview this morning, it went well.  The IO seemed to have studied already my application because she's very familiar with my files from the very beginning how I entered in the US.  Very respectful and I felt at ease.  IO went over my application to review my filled-up answers and verify it with me.  Then, proceeded to the tests.

 

First part was reading and written test.  IO asked me to read what was written:  "Who lives in the White House?".  Then asked to write the answer:  "The President lives in the White House."

 

Second part was the civic test, 6 questions:

 

  1.  Name 2 National US Holidays?   

     My answers:  Independence Day,  Thanksgiving

 

  2.  Where is the Statue of Liberty?

      My Answer:  Liberty Island

 

  3.  What movement tried to end racial discrimination:

      Answer:  Civil rights movement

 

  4.  What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

      My Answer:  Obey the laws of the United States

 

  5.  Who is the Governor of  ?

     My Answer: J.... etc. (governor of your state)

 

  6.   Who was the first President?

     Answer:  George Washington

 

After the civics test, IO handed me the printed information that will appear in the Naturalization Certificate (according to her), to make sure the information is all correct.  She then gave me the recommendation approval letter & told me to wait for a few weeks for the Oath letter schedule.  I thanked the IO and she congratulated me.

 

Thanked God, this is almost over.

 

To those who are still waiting for the interview letter, I hope you guys will receive it soon.  I understand the wait is very agonizing and depressing but sooner or later you will get there.  

 

As for Deribas_Alma-Ata ,   I wish you "Good luck"  in your upcoming interview.   All the best for you.

 

 

Congratulations! What is your field office?

[ruby_7 45]

On 1/26/2018 at 4:36 PM, Deribas_Alma-Ata said:

Hey Ruby_7! Congratulations, You are almost there! Thank you for the wishes, I hope my interview will be as nice and easy as yours.  

Thank you..

Edited January 29, 2018 by ruby_7

[ruby_7 45]

On 1/26/2018 at 5:39 PM, sunshinestate2013 said:

Congratulations! What is your field office?

Thank you ..    Cleveland

[jkstark 97]

On 1/26/2018 at 3:23 PM, ruby_7 said:

After the civics test, IO handed me the printed information that will appear in the Naturalization Certificate (according to her), to make sure the information is all correct.  She then gave me the recommendation approval letter & told me to wait for a few weeks for the Oath letter schedule.  I thanked the IO and she congratulated me.

 

Thanked God, this is almost over.

 

To those who are still waiting for the interview letter, I hope you guys will receive it soon.  I understand the wait is very agonizing and depressing but sooner or later you will get there.  

 

As for Deribas_Alma-Ata ,   I wish you "Good luck"  in your upcoming interview.   All the best for you.

 

 

Congrats! 

 

Yes, I would imagine that the IO would be conversant with your application - a lot of what they will be asking you would be dependent on what you already have in your application in addition to the other data that has come in from the background check...  In fact, if they didn't have any idea, I would be worried... 

 

I will say that one of the nice things about my interview was that I was given the oath date and letter on the spot - not quite a full ceremony at the same time, but about as close as it gets.  Now, I just have to make one more trip to their offices at some point and get a certified true copy of my nat. cert.

 

Fun times!

[ruby_7 45]

2 hours ago, jkstark said:

Congrats! 

 

Yes, I would imagine that the IO would be conversant with your application - a lot of what they will be asking you would be dependent on what you already have in your application in addition to the other data that has come in from the background check...  In fact, if they didn't have any idea, I would be worried... 

 

I will say that one of the nice things about my interview was that I was given the oath date and letter on the spot - not quite a full ceremony at the same time, but about as close as it gets.  Now, I just have to make one more trip to their offices at some point and get a certified true copy of my nat. cert.

 

Fun times!

Thank you! 

 

Well, the reason I said it because there are some IOs who faced the applicants during interview and are less familiar with the documents that have been submitted and have not studied the case in advance.  There are some applicants who posted their experiences about it  here  that their IOs told them that they havn't studied their files yet (Oh my) and just told them they can't make any decision yet and recommend for approval  even if they passed the test.  I was surprised to know when I read their experiences that some of these IOs face the applicants unprepared.

 

The thing in my local office, they don't have outright ceremony nor give a schedule ceremony letter right after the interview and they have been like these for years.  They're extremely procedural in their process, no shortcuts.  And I couldn't blame their local system because they have I think 4-5 ceremony locations (per Cleveland office jurisdiction) depending on the distance of the applicant's residence.  I asked the IO if I'll be doing the oath in Cleveland (once it will be finalized) and she told me "no, because your residential address is very far away and we go by nearest city distance from your address where it would be held.  That's because you're interviewed in Cleveland, it doesn't mean you'll be doing it in here".  Well, I may not like it having another waiting period for the oath letter, but not much I can do.  I'm just glad, the interview-waiting period is over and passed it...A big relief.

Edited January 29, 2018 by ruby_7

[ruby_7 45]

2 hours ago, jkstark said:

  Now, I just have to make one more trip to their offices at some point and get a certified true copy of my nat. cert.

 

Fun times!

Do you have to pay for a certified true copy of the nat. cert. ?

[Hypnos 6,576]

6 hours ago, ruby_7 said:

Do you have to pay for a certified true copy of the nat. cert. ?

No: https://my.uscis.gov/helpcenter/article/how-can-i-obtain-a-certified-copy-of-my-naturalization-certificate

[jkstark 97]

22 hours ago, ruby_7 said:

Do you have to pay for a certified true copy of the nat. cert. ?

Not to my understanding - as Hypnos also mentioned.  Essentially, you take a photocopy there with your original, and they will authenticate it (assuming that they can verify your status) and place their raised seal on it...

 

Would love to have seen them be able to do that right at the naturalization ceremony, or at least provide one original and one copy right off the bat.  I need one to send back to my original country to record that change, and I don't expect to get it back.  Further, since it needs an apostille, doing that to the original is probably not a good idea.

 

Beyond that, being paranoid of losing the one piece of documentation that I now have to prove my legal status in the country, I didn't want to send it out for a passport before I had something else in hand.  Nicely, New York has their enhanced driver's licenses available (which prove citizenship), and the DMV only takes a look at the documents and scans them - I received my enhanced DL last Saturday, so just over 2 weeks beyond the ceremony - I think I applied on the 16th and received the 27th.

 

K

[jkstark 97]

23 hours ago, ruby_7 said:

Thank you! 

 

Well, the reason I said it because there are some IOs who faced the applicants during interview and are less familiar with the documents that have been submitted and have not studied the case in advance.  There are some applicants who posted their experiences about it  here  that their IOs told them that they havn't studied their files yet (Oh my) and just told them they can't make any decision yet and recommend for approval  even if they passed the test.  I was surprised to know when I read their experiences that some of these IOs face the applicants unprepared.

 

The thing in my local office, they don't have outright ceremony nor give a schedule ceremony letter right after the interview and they have been like these for years.  They're extremely procedural in their process, no shortcuts.  And I couldn't blame their local system because they have I think 4-5 ceremony locations (per Cleveland office jurisdiction) depending on the distance of the applicant's residence.  I asked the IO if I'll be doing the oath in Cleveland (once it will be finalized) and she told me "no, because your residential address is very far away and we go by nearest city distance from your address where it would be held.  That's because you're interviewed in Cleveland, it doesn't mean you'll be doing it in here".  Well, I may not like it having another waiting period for the oath letter, but not much I can do.  I'm just glad, the interview-waiting period is over and passed it...A big relief.

I had my interview in Buffalo, and the ceremony in Rochester - not as close to home as possible, but the soonest that they could get me in...  I think in my case since I was so far past their "processing cases as of" date, they wanted to get it out as soon as possible from their standpoint as well.  (As of Nov 30, they are working on Jun 13, 2017).  I do see that Cleveland is running at about the same time frame, so who knows...

[Deribas_Alma-Ata 32]

Hi All,

 

Today I had an interview... Conclusion is decision can not be made or so...  I've no clue why...

Arrived 30 min prior to interview, was called by IO in about 40 min.

So I have sworn to tell the truth etc. IO started with my application yes/no questions first, all went well.

Then he asked me to write Columbus Day is in October and read Washington is the Capital of the United States. 

After that he said he'll ask me 10 civic questions and once I get him 6 correct answers test will be completed.

Questions were so easy but I remember only 5:

Who is the father of the USA?

How many justices in Supreme court?

When do we celebrate Independence Day?

When both POTUS and VP can't serve, who becomes the POTUS?

One part of the Government?

...........

 

I was pretty sure I did well. But then IO said even though you passed the test I can not approve your application because I had no chance to study your file yet, but I think I will approve your case this afternoon...

Should I explain what I felt? 

At the end he said... Congratulation!

With what though? Not being approved? 

He was not super friendly, but he was not sarcastic either I guess...

Called to attorney right after and he assured me that it will not take more than 120+ (60 to 90) days... So, another long wait for me...    

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2018 by Deribas_Alma-Ata

[sunshinestate2013 136]

5 hours ago, Deribas_Alma-Ata said:

Hi All,

 

Today I had an interview... Conclusion is decision can not be made or so...  I've no clue why...

Arrived 30 min prior to interview, was called by IO in about 40 min.

So I have sworn to tell the truth etc. IO started with my application yes/no questions first, all went well.

Then he asked me to write Columbus Day is in October and read Washington is the Capital of the United States. 

After that he said he'll ask me 10 civic questions and once I get him 6 correct answers test will be completed.

Questions were so easy but I remember only 5:

Who is the father of the USA?

How many justices in Supreme court?

When do we celebrate Independence Day?

When both POTUS and VP can't serve, who becomes the POTUS?

One part of the Government?

...........

 

I was pretty sure I did well. But then IO said even though you passed the test I can not approve your application because I had no chance to study your file yet, but I think I will approve your case this afternoon...

Should I explain what I felt? 

At the end he said... Congratulation!

With what though? Not being approved? 

He was not super friendly, but he was not sarcastic either I guess...

Called to attorney right after and he assured me that it will not take more than 120+ (60 to 90) days... So, another long wait for me...    

 

 

 

You should not be concerned, from what I am reading it sounds like your interview went well. Congratulations! 

[Deribas_Alma-Ata 32]

1 hour ago, sunshinestate2013 said:

You should not be concerned, from what I am reading it sounds like your interview went well. Congratulations! 

Thank you for cheering me up!

[ruby_7 45]

Update on my case:

 

On Tuesday (Jan. 30), I received an online update in my case status of my application (text and email) stating that USCIS sent an Oath Letter Ceremony Schedule.  I was completely surprised and very happy to know.  Surprised because I thought it would take another month to wait like the IO told me last Friday.  I guess they rushed it because I already hit  a 1-year period mark and still not completely finished, sort of like they are very conscious on their performance and what they posted on their bulletin is 4-5 months average processing time in their office and yet I'm one of those who have been delayed.  I don't blame the local office, it's nothing to do with them.

 

This morning, I finally received my Oath letter ceremony letter schedule. It will be on Feb. 28 in Toledo City.

[ruby_7 45]

On 1/30/2018 at 4:31 PM, jkstark said:

I had my interview in Buffalo, and the ceremony in Rochester - not as close to home as possible, but the soonest that they could get me in...  I think in my case since I was so far past their "processing cases as of" date, they wanted to get it out as soon as possible from their standpoint as well.  (As of Nov 30, they are working on Jun 13, 2017).  I do see that Cleveland is running at about the same time frame, so who knows...

 

I finally got my Oath Ceremony letter schedule. It will be on Feb. 28.  I was surprised and very happy. 

 

I have the same thoughts as what you have said " I think in my case since I was so far past their "processing cases as of" date, they wanted to get it out as soon as possible from their standpoint as well".  

Edited February 1, 2018 by ruby_7