2018 San Francisco filers

[zedkyuu 12]

Had my interview appointment today at 630 Sansome with a very nice (surprisingly so!) officer.

I'm used to entering the building on the Washington St side, but this time, I found it locked; when I pulled on the door, a guard opened it and told me I needed to go in on the Sansome side instead.

Went to the 2nd floor, checked in, clerk told me to go to the 3rd floor. I think I had been sitting there no more than 5 minutes when my name was called. (So this would have been about 15 to 20 minutes early!)

 

The officer had me read out a sentence ("Name the state with the most people") and then write out its answer ("California is the state with the most people").

He then asked me these 6 questions:

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

- Who is the governor of your state now?

- Where is the Statue of Liberty?

- Name two national U.S. holidays.

- What movement tried to end racial discrimination?

- Who was the first president?

 

We then went through the rest of my app and he checked out my travel history (Canada didn't put stamps into my passport most of the time, heh, and I made some trips last year after applying), work history (I changed jobs last year), and then ran me through all the "no" questions (e.g. "are you a terrorist").

I'd brought a ton of documentation to justify not doing Selective Service (I didn't get my permanent residency until after the age of 26) and also to justify my wife's citizenship, but he basically took my verbal statements as testimony and left it at that. (He had me take an oath of truthfulness in the beginning.)

At the end, he had me sign a couple of things including the amendments to the application, then printed out a piece of paper that said I've been recommended for approval! He also said I should see a letter in 3-6 weeks saying what oath ceremony to go to.

 

So now the wait for that last piece of paper!

[Layla88 3]

Congratulations! The first question would be little surprising to me (not sure if it's part of the 100, didn't start studying yet), so thanks for sharing all of that.

[zedkyuu 12]

The first question is indeed in the 100. One thing I wasn't sure about was the fact some of the questions have multiple answers. Some of them ask for one of or two of the following (which is good, as one of them asks for a single American Indian tribe and there are probably twenty of them listed) while others just simply have multiple (e.g. "what does the Constitution do", "what does the Supreme Court do"). In the case of the latter, I have no idea if they want all of the answers or just one, so I studied as if they wanted all of them. As it is, the one I listed is pretty simple; one of the answers is just "to be loyal to the US", and another one is to "drop all loyalty to foreign powers".

 

USCIS online had not been updated when I checked after the interview. I had a look tonight and I have:

 

my.uscis.gov:

We approved your application

Your final step to becoming a citizen is to attend your naturalization ceremony

We will mail you a letter when we schedule your naturalization ceremony.

Estimated wait time: 4 months

Estimated case completion time: April 2019 (3 months)

 

egov.uscis.gov:

Case Was Submitted For Quality Review Based On An Approval Recommendation

We recommended that your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, Receipt Number IOExxxxxxxxxx, be approved. On January 28, 2019, your case was submitted for quality review. This is a standard process we use to ensure the quality of our decisions. Once our quality review is done you will be scheduled for an oath ceremony. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

 

Not sure what to make of both, but I'm hoping I'll hear of an oath date sooner rather than later.

[JandMA 9]

Congratulations!

The question about the State governor was a bit of trick one given that he was only recently sworn in. But maybe it's been updated on the 100 list.

 

I'm surprised at the length of the estimated delay for the oath ceremony!

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

2 hours ago, JandMA said:

Congratulations!

The question about the State governor was a bit of trick one given that he was only recently sworn in. But maybe it's been updated on the 100 list.

 

I'm surprised at the length of the estimated delay for the oath ceremony!

All uscis social media has been full of notices reminding applicants that answers to questions like this may have changed after the elections, and that applicants are expected to be up to date.

[zedkyuu 12]

The state governor is simply listed as "Answers will vary" on the 100 list because it'll be different for each state.

That said, one thing that did change was who is the speaker of the house.

 

(edit) Today's update on my.uscis.gov:

 

January 29, 2019

We scheduled your naturalization ceremony

View your letter on your documents tab for the ceremony date, time, and location

Note: It may take up to a few days for your letter to show on your documents tab.

You will take the Oath of Allegiance and receive your Certificate of Naturalization at your ceremony. You will also return your Green Card and answer questions about your activity since your interview.

You will also have the opportunity to apply for a U.S. Passport/Passport Card, register to vote, and update your Social Security record.

What to bring

Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony (N-445)

Permanent Resident Card

 

No letter is in the documents tab yet.

 

egov.uscis.gov agrees:

 

Oath Ceremony Notice Was Mailed

We scheduled your oath ceremony for Receipt Number IOExxx. We sent a notice with the date, time, and location of your oath ceremony to the address you gave us. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you do not receive your notice by February 28, 2019, please go to www.uscis.gov/e-request to request a copy of the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

Edited January 29, 2019 by zedkyuu

[Layla88 3]

answer questions about your activity since your interview... What do they mean by this? Since you still have GC you can leave the country and come back right? Did they really schedule the ceremony all the way in April?

[zedkyuu 12]

I checked this morning and the oath ceremony letter is now visible. It's March 13 at the Paramount Theater in Oakland.

 

Regarding the activity questions: there's a questionnaire in the oath letter that you have to complete and bring to the ceremony along with the other stuff they ask for. It's pretty much asking you if you've done any of a number of things since your interview. For each item, it says that if you say "yes", you need to bring documents to support it, like a marriage certificate or an arrest record. These are the questions:

 

1. Since your interview, have you married, or been widowed, separated or divorced? Yes No
2. Since your interview, have you traveled outside the United States? Yes No
3. Since your interview, have you knowingly committed any crime or offense, for which you have not been arrested? Yes No
4. Since your interview, have you been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking
or violating any law or ordinance, including traffic violations? Yes No
5. Since your interview, have you joined, become associated, or connected with any organization in any way,
including the Communist Party, a totalitarian organization, or terrorist group? Yes No
6. Since your interview, have you deserted from, claimed exemption from, or been separated or discharged from
military service? Yes No
7. Since your interview, has there been any change in your willingness to bear arms on behalf of the United States; to
perform non-combatant service in the armed forces of the United States; or to perform work of national importance
under civilian direction if the law requires it? Yes No
8. Since your interview, have you practiced polygamy, received income from illegal gambling, been involved in
prostitution, helped anyone enter the United States illegally, trafficked controlled substances, given false testimony
to obtain immigration benefits, or been a habitual drunkard? Yes No

UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE
zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE
Calberry........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|01/18/19|02/25/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
JandMA......... |03/16/15|03/17|03/22|03/22|04/09/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|
DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|
SemoNowe........|02/26/08|05/29|05/30|06/02|06/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco....|IOE
Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|
isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE

[Lily1987 0]

Hello everyone,

 

Just wanted to share my experience since this forum helped me a lot.

 

My dates are exact same as zedkyuu with one difference - my interview was on 01/30/2019.

I have created an online profile right after I applied and it took  exactly 1 year and 8 days from submission date to interview date. During the process my status was never "in line for interview" which got me worried at first because I thought it will take me longer than everyone else.

 

So, the interview day came. I was scheduled for 8:25 am. I was there at 7:30am and security was letting people in little by little, they check your bag and you go through metal detector. Then I took an elevator to the second floor as my letter instructed. There were two windows A and B, first you go to window A where they take the prints of your index fingers and stamp you interview letter, after that window B.

At window B you show your stamped interview letter, then they give you grey envelope which has passport application in it, then they tell you which waiting area to go to (A, B, C, D...). Mine was "C", so I looked around the big room and found it immediately. I heard some people are sent to third floor which has waiting areas too.

 

At 8:10 the IO came out and called my name. She was really nice and we started with reading test, writing test and then proceeded to civics test. We went through my application to see if anything have changed since I filed. At the end she told me I am recommended for approval.

By the time I got home my status had changed to "we approved your application"

On February 5th (6 days later) my oath ceremony was scheduled and it is on March 13th.

 

Good luck to everyone who is waiting for fingerprints, interview letter, oath ceremony or passport book! The day you are waiting for will come!

 

[zeta054 111]

Whats the average timeline on 2018 SF Filers from filing date to scheduled interview?

 

Thanks

[zedkyuu 12]

There look to be three of us in this thread, and all of us saw wait times of a year to a year and a few weeks.

[zeta054 111]

35 minutes ago, zedkyuu said:

There look to be three of us in this thread, and all of us saw wait times of a year to a year and a few weeks.

U don’t have a timeline in visa journey. It would help others know when file date and other activities

[mitchyyy 2]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:00 AM, zedkyuu said:

I checked this morning and the oath ceremony letter is now visible. It's March 13 at the Paramount Theater in Oakland.

 

Regarding the activity questions: there's a questionnaire in the oath letter that you have to complete and bring to the ceremony along with the other stuff they ask for. It's pretty much asking you if you've done any of a number of things since your interview. For each item, it says that if you say "yes", you need to bring documents to support it, like a marriage certificate or an arrest record. These are the questions:

 

1. Since your interview, have you married, or been widowed, separated or divorced? Yes No
2. Since your interview, have you traveled outside the United States? Yes No
3. Since your interview, have you knowingly committed any crime or offense, for which you have not been arrested? Yes No
4. Since your interview, have you been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking
or violating any law or ordinance, including traffic violations? Yes No
5. Since your interview, have you joined, become associated, or connected with any organization in any way,
including the Communist Party, a totalitarian organization, or terrorist group? Yes No
6. Since your interview, have you deserted from, claimed exemption from, or been separated or discharged from
military service? Yes No
7. Since your interview, has there been any change in your willingness to bear arms on behalf of the United States; to
perform non-combatant service in the armed forces of the United States; or to perform work of national importance
under civilian direction if the law requires it? Yes No
8. Since your interview, have you practiced polygamy, received income from illegal gambling, been involved in
prostitution, helped anyone enter the United States illegally, trafficked controlled substances, given false testimony
to obtain immigration benefits, or been a habitual drunkard? Yes No

UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE
zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE
Calberry........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|01/18/19|02/25/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|02/16/19|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
JandMA......... |03/16/15|03/17|03/22|03/22|04/09/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|
DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|
SemoNowe........|02/26/08|05/29|05/30|06/02|06/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco....|IOE
Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|
isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE
SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE

2

 

[Moonski 23]

I really want to take a vacation in June/July, but I've filed my N400 in August, so I am afraid to risk buying the tickets and all that, and then missing my interview letter or an appointment. Ugh. 

I was reading that USCIS is even more backed up now than last year. Just a bit upset that we all have to deal with this..

[zedkyuu 12]

On 2/11/2019 at 4:27 PM, zeta054 said:

U don’t have a timeline in visa journey. It would help others know when file date and other activities

The table at the end of my last post shows a basic timeline.

 

On 2/16/2019 at 9:01 AM, Moonski said:

I really want to take a vacation in June/July, but I've filed my N400 in August, so I am afraid to risk buying the tickets and all that, and then missing my interview letter or an appointment. Ugh. 

I was reading that USCIS is even more backed up now than last year. Just a bit upset that we all have to deal with this..

I had about one month of notice for my interview (letter dated 12/21/18, saw it when I got back from vacation on 12/31/18, interview scheduled for 01/28/19). And the letter will be visible on my.uscis.gov.

So if you're worried about the letter arriving during your vacation, I'd say just check online every few days or so.

 

If you're worried about the letter arriving before your vacation and the interview happening in the middle of it, you can send the letter back requesting a later date. They do warn that it will delay your case, but I don't think that's a huge surprise.