I-751 and N-400 combo interview report

[carmel34 3,538]

Here's a report on our combo I-751/N-400 interview this morning at the Atlanta USCIS field office.

 

The interview was scheduled for 8:50 am.  We arrived at 8 am so we used the extra 30 minutes to review all of our documents, well-organized in labeled file folders, and the N-400 application one more time.  We entered the building at 8:30 am, showed the two interview notices (I-751 and N-400), and went through security, then checked in at the reception window where an employee took my husband's photo and fingerprint to confirm his identity.  Then we went up to the 3rd floor waiting area.  About 45 minutes later, an officer came up to my husband and confirmed our names, then said he would be back in five minutes.  When he returned he asked both of us to follow him to his office.  Once seated, he asked for our driver's licenses, also for my husband's passport and expired green card.  I noticed an open file on his desk, with all 500+ pages of the I-751 submission we sent two years ago.  He then had us stand up and do an oath to tell the truth.  Then he said he would first consider the pending I-751 and ask questions that either of us could answer, and some questions directed to one of us to answer.  The first question was how we met (online initially, three months later in person).  He asked a series of questions about why I proposed so quickly (on my second trip to Brazil, only five weeks after our first in-person meeting), and why my husband was willing to commit so quickly to marriage and potentially move to the US.  I got the impression that the officer was skeptical about our relationship (we have a 27 year age gap, big income and education differences).  We explained that we fell in love immediately when we first met in person, and wanted to be together, so we got married seven months after we first met.  He then asked for additional documents to support our relationship, new information from the last two years while the I-751 has been pending.  We gave him two years' of quarterly joint bank and credit card account statements, also five years of IRS tax return transcripts, married filing jointly.  He looked at these additional documents, kept them, and then said "I am a big photo person, do you have any photos?"  My husband handed him a file folder with about twelve pages of photos, 2 per page, from marriage to now, each with a brief description and date.  As he flipped through the photos, his countenance changed.  The look of doubt from before left his face, and he glanced up and said he was approving the I-751, then asked me to leave.  I went to the waiting area while he continued the N-400 interview with only my husband.  The officer did not ask to see any of the civil documents we had brought with us, but did ask or review most of the questions on the N-400 application.  Then he asked six of the 100 history/government questions, and my husband answered all of them correctly.  After that the officer did the reading and writing tests.  Following this, he gave my husband a form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results, with two marks checked: "you passed the tests of English and U.S. History and government," and "Congratulations! Your application is recommended for approval."  The oath ceremony letter will be sent via regular mail.  We were all done by 10 am and drove home very happy and relieved that things went so smoothly.

 

Based on my prior research, Atlanta USCIS schedules oath ceremonies for 4-6 weeks after the interview.  Once that happens and he has his naturalization certificate, his US immigration journey will be over, five years after it began when I filed an I-130 petition for him back in July, 2018, a month after we got married in Brazil.  I would like to thank all the regular contributors here on VisaJourney for your very helpful advice during this long process, as it has been invaluable to benefit from your experience and sense of community.  Good luck to everyone!

[Crazy Cat 39,665]

Congratulations!!!!  Free at last!!!!

[JeanneAdil 6,255]

If u think husband will apply for any family member after he takes the oath,  keep copy of petition and basic info as it will be important later on especially the dates /its easy to forget these 

 

Congratulations

 

Schedule of oath ceremony for Atlanta

 

https://www.gand.uscourts.gov/naturalization

 

June 9, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Atlanta Division at 11:00AM
August 11, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Atlanta Division at 11:00AM
September 6, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Gainesville Division at 11:00AM
September 15, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Rome Division at 11:00AM
October 13, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Atlanta Division at 11:00AM
November 17, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Newnan Division at 11:00AM
December 8, 2023 – Ceremony to be held in the Atlanta Division at 11:00 AM

Edited June 8, 2023 by JeanneAdil

[Mike E 11,727]

57 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

As he flipped through the photos, his countenance changed.  The look of doubt from before left his face, and he glanced up and said he was approving the I-751, then asked me to leave

BuT pHOtos ARe WeaK EvIDenCe!

 

/s

 

Congratulations!

 

@Rocio0010 see? 6 pound I-751s do get approved!

 

 

[SalishSea 16,903]

Congratulations, carmel!

[just.bc 4]

Congrats!! Did you receive the interview notice for both N-400 and I-751 at the same time? I got my N-400 scheduled not even a week ago, but no movement on my I-751, so I'm worried it won't be a combo. I heard sometimes the field office calls a few days ahead to let you know, or sends additional mail. I did wait almost twice as long as those applying after 5 years, so I'm hopeful.

[Crazy Cat 39,665]

4 minutes ago, just.bc said:

I heard sometimes the field office calls a few days ahead to let you know, or sends additional mail.

I received an email exactly 2 days prior to wife's N-400 interview telling me to be there for the combo interview.

[carmel34 3,538]

20 minutes ago, just.bc said:

Did you receive the interview notice for both N-400 and I-751 at the same time? I got my N-400 scheduled not even a week ago, but no movement on my I-751, so I'm worried it won't be a combo.

No, they were separate notices, only after sending a written request.  We knew that sometimes they connect the dots to the I-751 and automatically do a combo interview after initially scheduling an N-400, but other times they don't which slows everything down.  Knowing this, my husband sent the USCIS field office a letter after receiving the N-400 interview notice, requesting a combo interview and included all the details needed to link the two cases.  Ten days later he received a separate interview notice for the pending I-751, same day/time as the N-400, stating that the spouse needed to attend.  I recommend sending a letter requesting a combo interview.  Others have uploaded a similar letter.  Some get combo interviews without asking for one, others don't.  It's the way government agencies work.

[carmel34 3,538]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

BuT pHOtos ARe WeaK EvIDenCe!

I agree that photos are considered weak, but I also believe in being over-prepared with multiple types of evidence and documents ready to give the IO when asked.  This officer wanted to see photos and it was a good thing we had them with us.  It also helped that many of the photos were of me and my husband with my immediate and extended family in various settings during the last four years.  You never know what's going to float an IO's boat.

[just.bc 4]

29 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I received an email exactly 2 days prior to wife's N-400 interview telling me to be there for the combo interview.

 

Would you recommend sending a letter to the field office requesting it? Looks like it worked for OP and many others. I'm scared if I send it they'll cancel the interview and put me back in the queue, and for example if I show up just for the N-400 and I tell them I have a pending I-751 they'll have to take a look at it, either that day or in the following days/weeks. I just don't want to make the wrong move and prolong this even further. It can go in any direction either way I suppose.

[Rocio0010 5,573]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

BuT pHOtos ARe WeaK EvIDenCe!

 

/s

 

Congratulations!

 

@Rocio0010 see? 6 pound I-751s do get approved!

 

 

I hope so!!! I want to believe that the money I spent putting my six- pounder together was well spent!

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience!

[Crazy Cat 39,665]

39 minutes ago, just.bc said:

Would you recommend sending a letter to the field office requesting it? Looks like it worked for OP and many others.

I sent one (in fact, I think I was the first).  It didn't cause any harm. 

[AnonymousImmi 0]

Did you go to interview with an attorney? How important is to take an attorney with us to the interview?

[Caligirl1 204]

10 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Here's a report on our combo I-751/N-400 interview this morning at the Atlanta USCIS field office.

 

The interview was scheduled for 8:50 am.  We arrived at 8 am so we used the extra 30 minutes to review all of our documents, well-organized in labeled file folders, and the N-400 application one more time.  We entered the building at 8:30 am, showed the two interview notices (I-751 and N-400), and went through security, then checked in at the reception window where an employee took my husband's photo and fingerprint to confirm his identity.  Then we went up to the 3rd floor waiting area.  About 45 minutes later, an officer came up to my husband and confirmed our names, then said he would be back in five minutes.  When he returned he asked both of us to follow him to his office.  Once seated, he asked for our driver's licenses, also for my husband's passport and expired green card.  I noticed an open file on his desk, with all 500+ pages of the I-751 submission we sent two years ago.  He then had us stand up and do an oath to tell the truth.  Then he said he would first consider the pending I-751 and ask questions that either of us could answer, and some questions directed to one of us to answer.  The first question was how we met (online initially, three months later in person).  He asked a series of questions about why I proposed so quickly (on my second trip to Brazil, only five weeks after our first in-person meeting), and why my husband was willing to commit so quickly to marriage and potentially move to the US.  I got the impression that the officer was skeptical about our relationship (we have a 27 year age gap, big income and education differences).  We explained that we fell in love immediately when we first met in person, and wanted to be together, so we got married seven months after we first met.  He then asked for additional documents to support our relationship, new information from the last two years while the I-751 has been pending.  We gave him two years' of quarterly joint bank and credit card account statements, also five years of IRS tax return transcripts, married filing jointly.  He looked at these additional documents, kept them, and then said "I am a big photo person, do you have any photos?"  My husband handed him a file folder with about twelve pages of photos, 2 per page, from marriage to now, each with a brief description and date.  As he flipped through the photos, his countenance changed.  The look of doubt from before left his face, and he glanced up and said he was approving the I-751, then asked me to leave.  I went to the waiting area while he continued the N-400 interview with only my husband.  The officer did not ask to see any of the civil documents we had brought with us, but did ask or review most of the questions on the N-400 application.  Then he asked six of the 100 history/government questions, and my husband answered all of them correctly.  After that the officer did the reading and writing tests.  Following this, he gave my husband a form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results, with two marks checked: "you passed the tests of English and U.S. History and government," and "Congratulations! Your application is recommended for approval."  The oath ceremony letter will be sent via regular mail.  We were all done by 10 am and drove home very happy and relieved that things went so smoothly.

 

Based on my prior research, Atlanta USCIS schedules oath ceremonies for 4-6 weeks after the interview.  Once that happens and he has his naturalization certificate, his US immigration journey will be over, five years after it began when I filed an I-130 petition for him back in July, 2018, a month after we got married in Brazil.  I would like to thank all the regular contributors here on VisaJourney for your very helpful advice during this long process, as it has been invaluable to benefit from your experience and sense of community.  Good luck to everyone!

🥳🥳🥳congratulations 😃

[carmel34 3,538]

13 hours ago, AnonymousImmi said:

Did you go to interview with an attorney? How important is to take an attorney with us to the interview?

No attorney, I'm a DIY type, and our case had no complications like past criminal record, deportations, misrepresentation, etc.  Some recommend taking an attorney if you have one already, especially if there are legal issues to overcome.