N-400 January 2024 filers

[jackiegringa 359]

2 hours ago, samdog said:

I randomly got a letter in the mail yesterday (47 days after applying) that was just confirming the receipt of my application. I already did get the NOA and biometric use within a week of applying, so I have no idea why they sent me another letter this week.

 

No news about interview, though - Saint Louis, MO office.

Hey St Louis FO here too. Seems like our office is not as fast as others!

[Shroy123 737]

2 hours ago, zentaco said:

Woke up this morning and saw that my oath ceremony was scheduled for March 15th. Seems like USCIS is moving fast this year (not that I mind)!

what is your field office?

[jackiegringa 359]

3 hours ago, Rearviewmirror said:

 

Your three year anniversary is in August?! That's pretty confusing as your interview will be before you're eligible to be approved. Unless you mean you've already passed the 3 years.

Op has been a green card holder for a long time, it would be nice if everyone filled out their timeline!

[zentaco 28]

8 minutes ago, Shroy123 said:

what is your field office?

It’s the San Jose office.

 

It’s a bit funny hearing about a really nice USCIS officer, as I described mine to my husband as possibly the most middle of the road as I could get (not too nice but not scary, we had a pleasant conversation about how expensive it is here and how everyone comes here for work 😂).

[samack 79]

I'm officially a US citizen! 30 people from 19 different countries were in my ceremony today but it went by so fast! I think we were in and out in around 1/2 hour.

 

It seemed like everybody got there at the same time so the line stretched from security into the waiting area for interviews. Family members were sent into the ceremony room first and then the rest of us had to hand over our green cards/EADs and confirm the information on our naturalization certificates. They *did* use my entire name (my IO confirmed that dropping the second middle name would have required a name change and I'm not bothered enough to go through that process) but when they handed out the certificates they just referred to everyone as Mrs./Ms. or Mr. Last Name.

 

I think the bulk of all ceremonies are essentially the same (videos, call of countries, oath, pledge of allegiance, etc) but they let family members come to the front of the room for the oath for pictures and video. My husband stood right in front of me and filmed the whole thing! 

 

I will say that one of the coolest and best parts of the ceremony was seeing everyone interact with each other. There were people there with multiple family members and people there by themselves, but I don't think anyone felt alone. People were offering to take pictures for others, complete strangers were taking pictures together, families were hugging, one man got both of his small kids from the family section to be with him while he took the oath, and everyone applauded for everyone else. It was really nice to see.

 

Its been a *long* day but I'm so glad the whole process is over. I don't intend to ever go back to that office unless I somehow lose my certificate (*knock on wood* because they told us it costs around *$600* to replace it!) or I randomly find myself working there someday. I think the least friendly people we encountered all day were the security guards and even they weren't that bad. I hope everyone has a similar experience at their FOs! 

 

Now to register to vote, update my SSN, and (eventually) get my passport!

[minivatreni 142]

21 minutes ago, samack said:

I'm officially a US citizen! 30 people from 19 different countries were in my ceremony today but it went by so fast! I think we were in and out in around 1/2 hour.

 

It seemed like everybody got there at the same time so the line stretched from security into the waiting area for interviews. Family members were sent into the ceremony room first and then the rest of us had to hand over our green cards/EADs and confirm the information on our naturalization certificates. They *did* use my entire name (my IO confirmed that dropping the second middle name would have required a name change and I'm not bothered enough to go through that process) but when they handed out the certificates they just referred to everyone as Mrs./Ms. or Mr. Last Name.

 

I think the bulk of all ceremonies are essentially the same (videos, call of countries, oath, pledge of allegiance, etc) but they let family members come to the front of the room for the oath for pictures and video. My husband stood right in front of me and filmed the whole thing! 

 

I will say that one of the coolest and best parts of the ceremony was seeing everyone interact with each other. There were people there with multiple family members and people there by themselves, but I don't think anyone felt alone. People were offering to take pictures for others, complete strangers were taking pictures together, families were hugging, one man got both of his small kids from the family section to be with him while he took the oath, and everyone applauded for everyone else. It was really nice to see.

 

Its been a *long* day but I'm so glad the whole process is over. I don't intend to ever go back to that office unless I somehow lose my certificate (*knock on wood* because they told us it costs around *$600* to replace it!) or I randomly find myself working there someday. I think the least friendly people we encountered all day were the security guards and even they weren't that bad. I hope everyone has a similar experience at their FOs! 

 

Now to register to vote, update my SSN, and (eventually) get my passport!

Congrats on becoming a citizen!

[Caitlin Kennedy 63]

On 2/22/2024 at 4:11 PM, red12345 said:

Chicago, IL

Is the address for that ida b wells drive? we are doing the cover letter and i want to include the address. so same place for the first gc interview?

[cardia 144]

On 2/5/2024 at 8:57 PM, cardia said:

Logged in today to find an update: my interview has been scheduled for mid-March. Filed Jan 1, so this is shockingly fast.

 

Hey, everyone! A little over two weeks to go until my interview and I'm nervous. Filing under the 3-year marriage rule, could someone give me feedback on the packet I'm bringing to the interview?

• Green cards: 2-yr, 10-yr; EAD/AP card
• My Philippine passports that I used to enter; corresponding I-94
• Spouse's U.S. passport
• Birth certificate: mine, spouse, and our child's
• Marriage certificate
• 4 years of IRS tax return transcripts
• Leases for our current and past 3 years of residences, affidavit for 1 year of residence together at spouse's parent's home
  • Renter's insurance for our current home
  • Electric, water, and Internet bills for the past year at our current residence (should I be bringing 3 years' worth? I can't even find them anymore as they are closed accounts for our previous residences 😬)
• Beneficiary pages for our brokerage accounts, spouse's life insurance
• Pages stating current status for joint health insurance
• Bank statements dating to the start of our marriage, about 5.5 years worth (should I bring less of this? 😅)
• Joint car title

[minivatreni 142]

2 hours ago, cardia said:

 

Hey, everyone! A little over two weeks to go until my interview and I'm nervous. Filing under the 3-year marriage rule, could someone give me feedback on the packet I'm bringing to the interview?

• Green cards: 2-yr, 10-yr; EAD/AP card
• My Philippine passports that I used to enter; corresponding I-94
• Spouse's U.S. passport
• Birth certificate: mine, spouse, and our child's
• Marriage certificate
• 4 years of IRS tax return transcripts
• Leases for our current and past 3 years of residences, affidavit for 1 year of residence together at spouse's parent's home
  • Renter's insurance for our current home
  • Electric, water, and Internet bills for the past year at our current residence (should I be bringing 3 years' worth? I can't even find them anymore as they are closed accounts for our previous residences 😬)
• Beneficiary pages for our brokerage accounts, spouse's life insurance
• Pages stating current status for joint health insurance
• Bank statements dating to the start of our marriage, about 5.5 years worth (should I bring less of this? 😅)
• Joint car title

Seems like you’re more prepared than most people and have everything you need. Don’t forget your drivers license as well. Is it a combo interview? 

[leilabird 18]

14 hours ago, Rearviewmirror said:

 

Your three year anniversary is in August?! That's pretty confusing as your interview will be before you're eligible to be approved. Unless you mean you've already passed the 3 years.

I’m very confused. Not sure what 3 year you’re referring to. I’ve been a permanent resident since 2015. Nearly 9 years

[cardia 144]

30 minutes ago, minivatreni said:

Seems like you’re more prepared than most people and have everything you need. Don’t forget your drivers license as well. Is it a combo interview? 

 

Thanks for the reassurance. I know, it is likely overkill, but I'm reminded of the time where we were ill-advised to not submit any evidence with our AOS by the lawyer that we'd hired. By sheer luck we didn't get RFE'd before our interview was scheduled, and the IO was quick to commend us for our preparation when he saw that I had come with probably a literal ton of evidence. To help ward off the anxiety I'm doing the same thing with naturalization!

 

Not a combo interview, they waived me at ROC. Good call on the DL, I usually have mine in my wallet but I think I will move it into my folder to have it for quick access.

[cardia 144]

Commenting again on this thread as I review the civics questions before I head off to bed: this is so strange, to be at the finish line after all these years. I attended high school here in America and reviewing these questions made me revisit my memories of U.S. history class, and that feels like eons ago. It feels like I've come full circle, lol!

[minivatreni 142]

22 minutes ago, cardia said:

 

Thanks for the reassurance. I know, it is likely overkill, but I'm reminded of the time where we were ill-advised to not submit any evidence with our AOS by the lawyer that we'd hired. By sheer luck we didn't get RFE'd before our interview was scheduled, and the IO was quick to commend us for our preparation when he saw that I had come with probably a literal ton of evidence. To help ward off the anxiety I'm doing the same thing with naturalization!

 

Not a combo interview, they waived me at ROC. Good call on the DL, I usually have mine in my wallet but I think I will move it into my folder to have it for quick access.

If it's not a combo interview then you're more than prepared with all the evidence you're bringing. Good luck keep us updated on how it goes for you 

[Rearviewmirror 380]

6 hours ago, leilabird said:

I’m very confused. Not sure what 3 year you’re referring to. I’ve been a permanent resident since 2015. Nearly 9 years

 

Almost everybody else in this thread is filing under the 3 or 5 year rule, and given that you haven't filled out your timeline I assumed you were in the same boat. You said your GC anniversary was August, which would have meant your interview was before it had been 3/5 years since receiving your original greencard. This doesn't apply to you given you've already been a greencard holder for more than 5 years.

[samdog 54]

On 2/28/2024 at 12:09 PM, jackiegringa said:

Hey St Louis FO here too. Seems like our office is not as fast as others!

Yeah it seems like they are slower than some of the others. USCIS says that estimated completion time is 5 months, so hopefully July/August timeframe? No idea why bigger/busier offices (DC area, California, NY, Chicago etc.) are faster than STL. I know a friend who had their naturalization done in under 4 months in 2021 so it looks like our office has potentially gotten slower since then.