anniesdream

My  son did the passport first as it takes 10 days for SSN to update your information. It took 2 weeks for the new passport to be delivered. And then he went with SSN, Driver's license and Bank, Insurance.

There's no right or wrong. You could go with SSN, Driver's license and Passport. 

We received the Naturalization paper and court order for name change. Hard to believe this whole immigration journey for me and my son has finally ended!  Really appreciate this helpful community! God Bless! Thank you all!

Username         Expedited       sent               cashed            trackable        PP received               NC received                                Location

Anniesdream    N                   7/12/2019     7/15/2019      7/16/2019     7/31/2019                   8/2/2019                                  Atlanta (GA) USPS

My son's passport received on 7/31/2019. Could anyone update the info for me. Thanks!

12 hours ago, hobbitspouse said:

You sent it on 7/12 and they already shipped it back? Fast.

Yes, I received the status update and the USPS tracking information yesterday (7/29/2019) . Expected delivery by Wednesday (7/31/2019). 

@FinalStrech  Thanks for adding my son's information!

Just received an update, his application status has changed to "shipped"

Anyone could help me update my son's Passport tracking info, Thanks!

Username         Expedited       sent               cashed            trackable                                                                       Location

Anniesdream    N                   7/12/2019     7/15/2019      7/16/2019                                                                     Atlanta (GA) USPS

My son received his notice for oath ceremony. He took the interview in March 25. Since he applied for name change, it took 3 months for him to get scheduled for a judicial ceremony in Atlanta. It's actually faster than I expected. Thank God this long journey is coming to an end. 

On 5/28/2019 at 8:04 PM, lesleypowers said:

Hi everyone,

 

I lost my green card recently and it’s extremely expensive to replace as I’m sure many of you know. I am however now eligible to apply for naturalization and was planning on doing so. Will I be able to complete my application without a green card? I have all my other paperwork in order, the letter that came with the green card etc.

 

Thank you!

You could consider filing I-942, Request for Reduced Fee or I-912 Request for Fee Waiver if you are eligible for fee reduction or fee waiver. They both cover fees for I-90 and N-400 forms.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-942

https://www.uscis.gov/i-912

12 hours ago, sind27 said:

Yesterday I received a text message stating that interview was scheduled, they will mail the letter but in my uscis account where I filed my n400 don't say nothing yet, still saying that it take it longer than expected... should i trust this??

How it was??

It took a couple of days for the interview letter to be available on my son's uscis account. But we did see the update message in the account that new action has been taken right after we received the text message. 

The interview went well. Since I did the same process 2 years ago, it seems that they have made a lot of changes now according to my son's experience Back then I only went to the small office to take the test and have my documents verified by one IO and the whole process took only 15-20 minutes. But my son said now you'll have to go through one window to verify the document and then go to the other window to take the test and then the third window to double check the document again. He said the whole process took about 1 hour. They were very thorough in checking the doc. So be sure to bring all the original documents with you. Also it may sound rare but they did ask my son to submit 2 passport photos. I don't know if it had anything to do with his name change but I would recommend bringing photos with you just in case. 

Our office is Atlanta. 

The interview letter is available online today. The interview is scheduled on March 25, 2019. 

We just received the email from uscis stating that they have scheduled my son's interview. The appointment letter is still not available online. 

He applied on 04/30/2018,  NOA dated  05/14/2018, walk-in fingerprint 05/18/2018. Paper based applicant at Atlanta. Interview schedule email received 02/15/2019.

Fingers crossed for all the May filers who are still waiting! 

Thanks

21 hours ago, morpheus1234 said:

I will be able to apply for naturalization soon and I'd like to have my name changed on the naturalization certificate (cosmetic name change of both my first and last names).

I live in Cupertino, CA. I've read countless posts about the subject and still have a few questions:

I understand that I'll need to go through court to have my name changed because in CA a judge is not present at the oath ceremonies.

1. Would it be safer/better to do the name change through the court before sending my N400 and starting the naturalization process? All the posts that I read talk about first starting the naturalization process and requesting for the name change on N400 and then doing the name change through the court. I can't seem to understand the benefit of that over doing the name change first. Which one is a safer bet? Is there a way to have the name change court fee waved?

2. How do I figure out which court I need to file the name change petition? I know there is a court in San Jose and in Santa Clara.

 

Thank you so much! 😊

The  difference between changing your name before and after naturalization is the name on your naturalization paper. If you change your name before, then your new name will be on your naturalization paper. You can apply for your passport and update your name on your SS Card with your naturalization certificate. But if you change your name after naturalization, you will either apply for a replacement of the naturalization certificate with $555 or keep both of the court order of name change and the naturalization paper with the old name as proof of your name change for the rest of your life.  But if your change your name before naturalization, you will still have to consider updating your new name on your current passport if you need to travel internationally.  

I'm not living in CA, so I'm not sure about the name change in California. Here's the website you probably could seek info : http://www.scscourt.org/self_help/probate/namechange/namechange.shtml

Here's for fee waiver: https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-feewaiver.htm

Hope it helps.

Good Luck!

19 hours ago, Ire-Atl said:

So i applied in April 2018 for my citizenship, initially the estimate for approval was Oct 2019... so I was very surprised and happy to see this week that I have been scheduled for my interview March 13th in Atlanta... will be delighted to get through this all, and be done!

Congrats! And thank you for sharing the info! Finally Atlanta is moving to April 2018 filers! Good luck!

11 hours ago, Steven and Alice said:

And if North Cali don't hold judicial ceremonies, is it better to submit legal name change through court before naturalization oath ceremony or after. 

If the name change is marriage based,  which is changing the last name to your spouse, the marriage certificate will be sufficient and USCIS will be able to change the name on your naturalization paper.

Otherwise you will have to file a name change on court. It's the best that you file the name change before filing N400 so you can use your new name in the form with the court order. If you've already filed N400, it depends on the processing times of your N400 and your name change in the court. If the court order comes before your interview, you could still bring the court order and ask for a name change on your naturalization paper. If the court order comes after your interview and oath ceremony, you can either choose to keep the naturalization certificate with your previous name and the court order as a proof of name change or pay $555 to file N565 for replacement of a naturalization paper with your new name on. The latter should be optional as court order is valid proof of your name change. 

Disclaimer:

This is intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions. An attorney should be contacted for advice on specific legal issues.

On 7/9/2018 at 7:22 PM, ohman said:

I was just looking and the state ID can take up to two months, so this information really helps.

 

About state ID, I can only speak for Georgia. It does take about a month to receive a state ID but they do issue a temporary paper ID on the spot that's valid for about 30 days. 

1 hour ago, little immigrant said:

I don't agree with getting a new certificate. You have the name change court order. With that and the naturalization certificate your wife gets a US passport and/or passport card with her new name. Which is also proof of citizenship. As you said just keep the documents together and you'll be fine. You'll only need the naturalization certificate once and that's when you get your passport. 

 

Congratulations on your wife's naturalization. 

Agree. But there are other scenarios where you may need your naturalization certificate other than applying for passport, such as when you are applying for green card for a family member or when you are applying for a gun license as some states require it. So it's a personal decision whether to replace it or not.

Good luck!

3 minutes ago, Going through said:

That is awesome paper filers are able to download/view documents sent out now!  When I filed last year, paper-based applicants were reporting they weren't able to even SEE the documents muchless print them out.

Yes, I guess we should give credit to USCIS for making technological progress:)

54 minutes ago, nickymicky said:

so when we send paper application to USCIS and after receiving first NOA and they put everything in their system it is same like we filled online application.. is this correct ? the process goes smoothly like online application

At least in my son's case, they did put everything in the system and set up an online account for him. But as far as the processing time compared to online filing, we'll still have to wait and see.

7 minutes ago, Going through said:

I know you can sign up for a USCIS account no matter how one files---but the access to PDF files is something I hadn't heard of recently---is your son able to print out or view biometrics appointment/interview appointment letters?

Right, it's not the uscis case status account for any case but a specific account @ myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov where he is able to check Case Status, Case History and view and download Notices. He filed in May 2018.

4 hours ago, Going through said:

Sort of.

Starting in 2016, information from paper applications were manually entered/uploaded into the online system which does generate the applicant an IOE number, however it is still a paper application (no "real-time" status updates or PDF viewable/downloadable letters as online applicants get---hopefully they are able to change that part for paper applications in the future).

That is not true. My son filed paper application and he received an IOE number along with a notice instructing him to set an USCIS online account where he could easily view or download any NOA letters as online applicants.

On 6/20/2018 at 7:26 PM, Plarka said:

My husband submitted the fee waiver application with his N-400 application.  We are well below the 150% poverty level.  He just noticed there's a pending transaction on our credit card for the full amount of the application!  He sent the application about a week ago.  No mail from them yet.  Does this mean he was denied and they're just taking the money???

I don't quite understand. When you request for fee waiver, you'll have to file paper version which means you don't need to attach a check or your credit card info to the application. How could USCIS  possibly charge you the amount of the application fee?

2 hours ago, hermit said:

Here's the Google sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CRXPJXGNip4bFIDoUE3PyCtguHqwmN_ExuJhSmXoves/edit#gid=0

 

Awesome! Thanks! Just added my son's info!

Good Luck, everyone!

Hi May filers, my son filed N400 on April 30th by mail under five year rule. He did the early walk in on May 18, 2018 as he plans to take a trip back to China at the end of May. Could someone please update his info for me. Thanks! 

 Good luck everyone!

GC date: 7/29/2013

File date: 4/30/2018

Check cashed: 5/12/2018

NOA received: 5/14/2018

Biometrics scheduled: 5/29/2018

Early Walk-in: 5/18/2018

Field Office: Atlanta, GA

13 hours ago, spousewaitingvisa said:

I was told that another way is to request name change at the county court and then get court order BEFORE filling out the N400 form. -- no need to put new name on name change section on the N400 form, just legal name (new name), exact name on green card, other name (old name) and blank on name change and attach a copy of court order.  That's quick way.  You might get an oath on the same day or in a short time. (administrative naturalization ceremony?) That's what I was told.   Anyone, is that right?

 

If you request name change during the interview, you won't get an oath on the same day or in a short time. (yes, judicial ceremony)  It will take awhile.  That's what I was told.

Well, I can't speak for other states, but in Georgia, name change involves paying the filing fee ($200-300), giving public notice like the local newspaper and attending a hearing. That doesn't sound very appealing to me.  Plus, as a green card holder, name change also include updating the change on your current passport and green card. In my county, DMV takes green card as the ONLY legal immigrant ID so in order to change name on my DL, I'd have to file i-90, replacement of the green card.  I'm not sure about the case in Maryland but here's a post from Florida who had the same issue after changing her name before naturalization.  So yes, applying for name change during naturalization can lead to prolonged waiting time but I still think it's the most hassle-free way to do it. 

On 4/1/2018 at 8:55 PM, MahUSA said:

I also have another question, If I am keeping both my first name and last name, does requesting to not include my middle name on the naturalization certificate require a formal name change request or can I ask for it during the interview?

I think removal of your middle name is a legal name change and you need to file it on N400 form or request it during the interview. Either way, you will need a court order from a judicial ceremony.