jane78

20 hours ago, KleoLove said:

Hello, 

 

shortly after my last post 2-3  weeks ago  I received my n400 interview for this upcoming Friday 9/15 am at the Los Angeles office. Excited and nervous. Does anyone know if the LA office will let you swear in that same day or if you have to return for the oath? Any tips appreciated. 

You will definitely have to return on a future date for the oath ceremony. The oath ceremony will also happen at a different location, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Good luck in your interview! If you look at my past posts within this thread you'll see my message about my recent Los Angeles interview experience and also later my oath ceremony experience. 

On 9/5/2017 at 6:04 PM, Stef990 said:

  I'm just saying obtaining a birth certificate seems troublesome, as I'm not very fluent in Thai.  Plus locating the exact hospital where I was born can be tough.  I'm not sure how well they maintain records in Thailand, I'm betting it's not very good especially in the 80s.  

Give Thailand a chance before you decide it's going to be too hard. Ask your parents to help you make the request. It's not a bad thing to have your birth certificate anyway. 

On 8/28/2017 at 4:11 AM, Going through said:

The full article stated that the clock starts ticking the moment he is/was first brought face-to-face with the judge and pleads his innocence.

Yep, it's messed up and the court even acknowledges that. 

Great thread. Here's my status on these items:

1. Voter Registration: At the Los Angeles ceremony I attended, the USCIS staff members were handing out voter registration cards during the wait time while we were waiting for the judge to come in and the ceremony to start. You could fill out the form before the oath was sworn, then after the oath was sworn you signed the card and submitted it at a table on the way out of the venue after you'd picked up your naturalization certificate. Some people around me did it then and there like me, and some just held onto it and said they would do it another time. There were also booths from the Democratic Party, Republican Party and nonprofits who do voter registration outside the venue after the ceremony. About a week ago I received in the mail a postcard from the County Clerk confirming my registration and stating that I can vote in elections held after August 2nd, 2017.

2. Passport. It took me a while to get this done. On August 3rd I called the nearest location where I could apply for a passport to make an appointment and the soonest available appointment was not until August 23rd! So I just submitted my passport application last week. I'm tracking it on this thread: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/621270-2017-us-passport-card-application-tracker/.

I do suggest that anyone who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, even if you don't plan to travel any time soon, get a passport as an extra document proving your citizenship. I know it's a bit paranoid but if this guy had a U.S. passport and/or passport card, maybe he wouldn't have spent 3 years in ICE detention.

I also would have to say that if you live in a state that has a law like Arizona's SB 1070 or Texas's SB 4, which gives local law enforcement the right to inquire about your immigration status, it might be worth it to have a passport or passport card.  Likewise if you live in the "100-mile border zone."

I also agree with the comment above -- it's much easier, faster and cheaper to get a replacement passport than a replacement certificate of naturalization if it ever gets lost, stolen or destroyed. If you can't imagine how any of those things could happen, just take a look at the footage from Houston right now. Replacement certificate of naturalization = $555, time to receive replacement = average 6 months. Replacement passport = $110, time to receive replacement = average 4-6 weeks. In my opinion every naturalized citizen should get a U.S. passport as soon as they are eligible, especially if they have relatives abroad that they might ever want or need to visit for any reason -- better to have it than be scrambling to get one in an emergency. If it was an emergency you could try to get an expedited U.S. passport before you leave the U.S. under the "life and death emergencies" category. I think that would be a better choice than taking your chances and exiting the U.S. using your foreign passport and applying for a U.S. passport while abroad. But why risk waiting for an emergency? Best to just get it as soon as your are able.

3. Social Security Card. At the Los Angeles ceremony they told us to wait 30 days before we went to the social security office to update our status. I decided for me the passport was a higher priority than the social security card. I've also heard stories on VisaJourney of Social Security Administration employees being confused by certificates of naturalization as proof of citizenship (though I doubt that would be a problem in the LA area) so my plan is to wait until I get my passport and then go to the Social Security Administration with my passport as proof of citizenship. I do plan to ask for a replacement social security card, as I still have my original social security card from when I first entered the U.S. on an F-1 visa that says "valid for work only with INS authorization." I never changed it after getting my conditional or 10-year green cards. 

4. DMV. There is no requirement to update your citizenship status with the DMV in the state of California.

Congratulations @weakheart!! I'm thrilled for you!

11 hours ago, ac8238 said:

Oh my! A+ for above and beyond...this is super helpful and very much appreciated. Congrats again and I will check in here again after

No problem, let us know how it goes! 

I'm sorry that happened to you. That must have been painful. Take good care of yourself. I hope you get a new notification very soon.

This story is chilling. Now of course selling cocaine is not a good idea. But he'd already served his sentence for that when ICE detained him -- and deprived him of his liberty for 3+ years due to sheer incompetence. Clearly there were a lot of terrible factors in play here that led to this, and I would like to believe that such cases are rare. That said, since becoming a U.S. citizen recently myself, I've found myself feeling very strange about the fact that, after years of guarding my green card with my life, I now don't have a wallet-sized proof of my legal right to be here. That's why I'm applying for both a passport and a passport card, not because I think I will be crossing the Canadian or Mexican borders frequently, but if I carry it around, no one will ever be able to question my legal status in the unlikely event that it ever comes up. The U.S. is, in theory, not a "show your papers"country, but in practice... 

http://www.npr.org/2017/08/01/540903038/u-s-citizen-held-by-immigration-for-3-years-denied-compensation-by-appeals-court

"Davino Watson told the immigration officers that he was a U.S. citizen. He told jail officials that he was a U.S. citizen. He told a judge. He repeated it again and again.

There is no right to a court-appointed attorney in immigration court. Watson, who was 23 and didn't have a high school diploma when he entered ICE custody, didn't have a lawyer of his own. So he hand-wrote a letter to immigration officers, attaching his father's naturalization certificate, and kept repeating his status to anyone who would listen.

Still, Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept Watson imprisoned as a deportable alien for nearly 3 1/2 years. Then it released Watson, who was from New York, in rural Alabama with no money and no explanation. Deportation proceedings continued for another year.

Watson was correct all along: He was a U.S. citizen. After he was released, he filed a complaint. Last year, a district judge in New York awarded him $82,500 in damages, citing "regrettable failures of the government."

On Monday, an appeals court ruled that Watson, now 32, is not eligible for any of that money — because while his case is "disturbing," the statute of limitations actually expired while he was still in ICE custody without a lawyer.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that the ruling is "harsh" but said it was bound by precedent.

"There is no doubt that the government botched the investigation into Watson's assertion of citizenship, and that as a result a U.S. citizen was held for years in immigration detention and was nearly deported," the court ruled. "Nonetheless, we must conclude that Watson is not entitled to damages from the government."

"We think that the analysis of the law by the majority opinion is clearly wrong, respectfully," says Watson's lawyer, Mark Flessner. Flessner is considering a number of possible next steps, including an appeal to the Supreme Court.

.

12 hours ago, weakheart said:

Back to square 1🔂(checking status multiple times a day🕘🕛🕝🕞🕟🕠), at interview i was told congrats i passed and all that✔️👏✌️👌,But after 2 days I received letter asking me for 2 photos☠️☠️😰😨💔‼️⁉️, sent them next day📬🙎‍♂️🙎‍♂️, got there early morning monday😏,Now all i want to know now is if my documents and interview is all good🤔 by hoping to see status change to inline for interview, rather than it saying 😠interview scheduled, i hope it changes this week, i cant take this wait too much🤒🤧😞🤐😰

Congratulations on your successful interview. I hope you'll get good news and a positive status update very soon!

44 minutes ago, topazfae said:

Requesting for interpreters this time is a hassle - the officer on the phone did NOT know how to request and had to put me on hold while she inquired others how to do it. Then, she said that it has to be 30 days in advance.  Last time, it was no problem when I requested for an interpreter for the interview with 17 days in advance.  I explained, they mailed the letter 5 business days before the original Oath Ceremony on the 24th, then 9 days before the new Oath ceremony on August 12th. How can I make a request 30 days in advance and they KNEW that I would need interpreters.  I mentioned during my interview, I mentioned again when I went for my InfoPass appointment on July 14th.  This is very frustrating!  But at least, I got the confirmation number.  Plus on the oath ceremony letter, it says - Make a request at least 10 days in advance. How would I do that if I kept getting the letters right before the ceremony?  On my application, it was marked very clear that I am deaf.

 

Just hope that there is someone there otherwise, I will end up standing, bored out of my mind.  It's a very important milestone and I would like to be part of it, not left out of it. Very frustrating.

 

Shannon

Just wanted you to know that at the LA ceremony there was definitely an ASL interpreter and it seemed that they had maybe even seated the deaf citizenship applicants in the front row close to her because she was making eye contact with individuals in the front row. It's very frustrating that you can't assume that there will be someone there for sure. Is there a way you can escalate this? This is a human/civil right and seems like an ADA no-brainer. 

@ac8238 congratulations on receiving your oath notification!! For parking, probably what you need to know is that it costs $20! Once you get close to the parking lot, the signs are pretty clear and there will be a sign saying "Citizenship Parking". I ended up parking in the West Hall Garage that you enter from Pico.  As you may know if you have been to the Convention Center/L.A. Live before, there are a few street corner lots in the area that are cheaper but for something as important as this I didn't want to be worried about getting my car into a small spot on a vacant lot and having to walk a few blocks to get to the convention center and then try to find where the citizenship ceremony was etc. so I just paid the $20. As did my husband as he was driving separately from me! Oh, another tip, the parking garage is huge and the afternoon is long and tiring so I highly recommend taking a photo of your section (color, letter and number) and don't assume you'll remember it after the ceremony, I barely remembered mine!

My notification said to get there at 1 pm but I do believe that they give people different times on the notification form simply to stagger the arrival of people so they're not all trying to park at once. I actually got there more like 12:15 and no one said to me "you're too early" or anything, it was not an issue. So I think within reason you can get there earlier than your notification. Also the earlier you get there, the earlier you get out--after the ceremony they allow groups to leave, row by row, based on "first in first out". So being a little early is going to help you. I was one of the earliest ones and I was very close to the front when the ceremony was held. If you are U.S. military or a veteran, you can go in the very front row and you will be presented to the crowd for a special recognition. I'm not sure how those people got identified but you could probably tell a USCIS officer. Some were in uniform, some not.

As you exit the parking garage there will be clear signs saying Citizenship pointing you in the direction you need to go to get into the line. I truly wouldn't be able to show you on a map where exactly I was that day, I just followed the signs and then eventually joined a line of other people. I think I was among some of the earliest to get there as when I got there, there was still a single line consisting of both applicants and guests all together. Shortly after I joined the line, a UCSIC guy told us all to "Stop!" and separate into two lines -- left line applicants, right line guests. Applicants and guests go through security screening separately and then are sent into separate areas of the big hall where the ceremony takes place.

What else... The security consists of regular metal detectors, not the machines you see at the airport. They DON'T need you take off shoes or belts. Obviously leave any weapons at home! Also I believe someone else on VisaJourney had their water in a glass mason jar and that got taken, so no glass jars or bottles. In general I would suggest bringing as little as possible. The less you bring, the less they might need to inspect. The lines look long but they move fast.

Oh, there was one inconsistency on what was otherwise a pretty well-tuned day. After we went through the metal detectors, we were told to line up at three doors. A USCIS officer said "I'm about to send you through these three doors. Once you are through, you'll see a long line of tables with officers at them. You can go to ANY table to check in, just pick the table with the shortest line. You may want to go all the way to the farthest end of the table to find the shortest line. After your ceremony, go back to the officer at that SAME table where you checked in to collect your citizenship certificate."

Well, while the first part was good advice--the final sentence of that information was wrong. It was true that when you were first checking in you could go to ANY officer at any table to check in. However, as part of that initial check-in, the officer will write on your oath notification form the TABLE NUMBER to which you should go AFTER the ceremony to collect your certificate of naturalization. It is NOT true that you should go back to the same officer who checked you in. After the ceremony you MUST go to the table number that has been handwritten on the form by the officer who checked you in. That's where you'll get your personalized certificate. A couple of people sitting around me were confused by that because of what the UCSIC officer had said to us after security clearance and before checking in at the long row of tables.

There are people selling flags, teddy bears, citizenship certificate folders, etc. etc. before and after the ceremony. Just so you know, applicants will get a free flag from USCIS as they walk into the ceremony. And once you're checked in, the USCIS staff also gives you a pretty nice certificate folder that you can keep and store your certificate in. It's not leatherbound or anything but it's good enough in my opinion.

OK I think that's the main information I have. Have a great day!

@cocann yep, I did it! Officially a citizen! Nice ceremony and the comments by the judge who led the oath were really lovely.

Could someone update the table with two things:

--my oath ceremony is scheduled for this Tuesday 7/18/2017

--I just realized I made an error on my biometrics date. The date I was assigned was 2/14/2017 but I actually did the walk-in the day before, on 2/13/2017 not a big deal but may as well get it right!

20 hours ago, ac8238 said:

Wow! We interviewed on same day, but I didnt get the text/email yet....fingers crossed!

 

Thank you so much for your detective work! I was so worried which date it may be because we had a trip planned months ago...but it looks like these dates wont conflict! Unless they dont schedule me at the convention center lol...

  I hope you get your notice very soon. I'll be thinking of you!

So, as I suspected, my oath ceremony is on the 18th--this Tuesday! Talk about quick notice. So ironic after so many months of waiting, not to mention years spent in various visa and LPR statuses

For Los Angeles field office folks, this may be interesting. At the interview the officer let me know that typically the naturalization ceremonies are held once per month at the LA Convention Center. So I thought I'd check out the Convention Center's website to see if they happen to list the ceremonies on their event calendar. Well it turns out they do and right now they are showing that the ceremonies for the next 3 months will be on July 18th (next Tuesday), August 22nd and September 20th. http://www.lacclink.com/calendar

So of course now I'm wondering if they have managed to squeeze me into a July 18th ceremony!! Probably not but hopefully I'll know soon...

Anyway, this may be useful to Los Angeles filers. 

A little less than 24 hours after my interview yesterday, I got a text message and email today stating that my case had been updated and the email/website stated "We have scheduled your oath ceremony for Receipt Number NBC***. We sent a notice with the date, time, and location of your oath ceremony to the address you gave us." Can't wait to get the paper notice in the mail.

1 minute ago, ac8238 said:

Yeah, I think it depends on your interview time then...I had a 10:00 am interview and the line was long...by the time I left the building around 11:30 there was not much of a line. 

Mine was in the afternoon and there were like 4 people in the line. So I guess we weren't in the building at the same time. Congratulations anyhow!

3 minutes ago, ac8238 said:

Congrats on your interview too!

 

Yes, we might have been on the same room! Man oh man...I was cutting it close though. The stupid security line in front of the building moved very slow. The don't tell you about this in the letter, I should have known better. They tell you not to arrive earlier than 30min before the appointment, so I arrived exactly 30min before the interview. Little did I know that there is a security check in front of the building and it almost took exactly 30min to get into the building. So just FYI for everyone, give yourself enough time.

 

 

Wow! As I mentioned above, the last time I was at that building there was no line for security, and when I went yesterday I waited for just a couple of minutes. I had no idea that the security line out front could take up to to 30 minutes. Good information to know for those going to the Los Angeles field office to take that into account.

5 minutes ago, IloveUSCIS said:

Excellent, thanks. I had visions of juggling all my job dates, and travel dates etc.. in my head. I appreciate the comprehensive response.

 

Cheers.

You're welcome! The officer who worked with me did not approach it as a memory test. It seems that they just want to verify that the info you gave originally is correct and to find out if anything has changed since you submitted the form. To prepare for the interview I would suggest going through your N-400 and checking for any errors made originally on your end, and for any changes to your status since you submitted (eg. if you have changed address, job, marital status, any new travel, any arrests, any changes to any answers on the form). Be ready to address them as the officer works through the form. But at least from my experience there was no attempt to "catch" me not remembering a specific date or anything. I suppose if there was a suspicion of your character or intentions behind becoming a citizen they could approach it that way but that was not my experience.

1 hour ago, IloveUSCIS said:

When she went over your N400 page by page, did she ask you the dates of all jobs and home addresses and travel dates, or did she just ask you to confirm them after she read them out to you? 

On the jobs pages she only asked me about my current job, whether I still work there or if my job has changed since I submitted the application.

On the address page she also only asked me about my current address, whether I still live there. She also asked me if my husband and I lived at the same address and I said yes.

For all past jobs and past addresses, she just visually scanned them and did not ask me any questions. She didn't read them out to me, she just looked at them. Maybe if she'd seen something concerning she would have asked me about it. 

On the travel page she didn't ask me the dates of travel I'd listed, she only asked me if I had traveled outside of the country any time after the last trip I listed on the form. When I said "No" she wrote on the form in pen something like "Claims no further travel". Also, although I gave her my passport at the beginning of the interview which had all the entrance and exit stamps in them for the trips I listed on the form, she didn't look in my passport to verify the dates of those trips.

It was interesting, whenever she asked a question and I answered (eg. "Have you filed for divorce since submitting this application?") I would answer and she would hand write the answer on the form but it always started with "Claims..." eg. "Claims no divorce" in other words, she's just recording my statements, not that they are verified fact. Very interesting. 

Hope this helps!

Oh I should also mention that I brought passport photos with me but was not asked for them. Still glad I had them with me in case they needed them. I get the impression that they are in a transitional time there and we might start to see more consistency one way or the other on the photos question in the future. 

7 hours ago, ac8238 said:

Sorry, meant to update awhile ago but I had my interview today and everything went well! I had it in the Los Angeles field office, so if anyone has questions about it, let me know and I can do my best to answer. 

I had mine at the Los Angeles field office today too! Maybe we were in the waiting room at the same time!

Will give a brief rundown and put this review on my Immigration Timeline too.

Pre-Interview:

The LA field office is on the 8th floor of the federal building at 300 N. Los Angeles. I'd been to the federal building once before and the last time I went there was no waiting for the security screening area in the lobby. This time I had to wait for a couple of minutes (truly, just a minute or two) in a short line outside the building, before they let me in the door into the security screening area. I took the elevator to the 8th floor and gave my appointment notice to the security guard in front of the door to the field office who said "thank you <jane78>, please wait in this room" and pointed me to a large waiting room behind him. I arrived pretty much exactly 30 minutes before my appointment and my name was called pretty much exactly at my appointment time.

Interview:

The field officer who interviewed me was very professional and friendly. This was the procedure as I remember it:

1. As soon as I walked in the door of her office she had me swear that I would answer all questions truthfully

2. Had me give her my greencard, driver license and passport

2. English reading test (gave me one printed sentence to read aloud)

3. English writing test (spoke a sentence and had me write it down)

4. US Civics/History (asked 6 out of 10 questions and then stopped as I had gotten them all correct). I don't remember every one of the questions but they included:

Who is in charge of the Executive branch? (the President)

Name one reason why colonists came to America? (religious freedom)

What was the main concern of the U.S. during the Cold War? (communism)

5. Went through my N-400 pretty much item by item. She didn't dwell on anything for too long but just systematically went through each page. I had made a couple of typing errors eg. I put my greencard date as 02/07/2012 when it was actually 02/07/2013. She simply corrected it on the form with her pen. She was understanding about it, not suspicious or critical. Notably, although I had brought the originals of my husband's birth certificate to prove his citizenship and of our marriage certificate to prove our marriage, along with tax transcripts for the past 3 years, she did not ask to see any of these documents. Of course, I would not recommend to anyone that they leave such documents at home based on my experience, as she certainly had the right to ask for them.

6. When we got to the question about the oath I asked for modified language (removal of "so help me God"). She crossed that wording out on the oath page, explained what I would do during the oath ceremony (when the judge gets to that part, replace with with "I so affirm"), then had me sign the oath page. Just want to say she was completely neutral and respectful of this request, no judgement or negativity.

7. Printed out a sheet of paper with my details on it and and had me review them for my certificate of citizenship (A#, name, height, city of residence, country of original citizenship etc.)

8.  Gave me my "Naturalization Interview Results" (N-652) form that said I had passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government and that my application had been recommended for approval. It was stapled to a sheet giving general information about what to expect at the oath ceremony.  She let me know that I should receive an oath ceremony notification with 30-45 days.

8. Took a xerox of my greencard, driver license and passport.

9. Asked if I had any final questions and said congratulations!

Such a relief. My best wishes to all waiting for their interview to be scheduled or with interviews coming up. And my congratulations to those with oath ceremonies coming up or who have taken the oath!

2 hours ago, topazfae said:

Jane78 and Diago - Congrats!!

 

Recommend to bring two passport pictures just in case - they asked for them at the interview and I didn't have them.  It varies by field office- it's best to bring than having come back to drop off.  If they didn't need it, then you can use those photos for the passport.  I wished I knew this before I had my interview, one of my workers is in the line for an interview and I warned him to bring photos just case.

 

Shannon

Thanks, I appreciate the tip. I'm glad I logged back into the forum today after not being on it for a while. I will have time tomorrow to get some taken after work. Thanks again!

By the way I got a text from USCIS on Friday and wondered about that. When I logged in nothing had changed from the last time I checked. With my interview coming up on Tuesday, I just assumed it had something to do with that. But it sounds like the website update was the reason.

Thanks to those who setup the Google spreadsheet. All my info is correct and the same as on this thread. 

My interview is this Tuesday. 

I am spending today going through my N400, getting my original documents together (birth certificates, marriage certificate etc.) and other supporting documents, and studying up on my civics questions.

By the way if you get curious about any of the topics in the "Learn About the United States" book (M-638) and want to know more, this is a good website for anything pre-20th century. http://www.americanhistory.com/history/ShortHistory/shorthistory.html It's an e-version of an American History textbook aimed at students published in 1908 written by Harvard history professor Edward Channing . The language and historical approach is a bit old-fashioned but it's very accessible and straightforward and hits all the "big picture" topics in pre-20th century U.S. history. It's not necessary for the test but just for general interest for those who grew up elsewhere and never took American history in school!

Thanks to everyone for the support. I haven't been very active on this thread but I do appreciate hearing about everyone's experiences and I will come back to report on mine.

At some point it looks like I got dropped from this list so I am adding myself back in as well as updating to show my interview letter received and interview date.

N-400: January 2017 Applicants