HuffyTheSlayer

Nice Rosie and USA82

update from my side:

Mom passed and got Oath date. All our NBC journey is almost over.

Dad and I already applied for passport at USPS locations.

Yay! A HUGE congratulations to your Mom! You must be so proud of her . I am always so in awe of people who naturalize without English being their first language. I take my hat off to you all. I don't think that I could do it myself. And a big congrats to everyone else who finally got their oath dates and were finally able to naturalize! To those who are still waiting hang on in there, the end is almost in sight!

We have some big news here. We have moved... to England! Yep, we missed having a visa journey so much, we started another one soon after I naturalized. I think we must be crazy, but c'est le vive!

Checking in to see how my fellow January filers are doing. Very busy right now, but wanted to stop by.

my visa journey is finally over today .... no more uscis yay !!!

Yay, congrats Last Stand!

And congrats to everyone else on the progress towards ending their VJ!

Not sure, but I think the Los Angeles oath ceremony is the only place I've heard of that accepts passport applications at the ceremony. They set up a small USPS-run station behind the stage for people to file their applications.

Did anyone else have a USPS station at their oath ceremony outside of L.A.?

Oath on the 26th in Brooklyn @ Cadman Plaza!

Congrats, notscenenough!

It's probably in your mailbox already cause I got mine today! Go check! lol. We'll probably be in the same ceremony on June 27th at the convention center.

Hahaha... You were so right! Came home from work and there was the letter waiting for me... I got June 27th LACC woohoo!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo! Congrats scriber & Raul y Karla!

Got my oath letter today in mail. June 27th @ 12.30pm @ LACC

And another LA VJer! How cool is that?

CONGRATS!!!! See you there

I think you guys should meet up at or after the ceremony and take some pics for us! How fun to have so many VJers naturalizing at the same ceremony.

Good Day

Has anyone here had there interview for naturalization recently at San Bernardino?

It's been 2 weeks now and my husband hasn't receive any letter of appointment for his oath taking schedule

Who can we contact regarding this matter? USCIS?

thank you

sdee11, I had my interview on San Bernardino in March. Here's my timeline below:

02/02/2012: Biometrics Appointment

02/06/2012: In line for Interview Scheduling

02/08/2012: Scheduled for Interview. Notice Received

03/19/2012: Naturalization Interview - Passed!

The only people you can contact is the USCIS and even if you get to speak to a Tier 2 officer I think they would tell you to wait and that this is within their timeline. Have you been checking your status online at the USCis website?

I'd like to know as well!! I will be having my interview there soon I hope.

EspoMan, see my timeline for interview above and best of luck!

Thank you so much. HuffyTheSlayer!!

No problem, sdee11. Hope your hubby gets his oath letter soon. The LA ceremony is HUGE and takes a long time to get everyone seated, but it's a nice experience, too. Fingers crossed your husband gets one of the June ceremonies (there are 2, one in the morning, one in the afternoon).

Good day everyone;)

My husband passed his interview yesterday (May 22, 2012)

So, how may days, weeks will he wait for the letter of schedule on his Oath of Allegiance?

Kindly post your answer on my profile or send me message so i could read it once

Thank you

I was interviewed at San Bernardino. Here's my timeline:

03/19/2012: Naturalization Interview - Passed!

03/27/2012: Oath Ceremony Letter mailed

03/30/2012: Oath Ceremony Letter Received

04/17/2012: Oath Ceremony - US Citizen!

So just under a month before my ceremony. All the San Bernardino applicants go to the big oath ceremonies in Los Angeles. Here's the schedule for Los Angeles: http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/clerk-services/naturalization-ceremony-locations-and-schedule

I would hazard a guess that your husband will probably be invited to the June 27th ceremony. He will probably get his letter within 2 weeks.

Does getting the biometrics speed anything up? from everything I read they still go by priority date when scheduling and there does not seem to be any increase in processing time by doing early biometrics.

Any thoughts? Does it speed the process along?

In the January 2012 Filers thread I had the same biometrics date as another filer who filed one day before me, we live clear across the country from each other. They went and did early biometrics. I did not. We had interviews on the same day and ended up with our oath ceremonies being one day apart from each other (I was one day before, but really oath ceremony date just really depends on where you live, whether they offer same day oath, etc).

In my opinion it does not make any difference at all to your processing. I'd only really recommend attempting it if you can't make your appointed date for whatever reason.

Certificate of Citizenship is what you get at the oath, but it's pretty big and you cannot carry it with you all the time

I do not carry a passport card with me. Just saying "I am a US citizen" is enough. Well, just in case, I have a scanned version, a PDF, of my certificate on my smartphone.

Yep, there is no law requiring that you must carry proof of citizenship. I was worried about this too (even though I am white, British and therefore unlikely to be "profiled"), but you just state you are a US citizen. I don't think they are legally allowed to make you "prove" it, though some law enforcement officers might try and make out like they have the right to ask you and pressure you.

I would get a US passport, since as we started this journey as immigrants we are likely to want to visit friends and family in other countries so we will need something for that. You also need to take your naturalization certificate with you to update social security, so they can change your status to US Citizen, but I think that SS and the Department of State are the only people you will really need to prove your citizenship to. Possibly the DMV depending on your state.

If you really feel the need to carry some kind of proof (even though you are not required to do so), then I would either get a US passport card when applying for your passport or make a colour copy of your naturalization certificate and fold it up and carry in your wallet/purse? Personally I've decided just to carry my state ID.

I finally got that precious little bit of paper back that I kissed goodbye to back on April 17. Today I opened my mailbox and found that my naturalization certificate had returned back to me. So I am finally all done. US passport & CoN are now safely in my hands. So happy to have it all finished.

I will be sticking around to see the rest of the January filers through. You guys are great and have so much patience. If you are sill waiting, hang on in there. I know there's not much we can do to help how you feel, but we're here for you are hoping things go smoothly and quickly for the last stretch of your visajourney!

Houston, TX oath ceremony today: 1646 new citizens from 114 countries.

Done!

Yay! :dance: Congrats, Nich-Nick!

So had my interview yesterday. Only waited 10 minutes past my interview time. Went fairly smoothly, I mentioned I had a 13 week old and she spent most of the time talking about her kids and parenting style. Only waited 10 minutes past my interview time.

Only hiccup was on my selective service registration. I had to go back and drop off a statement saying that I was over 26 when I entered the US and therefore did not sign up for selective service. I saw the same officer this morning when I dropped it off. It was a good thing too as she forgot to give me back my drivers licence when I left yesterday. She said I should receive my oath either in June or July. I already got an email saying the have received my additional evidence. So it is finally over. Thank goodness. Good luck to everyone else.

Civics questions:

1. How many Senators are there?

2. When was the constitution written?

3. What ocean is on the East Coast?

4. Name one state that boarders Canada?

5. What does Freedom of Religion mean?

6. I FORGET THE LAST ONE

English test:

Read: Where is the White House.

Written:

The White House is in Washington, D.C.

:thumbs:Great job, calibound. And congrats on the little one! Enjoy, they grow so fast.

Updating the list...

Rylee and I got Naturalized yesterday! We are now a USC :dance:

Woohoo! :dance: Yet more new citizens for the January Filers! Congratulations, pinktulips & Rylee! Hope you had a great time.

Application Type: N400 , APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION

Your Case Status: Oath Ceremony

On May 18, 2012, we placed your application in the oath scheduling que. We will send a notice when the ceremony is scheduled. If you move prior to the scheduled ceremony, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

OMGGG, how much longer is this gonna take?

I am running out of patience you guys

Hang on in there, notscenenough. You're so close now. You will get there soon, crossing my fingers you get your oath letter mailed this coming week.

Finally my interview letter arrived!! :dance:

Yay! Glad you finally have a date, Rosie! Better get studying!

Got it back today guys, thanks for your reassurances!

It was a little worse for wear though. It was in a USPS Certified Mail thin cardboard envelope that was bent by our mail person to fit in the mailbox. Even worse though was at some point SOMEONE STAPLED my CoN (I assume to my application). So now there are 2 holes in the corner. *shrug* At least I got it back, I guess. I was concerned because I had no copy. I submitted my passport application and CoN together at my Oath Ceremony. All I had were some cellphone photos I took of it before I submitted it so that I would at least know the number and all the information on it.

I will be scanning it first thing in the morning (scanner is in our child's room).

Glad all the new passport filers have their passports in their hands already. I got my CoN back in the mail today. My postal carrier shoved it in the mailbox and the passport processing center stapled it! So it's a little worse for wear. But the bend will go with time, but there are 2 holes in the corner now. On the other hand, at least I have it.

Lots of action for us January Filers since I last checked in!

we received the oath ceremony schedule letter today! My wife is scheduled to be at the US courthouse in Indianapolis at 9am on Thursday, May 24th.

Woohoo! Congrats, bayojona. Almost done!

Looks like it's gonna be a race between us.. no sign of any IL for me either..

Aww, I hope you hear something soon Rosie! Have you checked other threads to see what wait time tends to be for the San Diego office?

We got the oath ceremony letter yesterday. It will be in Jacksonville on 06/08 at 7.30!

Lot of driving for my husband and I can't go with him. Kids are already off school by then and we are in Orlando until the weekend. Any other weekend, but no complaints at least he will be done!

Sib

Sucks that the timing isn't a little better for you guys, but at least you will finally be finished with the USCIS!

Finally got my IL and interview is on June 18th.

Yayayay! They took their good sweet time with that, USA82. I hope it will be quick for you from here on out.

well seem like in NYC things do move forward.

got a message that on may 14 they lined me up for my oath (oath letter I guess at this point should be compiled).

suppose to reach me this/next week with some formal news about the scheduled date.

my TRIP tmeline for all those new yorkers that are wondering about where they taxes are spent at Federal Plaza:

applied 26th of january

did fingerprints on 8th of feb (walk-in as the letter was stating 15th as the fingerprint date)

interview 3rd of May (got a congratulation form after a pleasant interview experience)

hope that by the 4 months milestone, will have all sorted out.

That actually looks like a pretty quick timeline for NYC.

Reporting from LA . Had my interview . It went pretty smooth. Had a waiting time of an hour and then was called in. The IO was very nice and took the oath to tell the truth in the interview process.

we started with the english test and then the civics and history test. Came out with flying colors in both

Went thru my paperwork, and asked me questions from my application. The only topic we talked a bit more was about my work history where I was before where i am working now. also address wise where I am residing now and where I was before.

That was it. All done in 10 mins. At the end she said congratulations and handed me the paper and told me I will be getting a mail for oath in 3-4 months ::::::

Woohoo! I think you'll probably be taking your oath in June, the LA oath ceremonies are HUGE! But it's worth it. It's pretty impressive to see that many people all in one place.

UPDATE: Oath ceremony done.

:dance: Congratulations on becoming a USC, waithatter! What a relief, huh?

Don't worry you will receive your certificate in separate mailing. give it another week or 2. got mine 3 weeks after I received my US passport. hope this will lessen your anxiety. lol, have a good one.

Thanks, Lawren. I appreciate it. It does make me feel a little better about things.

When I received my US passport last June 2011, my certificate of citizenship came in the same envelope with my passport. I am not sure it was because I used a service company that expedited my passport or not.

If you expedited, then maybe. I am guessing things are probably different/quicker that way.

It took 2 to 3 weeks in my case to get the certificate back. I would wait for one more week and then call them if you do not receive it by then.

Thanks, nwctzn. It is reassuring to hear the same kind of wait time from 2 other people.

I got my passport stuff in this order

1. Passport

2. Cert of Naturalization - received 2 days after I got my passport

3. Passport Card - received 4 days after I got my passport

Wow, that was quick, Pandawars. I wonder if they're punishing me for not spending the little extra for a PP card.

Hi Everyone,

I received my US passport back 2 weeks ago on Thursday, but I am still waiting to receive my Naturalization certificate back. Is this kind of wait time normal? I will be calling the department of state tomorrow to enquire if they still have and/or recently mailed my certificate. But am I worrying over nothing? With what I read here on VJ I am worried that perhaps it got lost or stolen in the mail system and don't want to leave it too long in case there's a chance to track it down.

I got my passport a little while ago, but haven't received my back CoN yet. Anyone know who should I call? It's been a week and a half and I'm getting nervous about it.

Was able to call and get it worked out.

Thanks to all the people that gave constructive advice.

Calibound, if you have time, can you add a little more detail about what they said/arranged? It might help out other people who find themselves in similar situations in the future.

Did my oath ceremony in Boston today, right in Faneuil Hall, the birthplace of the Revolution. It took about 3 hours all in, we all got US flags to wave. The judge called out everyone's country, amazing to hear where people were from. We did the pledge and then got our certificates. I had mine in my hand for 30 minutes and went right to the post office to apply for my passport. Thanks to the VJ community , you guys have been a great resource for my immigration questions. Good luck for those still waiting!!

Wow, how cool, Fuzzymiss! Congrats on becoming a USC!

So finally got an email for interview scheduled and should expect to see IL in 14 days. Expecting it to be sometime between June 7th and 12th.

Woohoo! Glad that they finally got to your file. Not sure if your call helped or not, but maybe it did because it may have forced someone to actually look at your file.

Aight, well I finally got through the USCIS phone lines and spoke to the officer.. Who told me I could come by right now and bring the selective service stuff. After a 20 min drive to Manhattan and another 20minutes of looking for a parking spot, and 30 minutes of waiting in line to get into the building, I handed him the stuff and it looks like it's done now. The wait for oath date begins again.

Glad you got it sorted. Even if it was a headache to get to the building.

Oh gee that is one of my nightmares!! I actually lost a diamond ring on a flight once. I was fiddling with it and fell asleep. I don't know if someone next to me stole it, or it fell on the floor but I was allowed back on the plane to look for it and it was gone. I'm convinced someone stole it.

then another time I had a plastic bag with my glasses and computer mouse hanging off my rolling case (instead of repacking it into my carryon and blocking the aisle when getting out) and it wasn't until some time later i noticed a HUGE hole in the bottom of the bag that my glasses (my only pair) were straddling. I'm still not sure if I lost something but I didn't notice anything missing but gee that made me panic too. Since then I'll only take STRONG plastic bags with stuff, not regular cheap grocery ones...

That's the worst part of travelling like that... if you lose something normally that's it, it's gone. Scary! i'll remind mum about the plastic bag thing

Sorry that you lost your ring. But yes, now when we travel we put all our passports and tickets, reservations etc. into a strong fabric folder. We take them out as we near the front of the line and make people wait while we put them back in after showing them to immigration, etc (except for that short walk from the gate check-in to going onto the plane). Not risking loosing them again, and I just doubled the number of passports I have!

Just remind your Mum to double-check she has everything "secured" before moving from one part of the airport to another. I got so, so lucky that day.

I am still waiting for my IL. It seems like I am going to be the last one on this forum...

Hoping that you get good news by the end of this week, USA82. Are you signed up for email updates from your online status? I hear the Hartford office is going through some changes right now, which I am guessing is what is affecting your application. You might want to call the USCIS to check your case soon.

Thanks What happened with your passport? Scary!

I was at Salt Lake City airport and had just gone through security, just beyond security was an escalator. I was in floods of tears from saying goodbye to my then-fiance-now-husband (I think we all know that feeling!), I got on the escalator and was waving to him and unbeknownst to me, I dropped my passport on the escalator. My hubby says he thought he'd seen something slip from my hands, but because I hadn't looked for it or anything, that it probably wasn't important. Plus he had no way to tell me I'd dropped something.

Anyway. I went down the corridor (fortunately SLC is a small airport) and went to the checking desk for the gate, they asked for my passport and I realised I didn't have it! I panicked a bit and then hoped it was just a case that I had left it with security and doubled back looking for my passport. I got to security JUST as a cleaner was walking up to them with my passport. So security and the cleaner gave it back to me. I got to wave to my hubby (passport firmly gripped in hand) one more time and everything went smoothly from there.

Thank GOODNESS for that nice cleaner, though!

Hope that your Mum's visit is less dramatic and that you have a wonderful time together. I'm pretty sure she will be fine making her connection at DFW.

Question to those who got their oath appointment letter already: What did your online status say before you got the letter? Did it update and tell you that a letter of appointment was sent? I'm always checking my online status to see if it has been updated.

Mine did. My timeline is in my signature. I don't think this happens for everyone though.