jptl85

Thank you! My visa journey is over, and I wish all those still waiting a speedy rest of your journey!!

Thank you! My visa journey is over, and I wish all those still waiting a speedy rest of your journey!!

Hello all, 
 
havent been in the forum for a while but wanted to share that I had my interview today and passed! Recommended for approval; awaiting online status to change. 
 
Below is is a review of my office visit. 
 
I was at the Fairfax office in VA. For anyone going there, parking is located behind the building and is $7 for 4 hours which should be plenty. Parking spots may be hard to come by earlier in the day (09:00-10:30). 
 
Entered the office and and went to the second flr. We were earlier than 30 minutes prior so the lady told me to take a seat and come back to the desk with my interview letter 30 mins before my scheduled appointment, which I did. Right around my appt time, I was called by the officer. Followed him to the office and then the following happened
 
firstly, asked me for my current passport, Green card, and State ID. Gave him all that and I sat down while he looked through those docs. He said he didn’t need my prior passport, but I had brought it just in case. 
 
He then hen asked me to stand and he put me under oath. We started with the civics questions. They were:
 
Name one war fought by US in 1900s
Who is the Chief Justice now?
How many voting members in the House
How many years do we elect a US Rep for
What month do we vote for President
Who is the father of our country. 
 
Then went on on to the simple reading and writing test. I had to write ‘We vote for President in November’. Can’t remember what I had to read, but it was unrelated to the writing portion. 
 
He then reviewed my application with me with me and made one correction. I had listed out my full middle name, but my GC just has my middle initial. He wasn’t concerned by it, he just updated it. He asked me some but not all of the questions on the form. 
 
At the end he had me sign my application in two places, and then review and sign a form that was titled ‘Certificate Preparation form’. So I guess just verifying all the information that will be on my Naturalization cert. 
 
he then printed out a form which said he recommended me for approval, and I should hear about the Oath ceremony in 4-6 weeks. 
 
He did not ask me for any of the evidence I brought with me. But I did volunteer an updated list of my trips abroad as I had left the country for 4 short trips I applied last year. He added that to my file. 
 
The whole interview probably took 15 minutes. A really great experience, and professional officer for sure. 
 
Good luck to all still waiting. Will update once I have a oath date!

My status updated yesterday to 'Oath Ceremony to be scheduled' - hopefully the letter comes soon!

Probably another few days. I assume 7 days in total from when you got the e-notification... best of luck!

I hope it works out. Uscis are so backed up that a day later on your part will hopefully not mean curtains for your application. 
 
Do let us know how you get on. Best of luck!

If you can see half a Statue of Liberty through the little window it is likely an approval. My experience also informed delivery 

It shouldn't be too long. Keep an eye on your online status. It will (finally) update with either or both of "Your Card Is In Production" +/or "Your Card Has Been Mailed To You". When that one shows up, you're just a few days away.

No problem/restrictions with international travel as long as you have your green card (and you're correct- after Oath Ceremony until you have your passport)
 
You can always ask to reschedule your interview/Oath Ceremony if it interferes with travel plans. 

There's no legal restrictions whatsoever - if you have your green card, you can travel. At the Oath Ceremony, they will take your green card and then you cannot travel until you've gotten your US Passport. 
 
So, in between the interview and Oath Ceremony, it all depends on what your personal timeline is - sometimes the time between interview and Oath Ceremony is really short (in my husband's case it was 3 weeks), sometimes people have to wait a few months. Some people do not have a huge rush to get the Oath Ceremony over and done with and have the flexibility to reschedule if necessary. Others need/want to get it done as quickly as possible and for them, it might not be a good idea to schedule the travel in between for fear of it possibly overlapping. 
 
One thing I will note is that my husband got the letter for his Oath Ceremony about a week and a half before it took place, so he had very little notice. However, people have missed their Oath Ceremonies due to lost mail/being out of the town, etc. and they're able to reschedule. USCIS understands that this happens - it's not something to panic over! (One suggestion is - do you have someone at home that could keep an eye out for any USCIS mail while you're out of town? You could have a letter "pre-prepared" and ready to be sent by the person at home asking USCIS to reschedule if possible. We did this when we were traveling and waiting for Biometrics appointment - my mom sent in my  husband's pre-prepared letter with our dates of returning from travel and asked them to reschedule).  
 
You can always ask to reschedule the interview and/or Oath Ceremony if it doesn't work out with your schedule. My husband had to reschedule his interview due to his graduate school schedule  and he was given another date about a month later, no problems at all. 
 
 

hi
 
no restrictions, just do short trips, you need to be here for biometrics and interview
 
 

Received the approval letter today from VSC! Woohoo! Here is my updated signature for times. Can someone update me? I was one of the last of the month in terms of NOA date.
 
USCIS - Petition to Remove Conditions
09-26-2016: Filed I-751
09-30-2016: NOA Date (Received in mail on 10-06-2016)
10-03-2016: Checks cashed
10-31-2016: Biometrics (Received appointment in mail on 10/21/2016)
08-23-2017: Date of Decision: Approval (Received in mail on 8/28/2017, but not updated online still)

I will be eligible to apply on 17 sept. The reason for my 'mess things up' comment was I understand that when you apply for naturalization when ROC is pending they have to join your applications. If you were on the cusp of being approved at the SC and then they send your application to join your N400 at your local office, that may slow things down. 
 
My primary goal is to get the GC as soon as possible (I travel for work a lot), so I would hate for it to be delayed some because I rushed to naturalize. 
 
This is just the information I have gleaned from VJ, but happy to be corrected! 
 
Thanks!

Thanks for the response! NOA is 19-Sep-16. 
I might reconsider too. I had a lawyer who I spoke to about this ages ago who said you couldn't apply until ROC was approved. But I know that is not true as people on her have successfully done it. 

My GC expired in Oct 2016. The extension will expire in Oct 2017. I would suggest that you plan to get a stamp soon. I personally don't think we will get the 10 years GC by this year (esp for CSC filers). The officer in my infopass told me it can take years.

I had an InfoPass appointment today.
Processing time of I-751 is extended to 1.5 year because of amount of applications they process. It's more likely to get an interview. No updates on my case, nobody even touched it.
It took about 20 minutes to issue a stamp. They checked my passport and did their paperwork related to an extension of my status for another year. They also took my expired green card, the stamp is an equivalent, so they don't want you to carry two documents. 
The officer told me that I can submit N-400 as soon as I'm eligible. 
 

I got mine from the IRS within 10 days!

Sounds like I have nothing to lose by mailing out my citizenship application!  
I'm applying for citizenship in Aug even if I don't have my 10-year Green Card!    I just want to get it done!  

That is the thing, we don't know. I would just follow the rules and apply after I get my 751. 

Congrats! I imagine 'any' type of 10 Year GC will do for most at this point! Enjoy the end of this journey

12/17/17. 
Page 38 here: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Carrier Information Guide- English.pdf
 
 
As long as it is still valid on the day you return, it is not an issue. 
The extension letter is valid until the end of the day one year from the expiry date on the card.
You would have to be mental to do so, but you could time it to arrive at a POE at 23:55 exactly 1 year from the expiry date on the GC and it would still be valid.
 
 
I got one of mine 50 days before expiry of my previous proof of status, and another after the previous proof of status had already expired, so no, there isn't a hard 30 day rule. Remember that the letter/stamp serves as PROOF of the status, and does not dictate the status.
 
You can file your N-400 when eligible, regardless of whether the I-751 has been approved or not.
The ROC has to be approved before you can naturalise, so it in effect 'forces' it to be adjudicated, and some people report having a combined interview for ROC and citizenship if they filed the N-400 before ROC was completed. 
 

Assume you do not have a copy of green card anywhere? Agree with the above; follow the proper protocols for a lost green card. 

my wife was in the same situation, but we put her A-Number in anyways, because it was on her Naturalization Cert.
I am sure others didn't put it on, and it worked out just fine too.

I did the expedited service, and got it back within 4 days (sent on Monday, back on Friday). I think the regular service can take up to 10 days.

i would just get it done again. no point arguing, i doubt anything will change .