Darth Vader Kuu

Aside from the oath letter and Greencard, what else should I bring? The list says "other immigration documents" which is pretty vague. I'm hoping others can tell me their experience on what is asked for or what I should bring just in case. There are no changes with my situation from interview to oath. thank you!

Required:

1) Green Card

2) Oath Ceremony notice/N445 (duly filled and signed the day of your ceremony)

3) Any travel documents other than your Green Card issued by the USCIS since you become a Legal Permanent Resident (Advance Parole, Refuge Permit, etcetera)

4) State ID

Recommended:

1) Passports (just in case your run into an immigration officer who wishes to verify your international travel since the interview)

2) Social Security Card (in case you have enough time to run down to the Social Security office and update your status)

3) Two passport photographs (at some ceremonies, applicants are given facilities to apply for their US passports; two passport photographs would be quite handy)

Congratulations and good luck!

Yes, it is still "In line for scheduling intervie". I did not know that it also changes to "interview scheduled". Thank you everyone for your help!

Then you have nothing to worry about yet. Wait till it changes to:

Testing & Interview

On XXX 00, 2014, we scheduled you for your testing and interview and sent a notice providing the date, time, and location

and then look out for the letter in the post which should normally arrrive about five to seven calendar days after that update. based on the information you provided, your interview has not been scheduled yet.

Good luck!

Congrats! that's good news for Tampa filers...

Do you know where the oath ceremony is and how often do they have these ceremonies?

second stage,

I do not know where the oath ceremonies are held, but here is some information on frequency:

Judicial ceremonies (usually those requiring name changes) - once a month

Administrative ceremonies - once a week

Same-day ceremonies (I'm guessing strictly administrative) - available, but not always offered

http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices/florida-tampa-field-office#Naturalization

How long after you guys reicved the text or email of getting scheduled for interview did you guys recieve the actual letter with your appointment details?

Five days in my case and three-five days is what I have seen on this forum with most cases.

Congratulations!!

Obrigado, alix!

Then apply for US passport and give up Mexican citizenship.

Do NOT give up your Mexican citizenship unless you simply feel like doing so. The Mexican government has permitted, since 1998, that its citizens hold dual nationality if they so wish, and that acquiring US citizenship no longer strips them automatically of their Mexican citizenship.

I had the exact same six questions !! Well, congratulations !

Darth Vader Kuu, congratulations !

Thanks, Myles2986!

(and to Mistere, second stage, and Christi85 for your encouragement)

Updating: received a telephone call a short while ago that my N-400 application has been approved.

Wise_Hawk,

I hope you will take this in the helpful vein in which it is intended: at the risk of sounding callous, I (if I were you) would pay equal attention to raising the standard of my spoken and written English as it sounds you intend to do with your knowledge of US Civics. Earlier in this thread, a poster remarked on this (I believe somethng along the lines of the proper speling of "schedule" which continues to elude you), and you and another poster jumped all over him for being rude. Whether or not the remark was rude, the fact remains that it was not completely remiss. As you may have noticed, a poster (in fact, the same person who made the accusation of rudeness in your defence) was unfortunately sent back to the interview line for failing to display adequate language skills at the initial interview for naturalisation. The comprehension of English is something that could easily, and understandably, be underestimated, but it would seem that it's just as important as everything else.

I do not know how strict the New York City USCIS standards for assessing English language skills are, but if they are half as strict as seems to be the case in Oakland Park, I would spend the rest of my time between now and the interview to giving serious effort to raising my proficiency. Luckily, the standards for English language testing for the purposes of naturalisation are absurdly simplistic meaning that, with the right motivation, this should be no problem for you at all.

I wish you all the best. Do continue to keep us apprised of your progress.

Hello every one I am practive my 100 questions I am having problum some question let me know pls I have yo gave alll answer on those question or I gave one of each cause every question have some points so if any buddy have an experience let me know pls

1-what did decleration of indepence do ?

2-what did the emancipation proclamation do ?

3-why do some states have more repres than other stat ?

4-what does the judicial branch do ?

5-who makes federals laws ?

6-what did marther luther king jr do ?

Yyyy the reason I am.asking u guyes becouse those question have some points to answer so do I have to gave all points answers or any one point pls update me if any one have an exp for that.

Cause I had an interview on 12 augest

Yes. Standard.

I had my interview on Friday the 18th at the San Bernardino, CA Field Office and wanted to share my experince hoping that maybe it will help someone.

I left my house with plenty of time to compensate for Friday traffic and unforeseen situations (didn't want to be late or in a hurry), even though the office is only 30 minutes away and I’m glad I did. I encountered traffic and Google navigation was close but not exact, weird because the map was correct. I arrived at the Field Office building 40 minutes before my appointment time. Looks like a fairly new building, plenty of free parking all around the building and the entrance is in the back of the building, they have a security check point with a metal detector (just like at the airport) and there were about 20 people waiting in the security line. The line moved a little slow and the metal detector was very sensitive, it beeped twice on me so I removed everything that had metal and emptied all my pockets into the bin that they x-ray. A lady had a metal fork in her purse which slowed things a bit, they did not let her dispose of it inside the building and was asked to take it back outside, so she did and had to wait in line again. After I made it through security they asked me what I was there for and I was directed to take the elevator to the 2nd floor. Right outside the elevator was a reception area with a tray on top of the counter, I told the lady I had an appointment and she asked me (with a very serious face and a short glance) to place the appointment letter in the tray, take a seat and wait to be called. There were approximately 30 people in the waiting area which had a sign with max occupancy of just over 160 (167 I believe), so it looked pretty empty. They had four or five entrance doors to the interviewing offices and also a restroom. There were signs saying that cell phone use was not allowed, but I guess they meant talking on it because a lot of people were using their cell phones (texting or ?), I left my in my car.

So I was about 20 minutes early and a little over dressed, most people dressed casual and some looked like they were on vacation on a tropical island, so much for appropriate attire. Some people in the waiting room looked very pensive, others nervous and some were doing last minute reviews on the civics questions. A few people were called in as I waited, a few tried unsuccessfuly to walk in with their companions, exept for lady that was legally blind, I was a little apprehensive of the unknown, but kept my cool and waited patiently when all of a sudden a male IO came out of one of the doors and called my name 5 minutes after my scheduled appointment and asked me to walk with him to his office (one of many), he stood behind his desk and asked me to remain standing, asked me to raise my right hand and was sworn in, he made eye contact without blinking, and I did the same.

He was very serious, to the point and business like, but very nice. He had a binder that was about a quarter of an inch thick including the 21 page N400 application on his desk, asked to see my green card and driver’s license (did not ask for the yellow letter that I received asking me to bring ID) compared them both against my N400 application and made some check marks with a red pen, then he proceeded to ask and verify every question on the application, asked if I wanted to change my name, asked about my wife, kids, job, address, aliases, etc... wrote some things down and made check marks. When he got to the cited/arrested part, I mentioned that I've had traffic fines (tickets) in the past, he asked what they were and if I paid for them, I told him yes and he just kept going. When he got to the yes/no questions, he made it a point to look at me straight in the eyes (maybe to see my reaction), he then reviewed every quickly one more time made some notes and took out a piece of paper that had three questions on it, he said he was going to test my english reading and writing skills, then proceeded to ask me to read the first question (Where is the White House?) he marked it correct, then gave me a piece of paper and asked me to write "The White House is in Washington, DC", he took it from me, looked at it and said thanks.

He then took out another piece of paper with 10 questions and asked:

What is the supreme law of the land?

Who vetoes bills?

What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Who did the United States fight in World War II?

What is an amendment?

What is the capital of your state?

He then stamped, checked and stapled a bunch of things. Had me sign a couple of forms. Reviewed everything and gave me a form (N-652) that said: Naturalization Interview Results:

You passed the tests of English and US history and government

Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval. At this time it appears that you have established your eligibility for naturalization. If final approval is granted, you will be notified when and where to report for the Oath Ceremony.”

He then asked me if I had any questions, I said no, he said congratulations, have a good day.

I followed him to the exit and that was it. Not painfull at all.

Over all a good experience, better that I expected.

He did not ask to see, the yellow letter, tax transcripts, extra passport pictures, passport, selective service letter or any of the extra stuff I took with me just in case, only green card and driver's license.

Now I just have to wait patienly for an oath ceremony date.

Good luck to you all!!!

Excellent detail and congratulations!

To ext: actually, it's not kind of implied at all. The US government spells out its requirements for naturalisation fairly cogently. It's that simple. Just saying...

You need to be familiar with the eligibility requirements for naturalisation which are basic and non-ambiguous: good moral character, continuous residency in the statutory period, physical presence, age of majority and not already a US citizen by virtue of citizenship of a parent. It's that simple and has nothing to do with your employment history, your trips abroad (provided they do not contradict the previously stated eligibility requirements) or the baseless musings of a random official at an airport.

Once you understand these fairly straightforward things, you will realise that this airport officer you spoke of did not make a "good point." To avoid doubt, why do you believe that the airport officer, in giving his opinion, made a good point?

JohnR is almost completely correct. However, to be clear and to answer your questions:

1) You generally cannot owe taxes and be considered a person of good moral character; however

2) There is no requirement to submit tax filings with your application unless

3) You are:

a) speifically asked to do so by a Request for Evidence and/or

b) you are filing under the three-year statute and are submitting them under the USCIS-recommended documentation demonstrating an on-going marriage and co-habitation with a US citizen

I never said accummulating less than 30 months of physical presence in the United States during the statutory period could be surmounted when eventually applying for naturalisation. As long as you are applying based on US residency of five years, you clearly need to accummulate at least 50% of those five years (30 months or a minimum of 913 days) physically present in the United States; if you have not accummulated at least 50% of that time yet then you need to delay your naturalisation application till you do.

Replying to ext:

1) You do not have a big problem. If everything you've described above is correct, and there are no potential barriers in your application or immigration history such as crimes of moral turpitude, than it would seem that you have so far established eligibility to naturalise as a United States citizen

2) The immigration officer at your last port of entry does not have authority to decide your naturalisation eligibility and probably is not even familiar enough with the eligibility standards and how they are applied to arrive at such a bold and misleading conclusion

3) Even if you did have trips lasting over six months (which you should always avoid as much as possible since your residency is in this country), documentation of legitimate reasons (schooling, working abroad with a US company, visiting/caring for non-US resident relatives, etcetera) are accepted as long as you continue to satisfy other aspects of the physical presence and continuous residence requirements

4) Google "USCIS + 913 + physical presence" and read the first three paragraphs of the USCIS link that comes up. Once you have read it, you will see indeed that you do not have a "big problem."

Good luck!

Never leave anything blank. Surely she knows at least the year and maybe month of the mom's birth? If not, write a short explanation as to why.

Disagree!

There are instances where information is not known, an N/A response does not apply, and a written "short explanation" becomes cumbersome and distracting. In my cases, there were a fair number of questions I left blank because they fell under the criteria just described. My interviewer was happy to address those with me during the interview and make notes left in the blank spaces provided.

Sometimes, less really is more.

Ah, got it, lol! I guess when you said you were "hoping that IO will give them some difficulty" it sounded like something a native french or spanish speaker would say, but it seems it was just a type error.

Good luck to your parents!

Thank you, second stage.

As for your parents, just try to help them document each of their trips. I cannot speak for their travel motives, but inasmuch as you're able to document these trips, it's even more important to explain them. Your parents must demonstrate that they did not abandon their residency during their statutory period

Incidentally, are you a Spanish/French/Portuguese speaker?

Thank you, second stage.

As for your parents, just try to help them document each of their trips. I cannot speak for their travel motives, but inasmuch as you're able to document these trips, it's even more important to explain them. Your parents must demonstrate that they did not abandon their residency during their statutory period

Incidentally, are you a Spanish/French/Portuguese speaker?

Darth, your one "COOL" dude!!! I would be freaking out if I were you. I guess since you did your research, you know that there's nothing to worry about. I might have the same issue when I do my interview and if I do, I hope to be as cool as you are. God speed and all the best to you.

You're*

Thanks! I don't see a real need to freak out yet since all follow-up activity has resulted in the promise of a definitive response within a definitive time-frame.

I also look at the broader picture: the immigration officer had initially wanted me to return "within this month" after sending in my additional documentation via mail which would have added substantially more time than what is taking place under the present scenario.

Thanks for the concern though. Very kind!

Wow, Dart Vader Kuu, this sounds like an ordeal you're going through! I'm very sorry they're keeping you waiting and that you didn't get to meet the supervisor today! I'm sure they'll give it to you in the end, but I wish you didn't have to go through all this to get there. Keep us posted. Hopefully things will resolve soon!

To be honest, I'm not really worried. The Miami Office is very accessible and my interviewer who has so far been quite forthcoming has assured me he'll follow up with me directly. I definitely will keep you posted. My primary purpose of posting my interview experience was to educate about the physical presence requirement (around which there seems a fair bit of confusion) and certainly not to alarm.

This question is to individuals that went to citizenship interview recently. My wife applied for citizenship based on 3 year marriage. She went through biometrics. On June 30 her status online change to "testing and interview". However, it did not mention the date but mentioned to call if we don't receive anything within 90 days. However, we still did not receive anything on interview. Now I am a little worried that it is lost in mail (it has been 17 days since status changed). Is this normal? Should I call them? I just don't want to call if this is normal not to bother them. Thank you. It would be ideal if someone from San Diego reently went through this and had first hand knowledge how long it takes between change of status and receipt of the interview notice in mail.

Can you copy and paste the contents (hiding any specifics like dates, etc.) of the case status under "Testing and Interview" that were updated on your USCIS online case status so you can be better advised?

If the case status reads something like:

"On July 16, we scheduled your N-400 application for interview and sent you a notice..."

then it's time to act right away and not wait for ninety days. You say only seventeen days have passed since you saw an updated status which is still fine. It seems that the update of an actual interview being scheduled posts on the same day that the notice is mailed. Given that, from my observations anyway, notices generally arrive within three to five days and contain an interview within four to five weeks of the arrival, I would speculate (again, if, and only if, your case status reads as above) that your interview date is sometime in the week of August 4 - 8 (give or take a few days).

As someone mentioned, it would be a good idea to call the USCIS Customer Service Centre, polite request to be transferred to a Tier 2 officer and:

a) get the officer to confirm any interview appointment details with you over the telephone

b) if indeed an interview has been scheduled, ask the officer to send another appointment notice and

c) suggest that while you wait for the new notice to be sent, that a copy be faxed in its stead

Good luck!

I have walked in bio on July 11, there not response for anything in the usics website. my bio date should be July 22. do you think the early walkin is not speeding the process. my 5th year GC date is Aug 13. I saw lots of people do early walk in.

It is not likely that attending your bio-metrics appointment ahead of schedule will speed up your application if you filed early on inside the 90-day window preceding your eligibility date. I have not seen any conclusive evidence of this either way, but previous debates in these forums as well as careful observation would suggest that this assumption is fairly reasonable.

Minor Correction

Follow-up Interview Experience

I arrived at USCIS at about 10:00 am as I still had to wait for a few faxes to come in prior to showing up for my follow-up interview. I passed through security, checked in with the receptionist who called my interviewer from yesterday to inform him of my arrival. The receptionist informed me that my interviewer was presently conducting an interview and would emerge to fetch me from the general waiting area when he was done. I was directed into the general waiting area which had far fewer people in it than yesterday. I’d say twenty-five if I had to guess.

In less than fifteen minutes, my interviewer from yesterday emerged, announced my name and escorted me to his office. He asked me to have a seat and informed me that the Field Office Head (the one who wanted to review my application with me in person) was presently tied up and would join us soon. I asked if that meant I needed to go back to the general waiting area, and he said no; he would review the additional documentation I had brought. He did remark as he was escorting me to his office that I had been quite meticulous in my application and that my disclosed travel was a 100% match to the database checks. He also said that I had quoted the physical presence requirement correctly and that it was good for him to know that, be sure of it for the future, and to know where to reference it should the need arise. He said that in all his years at that office (I did not ask how many years exactly), mine were the highest number of absent days he had reviewed.

Additional Documentation

By the time I added today’s folder to my A-File (which he also had on his desk again today), the aggregate folder, if stacked on the floor, would have reached up past my knee.

I had been broadly asked to submit documents that:

a) confirmed that I had always maintained residency within the United States: for this, I provided bank statements, credit card statements, filed tax transcripts, employment letters and residential leases (it is important to note that I was never out beyond six months, but the documents had been provided simply for an abundance of evidence)

b) certain information regarding the nature of my employment that is specific to me

He asked me a few questions about each set of documents, and ten minutes later we were done.

Supervisor meeting

He made a phone call to check on the office head, but was informed that he was still tied up. He apologised and suggested I keep waiting. He said he had no more applicants to interview himself that day and had his “supervisor” hat on; in other words, he would spend the rest of the allotted interview time reviewing and giving final approval to applications that had either been recommended for approval by his peers, or denied and needing supervisor sign-off. Sure enough, three junior officers popped in while I was waiting to get approval and/or guidance on their cases. The interviewer and I then shot the breeze for a fair bit, and then just when I was starting to think I’d be there all day, a harried man walked in without knocking and mentioned my name hesitantly. I stood, assuming , and correctly so, that he was the office supervisor. He extended his hand, apologised for being late, and informed me that we could not meet today. He told me that he would give me a call and then left. I thanked the immigration officer, and asked what the next steps were. He said to wait for the call, but that I shouldn’t be alarmed about anything. He promised to make sure I had a follow-up directly from him within “a day or two” regardless of his supervisor’s time-frame. I thanked him, and he walked me out.

The entire follow-up lasted for about forty minutes.