-Shana-

On April 23rd I had my oath ceremony, I'm officially a US citizen! I got there 15 minutes before my appointment time and went through security then up to the second floor. There was someone there to double check my letter and asked me to sit in a specific place in the waiting room. They then called people up one by one based on where they were sat up to the check in desk. Someone was there to ask some of the questions that you answer on your letter, then he took my greencard and I got a number on a little US flag. I was then instructed to sit in a specific place based on my number, I saw a little commotion when (I'm assuming) the wife of an applicant was there and insisting that she needed to be in the room. I couldn't hear exactly but eventually they convinced her to wait outside since only interpreters were allowed in. 

The person who ran the ceremony was miserable, haha. Very solemn about the fact that we don't get the full ceremony because of Covid. He mentioned that "just because you're not getting the full ceremony doesn't mean it isn't special" and Covid this Covid that about 3 times. He then went on to say the usual speech then made us all swear the oath, then we gave ourselves a round of applause and sat back down and waited to be called up one by one to get our certificate. We got a very stern warning to check our certificates for errors, because if we leave the building and there is a mistake we'll be charged $600 to change it. Once I had my certificate in hand I went into the waiting room, checked it (all good) and left. I overheard someone asking if we needed to sign the certificates there and then but an IO said no, sign it later. No passport application area, no photos allowed inside, it was very much an in and out situation. For me, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since I'm not one for ceremonies! Would've appreciated someone a bit more light hearted though to welcome me in as a citizen not some doom and gloom man 🤣

Since Social Security offices are closed and passports are appointment only, I decided to apply for my passport first since I'll have to mail my naturalization certificate with my application and then once I have my passport I can use my passport to change my SSN card. Glad to almost be done with the process, happy to have had a place like VJ to help me since 2015, and to everyone else still waiting hang in there and I hope you get results soon!

On April 23rd I became a US citizen! I'm stoked that my immigration journey is over and I have this forum to thank for helping me every single step of the way. The next step is getting a US passport, I would have done the SSN first but their offices are closed due to Covid and I didn't want to mail my Naturalization certificate twice. It'll take a while for my passport to arrive so I'm not out of the woods just yet but thankful to be at this point. Hang in there y'all! 

1 hour ago, Semii said:

He applied on March 2020 for n400 atlanta but still no biometrics? 

Try this: https://egov.uscis.gov/e-request/Intro.do

3 minutes ago, Semii said:

He just get someone on phone thank you 

You'll have to give us some more details on what his problem is in order for us to help. What's he applying for? Where is he in the process? Does he have a myUSCIS account?

Doing a quick search on VJ usually gives good answers on what number to use, what to say, etc!

30 minutes ago, Semii said:

 I have friend he try to called but no answers?What we have to do to reache customers services he trying to spoke with someone but he can't?

Who is he trying to call and why? What number was he using? 

1 hour ago, MJS2020 said:

Thank you for the response. So you’re not really changing your name in the eyes of USCIS and don’t require a judicial ceremony.

Exactly! 

23 hours ago, MJS2020 said:

You’re also changing your name, right? Where will your oath ceremony be held? Also, does your letter indicate if you can bring anyone with you to the oath ceremony?

 I'm changing my surname to my married name. It's going to be held in the same place that I did my interview. The letter says I cannot bring guests.

14 hours ago, Semii said:

Congratulations we have same day what time they ask you to come ? 

Thanks! My oath ceremony is at 9:15am. 

I received the hard copy of my oath ceremony letter today! 

14 hours ago, MJS2020 said:

 Niiice. You’re almost there! I wonder though if the 1.5 months between an interview and an oath is longer or shorter than normal. 

Thanks! So happy it's almost done!! Unsure, but I'm guessing it's longer due to covid safety measures. Only allowing a certain amount of people in the ceremony room for it to be safe will delay things. 

On 3/10/2021 at 9:53 PM, MJS2020 said:

Congratulations! Please let us know for what date your oath is scheduled when you get it. Also, are you changing your name?

Oath ceremony letter was uploaded later today, my oath ceremony is on April 23rd! Same location as the interview.

18 hours ago, CMFries said:

Congratulations! If you have the time, it would be great if you could post about your interview experience in the US Citizenship General Discussion forum. I have an upcoming N400 interview in Atlanta and would definitely appreciate it.

Of course! I'll just post it here. I arrived at the office 15 minutes before my interview time as stated in the letter. There was a line going through the glass doors leading to a security checkpoint. The officer was asking everyone what time their appointment was, I believe everyone said 2pm (like me). I was asked to put my belongings in a tray and then wait for my bag to be searched by hand since the xray machine was down. Some people were pre-emptively grabbing a tray, the officer didn't seem to like that, so I waited to be told what to do! I stepped through the metal detector and my bag was searched, then I walked into the lobby area to get myself ready. I wasn't told where to go, but I remember my interview letter said that my appointment was on the second floor, so I called the elevator to take me up. When I got out, there was a line to the right, so I joined it ready to check in.

I waited about 10 minutes in line, there was a temperature machine thingy that everyone had to put their forehead near to confirm no one had a fever and then I was called up to the glass window. I handed over my interview letter, my picture was taken via webcam then my left and right index finger was scanned. I was told that my interview would be on the third floor and I was assigned a number. I went back into the elevator and sat in the waiting room to the right. There was a screen that was calling out some numbers but no one knew where to go (the interview rooms are behind a locked door) so everyone waited in the room until someone came to collect them. Other IO's just walked into the waiting room and called ticket numbers out themselves instead of using the system. My IO did the latter, he guided me into a corridor and into the interview room.

He said I could put my things on a chair then asked me to stand near the desk and raise my right hand to swear I would tell the truth. Then I sat down and he began with the civics test. He asked who can vote, what's the political party of the president, what ocean is on the east coast, who's the speaker of the house, who signs bills to become law and what is the name of the president. Then he asked me to read a sentence that was on a tablet, then I got up to write "We have to pay taxes" on the same tablet. Then he went through the yes/no questions that are in the application. I was asked to sign two forms on the tablet, one because he made an adjustment to my employment status (it had listed unemployed but I'm self-employed so he fixed it) then asked me to sign a form that says I took the test. After that he printed out a sheet that said I had passed my test and will be approved for naturalization and explained that my oath ceremony will probably be in the next 3-4 weeks "probably here in this building". He asked me if I had any questions, then led me out of the office and I thanked him and that was that!

He was an older man, very calm and very nice. We had a quick chat about Boulder, CO (I used to live there) at one point. When I asked him to repeat a question he was very clear and understanding. It made the experience a lot less stressful! 

15 hours ago, MJS2020 said:

Congratulations! Please let us know for what date your oath is scheduled when you get it. Also, are you changing your name?

I got an email to say my oath ceremony letter has been mailed, but the pdf hasn't been uploaded yet. I change my surname to my married name and there have been no problems whatsoever. 

20 hours ago, JuLu said:

Congratulations!

 

Quick question, do you need to bring all the documents you've sent in with the application with you? I have a lot so I'm unsure. And what did they asked during the interview?

I brought a lot of documents with me but they only asked to see my interview letter and green card in the end! Better to be safe than sorry and delay the process was my thinking. Even though it was a lot of paper 😔

The questions I was asked was who can vote, what political party is the president, who is the president, what ocean is on the east coast, who is the speaker of the house and who signs bills to become law. 

Had my interview today, I passed! My oath ceremony is going to be scheduled for a later date. So close to this journey being done!

Had my interview today, I passed! My oath ceremony is going to be scheduled for a later date. So close to this journey being done!

On 2/17/2021 at 2:27 PM, njennings14 said:

I got my appointment date is gonna be 17of march. and now my estimate time is February 2022  I assume its not correct estimate . do you guys know when they might schedule oath after interview?

Check on the VJ timelines (best on desktop and not on phone) to see people who have passed the interview in your office and see if their oath ceremony was the same day. Otherwise, google "[location] court oath ceremonies" and see if they have dates listed online. You'll probably get scheduled to the next oath ceremony, but it'll give you an idea.

If my interview goes fine I might get my oath ceremony a week later, March 19th. 🤞

20 minutes ago, sami5000 said:

My uscis site showing below , is this true or just glitch ? and if its true what is the process ?

Estimated wait time:

18 days

What stage are you at in the process? I saw my estimated time be 19 days then I got scheduled an interview shortly after. It might not be a glitch! 

3 hours ago, PonJor said:

P.S I LOVE Tonari no Totoro

2 hours ago, SparklePony said:

How can anyone not love Totoro?

I see you both have excellent taste 🧐😍

7 hours ago, ThaOne said:

OOPS! I missed the part about the pictures. NO do not make copies of them. Depending on how many you uploaded, if not a whole album, bring what you uploaded or just a few. As for additional evidence: bring whatever you think is pertinent and if there are some updated info. But as any lawyer would tell you, do not volunteer additional info. Only give what is asked. Like I stated at my interview I had my tax information, but when we went through the n400 he asked :"so you have been paying taxes every year right?" I said "Yes", and he didn't ask to see my documents although I had them and he moved on. The same way I had lots of other documents and some updated documents but aside from my old passport, my GC which he explicitly asked to see, I did not volunteer anything else. Only hand what he asks for.

Now if he is looking at a bank statement for 2019 and there is something he doesn't like about that document, or a name written differently, then if you have an updated 2020 which you think clears that up, then you mention it and hand it to him. If not asked, "don't tell". The big mistake would be to walk in there and start handing everything you brought with you, because then you are raising the chances that a decision cannot be made on the spot, because he and maybe his supervisor are technically required to go through any additional evidence. They may not have the time to do it the day of your interview and end up sending you home without the "we are recommending your case for approval: Congratulations..." which trust me is the most liberating piece of paper after a 1 year long process.

Bring everything, give only what is asked. Avoid RFEs that, especially with covid, can push a decision months back.

Hope that helps.

Great point about only giving what's asked, thank you so much for your response! Can't wait for this immigration process to be over 🤣

16 hours ago, Semii said:

If you travel overseas for how long you have to be here in us before your interview  ? 

No idea on what the official answer is, but I'm guessing if your interview is within the 2 weeks when you returned from abroad they'll reschedule you. If you have a choice, I'd recommend not traveling because it might delay your interview by several months. 

On 2/5/2021 at 3:30 PM, ThaOne said:

Tax transcripts are actually what they require (from IRS.gov). Some attach the actual tax returns, but the official checklists state to attach/bring tax transcripts. So if you have those, definitely bring them with you and that will pass with any officer. That's what you should have attached initially. Now depending on the officer from what I have read here many times some have just accepted the tax returns. But in a few cases they got a "no decision" at the interview because the officer was strict and asked for the transcripts so they received an RFE.

And finally, as this is USCIS and a lot has to do with what officer you get, mine didn't ask for anything. I filed under the 5 year rule and brought the tax info only at the interview but he just asked if I paid taxes every year. I said yes and he moved on without asking to see anything.

My recommendation to you though is on top of bringing the transcripts if you have them (which would avoid getting a no decision and RFE), to bring whatever you had attached during the application just to be on the safe side because that's what the interview letter says:" bring all documents that were attached at the time of application". If you get a strict officer who says the letter says to bring exactly what you uploaded initially, then you will get an RFE and that may delay your case a long time after that. It may be a lot of paper, but you are almost at the end of the line, so why take any risks of delay?

On 2/5/2021 at 11:28 PM, Ninahi said:

My only advice is to always prepare for the worst! It may be annoying to gather all the originals or create copies of what you already submitted, but it is better to have it than having to explain why you don't if the IO happens to ask for it. 

 

Additional evidence is good to bring, especially those updated tax documents, to show "good moral character" as a dutiful taxpayer. My IO also asked if I had new utility bills or new pictures or any other new documents I wanted to submit. 

 

You're almost at the finish line, don't reduce speed now.

Thank you both! All very good points, guess I have some printing to do 😆

20 hours ago, PonJor said:

We're almost done! We had our interview today at 9:55. We were called back at 11:26 (there were about 6 who were called before us) and we were out by 12:15.

It was a combo interview, so I was able to go back with my husband. The I-751 interview was more like a conversation. He asked us both: what's your name, D.O.B, address, social security, where do you work, phone number). We brought a lot of updated and new evidence, but he only wanted updated bank statements, evidence of our joint auto purchase, taxes from 2015-2019 and our 2020 W2s, evidence of our trips together, and arrest records (for driving without a license).  Then he conducted the N400 and allowed me to stay in the room.

The answer to the questions were:

Civil War, Native Americans, John G. Roberts Jr., New York (name a state that borders Canada), President Joe Biden, and Republicans and Democrats. Then the N400 was reviewed and some of the above questions were repeated and there were new ones (what is your height, have you taken a trip outside of the U.S since filing N400, when did you become a green card holder). Hubby had a little trouble with the Yes and No questions. On the application when the question asked if you have ever committed a crime for which you were not arrested for, he answered yes. He received a speeding ticket and because he had his license then, paid a fine as opposed to being arrested when he was driving without a license. The interviewer, asked the question again and he said no. At this point, I realized he was asking if my husband had ever got away with committing a crime. I could see the interview was becoming a little exasperated and even said I'm going to ask you again and if you can't answer, I'm going to stop the interview because you don't understand. The issue was my husband did understand the questions, but was confused. I was trying to telepathically explain this to my hubby and let him know he needed to say no. After an agonizing 5 seconds when the interviewer asked him again, hubby said no and the questions continued. Write: California has the most people. We cant' remember what the reading part was.

At the end, the interviewer asked for the evidence of the speeding ticket (which caused us to answer yes for the above question) and we provided that to him.  We also gave him a copy of hubby's green card (which was taken away at his infopass appointment for the I-551 stamp).

After a lot of computer typing and paper shuffling, hubby reviewed the corrections and signed. We received  a verbal approval for both cases. Officially, the N-400 post interview notice states a decision cannot be made (I think because we submitted more evidence and updated the application). We were told that we would receive a notice later regarding the oath ceremony. We asked if he knew when we might be scheduled and he said "no one knows". I'm trying not to focus on the fact that we didn't get an immediate approval (it's my understanding that this happens from time to time) and ride the high of our passed interviews 😊

 

Oof, your poor husband! It's easy to get flabbergasted during these super official procedures. Sounds like your IO was uptight, I had a similar experience with my green card interview when my husband laughed at one of the yes or no questions. We walked away without an immediate approval (despite everyone else on VJ saying their experience was super casual and nice!) but the next day my case was updated to say approved. 

1 hour ago, Semii said:

They doing same day interview and oath ceremony in atlanta  ?

Based on recent immigration timelines on VJ it appears Atlanta is not doing same day oath ceremonies.

17 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

You have not listed

• your permanent resident card
• passports—valid and expired
• your spouses birth certificate (if born in the US), or other proof that he has been a US citizen for 3 years prior to your filing.
• your marriage certificate 
• Also if applicable, proof of termination of prior marriages of yours or spouse—divorce decrees or death certificates. Military records.

Other questions

Transcripts are good. All three years.

 

Every IO is different. I went in with a folder with marriage certificate, divorce decree, spouse birth certificate, etc. I offered the original documents when I first walked in. She said, “I don’t need to see any of that. Have a seat and we will start with the test.”

Hehe, I didn't list them because that was all very straightforward and didn't need clarification on it! 😆

Thanks for your response! I'll go with transcripts. I had a hard IO for my green card interview, hoping I get a relaxed one for citizenship!

I have my interview next month and the letter says to bring the originals of any supporting documents that I attached with the N400 application. I attached: 

• Current account bank statements x 4 (one each year from 2017 - 2019)
• Credit card statements x 2 (one from 2019 and 2020)
• Car insurance proof
• Lease contract 2016 - 2019
• Tax return 2017, 2018 and 2019
• Pictures

I have a couple of questions about this:

1. Do they really need ALL originals or do IO's tend to focus on one type of evidence over the other? From the progress report threads I've noticed that IO's usually ask for tax returns.
2. Can I bring tax transcripts instead of returns even though it was the returns I submitted? That would be a lot of paper!
3. If they need a tax return and not a transcript, can it just be the latest return or do they require multiple years?
4. Do I bring additional evidence that I didn't submit when filing my N400 (2020/2021 statements)?
5. Do they need copies of the pictures?

Thanks!

19 hours ago, SparklePony said:

We live 20 minutes from the airport - we're definitely in the greater Atlanta area and every single thing I have done in regards to immigration, both for me and my kids (different timeline as mine) has been done in the city. I have no clue why they sent me to Alabama for this last step.

 

I don't  have a link for the information I conveyed. This was what was told to me at the Montgomery office, by the three different officers who processed my case (check-in, interview, and approval). The first officer also mentioned that they're processing a lot of Georgia cases, even more so than Alabama. My thinking is that things got backed up due to Covid and they're having the Montgomery office take on part of the case load to help with the back log, but this is merely a guess on my part.

Very odd they'd tell you the courts were closed if their websites are listing them as open! Even though they sent you to Alabama, I'm glad you got your interview done and dusted! They probably are taking on the backlog as you said.