AbuFlaan

For those applying for a passport, just beware that even though none of the online information says so, you need a copy (as well as the original) of your naturalization certificate in order to apply for a passport. I'm feeling a little naked, because between the oath ceremony, registering the change at the social security administration and applying for a passport, I essentially have no original evidence of my citizenship or immigration status, since they took the green card at the oath ceremony, took the social security card when I updated my status, and took my certificate of naturalization when I applied for a passport. I'm glad I don't live in one of those "show-me-your-papers" states!

For those applying for a passport, just beware that even though none of the online information says so, you need a copy (as well as the original) of your naturalization certificate in order to apply for a passport. I'm feeling a little naked, because between the oath ceremony, registering the change at the social security administration and applying for a passport, I essentially have no original evidence of my citizenship or immigration status, since they took the green card at the oath ceremony, took the social security card when I updated my status, and took my certificate of naturalization when I applied for a passport. I'm glad I don't live in one of those "show-me-your-papers" states!

Thanks! It's kind of disconcerting to give up the certificate as soon as I get it! Also: I went to SS office today, and they said they couldn't process my request since it's too soon and my immigration status hasn't been updated yet. They took the application and my SS card, though, and hopefully in the next month or so they'll mail me an updated version...

Great to see my name in red! So I went to the Social Security office today to go ahead and change my status before I apply for my passport, because they'll take my certificate of citizenship when applying for a passport, and the social security folks need it to change my status. In any case, they rejected my SS application (you have to reapply, even though you already have a SS number, and even though the new card will have the same number), because apparently it takes some time for immigration to update your status. Luckily, I won't have to go again, but it could take weeks for them to "verify" my citizenship. So if you're wondering if you should do this before applying for a passport, I suggest waiting to do it until after you get your passport and citizenship certificate back.

Do I really have to give them my naturalization certificate to mail out with my passport application in order to get a passport? That means that I'll be without anything that proves my citizenship (except for a photocopy of my certificate). Is that right? It also means I won't be able to change my status with Social Security until my passport comes in...

Oath ceremony done!

So I've read that if it doesn't specify how many people you can bring, then you can bring as many people to the oath ceremony as you want. Can anyone who's taken their oath at the Chicago office weigh in on this? How many guests did you bring?

Got my oath appointment: It's April 2.

I just got a message informing me that my oath ceremony had been scheduled! That was quick for once!

So I had my interview this morning at 8am. I had to wait about 20 minutes to be called, and the interview lasted about 15 minutes. The immigration officer was very nice and polite. Besides the civics/history exam, she asked me a couple of questions from the application and a little about my spouse. The only issue was that she told me I couldn't be Palestinian because I wasn't born in Palestine and in any case Palestine doesn't exist in their system. In the end, she put down the country that issued my refugee papers as my country of origin. In any case, I passed, and she said I should get an oath notification in about 3 weeks or so.

I was summoned for jury duty last year, actually. I think they just draw from social security numbers. I called them to tell them that I wasn't a citizen, and they gave me an address to send a copy of my green card to prove that I wasn't a citizen, and that was that.

Has anyone here had served jury duty? I have received a summons for jury service scheduled on April 17. And my oath ceremony is on Mar 25, next week. I would love to serve my civic duties. It looks like the dates might work out for me. Just want to confirm that one needs to bring naturalization certificate as proof of US. Citizenship when serving jury duty …

Thanks!

Thanks, that's helpful.

I was also wondering about the wording of the oath. I understand that the US allows dual citizenship, but the oath is worded in a way that seems to imply the renunciation of, if not of your citizenship, at least of your allegiance to your first nationality.

And one other question: I've noticed a couple of mistakes in the application and want to add a trip outside of the US after I filed the n-400. Is that problematic? The mistakes are simple typos on dates and in one case a missing zip code on the 4th time my address is listed.

So it seems like common practice for them to name the countries of origin and ask each person to stand up when their country is called. In my case, the US doesn't recognize Palestine, so what are they going to call out for me?

Thanks, Ozma! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear! My appointment is at 8am, so I'm hoping the wait won't be too long...

oh ok, my apologies! I thought you were still hesitant. sorry about that man.

No worries!

If you have answers to any of the questions I've actually asked, I'd love to hear them. Otherwise, I'm well aware who the applicant is and am not asking about other people who don't bring their spouses.

So I have my interview next week in the Chicago office. I would like my wife to come with me, but since it's an 8:00am appointment, I don't think we're going to have much luck with a babysitter. Is it ok for her to bring our toddler with her? How long does it take to wait and do the actual interview?

Good news: I received my interview letter today, and I'm scheduled for March 18.

Things are finally looking up. I just received an email informing me that my interview has been scheduled. Whatever got my case dislodged seems to have worked, because I was only "in line" for two days. I hope to get the hard copy with the actual date soon.

Updated my "in line" status:

N-400: October 2014 Applicants

======================================
USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox
======================================

UserName......|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Bio..|In Line..|YellowLtr|Int ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office
EM_Vandaveer..|12/21/11|09/30|waive|10/20|11/14|11/21/14.|11/??/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Dallas, TX (Early bio 11/12/14)
cdm2014.......|11/09/09|10/01|10/03|10/06|10/31|11/06/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Houston,TX
Deidre........|08/04/09|10/08|10/16|10/20|11/12|11/14/14.|11/13/14.|01/02/15.|02/03/15.|--/--/--.|Tampa, FL
MaYoKy........|12/02/10|10/08|10/16|10/20|11/13|11/17/14.|11/12/14.|12/04/14.|01/06/15.|01/30/15.|Louisville, KY
Kintsukuroi...|01/31/03|10/10|MoOrd|10/24|11/12|11/14/14.|11/15/14.|12/06/14.|01/08/15.|--/--/--.|Harlingen, TX
Osmosesnew....|--/--/--|10/13|Waive|10/29|11/18|12/12/14.|11/24/14.|02/02/15.|03/03/15.|--/--/--.|New York, NY
icaruslol.....|10/18/11|10/18|--/--|10/30|11/21|11/25/14.|11/21/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|New York, NY
Carlos EA.....|01/17/12|10/20|10/27|10/30|11/21|12/15/14.|11/27/14.|01/18/15.|02/19/15.|--/--/--.|Boston, MA
Ce2010........|01/19/10|10/22|10/28|10/27|11/17|12/19/14.|11/18/14.|01/17/15.|02/17/15.|--/--/--.|Miami, FL (Early bio 11/07/14)
Lacrima.(GM)..|12/15/09|10/23|10/28|11/01|11/18|11/20/14.|11/24/14.|01/30/15.|03/03/15.|--/--/--.|Newark, NJ
Joe and Ann...|11/16/11|10/24|10/27|10/28|11/21|11/25/14.|11/21/14.|01/05/15.|02/10/15.|--/--/--.|Washington, DC
coolmuke......|12/15/09|10/24|10/30|11/02|11/25|11/25/14.|11/27/14.|01/12/15.|02/11/15.|--/--/--.|Washington, DC
Moon Light....|01/26/12|10/27|11/04|11/10|11/25|12/29/14.|12/01/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Oklahoma City, OK
tocca2015.....|10/10/09|10/??|MoOrd|10/23|11/07|11/10/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Dallas, TX

================================
USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox
================================

UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Bio..|In Line..|YellowLtr|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office
kt128...........|04/19/11|09/30|10/06|10/09|10/27|10/29/14.|--/--/--.|11/08/14.|12/10/14.|01/08/15.|Milwaukee,WI
AbuFlaan........|07/29/14|10/0?|10/07|10/11|10/31|02/10/15.|11/10/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Chicago,IL
InKorea.........|03/29/11|10/03|10/09|10/13|11/03|11/05/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|St. Paul, MN
Nanners.........|--/--/94|10/05|10/09|10/14|10/28|10/30/14.|11/04/14.|12/24/14.|01/29/15.|02/13/15.|LA,CA
SunnyCalifornian|01/05/12|10/07|10/15|10/17|11/05|12/05/14.|10/27/14.|01/03/15.|02/02/15.|02/13/15.|LA,CA
Shaolin_Dragon..|12/02/05|10/??|--/--|--/--|--/--|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|??
NikosF..........|10/21/10|10/14|10/22|10/27|11/10|11/12/14.|??/??/??.|01/03/15.|02/04/15.|--/--/--.|Chicago,IL
xinruo..........|--/--/--|10/17|--/--|10/21|11/21|12/15/14.|--/--/--.|02/02/15.|03/06/15.|--/--/--.|LA,CA
Virginian61.....|--/--/--|10/20|MoOrd|10/24|11/17|--/--/--.|11/22/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Ind'polis,IN
dcl766...(MIL)..|12/21/09|10/21|10/28|11/03|11/17|01/06/15.|11/22/14.|01/12/15.|02/10/15.|--/--/--.|Chicago,IL
dcl766...(FIL)..|12/21/09|10/21|10/28|11/03|11/18|01/06/15.|11/22/14.|01/12/15.|02/10/15.|--/--/--.|Chicago,IL(Early bio 11/17/14)
LuckyCarrot.....|--/--/--|10/22|10/28|11/01|11/17|11/19/14.|11/24/14.|01/20/15.|02/23/15.|--/--/--.|SF,CA
asyouwish2001...|06/10/09|10/23|10/29|11/03|11/21|11/25/14.|11/25/14.|01/20/15.|02/23/15.|--/--/--.|SF,CA
patihawaii......|--/--/--|10/24|Feewv|11/19|12/12|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|??,HI
amna-h..........|01/13/10|10/31|11/--|11/24|12/08|12/15/14.|12/10/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|LA,CA (Early bio 12/03/14)
TyandAllie......|10/15/10|10/--|11/04|11/09|11/24|--/--/--.|11/30/14.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Detroit,MI


===========================================================================
USCIS Lincoln, Nebraska Lockbox (Filing Under 319b, 328, or 329 of the INA)
===========================================================================
UserName......|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Bio..|In Line..|YellowLtr|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office
Lytha.........|11/01/11|10/10|10/20|10/20|11/13|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|11/18/14.|12/03/14.|12/19/14.|Anchorage, Alaska

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Legend:

GC-Date: The 'Resident Since' Date located on your first green card
Sent: Date N-400 was mailed to USCIS
Cashd: Date your check was cashed by USCIS
NOA: Date you received the official I-797 notification in the mail about case acceptance
Bio: Date assigned for fingerprinting
In Line: Date you received e-notification about your interview date
YellowLtr: Date you received your yellow letter. Yellow letter is not an interview letter!
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview
Intview: Date of your interview
Oath: Date Oath taken
Field Office: Your local USCIS office where you would be doing the N-400 interview
click here for the 2015 US passport applicant tracker list.

When I called the last time, the woman said that she was opening a case to escalate the matter in order to bring it to the attention of the Chicago field office. She gave me a confirmation number and said that I should get an appointment letter from the Chicago office in the next 15-30 days. I submitted an online inquiry from this page: https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.doDown at the bottom, there's a place to submit an inquiry. There was clearly a snag somewhere, because I did my biometrics in October and still hadn't even been placed in line yet. I'm hoping that since there was a screwup, it won't take months to get an appointment.

Otherwise, it might be too late for many October filers, but I've been using an android app called "USCIS case status notifier." I'd saved my case file, and it allowed me to check on the status (every day!) with my phone. But I noticed today that it actually lets you know automatically when your status has changed, so I got a notification from the app a few minutes before the text message and email from USCIS.

After calling several times and initially being blown off and then opening a case, and after making a subsequent online inquiry, I was finally put in line for an interview today. It only took 3 months and 10 days! I hope that they'll make up for the lost time by scheduling the interview soon...

A few things. It doesn't make much sense to respond to concerns about discrepancies in wait time by saying that there's no logic to the process and then cite people who filed in April just now getting interviews as evidence why it's normal to still be waiting. Either there's a logic and some sort of an order, or there's not. If there were no logic, then not only would the status of people who filed this month not have any bearing on the wait, neither would the status of those who filed in April.

There clearly is some sort of an order; they're not throwing files in the air and picking up the ones that happen to land on top. The order may not be perfect, but order it is. And the fact that the vast majority of people get placed "in line" for an appointment a few days after their biometrics with stragglers getting put "in line" after few weeks, whereas someone else (myself for example) has been waiting for 3-4 months without even being placed "in line" is a pretty obvious sign that something outside of the ordinary process is happening. Either it's a problem of notification (I'm "in line" but the notification isn't showing me as such for whatever reason), or there's something else that is holding up the process. In other words, there's nothing really normal about taking over 3 months to get "in line" for an appointment.

About the timelines for which cases are being processed. I think those are being misread on this forum an awful lot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but those are files that are being finalized, which is to say that these are people taking their oaths. So there's that. There's also the fact that those dates are often wildly old. So yes, it lists the status in Dallas as April 23 and Chicago as July 30, but you'll notice right above that that those processing dates haven't been updated since November 30. So unless you don't think they've processed any files in over two months, those dates aren't really very helpful.

Finally, yes, the process can take up to a year, but the normal time, the time that the USCIS shoots for (and the reason they've raised filing prices dramatically in order to afford more staff) is 5 months. So when I'm 4 months in to what's supposed to be a 5 month process without even being processed for the 2 steps that take the most time (getting an appointment once you're in line and getting an oath ceremony after your appointment), it doesn't seem unreasonable to be wondering what the hold-up is. I can understand how as a Canadian, the issue might not seem as pressing, but when you're a stateless person, as I am, the whole process takes on a different significance, especially since that stateless status is often the problem behind such delays, whether they're from bureaucratic processes like this or "random" security checks at the airport.

I think maybe it's not letting you set up an infopass because it hasn't even been that long at all! The N400 process can take up to a year and varies from field offices to even the actual applicant (background checks, country of orgin etc) . Some people in this thread are already US citizens, while others wont get an interview, like me, probably until May. I am filing in Dallas and it's pretty backed up (the USCIS website states they are currently processing N400 in Dallas from April 2014!). I saw on the July filers thread that someone in Dallas who filed in July 2014 JUST today got his interview date for March 2015 in Dallas...

I think it's important to remember (and we all know this because we are at the citizenship stage) that there is no logic to USCIS and you just need to otherwise occupy yourself on not focus on it so much. I'm from Canada and sponsoring a spouse takes up to 4 years (and that's with NO right to work and NO healthcare). In comparison, things are pretty quick in the US...

That has been almost my exact experience. I also filed in early October, did biometrics at the end of the month and got the yellow letter, then nothing. The first time I spoke to someone at USCIS, he said to just wait and then try again if nothing's happened in a month. The second time we called, we were told that they'd created a case and would bring it to the field office's attention in Chicago and that we should hopefully get an appointment in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure what the problem is, since people who filed after me in the same office have already gotten and in a some cases already had their appointment.

we filed on october 2 nd... got biometrics done after 3 weeks, also a yellow letter saying our int.notice should follow shortly afterwards, and since then -- nothing! We file in Dallas , the slowest office as for our experience goes.

I dont understand why it is taking so long....we called uscis and each time we get different answers, some said -- in 2 weeks u need to get the yellow letterfor your interview, others said that when it comes it comes - nothing they can do about it....

i dont know whats going on honestly

It's only helpful to your case if you can read it. And even then, it's a joke.