Maharosa

Congratulations to everyone going for their oath ceremony tomorrow! We’ve finally reached the finish line! Yay! 
 
Good of luck to everyone still waiting! 

We’ve been waiting for notification by email that my husbands oath ceremony has been scheduled, yesterday was 2 weeks since his interview, and nothing. For the heck of it, just now, we logged in to check, and what do you know, his oath ceremony has been scheduled, the letter was dated 5/21. It’s scheduled for 6/24 in St. Paul. 

I think for us only a week. 

Today was my interview at 9 am.
Went there at 9.05 and was called for the interview around 9.25 am.
Brought my hubby with me in case they wanted to interview him for the PENDING I-751 (REMOVAL OF CONDITION) and thank GOD i did. 
Greeted the lady who were going to interview me and told her that i have brought my husband for the interview as well. She said no worries it is not needed for the N-400 application. 
We went to her office and she asked me standard procedural questions like "How many times did i travel outside of US" and my current address etc.
While doing so she was surprised to see (from my thick file she had on her desk) that i had a PENDING ROC and informed me that i have to clear out the situation before proceeding to the N400. 
i was quiet surprised to hear that because i thought anyone who is going to interview me should know that before hand. But quiet the opposite and it was apparent that she had no idea of ROC and my simple N400 case turned into complex ROC/N400 questions.  
She asked if i had brought any "supporting documents" for i751 and i panicked. Because even though i brought every documents i had all these years with me to the interview she specifically asked for at least 3 docs showing "RECENT JOINT PAYMENT OR INSURANCES" and asked me questions about my husband etc (at this point im thinking OH NOOO THIS IS NOT I READ ON VISAJOURNEY FORUM ) hehe 😂 ( SHE NEEDED LIKE "RECENT" recent files and docs)
I answered every questions calmly and confidently including the 6 CIVIC questions. She pointed out to me several times that I HAVE PASSED THE N400 TESTS AND INTERVIEW but i still needed to show her documents and bla bla..
I was so dreaded by the thought that this is gonna take longer than it should have (waiting for my Green card for 2 years and 2 extensions already) i suggested to her i could print out extra documents and show it to her today after the interview. She was kind of understanding of the situation and told me to drop the documents by 3 pm OR she could send me a "ADDITIONAL SUPPORT EVIDENCE" letter and i would get it in few weeks.  i was like.... ohhh nooo no more waiting for me and i said i would drop the paperworks by 3pm.
I even reminded her again that my husband is outside in the lobby and she was like "ohhh that reminds me.... i should interview your husband ". 
before she let me out of her office she asked me more questions about my husband like fav colors, food etc.
So here goes my hubby and not knowing he was gonna get interviewed (we all thought it was gonna be simple 6 Q civic test) hahaha
He comes back from her office within 5 mins and i was so in rush to print documents back home i literally rushed us off of the building in mins. 😀
Came home printed more recent stuff that holds both our names drove back to the office and dropped off the files.
 
Now i am just waiting for the "IN LINE FOR OATH" or that dreaded letter i dont want to receive.
 
So GUYS... THOSE WHO HAVE PENDING I-751 BRING YO WIVES, BRING YO HUBBIES.. BRING ALL OF YOUR RECENT JOINT PAPERWORKS. BE PREPARED. BE NOT LIKE ME ...
I AM 99.9% DONE.... NOW JUST GOTTA WAIT. .... more? hrmmm 🙄
 
 

Congrats

Great news, I have my interview set for April 29, about a year after I filed.
 
My husband has been testing me on civics questions, so I am feeling hopeful that this will all be over shortly.
 
I'll update the spreadsheet.

It might be a good idea to check the veracity of your data/sources before spreading rumors from other forums.
 
1, MN doesn't have the largest number of refugees across the country.  Between 2001-2016, MN took in approx 40k refugees.  This was considerably less than CA, FL, NY & TX (102k, 46k, 54k, 82k), and only slightly more than AZ, MI & WA (39k, 38k, 40k)
(Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/by-numbers-united-states-refugees-180962487/)
 
If you're calculating as a % of population, we don't even fit into the top 10 for 2016 (Source: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/12/06/just-10-states-resettled-more-than-half-of-recent-refugees-to-u-s/), though we did have the most in 2005 by this method, and they were from Laos.  
 
2. Moving to where friends and family are is not a refugee thing, it's an immigrant thing.  Having a strong support system enables faster societal integration, and having people help give you tips on living in a new country, getting a job, babysitting your kids and a host of other benefits that makes new arrivals independent earlier and less reliant on government services.  I would have loved a support system when I moved to MN, and if I had a choice of where to go in the US when I moved here, it would have been a state with more Australians.
 
3.  According to USCIS, only people who have served in the US Armed Forces can waive the naturalization fee (Source: https://www.uscis.gov/files/form/attachments.pdf)  
 
4. Not everybody has to wait 5 years for naturalization. People who have been married to US citizens only have to wait 3. (Source: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/article/chapter4.pdf) 
 
5. The comment about people who "study hard, work hard, pay tax etc etc.. however don't get treated fairly" is disengenous, as it implies that refugees aren't studying hard, working hard and paying taxes.  in fact, the unemployment rate for foreign born US residents - including refugees - is actually lower than that for native born residents. (Source: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/forbrn.pdf).
 
6. The analogy to the iPhone X queue is a false equivalence. Standing in line for a new phone is nothing like applying for US citizenship. US citizenship isn't limited like iPhones are. It's cheaper (the iPHone X costs more the $725) and we are going about our daily business of working, and raising our families whilst we wait.  
 
There aren't many downsides to a long wait.  We can't vote or donate to political campaigns, but we've never had that right in the US so we're not being denied anything we're accustomed to.  The only real difficulty would be if we died, our estate wouldn't be eligible for the tax free threshold, and if our spouse died, we wouldn't be entitled - as non-citizens-  to receive their pension.  Of course if your estate would be hurt by the removal of the tax free threshold, then you should have your assets in a trust anyway that would protect it from this issue.  
 
The only difference between the refugees and other immigrants like myself (5-6 years on an L1 intra-company transfer, then marriage to a US citizen) and others on this forum, is that they came from a much shittier environment than we did and didn't have access to the same opportunities that many of us have had.
 
For example, I grew up in the middle class suburbs of Australia.  Even though my father died when I was very young, and my mother was on government benefits, I was able to get an excellent and relatively free education as it was something the Australian government paid for.  I had access to fresh food, clothes, clean & running water, sanitary products and a great labor market, as well as affordable public transport to get to my job.
 
It was safe to work around my suburbs at night.  My classmates weren't recruited as child soldiers.  Neither I nor my friends were raped by the "opposition" side, though they may have had voting leaflets thrust into their hands.  There weren't open sewers in the street.  My school had all the supplies we needed and highly educated, dedicated teachers.  I wasn't married off at the age of 11. I wasn't pregnant at 12.  My brother didn't have to go and fight for our suburb.  I never needed an escort to get around for my own safety.  I didn't miss school because I was menstruating and didn't have anything to protect my clothing.
 
I never had to pack my belongings into a suitcase and walk to another city to escape violence. I didn't live in a tent for several years, waiting to move to a safe country.  My suburb wasn't destroyed by mudslides, earthquakes, or hurricanes.  I didn't have to beg for food, or prostitute myself to stay alive.  
 
My upbringing was safe, and it was very easy to get the education and career that led me to the US.  Even though we were poor, it was privileged compared to what some of these refugees are going through.
 
Overall, the numbers do not support that refugee privileges are the reason behind our long wait, and even if they did, I certainly wouldn't begrudge people who have lived through hell to get a little bit of goodness come their way, given all the relative luck and privilege I have had in my life so far.
 
 
 

Thread is moved from the US Citizenship main forum to the Case Progress subforum.
---
ChuckM, if they want more from you, consider drafting (or updating) mutual wills, medical & general powers of attorney, and similar documents.  These constitute very solid evidence, and they're even more valuable to have in "life."

Congrats! Now you can take a breath. 
 
We’re still waiting! Haven’t heard a thing, no RFE’s or anything. So frustrating! 

Just stopping in to say hi. Praying for you all. Much love!

Hi all, just stopping by to show some love. Thinking of and praying for you all! Miss you guys!

Hi all, just stopping by to show some love. Thinking of and praying for you all! Miss you guys!

I can't speak for the other embassies, but I can tell you there are still several others with June interviews from Cairo waiting for their visas.
I'm pretty sure it took me getting serious with the embassy to trigger them issuing our visa. I called and emailed every possible agency with any association to the Department of State. I let the embassy know that they were in violation relating to timely visa issuance, I gave them a deadline to issue the visa, and I let them know that if they didn't resolve the issue by the deadline, I would file a complaint with the Office of Inspector General.
I recommend trying it. When you send the email, email it to both the immigrant and non-immigrant visa email addresses. When sending the email, put (URGENT!!!) in the subject line next to your case number. Also, when emailing the non-immigrant visa email, let them know that you are emailing them because no one responds to the immigrant visa email. I would also state all the dates you have called and email to justify why you are emailing them, and why you are planning to take further action if you do not receive visa shortly.
I am praying for you, and everyone else.

I'm on vacation right now so I only have a minute, but I thought you all would like to know the Hubby landed safely in the US today, alhamdulillah!

I'm on vacation right now so I only have a minute, but I thought you all would like to know the Hubby landed safely in the US today, alhamdulillah!

Hubby flew in to the US today. Happiest day! Thanks everyone!

I'm on vacation right now so I only have a minute, but I thought you all would like to know the Hubby landed safely in the US today, alhamdulillah!

I'm on vacation right now so I only have a minute, but I thought you all would like to know the Hubby landed safely in the US today, alhamdulillah!

I'm so sorry to hear that! I don't know how you are holding it together! We are on day 3 of AP after spending 31 days stuck in ready for interview despite my husband having his interview and being approved on June 10th, and I am going absolutely crazy!

Hi all! How is everyone holding up? I hope all is as well as things can be while waiting to get through this horrid never ending nightmare of a process!

Hi all! How is everyone holding up? I hope all is as well as things can be while waiting to get through this horrid never ending nightmare of a process!

Oh wow! You are waiting for you visa in a foreign country? That really sucks! I'm very sorry for what you are going through and sorry that they will be closed an additional day. Egypt closed for an unexpected holiday on Tuesday due to the terrorist attacks killing a government official, so I totally understand how every extra little bump in the road feels like a mountain to climb. We are fortunate to be in our home countries while waiting for this process to be over, but we too, have our own challenging situation to deal with as my grandfather hasn't been well for some time now, and it costs our family $1500 a week for someone to look after him during the day while I am at work. It's not only financially, but also emotionally and physically exhausting. Insha'Allah it will be over for you shortly!

I hate this Friday Saturday weekend! Our hope for our visa this week is over also! CEAC has been on ready this entire time. Interview was 6/10, last update was 6/14. Embassy responded to our email on Monday saying our visa was in the final stage and would be issued shortly, yet still nothing. So frustrating! And once the hubby finally gets his visa, he still needs to go to the army and get permission to leave the country. Ugh!

Sigh... Three weeks since interview and one week since the Cairo embassy getting back online after the technical issues, still no visa. Not even an update on the CEAC, still says ready for interview. We emailed the embassy a couple of days ago and they said that our visa was in the final stage and would be issued shortly, but still nothing.
I know I shouldn't complain because at least we know we will be getting the visa, while there are some of you here that have been waiting in AP for ages, and there are others that have no idea if they will ever get their visa, but I just can't help myself. This has been such a long process considering we were expedited at USCIS because of my grandfather not being well. I just need it to be over.
Anyhow, that is may rant for the day.

Sigh... Three weeks since interview and one week since the Cairo embassy getting back online after the technical issues, still no visa. Not even an update on the CEAC, still says ready for interview. We emailed the embassy a couple of days ago and they said that our visa was in the final stage and would be issued shortly, but still nothing.
I know I shouldn't complain because at least we know we will be getting the visa, while there are some of you here that have been waiting in AP for ages, and there are others that have no idea if they will ever get their visa, but I just can't help myself. This has been such a long process considering we were expedited at USCIS because of my grandfather not being well. I just need it to be over.
Anyhow, that is may rant for the day.