teshah

27 minutes ago, nikha said:

Folks who had their Oath Ceremony at 8:30 am in Campbell, Can you please let me know when would one typically be get done from the ceremony? This is only taking into consideration the oath ceremony and getting your Naturalization Certificate in hand, not the passport application part at the end where it takes load of time.

 

I am considering rushing myself to regional passport agency in San Francisco to get my passport sooner than expedited normal timelines as I have some international travel planned in first week of May. The last appointment I can avail is at 1:00 PM so I need to start by at least 12:00 noon from Campbell.

 

Would it/does it go past 12:00 noon for appointment holders at 8:30 am ?

 

And yes I know things can change on the fly and might on 18th April terribly so its always a bad idea to opt for an appointment on that day especially when one needs to travel for an hour to SF, but I am still just curious to know how soon generally the ceremony gets over for 8:30 am appointments

 

Any help much appreciated

There are typically 4 ceremonies held in Campbell on the same day in the same theater.  The next scheduled slot for the oath ceremony is I think 10:30 am if I remember correctly so you would be done before 10:30am.

3 hours ago, Ashipa said:

Sorry for this question, how long was your i751 pending b4 you put in case enquiry? Is it more than the processing time? Reply will be appreciated 

It had been pending for 16 months but at that point I don't remember whether it was outside of the normal processing time.  What I remember is that I was following the I-751 thread and people were starting to get approvals and I wasn't.  And then those who applied the month after I did also started getting approvals and I still wasn't hearing anything back.  I figured I was put on the back burner cause I had applied for N-400.

2 hours ago, Dzenana said:

Hi! I am also curious how long was it before you put a status inquiry? My pending I751 is still within processing time for CSC.

Exactly 16 months

13 hours ago, Ashipa said:

So can someone still try and talk to USCIS to hear from them?.....do I need to talk to a tier 2 officer or the 1st responder?

I've never made a call to talk to the officers so I can't give advise on that. As I said in my previous post, I put in a status inquiry via the USCIS website.   

8 hours ago, Ashipa said:

Hey everyone,

I filed my Form i751 in December, 2017,and filed form N400 January 29 under the Immigration and nationality Act INA section 319 under 3 year rule....N400 interview coming up April 3,2019 @ fort Smith Arkansas 

 

My question do I need to call USCIS for a combine I751 and N400 interview or do they automatically schedule both interview?

 

Contribution will be highly appreciated.

It's not  always automatic to get a combo interview.  Even within the same office (speaking about my local office as an example), it's not always a standard procedure for all applicants.  I got a combo interview, others got their N-400 interviews cancelled for lack of officers available to conduct combo-interviews, others have arrived for N-400 interviews only to be told they can't be interviewed cause of a pending I-751 and then there are those who were had the N-400 interview but no decision could be made because they had to wait for the I-751 interview date to be scheduled for a later date.  I think for me what helped was putting in a status inquiry for my I-751 after I applied for the N-400 and the response was that I'd get a combo interview.  At the time I did this, I hadn't got an interview date for the N-400.

1 minute ago, aa1979 said:

You mean you have sent the expired GC, without the extension letter?

Correct! I applied online though and I just attached a scanned copy of the expired green card.  

2 minutes ago, aa1979 said:

Congratulations for your approvals... This may be a stupid question for most people on this thread, but I want to ask it anyway.  How do you apply for N-400 when you don't have a "valid GC"?  I mean your permanent CG... Do you send in a copy of your expired GC + Ext letter?  Does that serve the purpose?

 

Thanks

When I applied last year, I sent a copy of my expired GC only.

15 hours ago, dealsurfer said:

Wow, this is tremendously helpful - Thank You very much for your response to all my questions!  BTW, one more question: In your case, did the officer tell you (or marked on paper) that you were "approved" at the end of the interview?  I heard some officers do, and some don't (i.e. you need to wait till you get the Oath ceremony notice to confirm).

 

Actually, my ideal Oath Ceremony date is after May 7th when the college semester ends (and before early June), so it looks like the next ceremony date in Campbell is 5/23/19 which I can ask the interviewer officer to make this consideration (hoping that it will not become full as I'd be one of the first to book 2 months in advance).  Thanks again! GLTA

 

https://www.ci.campbell.ca.us/calendar.aspx

US Citizenship Ceremony

May 23, 2019, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM @ The Heritage Theatre

Yes, the officer told me that he would be recommending me for approval and also gave me a form that said congratulations and that my application had been recommended for approval.

I got my passport in exactly 2 weeks.

5 hours ago, dealsurfer said:

Hi all,

 

I just got my child's Interview schedule notice from USCIS San Jose field office, so wanted to share with you all the timelines:

 

* N400 submitted online:  6/11/2018

* Biometrics Notice:  6/26/2018

* Biometrics Date:  7/5/2018 -> Rescheduled to 7/26/2018

* Interview Notice:  2/14/2019  (Date on Notice of Action: 2/12/2019)

* Interview Date:  3/19/2019

 

Questions: Can anyone please help answer my questions re: Oath Ceremony?

 1) How long did it take from Interview Date to Oath Ceremony Notice + Scheduled Date?

 2) I saw online (nolo.com) that Interviewee can "Select" a date for ceremony, sometimes (esp. if choosing btw USCIS location or US Court), is this correct?  

 3) If answer is No to 2), then is it possible to reschedule Oath Ceremony IF the date does NOT work (too early)?  In that case, can I designate a preferred date (like I did for the Biometrics appt), or the system randomly picks another date?

 

I'd appreciate everyone's response, in advance - the more the replies based on experience the better!

Thanks and good luck to all!

 

1.  Mine was roughly 4 weeks but that's because I had a pending I-751.

2.  In theory, you can't "select" a date for the ceremony; I believe all the oath ceremonies are conducted at the Heritage Theater in Campbell.

3.  It is possible to reschedule the oath ceremony.  You can get oath ceremony dates here and when you go to the interview, you can request a date if the next available one doesn't work for you.  However, this is subject to the interviewer's discretion and doesn't necessarily mean you will get the date you want because said date might be completely full.  They have 4 different ceremonies in one day with each having slightly over 400 people being sworn in.  With your interview date being 3/19, if all goes well then you'd probably have the ceremony on April 18th.

On 11/8/2018 at 12:12 PM, raysun89 said:

So I was on the same boat...

 

I applied for I-751 back in 09/2016 when we lived in Illinois. We moved to Phoenix, AZ in 01/2017. The case was pending FOREVER. I had to go to the USCIS Field Office in Phoenix twice (11/2017 & 05/2018) for stamps since they would only give me a stamp for 6-month the first time we visited. 

 

In 12/2017, I filed N-400. I had my interview on 09/11/2018 and passed the test. I took the oath on 09/28/2018. I have already got my naturalization certificate and passport...

 

My I-751 status online still shows pending as of today. It says that they transferred the case to another office that now has my jurisdiction... At my N-400 interview, the officer said that she would go ahead and approve it. How could they approve my N-400 while my I-751 is still pending? Should I contact USCIS asking for the I-751 status update while I am already a naturalized citizen?

I think the dhs website isn't making any updates for I-751.  Mine also still shows the same case status.  The egov website on the other hand has been showing "New Card Is Being Produced" since September even though at my interview I was told I wouldn't be getting a new green card.  I didn't even get an official written approval of the I-751 but I'm not worried because I was already naturalized. 

On 11/9/2018 at 2:15 PM, TMDM said:

Hi all!

 

I wanted to give a proper update on my case for all who are curious. My interview was at the San Bernardino office in CA. Interview went well, Officer couldn’t approve because of pending I-751 but said he will try and get it all done and schedule me into November oath. 2 days after the interview I got a RFE for my N400 and a transfer notice for I-751. I responded to the RFE and on the same day the I-751 was approved (about 8 days after interview). N400 was approved the following day (yesterday) and my current status says “Oath ceremony will be scheduled”. For all of you who have finished the process, how long did it take for your status to change to say that the oath was scheduled and receive your ceremony date? 

 

Thanks so much 😊

2 days.  Congratulations!

On 11/13/2018 at 5:33 AM, gypsyqueen said:

I'm actually worried now. I got a verbal approval for both my cases N400 and I751 when I did my interview last Monday. It's been a week and I haven't heard anything. No changes online both in egov and uscis dhs website. I scheduled an infopass but it wouldn't be until November 29. I just want to know what's going on. I feel like they forgot about my case.

I was in the exact same position as you.  It took 22 days for changes to appear on both websites pertaining to N-400.  The dhs website hasn't updated the I-751 since May when my case was transferred but it's updated on the egov website.

3 hours ago, Davesings said:

Interview was today in NYC; we had a snag which was really annoying. The officer was quite brusque and rude and asked for the 2017 tax transcript or a lease. My husband feels we were discriminated against for being gay. We only brought the documents we uploaded in January (2014-2016 taxes) so hadn't then filed 2017 taxes. We didn't think we needed to bring further evidence that we are still married and living together since it wasn't listed. So we got a Notice of Continuance and had to scramble to bring back documents and upload them. We today gave them our tax transcript, 2017 returns and apartment rent bills with both our names, and now we have no idea how long it's going to take. Has anyone else had such an unpleasant experience? 

I'm sorry you had an unpleasant experience and feel you were discriminated against.  However, I think, and that's just from reading on this forum, that it's the norm to be asked for updated documents.  Did you have a pending I-751?  When I applied at the end of January, my I-751 had been pending since November 2016.  When I went for my interview in September, I was anticipating a combo-interview so I decided to err on the side of caution and go with updated documents from November 2016 (I-751) and January 2018 (N-400) to September 2018.  I'm glad I did because the officer wanted January 2018 to August 2018 bank statements and utility bills, 2017 tax returns, and an updated lease.

7 hours ago, agentoneal said:

Anyone file their n400 while i751 lifting of conditions is pending? We did in January of this year, filed our i751 in January of 2017.... still haven't heard a word from that one and its been 20 months now. We went to the USCIS field office and received an i551 stamp and were told that they won't even look at the n400 until the i751 is completed. What gives? Anyone else having this problem? Do you hear about the i751 first before the n400? Getting really frustrated...

I filed N-400 in January because I got tired of waiting for the I-751.  It had been pending since November 2016.  I didn't hear anything about it until the February glitch about it being transferred to the local office and an actual transfer in May because I did get a notice in the mail after the online status changed to "new office has jurisdiction".  It all went quiet so sometime in June I used the online portal to inquire about the status of my I-751 application.  Didn't hear anything until last week of July and it was an email saying that they noticed I'd applied for the N-400 in January so both N-400 and I-751 would be adjudicated together.  Literally a week later, my interview was scheduled.  I just took my oath last week.

5 minutes ago, andrea_smb said:

Thanks! I dont even have the old one because they took it when I got the stamp on my passport

Maybe try and get a letter from your local office stating that they retained your expired green card when you got the stamp on your passport.  You can then hand over that letter at the oath ceremony in lieu of the green card.

Just now, Mar16 said:

How many days  after the interview did your i751 get approved ? I got my interview on Friday 

At the interview I got an oral approval but it took 22 days for the status to change online.  That status only appears on the egov website though.  On the dhs site it still says "Case Was Transferred And New Office Now Has Jurisdiction".

4 hours ago, andrea_smb said:

Hi. For those with approved combo interviews. What happened next? I got approved 17 days ago. I filed for roc June 2017 and for n400 in june this year. My roc status says new card being produced since oct 12th and the n400 says on line for ceremony. So my question is, did you get the green card before your oath ceremony? I am just worried because I have seen people getting their green cards in a week or two and it also says that at the ceremony they take your green card. Is it different with the combo applications? Would really appreciate you sharing your experiences.

 

Thank you!

I never received a green card but at my combo interview, the IO told me I wouldn't be getting one anyway and to just hand in my expired green card.  My ROC status still says "New Card Is Being Produced" even though I already took the oath.

Formatting the chat to reflect SamMaj's entry in chronological order.  

================================
USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox
================================
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent....|Cashed..|NOA.....|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.|NBC/IOE
Bella_28.........|02/26/13|01/10/18|01/12/18|01/17/18|02/05/18|06/25/18|06/30/18|07/30/18|08/23/18|San Jose, CA.|
tEe328cEe........|--/--/--|02/27/18|03/01/18|--/--/--|03/23/18|--/--/--|09/11/18|10/15/18|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent....|Cashed..|NOA.....|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.|NBC/IOE

==================================
USCIS Online Filing
==================================
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent....|Cashed..|NOA.....|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.|NBC/IOE
snackqueen.......|12/12/12|11/13/17|11/13/17|11/13/17|11/27/17|--/--/--|03/21/18|05/21/18|06/14/18|San Jose, CA.|IOE
Indicatio........|07/08/14|12/11/17|12/11/17|12/11/17|12/27/17|--/--/--|05/18/18|06/22/18|08/23/18|San Jose, CA.|IOE
psychedelicx.....|02/22/12|01/22/18|01/22/18|01/22/18|02/08/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
tradishd.........|02/22/10|01/28/18|01/28/18|01/28/18|02/22/18|--/--/--|10/04/18|11/09/18|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
teshah...........|02/27/15|01/31/18|01/31/18|02/01/18|02/23/18|--/--/--|08/01/18|09/05/18|10/25/18|San Jose, CA.|IOE
mav11235.........|04/23/15|02/08/18|02/09/18|02/09/18|02/26/18|--/--/--|08/18/18|09/21/18|11/15/18|San Jose, CA.|IOE
évariste.........|03/14/12|02/09/18|02/09/18|02/09/18|03/02/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
Shaup............|08/15/10|02/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|03/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
srays4all........|06/03/13|03/06/18|03/06/18|03/07/18|03/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|NBC
Generic1.........|05/22/15|03/21/18|03/21/18|03/24/18|04/10/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE 
Bandaria.........|06/24/15|03/27/18|03/27/18|03/27/18|04/03/18|--/--/--|10/24/18|11/28/18|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
SamMaj...........|07/02/13|04/03/18|04/03/18|04/07/18|04/14/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
thilimaa.........|05/07/15|04/20/18|04/20/18|04/20/18|04/25/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
cococandy........|07/22/15|04/23/18|04/23/18|04/23/18|05/04/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
geff44...........|07/22/15|05/10/18|05/10/18|05/10/18|05/30/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
mdashali.........|08/13/13|05/22/18|05/22/18|05/26/18|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
nikha............|09/16/15|06/18/18|06/18/18|06/21/18|06/26/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA.|IOE
UserName.........|GC-Date.|Sent....|Cashed..|NOA.....|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.|NBC/IOE

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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.
Cashed: Date your check was cashed / credit card was charged by USCIS.
NOA: Receipt Notice Date Printed on your official I-797 notification.
Fprints:  Date assigned for fingerprinting (Bio-metrics). If you do your biometrics via walk-in prior to your scheduled appointment, please enter the date in bold blue.
In Line: Date you received e-notification about the start of your interview scheduling.
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview.
Interview: Date of your interview.
Oath: Date Oath taken.

13 hours ago, mav11235 said:

@teshah Congratulations now that you are officially a US citizen.

I have a couple of questions since you have attended your oath ceremony already.

 

1. How long does the whole ceremony process take in San Jose? Is there any advantage to going there early or late?

2. Were they OK with accepting an expired GC since I am guessing you never got a GC after ROC?

3. Any other tips for the ceremony process? 

 

Thanks

Thank you ☺️

1. The whole ceremony once everyone was seated was about an hour and a half.  As for the advantage, I'd say it depends on who you ask.  For those taking the oath, honestly speaking, no point getting there early.  My letter said to get there by 10:15am.  Took us an hour to get there due to traffic but we arrived at 10:10am.  There were 470 of us taking the oath and when we got there, there were people still in the queue waiting to check in.  On the other hand, friends and family might want to get there early cause there's very limited seating and is on a first come, first serve basis.  Shortly after we arrived, a gentleman came out to announce that those not taking the oath would have to wait for all those taking the oath to be checked in and seated because there was no more room to accommodate them.   Also you should note that cutting it close like we did might also mean you might have a hard time finding a packing spot depending on what time your ceremony is.

2. Yes.  Basically, they just don't want you having any GC expired or not.  When you get there, you hand them the oath letter, they mark it with a number and direct you on which direction to take to the entrance.  Once you get into the theater,  somebody asks what number you have on your letter and directs you on where to go and sit.  Right before you take your seat, there's somebody who hands out an envelope, checks the oath letter and verifies the name on the GC and puts it in a box along with other green cards.

3.  As for tips, if you didn't get a grey envelope with a passport application that states something like "oath administered at naturalization ceremony"and do intend to apply for a US passport at the ceremony, complete your application form online, print it and take it with you to the ceremony.  They will stamp it for you.  Just don't sign it until after the passport people administer the oath and tell you to do so.  This will save you some time completing the same form hence taking a shorter time in the queue.  On the flip side, if you did get the grey envelope, check that the fee is $145 not $135 and write a check accordingly.  

Overall, my thoughts on the whole ceremony was anti-climatic.  I don't really know what I was expecting but after reading people's experiences (not necessarily in Campbell),  the whole ceremony to me felt more like a high school graduation. Very lackluster!

12 hours ago, Emeolu said:

I am almost done with filing out my N400 application. I have been married to my spouse for over 7 years and have been a permanent resident for almost 6 years. My spouse has been married before with 3 children. I have no children with him. I noticed that one of the evidences required was the birth certificate of my children. I know they meant the step children. Am I suppose to provide the birth certificates of my step children even though they are not staying with me and my spouse?

Part 11 of the application form states:

"Indicate your total number of children. (You must indicate ALL children, including: children who are alive, missing, or deceased; children born in the United States or in other countries; children under 18 years of age or older; children who are currently married or unmarried; children living with you or elsewhere; current stepchildren; legally adopted children; and children born when you were not married.)".

IMHO, since you are required to include them as your children, I suggest you provide their birth certificates too to be on the safe side.  Better err on the side of caution and have them at the interview instead of omitting said certificates and you are asked for them at the interview and not have them.

25 minutes ago, Bandaria said:

Just checked my status on "https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do" site and it says "Interview Scheduled"!!

YAY! My DHS portal still hasn't updated and says the old status, so not sure if I'll find out my interview date prior to actually getting the interview letter in the mail. 

But I'll update you all once I know!

Congratulations.  You are a step closer to the finish line.  Now you can start studying if you haven't already.  If I'd venture a guess, I'd say you're interview will be somewhere around November 28th but don't take my word for it lol.

3 hours ago, mav11235 said:

 

So you never got your Green card after ROC? Isn't a valid Green card necessary to attend oath ceremony?

No, I never got a 10 year green card and neither was I expecting to get one.  At my combo interview, the IO specifically said that I would not be getting a new green card as I would not need it.  I was told to surrender my expired green card so that's what I will do unless the new one appears in my mail box before Thursday.

I don't know why they sent it to you but personally I would keep it.  Since you have already applied for naturalization, when you get round to taking the oath, you can hand them that letter along with the greencard.

On 10/20/2018 at 3:57 PM, Mar16 said:

Well my husband asked for his day off the same day I got my interview notice so it’s not the problem . My question was if you got an notice telling you if it was gonna be adjucated at the same time or anything ?!!

 ...

My notice for the N-400 interview didn't mention anything about my pending I-751 either but I went with my spouse anyway.  First thing the IO asked me when he called my name was whether my spouse was with me because since I had a pending I-751, he had to be there.

On 10/18/2018 at 4:07 PM, Mar16 said:

Hello !

i have my interview coming up for citizenship ( i751 pending too ) .. regarding taxes , what exact documents We need to show ? I heard differents things ... thank you !

I submitted IRS issued tax return transcripts.

8 hours ago, mav11235 said:

Exactly one month after my combo interview on 21st September in San Jose, today my online statuses changed to 

 

a. 751 -  New Card Is Being Produced

b. 400 - Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled

 

Hopefully they will schedule me in the oath ceremony for November and I won't have to wait till 2019 (December doesn't seem to have a oath ceremony schedule).

 

751 case updates show up only on https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus whereas 400 status updates show up on both https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus and https://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov

 

 

I think you will be notified within the next few days of your oath date; most likely in November.  There's finally light at the end of the tunnel for you! By the way, my I-751 status update is still "New Card Is Being Produced" only on the egov website almost a month later.