l.j./1999

Updating my husband's timeline on the list...

Kathryn and Babonsi, I hope you get some good news soon!

I understand the frustration, I've called the passport call center twice now about my old passport that went missing after my recent passport renewal, they just say that the records show it was mailed separately from the new passport but without a tracking number. They are putting a "request" to the agency to look into it. But one of the reps said they are backlogged and might not get to my case very soon. * sigh* At least I'm so relieved everything is resolved smoothly with my husband's documents.

User Name..........Location...........Application..........Passport Rcvd.....Certificate Back.............Service

Goran..............Richmond, VA..........07/15/09...............09/05/09.............09/05/09.............Normal

raleighn400........Durham, NC............07/30/09...............09/03/09.............09/05/09.............Normal

Rebelheart'son.....Atlanta, GA...........07/31/09...............08/31/09.............09/02/09.............Normal

Tini 27............Brooklyn,NY...........08/04/09...............08/14/09.............08/14/09.............Expedited

Sami76.............Atlanta, GA...........08/07/09...............08/28/09.............08/31/09.............Normal

babonsi........... Redding,CA............08/15/09...............09/19/09.............--/--/--.............Normal

jeangab75..........Durham, NC............08/17/09 ..............09/18/09.............09/19/09.............Normal

so2008.............Tampa, FL.............08/17/09 ..............09/10/09.............09/11/09.............Normal

Annelizabeth.......New Albany, IN........08/24/09...............09/17/09.............09/17/09.............Normal

Kathryn41..........Stockbridge, GA.......08/28/09...............--/--/--.............09/23/09.............Normal

l.j./1999..........Brooklyn, NY..........08/29/09...............09/25/09.............09/25/09.............Normal

wifey246...........Pomona, CA............08/29/09...............09/23/09.............09/23/09.............Normal

cookiee............Miami, FL.............09/01/09...............09/14/09.............09/12/09.............Expedited

jsnearline.........Denver, CO............09/04/09...............09/24/09.............09/26/09.............Normal

raleighn400_wife...Durham, NC............09/14/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

Jayde..............Fort Lauderdale,FL....09/16/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

Clarax.............???...................09/17/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

LiveByFaith........Novi, MI..............09/18/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

KikiDoug...........Columbia, MD..........09/23/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Expedited

mrPuffyBunny.......Minneapolis, MN.......09/24/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Expedited

Well, we needn't have worried - my husband's new passport arrived today! His Naturalization Certificate was also in today's mail.

Wow no more paperwork for a while!

Kathryn, I really hope you received your passport today. If not, maybe the Post Office can find it, since there's a tracking number?

Best of luck to all of you still waiting!

*Groan*

This is the message on the USPS site when we enter the tracking number for my husband's passport:

Your item was forwarded to a different address on September 24, 2009 in BAYSIDE, NY 11361. This was because of forwarding instructions or because the address or ZIP Code on the label was incorrect.

We don't live in Bayside, NY. We haven't moved or asked our mail to be forwarded. So either the USPS messed up the tracking or the passport agency sent it to the wrong address. And I don't even want to think about the Naturalization Certificate, which hasn't arrived yet and which isn't even trackable.

Hubby called the Passport Call Center and they said they have the right address on file so hopefully it will arrive soon... Hopefully we'll have better luck than I did with my still-missing-in-action old passport.

*Gulp*

My husband got the email that his passport was mailed.

I'm anxious about getting his Naturalization Certificate back, based on my recent experience renewing my passport. After getting my new passport in the mail, the old passport they were supposed to return never arrived. The passport call center claims it was mailed back (in a separate envelope) and was somehow lost along the way. I'm not sure what to believe... but it makes me uneasy not knowing what happened.

So today my husband got a letter that his new Social Security card is on the way. This after the SSA staff specifically asked him if he needed a new card and he said No - so we thought they had a way to suppress the production of the new card. I guess we will see what happens...

Interesting, I guess every Social Security office is different - when we went to update my husband's info with the SSA here, the lady specifically asked him if he wanted to get a new card or just wanted to update his status in the system. Husband told her he didn't need a new card and so far we haven't received anything in the mail. (Although, at the end, she did hand him some kind of form letter stating that he had applied for a new SSN etc... which we figured they just gave everyone automatically, since it obviously didn't apply to my husband!)

The woman also said that it might take a bit of time to verify his citizenship status since he only took his oath that very day (and she made a photocopy of his new Naturalization Certificate).

I've added my husband's application info... Hope nobody minds, I reformatted the list a bit

User Name.....Location..........Application Date.....Passport Receive Date......Service

Sami76..........Atlanta, GA..........08/07/2009..............08/28/2009.....................Normal

Annelizabeth....New Albany, IN.......08/24/09................--/--/----.....................Normal

Kathryn41.......Stockbridge, GA......08/28/09................--/--/----.....................Normal

l.j./1999.......Brooklyn, NY.........08/29/09................--/--/----.....................Normal

cookiee.........Miami, FL............09/01/09................--/--/----.....................Expedited

Congratulations l.j./1999!

Thanks for your details on the oath ceremony. My wife just received her Oat Letter this past Saturday. She will have her Oath ceremony at the same place (Brooklyn) on Sep 18.

We read through yours and that is very helpful. Can you tell us what kind of documents your husband took for the ceremony? Only greencard and the letter? Any other?

wil,

Congrats on your wife's upcoming swearing-in!

For documents to bring, the Oath Letter and Green Card are the most important ones (since they won't let you in the oath ceremony room without those). My husband also brought his first conditional green card, and his EADs from before he became a permanent resident, which were collected by USCIS.

If you have any other immigration documents (Advance Parole or Re-entry Permit) you should bring those too to turn in to the USCIS officials.

Another thing, after the oath letter is reviewed by them, make sure to hold on to it till the end of the ceremony -- everyone had turn in the Oath Letter at the very end to get their Naturalization Certificates.

At my husband's oath ceremony a few days ago, they were given a sheet with the Oath of Allegiance and the Pledge of Allegiance written on it. It did not have to be memorized. Actually the judge led them in reciting the pledge - she would say a line, and they'd all repeat after her.

Thanks guys!!!

Tini, thanks for the additional info about hyphens, I really wasn't sure if my husband's experience was normal or not. He has the hyphen in his first name and without it people tend to think part of his first name is his middle name.. it looks odd without the hyphen. Hopefully his experience with the passport will be the same as yours, with his name spelled exactly as he wants!

Congrats annelizabeth! Nice end to a long journey (I see your citizenship process took close to a year!) Since my husband just took his oath today, I found it really interesting to compare how the oath ceremonies are organized in different places!

Big congrats cookiee! =) I can definitely relate to your excitement, my husband also took his oath today!

This morning my husband finally became a U.S. citizen! Woohoo! VisaJourney was a huge help to us every step of the way, so I'm happy to share the details of this final stage in our immigration journey.

We arrived at the courthouse around 15 minutes before the appointment, which was scheduled for 8:30. We really benefited from VJ member Tini27's account of getting lost on her way to the courthouse, and made sure to check the court's address on their website. Note to others dealing with the Brooklyn Court House: the oath letter says it's at "225 Cadman Plaza" but there are two Cadman Plazas - East and West. After checking online, we knew to go to Cadman Plaza East for the courthouse, and had no trouble finding our way.

Once we arrived, we saved some time by leaving our cellphones at home and not bringing a camera. Cameras and cellphones are not allowed in the courthouse and have to be turned in to security. By not bringing these items, we avoided a long line at the end of the ceremony, when everyone was waiting to claim their electronic gadgets from the security staff.

After entering the courthouse, hubby headed to the oath room, and I was told to go to the cafeteria on the 3rd floor. The cafeteria had a little TV where we could watch everything going on in the oath ceremony room. One row at a time, people would be called up to turn in their Green Cards, EADs, APs and other immigration documents, and to sign their new Naturalization Certificates. Officials also distributed and collected Voter Registration Forms and provided information about free health insurance options for NY State residents.

My husband pointed out to the immigration official that his name was missing a hyphen on the Certificate, and the woman told him that's normal, they can't print hyphens. When he showed her that his Green Card had the hyphen, she told him to step aside and speak to another person. This second guy said they couldn't change the name without seeing hubby's Birth Certificate as proof of his legal name (which of course hubby didn't bring with him, and his BC is almost illegible anyway). He said they also couldn't remove the extra space that they put in place of the hyphen, because that would constitute a name change. So hubby just decided to accept the spelling on the certificate.

At around 10:00, my husband came up to the cafeteria where I was sitting, he was getting a short break and had to be back downstairs at 10:30 for the oath. We ended up going back down to the oath room together, because there were extra seats available and we saw a few other family members going down (although nobody officially told us we could go into the oath room, I guess we kind of "snuck in" to join our oath-taking relatives). We all waited in boredom as the judge was delayed until 11:00. One of the immigration officials fielded questions while we waited.

Finally, shortly after 11:00, Judge Roslynn Mauskopf arrived for the swearing in. All the oath-takers stood up and recited the Oath of Allegiance and the Pledge of Allegiance, making them officially American citizens. The judge gave a moving speech, describing her own parents' immigration to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia after surviving the Holocaust. Her personal connection to the immigrant experience was evident; she didn't just seem to be going throught the motions, but seemed to genuinely enjoy her involvement in the naturalization process. She emphasized the privileges of U.S. citizenship, but also encouraged new citizens to maintain their traditions and contribute to the multicultural legacy of America.

After the judge's speech, the staff started calling out everyone's names to pick up their Naturalizaton Certificates (in no apparent order), and as soon as we got hubby's certificate we headed out. As I mentioned, we avoided the long line to pick up cellphones/cameras since we left ours at home, and headed to a nearby restaurant to splurge on a celebratory lunch.

After lunch we headed to the nearby Social Security office to report hubby's citizenship status.. had to deal with an extremely long line which was a bit exhausting, but we were happy to be done with that step. Tomorrow he'll photocopy the certificate and then apply for his passport the following day.

Can't believe we've made it to the end of this journey.. THANK YOU SO MUCH VISAJOURNEY!!!

I would also bring EAD, AP (if ever obtained) and the expired conditional green card (if applies). They're all DHS-issued documents.

Thanks, that's what I figured, we have all the Green Cards and EADs ready to bring tomorrow. Can't believe the day is finally here!

Just to add another question since my hubby's oath is tomorrow...

Did anyone turn in their old EAD(s) at the oath? I told my husband to bring his just in case. The oath letter says to bring any "immigration documents" and I thought the EAD technically falls in that category.

I (the USC) handled it all for my husband simply because I am better at paperwork. Nothing else.

Ditto!

Technically I guess it's my husband's "responsibility" since he's the immigrant and it's his status that's at stake, but realistically I'm just better at that stuff. He does the photocopying and actual mailings... I do the organizing and writing part of it

Though I did tell hubby that after he becomes a U.S. citizen this week, it'll be his responsibility to handle the paperwork for maintaining his Philippine citizenship. Now let's see what actually happens! I might just get impatient with his procrastination and fill in all the forms myself

Haha, the same thing happened with our original I-129F fiance petition! It took them a year and a half to update the online status - I was shocked to get an email about our fiance petition being approved when my husband was already in the U.S. and a few months from applying for Removal of Conditions

Well, it's good to know they eventually get around to updating their online records !

Congrats EllaRose and mrPuffyBunny on your successful interviews! Sounds like everything went as smoothly as can be.

Seems that all the interviews for the April filers are now over and everyone is in the final stage of becoming a citizen! Woohoo!!

Congratulations, U.S. Citizen!

My husband is thinking of doing an Infopass to ask about the hyphen in his name- at the interview he was not really thinking that much about it, but now that the interview is over it is starting to weigh on his mind. But if adding the hyphen is too troublesome, he will not insist on it because he doesn't want to cause any delay in his oath.

Don't forget, he might be able to take the oath and then have it changed afterward if it's not exactly right. After they gave out the certificates at my oath, they asked us to tell them if we needed something changed on them before we left. Just don't wait too long after the oath or they make you pay for a new certificate .

Good point, MsAnn, we're just afraid that if he waits till the oath ceremony it might be a big hassle to have the certificate changed. If we did go that route, I wonder if they would reprint the certificate from scratch or just add a little amendment to it somehow? Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to get the certificate back?

I wonder why hyphens are so problematic for immigration documents, it seems to me that hyphens (as well as apostrophes) are extremely common in American names, not like a foreign character. We did manage to get the hyphen on his current Green Card, after specifically requesting it in the Removal of Conditions application package.

My husband feels strongly about keeping the hyphen, because that's how his name has been written his whole life and it will look weird to him in any other format.

Anyway, we're trying to keep a positive attitude, look forward to the upcoming oath, and not get overly stressed about the name! I can't wait to be done with this whole process and have a big shred-fest with our mountain of immigration-related paperwork accumulated over the years

Congrats on completing your journey, MsAnn, RDan, and tpontirolli!!! Good luck on tomorrow's interviews for mrPuffyBunny and Ella Rose.

My husband is thinking of doing an Infopass to ask about the hyphen in his name- at the interview he was not really thinking that much about it, but now that the interview is over it is starting to weigh on his mind. But if adding the hyphen is too troublesome, he will not insist on it because he doesn't want to cause any delay in his oath.

Ha, you're absolutely right, Kathryn, I asked my husband and he confirmed those two questions are the other ones he was asked today.

He's now a little worried because he forgot to remind them about including the hyphen in his name on the naturalization certificate - somehow it always gets omitted from immigration documents and he's concerned the same will be true of the naturalization certificate. Hopefully on the day of the oath he can make a request to add the hyphen, if they do omit it as we are suspecting they will. I don't suppose there's anything else we can do at this point to ensure the name is spelled correctly?

As far as relatives attending the oath, I read on recent posts (such as March filer Tini27's) that here in Brooklyn, NY, the relatives cannot attend any of the events and have to wait in a cafeteria or something, even though the process takes about 3 hours. Also cameras and cellphones are apparently not allowed, which is a shame. But I will go with my husband anyway because I want to share that special day with him - I'm prepared for several hours of waiting, and afterward we'll go out for a nice lunch to celebrate.

Updating with hubby's oath date

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USCIS Lockbox Texas

UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office

KromiX...........04/01/09....04/13/09....04/28/09......05/09/09........07/02/09.....07/27/09....Miami, FL

Raleighn400......04/02/09....04/07/09....05/11/09......05/22/09........07/29/09.....07/30/09....Durham, NC

SY2k9............04/02/09....04/11/09....05/02/09......05/11/09........06/18/09.....06/25/09....San Antonio, TX

Tumande..........04/02/09....04/10/09....05/01/09......05/15/09........06/23/09.....--/--/--....Dallas, TX

GabLopSan........04/06/09....04/13/09....05/08/09......06/02/09........08/20/09.....--/--/--....Newark NJ

James............04/07/09....04/10/09....05/01/09......05/21/09........07/08/09.....07/24/09....Miami, FL

Ssalburo.........04/07/09....04/13/09....05/08/09......05/18/09........08/06/09.....--/--/--....Baltimore, MD

SleepBear........04/10/09....04/20/09....05/11/09......06/01/09........07/06/09.....07/15/09....Miami, FL

weirdon..........04/10/09....04/20/09....05/20/09......06/08/09........07/28/09.....09/02/09....Philadelphia, PA

l.j./1999........04/11/09....04/16/09....05/07/09......06/27/09........08/18/09.....08/27/09....New York, NY

n400filer........04/11/09....04/20/09....05/22/09......05/27/09........07/28/09.....08/13/09....Boston, MA

liahnsilver......04/16/09....05/05/09....05/30/09......06/21/09........07/30/09.....08/19/09....Houston,TX

jeangab .........04/20/09....04/30/09....05/15/09......06/05/09........07/29/09.....08/14/09....Durham, NC

pampita2.........04/20/09....05/04/09....06/05/09......06/19/09........07/22/09.....09/21/09....Front Royal, VA

Cliff_Ksenia.....04/23/09....04/29/09....05/20/09......06/08/09........07/22/09.....--/--/--....Christiansted, VI

J&D..............04/24/09....04/30/09....05/16/09......06/04/09........07/23/09.....07/23/09....Tampa, FL

Kathryn41........04/30/09....05/06/09....06/03/09......07/06/09........08/13/09.....08/26/09....Atlanta, GA

king&queen.......04/30/09....05/04/09....06/03/09......07/07/09........08/13/09.....08/26/09....Atlanta, GA

etahb............04/30/09....05/04/09....06/03/09......06/12/09........07/23/09.....09/25/09....Albany, NY

USCIS Lockbox Arizona

UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office

anci78...........03/26/09....04/02/09....04/22/09......05/15/09........06/22/09.....08/05/09....San Francisco, CA

jsnearline.......03/28/09....04/03/09....04/25/09......05/20/09........07/17/09.....08/28/09....Denver, CO

gopalag..........04/01/09....04/13/09....04/29/09......05/21/09........07/01/09.....08/19/09....San Diego, CA

sjjp1974.........04/03/09....04/17/09....05/09/09......05/22/09........07/21/09.....07/22/09....Portland, OR

Babonsi..........04/06/09....04/18/09....05/08/09......05/26/09........07/07/09.....08/12/09....Sacramento, CA

Swatcat..........04/09/09....04/17/09....05/27/09......06/18/09........07/28/09.....--/--/--....Kansas City, MO

macb1980.........04/09/09....04/16/09....05/08/09......05/26/09........07/07/09.....08/28/09....Cincinnati, OH

RDan19...........04/18/09....04/20/09....05/19/09......07/07/09........08/18/09.....--/--/--....St.Paul, MN

MsAnn............04/20/09....04/27/09....05/29/09......06/17/09........08/19/09.....--/--/--....Portland, OR

mrPuffyBunny.....04/20/09....04/27/09....05/28/09......07/06/09........08/20/09.....--/--/--....St.Paul, MN

tpontirolli......04/22/09....04/29/09....05/22/09......06/05/09........07/22/09.....08/19/09....San Diego, CA

Wifey246.........04/24/09....04/30/09....05/13/09......06/08/09........07/30/09.....08/28/09....Los Angeles, CA

Clarax...........04/28/09....05/08/09....05/26/09......06/26/09........08/11/09.....--/--/--....Denver, CO

USCIS Lockbox Nebraska

UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office

GermanInDixie....04/03/09....04/09/09....04/29/09......06/02/09........06/16/09.....07/22/09....Atlanta, GA

Hi guys,

My husband's interview was this morning and everything was a success! He is scheduled to take the oath next week on Aug 27th!

I didn't accompany my husband because I read several accounts here about spouses not being allowed in the same waiting area as the applicant.

For other New Yorkers, the Garden City office is easy to reach without a car, and my husband said the bus service from the Hempstead train station is very frequent - there is no need at all to take a cab if unless you are really running late.

He got there early and was called for his interview about 20 minutes before his scheduled appointment time. The whole interview lasted no more than 10 minutes.

The two documents the interviewer specifically asked for were the Selective Service registration and my Certificate of Citizenship (he commented that a U.S. passport is not good proof of citizenship). Then he asked for any evidence of our married life, so my husband showed him what he brought and the interviewer chose to keep some utility bills, apartment insurance statements, and statements from our retirement plans showing each other as beneficiary. My husband commented that the interviewer asked several times if either of us had been married previously (it's the first marriage for both of us).

The test question husband remembers are:

- What ocean is on the west side of the U.S.?

- What is rule of law?

- How many U.S. senators are there?

- What is the name of the national anthem?

He doesn't remember the other two, but he got all six right and wasn't asked any more.

After the interview he waited about 50 minutes for the oath appointment letter. I plan to go with my husband to the swearing in although I've heard that relatives are not allowed to attend the ceremony, just because I want to celebrate the end of this journey with him.

Wow! I can't believe it's over! :)

Good luck to everyone else interviewing this week!