N and S

26 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

Thank you! I believe it depends on the zip code which office is responsible for you. Does that not check out for you?

Mt Laurel doesn’t offer same day oath, right? Do they allow to take Oath next day in Newark, or do you have to wait until they schedule?

Quarknase, we live in the next towns of each other. I don't know how the zipcode/field office works out. We are both in Central Jersey. 

Mount Laurel had the same day oath ceremony.  Newark had same day oath ceremonies if you had your interview by a certain time of the day....my friend had her oath ceremony on a different day because her interview was later in the afternoon. They did not have the time to print the naturalization certificates printed out in time for the last oath ceremony of the day. Newark had multiple oath ceremonies in the day when we interviewed in Feb 2020.  

26 minutes ago, Marimar04 said:

Did you have your interview before than your friend? I heard that Mt Laurel office moves faster.

Marimar04, we had our interview about 1 week apart.

4 hours ago, Quarknase said:

Hey,

Are you Newark or Mt Laurel? When did you file/biometrics? My estimated completion time is October 2020 I filed in January and did biometrics on Feb 4th. Field office Newark.

It looks like there are no news if interviews have resumed yet?

We filed in May 2019 at the Newark Field Center.... our interview was in Mount Laurel in Feb 2020, while my friend who filed along with me had her interview at Newark. No clue why one office over the other for any of us. 

All the best to all new filers in this thread.

On 3/21/2020 at 8:36 PM, tootak said:

Happy to report that my i751 and N400 are finally accepted. As I had applied for citizenship, I won’t get a new green card. Now waiting for the oath ceremonies (although no one knows how/if this will be happening given the circumstances) 

 

stay safe friends. 

Wonderful news! Congratulations Tootak!

On 2/28/2020 at 3:01 AM, Srdan said:

Hello guys, my initial documents were recieved on 05/07/2018 at California Service Center... so far no word from them except fingerprints in July 2019, anybody in the same boat? I saw that they reduced processing time for CA center up to 20.5 months...so I am already over that time frame...I don’t know what to do

Srdan, try contacting your local congressman for help with this matter.

We asked our local congressman for help in our petition, and we got status updates from USCIS through the congressman's office three times before our case got adjudicated. Good luck with your petition. 

2 hours ago, New Yorker 82 said:

Dear members i have a question

 

After filing N400 i had couple of trips. Do i have to take the paper with me writing the dates and places visit on the N400 interview.

I have not filed the taxes for 2019 i still have time till April 15. Do the officer ask for 2019 taxes. 

also i have one one traffic ticket for the red signal which is paid do i require the court disposition letter or something.

 

Thank you 

 

I had my travel dates handy on a piece of paper, but didn’t need it. USCIS officer had my travel history from CBP open on her computer and just asked me to confirm the information. 
 

I took our tax filing for last 3 years along, but wasn’t asked for that paperwork. Just asked if we owed any taxes. 

1 hour ago, Annabanana316 said:

Hi! How long was your waiting time from date of filing to interview?

My timeline was similar - filed on May 21st2019... interview in mid Feb 2020. It followed the projected date of completion to the dot in my case.

21 minutes ago, RunTheRoad said:

Yes, happened today. No idea why. Happened to only a few of us. Others had their oath ceremony as scheduled. Very frustrating. @N and S, did your friend's online status change?

@RunTheRoad, the case status shows "we have approved your application". No sign of her letter for the naturalization ceremony. It will be a week tomorrow.  

Hope all these hiccups are resolved soon. 

Did anyone have a delayed oath ceremony at Newark recently? How many days later was your oath ceremony? Asking for a friend who interviewed on Feb 20th 2020 at Newark, but didn't have her oath ceremony the same day due to some issues with printing of naturalization certificates. Thanks for any inputs.

1 hour ago, OBX said:

I had my interview yesterday (February 19) at the Newark office.  Here's my review:

 

My interview time was 10:00 a.m.  There is plenty of paid parking the area.  I parked in a lot just south of the Prudential Center and paid $15.00 for a 9 a.m. -  2:30 p.m. stay.  Arrived at the building at 9:15 a.m.  I entered through the Walnut Street entrance.  There was a lineup outside both doors on this side of the building.  The line moved quickly and I was in the building within 5 minutes.  Security is similar to airport screening (large purses, knapsacks etc are allowed) everything gets screened.

 

Elevators were straight ahead and I went up to the 15th floor as indicated on the interview letter.  There is a security guard stationed just off from the elevators.  He checked my letter and picture ID.  The interview area/room is straight ahead.  There was a short line facing a bank of windows.  I was called up to a window where I handed in my interview letter and green card.  The agent took the letter and attached it to a file folder which I assumed was my file.  She then took my picture (eyeglasses removed) and did biometrics and returned my green card.  I was then instructed to sit down and wait for my name to be called.  It was only 9:30 a.m. by this point.  The room was almost completely full, however, at 9:40 a.m. a large group were called out for the first oath ceremony of the day. (Newark office does same day oath ceremonies.)

 

At 10: a.m. my name was called to door 1.  There were 3 doors that I could see marked.  When they call your name go the door and if the agent isn't already there just wait because the doors are locked from the inside.  The interviewer was waiting for me at the door.  Through the door is a hallway with multiple offices.  The interviewer I had  was a very pleasant man; he put me at ease right away.

 

I was asked for my passport, green card and drivers license.  I was asked to raise my right and and swear to tell the truth.  He did the testing first.  Questions were:

1. When is the last day you can send in federal tax forms?

2. Who makes federal laws?

3. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

4. What is the capital of the United States?

5. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.

6. What is the supreme law of the land?

 

As he was asking the questions and I was answering he was typing into his computer.

 

I then wrote a sentence using my fingertip (Who do we pay taxes to?) on an iPad sized screen mounted on his desk in front of me.  I then read the answer (We pay taxes to the Untied States government.)

 

He then said passed the test and he moved on to my application.  He confirmed some personal information (name, address, employment, marital status, when I became a permanent resident, number of children.)  He did not ask to see any original marriage certificates, divorce certificates.

He noted that my travel outside of the US was primarily to Canada.  I gave him a typed list of additional trips I had made since my application was filed.  He asked to keep the sheet. (I had typed up all of my trips since applying on the appropriate page of the N400 application and brought it with me. )

 

He asked if I owed any taxes. (No) I had federal tax transcripts for the past 5 years but he didn't ask to see them.  He asked if I had ever claimed to be a U.S. citizen (No.)  He asked if I had ever been arrested (No.)  I mentioned that I had two speeding tickets (both under $200.00).  I had copies of the tickets and prove of payment but he didn't want to see them. 

 

He asked if I had ever sold drugs, had ever been in the military, had ever belonged to any terrorist groups.  Basically a selection of the questions on the N400 application.

 

He asked each question from 45 - 50 on the application about supporting the Constitution and understanding the Oath of Allegiance.

 

At various points I had to sign my name on the screen.  Again this was just with my finger so it was quite messy but he said it was fine.

 

He then signed my sheet and said the he was recommending me for the second oath ceremony of the day at 11:30 a.m. The entire process took less than 15 minutes.  I waited in the waiting room for the next hour and a half.  There is no eating or drinking in the waiting room but there are washrooms just outside the room and a water cooler. There is a cafe on the second floor but I didn't bother to check it out. 

 

At 11:45 a.m. the second ceremony group and family members were called out to go down the hall for the oath ceremony.  All new citizens were seated together with family behind.  You will receive an envelope with a passport application and some general information and a small American flag.  There were two speakers; the first gave general information regarding contacting social security, voting and passport application.  We saw a short video and sang the national anthem.  Everyone was called up in groups of 10 or so to get the narturalization certificate.  Make sure you carefully check all of the information on it.  If there are any errors they will fix them for free on that day but if you discover something wrong after it will cost $550 to get it corrected.

 

The second speaker administer the Oath of Allegiance which made it official.  🎉

 

There is an opportunity to take photos and ask the agents any questions you might have.

 

I wanted to apply for a passport on the same day so I had a pre-filled application and photos with me.  Make sure you sign your naturalization certificate (with black ink) to make it official.  When you exit the building via Walnut Street there is a post office directly across the street that will accept the application; no appointment required.  The original naturalization certificate has to be submitted with the application but they will give you a photocopy.  They will accept credit cards for the $35.00 processing fee but the actual passport fee (and any expedite fees) are cash or debit only.  

 

I hope this is helpful to anyone that likes to know what to expect.  My immigration journey is now complete.  Best of luck to everyone still working their way towards citizenship.  🙂 👍 

 

 

Congratulations! 
 

Thanks for sharing your experience in detail. 

Fellow Vjers, 

One of our family got their green card some two years back. She arrived on a visitor visa and her US citizen son petitioned for her during her visit. They engaged a lawyer who told them to file the green card application after six months of the lady arriving in the US. Is there a reason to wait for six months after date of arrival to the US? Please share your experience....we have a visiting parent who arrived on tourist visa, and we would like to petition for their green card. 

Thanks,

N

2 hours ago, tootak said:

Congratulations on your citizenship!!! 
I’m still waiting. No update from USCIS. i contacted our congressman to see if they can help with my case... haven’t heard from them either. 

Thanks, Tootak! 

We had asked our congressman to help with our I-751 case after waiting several months. Their office took a few weeks to get us an update from USCIS.  Hope your congressman's office is able to help you soon! Good luck again. 

On 2/2/2020 at 3:44 PM, tootak said:

The N400 letter didn’t say anything about i751 case, nor a combo interview but I had heard in many cases the officer just decided to combine the two cases.
I hope yours will be a combo. good luck!

Tootak, did your case get resolved? 

N had her N400 interview and she is now officially a US citizen. 🇺🇸😃

On 2/1/2020 at 8:22 PM, N and S said:

Tootak,  this is disappointing indeed. Hope they get the I-751 soon. Did your N400 letter have info about N400 interview? Good luck! 
 

We have our N400 interview in 2 weeks with pending i751 case. My interview letter has stuff only about N400.  I will update my experience here. 

N is now a US citizen. 🇺🇸The officer just did the N400 interview and asked for a bunch of documents to be submitted along towards our application and waived the i751 interview after discussing with the supervisor. 
 

Glad to finish this journey with the USCIS. 

19 hours ago, Hamidparis said:

The CO didn't check my passport at the interview he simply logged in to the CBD website to check all the dates for my previous trips abroad. 

Thank you for sharing your experience, Hamidparis. 

11 hours ago, xyz12345 said:

Usually the old passports are used to verify dates of international trips. If N is nowhere close to breaking the continuous residence requirement, then I wouldn't worry too much about it.  imo Just tell the IO that they are lost when asked. If you're still worried, do you have old boarding passes etc?

 

The IO did ask for all my passports but after my placing all (7) of them on his desk, he just looked at the pile and then told me that I can put them away.

Thank you xyz12345. We are ok in regards to continuous residence requirement. Your inputs helped us to have a bit of peace of mind.

Dear VJers,

We have our naturalization interview scheduled at Mount Laurel field office next week. We were assembling our package and seems to have lost N's old passports somewhere. How crucial are having the old passports for the naturalization interview? We have photocopies of the biometric pages of the old passports. 

Thanks in advance for any inputs. 

On 1/31/2020 at 1:52 PM, tootak said:

So....today I had my N-400 interview. I was hoping it'd be a combo interview but the officer said I have to have another date for I-751...bummer....she looked reluctant and not eager to help. When I carefully asked here again if I can have both interviews today she gave me a firm no, said she cannot do I-751 interviews.

 

I was prepared with all documents for i-751 (and I had my hasband with me) but at the end of the interview she just scanned the documents and said I passed N-400 interview but "no decision can be made at this point" and I'll need to wait until my I-751 is accepted.

 

I'm disappointed that I need to wait again. Anyone had a similar experience? How long usually it takes after N-400 interview to hear about a pending I-751?

Tootak,  this is disappointing indeed. Hope they get the I-751 soon. Did your N400 letter have info about N400 interview? Good luck! 
 

We have our N400 interview in 2 weeks with pending i751 case. My interview letter has stuff only about N400.  I will update my experience here. 

Hi all,

Found an update on our case today. Our case is scheduled for a combo interview ( i751 and N400) at Mount Laurel on Feb 13th. We filed the N400 case on May 21 2019. 

56 minutes ago, JJO said:

oh okay, then my theory of AR11 was wrong.  Thank you.

Yeah, we don't understand why some folks get it early and some get delayed for long. Hoping it works out soon for us. 

14 minutes ago, JJO said:

Praying for that. Can i ask you the same question i had been asking many guys here. Have you filed AR11(address change) while your i751 was pending. I'm still wondering if that could have caused the delayed..

No, we have been at our same address since filing. 

5 hours ago, JJO said:

Mine is also stuck at same status since July 6th 2018 at VSC.

Hope we get our 10 year green cards soon!

Hi all, 

Our file is still on the "fingerprint review completed" since July 11 2018. We asked our congressman to contact the USCIS on our behalf about our file status. We got a reply from them today after the congressman's enquiry. " VSC is currently processing Forms 1-751 filed on or before March 18 2018."  VSC's processing time for I-751 is ranging from 13.5 -20 months. 

Thought this might help someone who filed along with us, and is still waiting.