NexGen

@NextGen: can you direct to the actual link at USCIS where one can check the the USCIS page for the actual field office to see their dates...I don't seem to find anything, just a generic website about naturalization/oath ceremonies by USCIS...nothing specific by field offices. Thanks!

The information around judicial ceremonies on the website of the California Eastern district court, which is the judicial jurisdiction for Sacramento, is non existent. Honestly I am not sure what to make of it. I reviewed some older posts but the information is inconsistent and I am not sure it is even reliable since some posts are 2-3 years old. One post suggested that the name change order is provided together with the naturalization certificate during the administrative ceremony. Another poster suggested that Sacramento no longer conducts judicial ceremonies and the applicant must petition the court after the administrative oath ceremony. Like I said, not consistent.

Might I suggest that you call the California Eastern District court and follow up with them directly. Ask if they perform judicial naturalization ceremonies and how often. I have included their link below.

And yes, the anglicization of your first name probably meets the criteria of a name change and requires a court order. But I am not an expert on USCIS rules so hopefully someone with more experience can chime in. Also please post what you find out since it might be useful to others in the same situation. Best of luck and sorry I could not provide more clarity.

http://www.caed.uscourts.gov/caednew/

@NextGen: can you direct to the actual link at USCIS where one can check the the USCIS page for the actual field office to see their dates...I don't seem to find anything, just a generic website about naturalization/oath ceremonies by USCIS...nothing specific by field offices. Thanks!

Apologies, I should have said check the court system for judicial ceremonies. Where are you located, maybe I can try and pull it up for you. City, County and State please. Thanks.

My shiny US passport arrived today. Now awaiting the naturalization certificate.

Kash/Happy Chic - Please update my timeline. Many thanks.

Speeding infractions are traffic offenses so they need to be disclosed. I simply said that I had a reckless driving charge reduced to a speeding ticket and that I had paid the fine and voluntarily taken a defensive driving class to reinstate my driving points. I showed the IO a copy of the court disposition, certtificate of defensive driving class and DMV record showing my reinstated driving points. You don't have to, but you can request your DMV record through the state website. It costs about $10 or thereabouts. But like I said, this is not mandatory or even necessary. The IO barely blnked but he took the copies that I had made and inserted into my immigration file. They are more concerned about criminal charges, and not traffic offenses.

Under their own rules, USCIS should not even require proof of payment of a traffice offense if the resulting penalty was less than $500, but that does not seem to stop some IO's from requesting during the interview. So to be safe, bring copies to the interview.

The way I see it you have two options if really you want to file for naturalization now. Otherwise, you can delay until you have filed your 2015 return.

Option #1: include tax return transcripts for the 3 years leading up to the application i.e. 2012, 2013 and 2014. To be on the safe side, you may choose to bring the 2015 transcript to the interview when it is available. This would be my first choice.

Option #2: include tax return transcripts for 2 years i.e. 2013 and 2014, and bring 2015 to the interview.

The correct answer to both questions is "Yes". There is a section in the application where you can list the traffic offence and disposition.

I, too, had a reckless driving citation amended to a mere speeding infraction, which I disclosed in my application, and again, during the interview. Provided the fine has been paid, a speeding ticket, by itself, should not be an impediment to your naturalization application. Make sure that you bring proof of payment to the interview. You can make a print out of the court disposition from the county clerk online system.

If you request a name change during the interview, then you will require a judicial ceremony where the oath is administered by a judge. This could take longer to schedule because some field offices only conduct judicial ceremonies once a month. Please check the USCIS page for your field office to see if they have any information around judicial ceremonies.

In cases where the applicant does not require a name change, the oath is administered by a USCIS officer in what is called an administrative ceremony. These are scheduled more frequently and a few field offices still offer same day or next day oath ceremonies. Most times you will not know if this option is available to you until the day of the interview. But don't let the process dictate your decision.

It is 3 years minus 90 days from the date on her resident card. Also has she met all of the other eligibility conditions?

That was surprisingly quick! I hope they keep the same pace!

Yes. This must be one of their slow times after the Christmas rush. In any event, I am glad that I saved myself the $60 expedite fee

Good news!!! Just received an email update about my passport application. They have finished processing and it has been printed. I paid for overnight delivery so I should have it within the next 1-2 days.

In my excitement I forgot to add that I applied for routine processing which they said would take 4-6 weeks. They finished processing in about 1 week. I thought I was in for the full 6 weeks because of the holiday break. This has totally exceeded my expectations.

Good news!!! Just received an email update about my passport application. They have finished processing and it has been printed. I paid for overnight delivery so I should have it within the next 1-2 days.

USCIS will schedule the oath ceremony and notify her of the date, time and location. A few locations offer same day oath but you will not know until the day of the interview. Typically the oath ceremony will be sheduled within 30 days of the interview unless the field office is very backlogged in which case it can take longer. She can apply for a US passport on the same day that she is naturalized. Applications for new passports must be made in person at an authorized acceptance facility. Most USPS offices are authorized to do so but many require an appointment so call ahead to schedule one, once she receives her oath notice. Best of luck to her.

I called them today and was told I should've have my biometrics done by mid November. They are also not sure why I wasn't scheduled. They filed a claim for me and I should be expecting a reply within 15 days.

Do you guys know if there's a way that they'll expedite my application because my green card will expire in July, and it's really not my fault that my application got delayed..

USCIS will NOT expedite your naturalization application simply because your GC has expired or will expire before approval is provided. Incidentally, a green card is merely evidence of your status and you are still a lawful permanent resident, even if your GC has expired. Further there is no rule requiring you to renew your GC while your naturalization application is pending and lack of a renewed GC should not hold up your naturalization approval.

Oh so even though I was born in Iran I can become a citizen of Iran,Canada and US ? All 3

You might want to reach out to the Iranian consulate to verify their rules around multiple citizenships but my understanding is that Iran does not recognize dual citizenship. My guess is that you probably lost your Iranian citizenship when you became a Canadian citizen unless you sought and was provided with special permission by the Iranian government to retain your Iranian citizenship.

No, you will not. Canadians are allowed to take foreign citizenship while keeping their Canadian citizenship. The U.S. has also no restrictions.

Hi

When filing N400 with supporting documents such as joint bank statements. Do you have to include every single statement for the past 3 years? That's 12 statements for every single year which would be around 36 statements for all 3 years, or would you just include like 5 random statements for every single year?

Just a thought ..... why not submit quarterly statements i.e for the periods ending March, June, Sept and December. That's 4 statements per year for a total of 12 for all 3 years. Would that work?

The country is not an issue but his/her visit should be less than 6 months so that it does not impact the residency requirements.

Do they use the photo we submitted with our package or the photo from biometrics on our certificate? I read that the one taken at biometrics appointment is the one they use on the certificate. Just wondering if anyone knows.

I was naturalized in December and I can confirm that they use the photo taken at the biometrics appointment. The one you send in with the application serves as a backup in the event their primary photo is destroyed.

An uplifting story and I am glad that you got your happy ending. Thanks for sharing and all the best in the future.

Thanks for your reply.. Could you please tell how many days after your interview , you got 2nd notification that you have been scheduled for oath. We got 1st notification that she is inline for oath on 21st( interview was on 14th)?

Thanks for your comments

No problem. Here is my timeline:

10/29/15 interview date

11/04/15 placed in line for oath ceremony (6 days)

11/23/15 oath scheduled (19 days)

11/27/15 oath notice received (4 days)

12/22/15 oath ceremony

Did the email say your wife is inline for oath scheduling or that she'd been scheduled for an oath?

If your wife is inline for the oath then she may not have been scheduled yet. She's just been put on the list for people who need to have ceremonies scheduled. They won't send a letter until they actually schedule the oath. Im not sure if they still send another email/text update when they actually schedule the oath (they used to).

Just to confirm: USCIS will send out a final notification when they schedule your oath ceremony. I was naturalized Dec 22 and received one.

So what's the point of the "90 days window" if they are going to take cases within 30 days of the 3-5 years rule? My 3rd anniversary is on april 2016 which means my window opens on jan 21, 2016. My idea is to file on jan 25th

You still come out ahead. Getting to the interview is the longest part of the process. For majority of cases the entire process takes an average of 5-6 months; 4 if your are really lucky.

So think about it. If you file when you are eligible in Jan, then theoretically you could be done by June/July even if your interview is not scheduled until March/April.

If you wait to file when you hit your anniversary date in April, then using the same estimates, you would be done by Sept/Oct.

Early filing still has some benefits assuming you are not stuck in background check or fall victim to a backlogged office.

Incidentally the Hialeah FL field office is processing n400 applications within 5 months.

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do;jsessionid=abcYOFI9Qrje1fyacX4hv

Alaska2012 - you are dealing with lower level officers and their job is to issue passports based on a strict criteria. I suggest you reach out to the State Dept and request to speak to a higher level officer to get guidance on alternative documents they will accept in lieu of the court documents listed by Hypnos. It might be as simple as getting an affidavit from the child's father confirming that you have sole custody; assuming you are in contact with him. Or, maybe you need to get a legal opinion letter from a US law firm that specializes in family law/international adoptions. I don't know the answer but I think trying to get some guidance from the State Dept is key. Doesn't matter what the Swedish embassy says if the State Dept refuses to accept.

I'll filling for my n400 mid Jan through marriage to an USC, During my whole journey, I've seen people doing biometrics appointments walk in instead of waiting for the actual date of the appointment. Is it faster?

For example if I get my appointment for february 20 and I go on the 5th...does it make things faster or it takes the same amount of time?

Not necessarily. You could be stuck in background check and if you are an early filer, some USCIS field offices will not place you in line for an interview until you are within 30 days of your 3 or 5 year GC anniversary date.

Ok, I'm starting to get concerned... I received an update on 12/15 that our interview was scheduled and I have yet to get the notice in the mail. We did just move, but our address was updated in the system prior to that notice because it shows in our case file and they sent us a notice of acceptance to our new address. When I tried calling yesterday, they basically told me there is nothing they can do to look into the matter until it has been 30 days since the update with no receipt of a letter. My issue is we go out of state on Jan 7-11 (which I highly doubt the actual interview will be scheduled in those dates) and I'm worried we won't get a notice until a few days before the actual interview, or God forbid, until after the scheduled interview. It has never taken us longer than 2-3 days to get a notice in the mail after an update was done to our file... Any words of suggestion?

Call the mainline again and politely insist on speaking to a tier 2 officer. They can tell you the date, time and location of your interview.