~Alessa~

Hello! I had my interview in September and got naturalized last week. Everything went very well and very organized. The ceremony occurred at the Courthouse in the courtroom. We waited to be checked-in, than, the actual ceremony started and only lasted 10 min or so. I got my certificate and I was hopeful that there is going to be someone from Social security office to update my status but I only saw people who register to vote.
Today I called SSA office they said they will only schedule an appointment if it's an emergency and they hope that offices will re-open some time soon.
Does anyone know if it's currently possible to apply for passport in-person without needing to travel within 3 days? It's a little bit confusing because on the DHS website it says you absolutely have to have an emergency to apply for passport and as a first-time applicant I have to go in person but at the same time DHS says they are opened for routine service. I assume if you need to renew your passport you apply by mail and within 10-12 weeks you will get it but as a first-time applicant you basically can't do anything since they limit in-person appointments?

Hello! I had my interview in September and got naturalized last week. Everything went very well and very organized. The ceremony occurred at the Courthouse in the courtroom. We waited to be checked-in, than, the actual ceremony started and only lasted 10 min or so. I got my certificate and I was hopeful that there is going to be someone from Social security office to update my status but I only saw people who register to vote.
Today I called SSA office they said they will only schedule an appointment if it's an emergency and they hope that offices will re-open some time soon.
Does anyone know if it's currently possible to apply for passport in-person without needing to travel within 3 days? It's a little bit confusing because on the DHS website it says you absolutely have to have an emergency to apply for passport and as a first-time applicant I have to go in person but at the same time DHS says they are opened for routine service. I assume if you need to renew your passport you apply by mail and within 10-12 weeks you will get it but as a first-time applicant you basically can't do anything since they limit in-person appointments?

No need to bring the spouse for the interview. A lot of offices won't even allow them in the building during these Covid days.

I know when I was there, I was able to be inside the office waiting area for my wife’s N400 interview, but she did the interview with the IO by herself.  Well, actually I did go with her initially because we had a short I751 joint interview first, but the IO escorted me back to the waiting area before starting my wife’s N400 interview.  They are probably limiting the number of people entering the building for obvious reasons, so if it was me, I would go and wait outside.  
 
Good Luck!

Hello guys!. 
Just now Finished my Oath Ceremony in Kansas City,MO.
Have Naturalization Certificate in hand. 
It was quick process.
Now will register to vote 
Apply for passport.
& Update Social security administration about my Citizenship.
 
As for passport application is considered I learnt that if you fill it online and print the form with the barcode and submit it to the post office, the barcode makes the computer process your passport within a week. I am gonna try that and see. 
Finally my almost 10 year immigration journey is Over. 
 
When my attorney did nothing, Visa journey came to my rescue and helped in each step along the way. 
I am very grateful for this forum and for each and everyone of you contributing to the knowledge in your own way. 
Good luck & God bless.

I then asked how long it would take for the notice to arrive and she said it’ll be 30-90 days because of the covid. I looked at my online myuscis acct and it said estimated completion time will be September(1 month). 
 
——————————-EDIT
 
I logged into myuscis acct and the completion date is now January 2021. Phew gonna be a lonnnggg wait for that Naturalization Ceremony. 

Hello, I just passed my interview yesterday day
 
the IO was really nice and it felt like we were just talking. 
I was sworn in and after that she asked for my passports, GC and driver’s license.

She went straight to do the civics test.
What did the emancipation proclamation do?
Who is the Father of our country? 
Who is the Vice President?
When must all men register for the Selective Service?
Which state borders Mexico?
What war was between the North and South?

I forgot the English and writing test but it was about which state had the most people...
 
Then we went through my n400 and she told me that I passed and will be mailing out when and where the oath taking will be.
 
I then asked how long it would take for the notice to arrive and she said it’ll be 30-90 days because of the covid. I looked at my online myuscis acct and it said estimated completion time will be September(1 month). 

No they said my interview was cancelled do to the file not arriving on time, which I didn't even receive a cancellation noticed.

For this post my wife with be Miss Doe and i will be Mr Smith.
 
In 2013, i got married to my US wife in Arlington, VA. I then returned home to the UK and started the CR-1 Visa process.
We filed the I-130 and everything else needed to get the CR1 Visa, early on in the process we decided between the two of us that i would be taking my wife's surname, i would no longer be Mr Smith but become Mr Doe and we filed accordingly, putting my name down as Mr Doe on the DS230. I sent our marriage certificate to the UK passport office, the UK DMV and the UK tax office and received my new passport and drivers license back under the name Mr Doe.
In Feb 2014 i moved to the USA, My visa was under the name Mr Doe in my passport that was in the name of Mr Doe, I've been in the US 7 years, my name is Mr Doe, my state driving license, my passport, my mortgage, my bank accounts, insurance and everything else is as Mr Doe, i AM and have been for the past 7 years Mr Doe after legally changing my name through marriage.
My interview at the DC field office (Fairfax, VA) was yesterday at 12:15pm, at 12:45pm a lady (Who we will call Karen 1) came out to the waiting room and called my name. She was polite, asked how i was and led me to an interview rooms. We sat down, she explained she would be conducting the interview and doing my civics test, she said the process shouldn't be more than 30 minutes. She started with the civics test which i passed by answering the first 6 questions correctly. She then asked me to read a sentence on the iPad screen and then to write a short sentence on the screen, which i did correctly. She then opened what looked like my immigration file, a thick brown folder full of paper documents. She started to go through my N400 application, asking several questions like was my address correct, how long i had lived at that address, confirming my wife's name etc etc She then asked when i got married and i said Jan 2013. She looked at the papers and then looked at me and said " So you returned to England for 12 months after you got married ?" I said " yes, i did the CR-1 visa process, that's the correct process to go through after being married in the US, the petition was then filed from the UK" to which she replied, "mmmm that's unusual, most people come over and get married then apply for their Visa here"  i told her i didn't do a K1 but a CR-1. It was at this time that i realized i maybe knew more than she did about the process! She said she had never heard of the CR1 process!!!
She kept looking through my file and reading out aloud, " ok, your I-130 is here, you marriage certificate, your divorce certificate (from previous marriage in the UK) and as she was doing this I'm thinking, what has this to do with things? all this has been checked out and was part of the Visa application process not my N400.
She then stopped at my birth certificate and flipped backwards and forwards between that and my marriage certificate. She then said to me " why is your name now different to your birth certificate?"  I said because after we married i took my wife's surname.  She immediately said back to me, "oh, you cant just do that, that's not allowed,  where is the official paperwork that you changed your name?"  She then said "you should have filled in a DS30" to which i replied, " i did fill in a DS230 and you should have a copy of that in your file"  after looking through the file for several minutes she said there was no DS230 in my file. I said "well the process is the same for the Husband taking the wife's name as it is vice versa, the marriage certificate is proof enough of my name change".  she then started rambling on how DC, Maryland and VA and all the other states have different rules about surnames!! She said " its fine though, she could fill a few forms in on her computer and all i would have to do was get an appointment at the Arlington courthouse, get the papers signed and stamped and then return them in the mail to USCIS and we'll give you another interview!! i KNEW this wasn't correct and i said " I'm sorry but this is not needed, my name has already been changed legally already" She then said she would go speak to her supervisor.
She returned 15 minutes later and said  "yes, its as i thought you will have to do a name change through the courts" by this time my palms were sweating and  i was becoming frustrated trying to explain that she had it wrong, i was polite but firm. I then asked to speak to her supervisor (whom we'll call Karen 2), she said "certainly, I'll go get her". Karen 1 disappeared for 5 minutes and came back saying Karen 2 would be in in 10 minutes. We both sat there in silence until Karen 2 arrived about 15 minutes later.
 
Karen 2 said she had spoke to one of her colleagues and that no one knew exactly what the situation was and should be, i said " there is one person that knows, me!!" between Karen 1 and 2 they agreed that i had to do a name change. I then started to show Karen 2 a copy of my DS230 from 7 years ago on my cell phone, she would not look at it and snapped back at me " I'm not interested in your DS230, that's a Department of State form, nothing to do with this and they have been known to make mistakes"  I was like #######!!! i told her that Karen 1 had mentioned that there was no DS230 in my file and she had been looking for it but Karen 2 was not having anything to do with it!  I then asked what if my wife had taken my name would she have had to go through the courts? She said "no that's normal when 2 people get married, what you have done is not normal and is not really allowed" At this point i was still very calm but inside i was fuming and i thought F**k it, I'm gonna fight my corner and if i piss them off then so be it. She then said, "you will have to change your name through the court",  i said " so what name am i changing it from? Mr Smith does not exist anymore, he hasn't done for 7 years, my passport, green card, bank accounts, mortgage state ID are all in the name Mr Doe and it was changed to that legally in the UK and on the DS230, so how can i change my name and what do i change it to?" she just stood there looking confused and didn't know how or what to say. I then asked her how my Visa and all the correspondence from USCIS was issued and addressed to Mr Doe, where had they got that name from ? again, she couldn't answer and didn't know how to respond.
My questions to Karen 2 went on for over 15 minutes but what seemed like an hour! she was very arrogant and ignorant and didn't want to talk to me, just to Karen 1. 
Then Karen 1 turned to Karen 2 and said ( and this is verbatim i kid you not) "I've just googled it and it says its OK"  Karen 2 said, "what website does it say that on ? is it the courthouse website?" Karen 1 said " no it just says it on google that a man can take the wife's name"  Karen 2 then said to Karen 1, ' OK put it through" and walked off!!!!
 
I was in there just over 2 hours, LOTS of questions and conversations between me and both Karens that I've forgotten and I cant even remember the amount of times i asked things and they didn't know what to say. I left the office happy but totally frustrated and shaking!
if i had just left it and taken their word for it or not stood up for myself i would have not been approved!!
 
So my Oath is next Tuesday and I'm looking forward to it but the whole things left a real bad taste in my mouth:( My wife says i should write a letter of complaint, im just gonna move on but i wanted to vent through this forum that has been a great wealth of information over the past 7 or 8 years,
 
Thanks
K & S DOE!!!
 

Thank you.
Two of my friends had also applied back in September 2019 and both of them had their interviews before me, they are already US citizens now. I guess it just depends on our luck and also the state where you filed. My friends had filed in Louisiana and New York. Ohio has had even shorter processing times like two months.
If you have decided not to go, just make sure that you have a cancelation notice either in mail or posted on your online portal (just as a proof of cancelation). When mine was canceled, I had not received a notice and I had called USCIS; the operator told me it was still scheduled but about 4 days later, I received the cancelation notice.

Right after I filed my N-400 back in February my estimated completion time was August 2020 and it was this way until recently. On July 28 I got scheduled to be interviewed for August 12, than, on July 29, USCIS de-scheduled my interview. I guess their computer scheduled my interview automatically but they were just not ready to interview me yet.  I assume because most USCIS field offices were closed for at least 2 months, now, everyone's interviews would be delayed by at least a month. Estimated completion time for me now is September 2020.

decision is yours. If you decide to go, pls let us know the outcome, If not, that’s fine. Good luck 

Your right and now that you mention it, CF-1 was the original category that I had then IF-1. I naturalized about a year ago so I don’t have my GC’s anymore

Hello! My Green Card first had CR6 on it than after ROC it became IR6 category, I entered as fiance K-1. The thing is both of our GC's are wrong 😀. 
From the beginning we supposed to have:
 
CF-1
Alien whose record of admission is created upon the conclusion of a valid marriage contract after entering as a fiance or fiancee of a U.S. citizen. Conditional.  
Later,
IF-1
Alien whose record of admission is created upon the conclusion of a valid marriage contract after entering as a fiance or fiancee of a U.S. citizen.

You'll likely get notice soon of the rescheduled date. Do not go.

I was in the same situation as yours. Sceduled, cancelled, scheduled again, descheduled again and then finally scheduled. On the day of the oath ceremony, until I finally had my Naturalization Cert in hand, I was not sure of anything. If I were you, I would still go, just in case, because you have nothing to lose (except time and fuel for your car) by going in person. If it was indeed cancelled, then all good. If not, you would never be able to forgive yourself later (at least, that was my thinking). I can understand how frustrating this is, but that huge sigh of relief in the end will be worth all of this.

No, you should not go.

Personally, if the posts you have read are pre covid I would discount them.
 
It just seems silly to me to turn up when you know the appointment has been cancelled.
 
Maybe they will see you ( I think we all recognize and I’m sure uscis employees know - sometimes there are glitches) but I think it’s fairly likely you will be turned away.
 
I’m pretty follow the rules though. This sounds like trying to game the system. Maybe you will be successful, and to be honest, I doubt you will get any kind of mark against you if you turn up. But it’s basically deceitful. You know you don’t have an appointment and you are choosing to turn up anyway. And it’s possible that your actions will impact (as in delay because of a lot of admin flurry) other applicants who have valid appointments.
 
Your call of course.

You won’t loose anything if you get there and confirm your interview was actually canceled. In fact, it will be better to show up since you had prepared to go than regret about not going. If I were you, I won’t put 2 hours distance into consideration or compare it with time wasted and money lost. I will get there and confirm it was actually canceled. The choice is yours. 
If you attend, pls do not hesitate to let us know the outcome, as it will be very helpful. Pls keep us updated. 

If the descheduling letter is dated after the appointment one, then you don’t go. I suspect that the appointment was scheduled in error since it was cancelled the next day. 
 
I really do not understand why you think it’s a good idea to show up. There is no “just in case” here - it’s clearly been cancelled.

Yes, mask on when entering building, going through security. Once the interviewer appeared on the ipad, he checked I had closed the door in the office I was in, then told me to remove my mask. They were very well organized, I was impressed. We put masks back on, and kept them on during the oath ceremony.
Yes, they'd already printed our certificates and handed them to us immediately after the oath, and we were asked to check the details as they can correct them that day, but its time consuming (and probably costly) to get a new cert after that date.

When l became a U.S. Citizen, l sent the SS5 form plus my certificate of Naturalization (original) by mail. Four days later l received my certificate of Naturalization back. 

Hello everyone! My interview is scheduled for August 12. I filed N-400 online and uploaded all the relationship evidence to the USCIS website. So they should have everything in a digital format. Do I still need to print out all the evidence I already uploaded? I filed based on a 3 year rule.
I will for sure bring tax transcripts, my GC, appointment letter, marriage certificate, spouse's birth certificate. From what I see in the notice they don't say anything about additional evidence. 
I don't have printer at home and due to the virus situation a lot of places are closed again, so I don't know if I can even print out or scan anything at this point.

Bring what you have and most likely they will asked for very few items (green card and Passport and that's about it). Though it's unlikely they will want to see anything else, there is always a change they will ask for something. It's better to have it with you than to have it sent back in after your interview.

You don’t need to take a copy of originals if you are bringing the originals. I uploaded online tax transcripts. So I brought paper copies of those (and wasn’t asked for them). Actually I was only asked for my green caed and passports.