blessedbeyond

Here's my timeline for my passport application. I applied along with my son (we're both first-time applicants).

June 21, 2021               Submitted our applications (Routine Service) at a local library in Houston, TX  

July 12, 2021                Checks cashed; Applications in process; locator number 34 (Charleston, SC Processing Center)

September 4, 2021      Incoming mail preview (USPS Informed Delivery) showed our passports were due to be delivered

September 7, 2021      Our passports (old style/regular size) were delivered in the mailbox (sent from Tucson)

September 11, 2021    My naturalization certificate and my son's birth certificate were returned in the mail (sent from Charleston)

I was aware of the processing delays, so I decided to remain patient and check the status at regular intervals -- July 30, August 30, etc. I never received any notifications throughout the process; hence, it was a pleasant surprise when I saw that the passports were ready on September 4 (after I'd checked the status on August 30). 

Thanks to everyone who has shared their experience. ☺️

On 8/14/2021 at 9:05 PM, El Escocés said:

Has anyone, recently naturalized, managed to get a SSA appointment to update their citizenship or did you send in your naturalization cert, passport book / card?

 

@blessedbeyond@clemesse@biaobiao@maplehill2013@illidanx 

@El Escocés Sorry for my late reply. I'm yet to do this -- just received my passport and got my Naturalization certificate back recently. 

I became a U.S. citizen yesterday. Thankful my journey is over and grateful for the support I got from VJers throughout the process. Best wishes.😊

On 4/23/2021 at 12:37 PM, blessedbeyond said:

My oath ceremony is scheduled for May 12 at the Gears Road location. 

Done. I'm relieved and thankful my journey is over. Best wishes to everyone. 

On 4/16/2021 at 10:42 PM, blessedbeyond said:

Interview Update: I attended my interview today (04/16/2021) and got approved. The interview was scheduled for 9.35 a.m. but I arrived early and checked in at 9 a.m. The Officer called me in by 9.15 a.m. and I was done by 9.25 a.m. He checked my interview letter, confirmed my fingerprints (left and right index fingers), checked my green card, took my picture, and proceeded with the civics portion of the exam. 

 

Civics questions asked:

1. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
2. Why did the colonists fight the British?
3. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
4. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
5. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
6. We elect a President for how many years?

Reading and Writing Portion:

• Question: What do we pay to the government?
• Written Answer: We pay taxes.

 

I was asked about my work, and we chatted briefly about it. He then asked me to confirm my name was spelled correctly and directed me to sign my N-400 form. I also signed to confirm my details to be shown on the naturalization certificate. 

 

After I'd signed, he told me he was approving my application, gave me a copy of the approval form, and told me to look out for my oath ceremony notice between 30 and 60 days. And that was it. 

 

It was a straightforward experience, and I'm thankful for everything.

 

My USCIS account status shows: "Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled." I'll update again when I get my oath ceremony date.  

 

Best wishes to everyone on this journey. ☺️

 

 

 

 

 

My oath ceremony is scheduled for May 12 at the Gears Road location. 

On 3/16/2021 at 12:09 PM, blessedbeyond said:

Update: My interview is scheduled for April 16.

Interview Update: I attended my interview today (04/16/2021) and got approved. The interview was scheduled for 9.35 a.m. but I arrived early and checked in at 9 a.m. The Officer called me in by 9.15 a.m. and I was done by 9.25 a.m. He checked my interview letter, confirmed my fingerprints (left and right index fingers), checked my green card, took my picture, and proceeded with the civics portion of the exam. 

Civics questions asked:

1. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
2. Why did the colonists fight the British?
3. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
4. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
5. What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
6. We elect a President for how many years?

Reading and Writing Portion:

• Question: What do we pay to the government?
• Written Answer: We pay taxes.

I was asked about my work, and we chatted briefly about it. He then asked me to confirm my name was spelled correctly and directed me to sign my N-400 form. I also signed to confirm my details to be shown on the naturalization certificate. 

After I'd signed, he told me he was approving my application, gave me a copy of the approval form, and told me to look out for my oath ceremony notice between 30 and 60 days. And that was it. 

It was a straightforward experience, and I'm thankful for everything.

My USCIS account status shows: "Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled." I'll update again when I get my oath ceremony date.  

Best wishes to everyone on this journey. ☺️

On 3/15/2021 at 2:56 PM, blessedbeyond said:

Houston, TX filer here. Filed March 3, 2020. Biometrics taken on February 22, 2021.  My interview has been scheduled today. I'll update when I confirm the date. 

 

Update: My interview is on April 16. 

23 hours ago, blessedbeyond said:

I received my interview notification today via email. It's also showing in my USCIS account. No date yet, but it'll probably be sometime next month. Will update when I know for sure. 

Update: My interview is scheduled for April 16.

Houston, TX filer here. Filed March 3, 2020. Biometrics taken on February 22, 2021.  My interview has been scheduled today. I'll update when I confirm the date. 

On 2/22/2021 at 3:46 PM, blessedbeyond said:

I got my biometrics done today at the ASC (Houston Southwest). Shortly after, I received a notification from USCIS saying they were actively reviewing my case. Hopefully, we'll all soon get our interview notices. 

I received my interview notification today via email. It's also showing in my USCIS account. No date yet, but it'll probably be sometime next month. Will update when I know for sure. 

4 hours ago, millefleur said:

Interview was scheduled!

Interview Was Scheduled

On February 23, 2021, we scheduled an interview for your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, Receipt Number IOEXXXXXXXXXX. We will mail you an interview notice. Please follow any instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

 

I don't see any notices with the date in myuscis though. I guess it will come in the mail? Oh and estimated wait time changed to 6 months. Before it said "We are taking longer...etc etc."

@millefleur I am so happy for you!  

I got my biometrics done today at the ASC (Houston Southwest). Shortly after, I received a notification from USCIS saying they were actively reviewing my case. Hopefully, we'll all soon get our interview notices. 

2 hours ago, millefleur said:

Yeah, it's really annoying. I'm just going to keep emailing them and bothering them via the inbox and I will probably have my husband call them tomorrow again.

@millefleur I agree! Keep calling them. I got another call from a USCIS Officer (my second call from USCIS in two weeks) this morning. She was calling to follow up with one of my service requests to their Contact Center. (I'd been calling them constantly, and they'd raised a number of service requests for me.)  I told her that her colleague had already called and fixed my biometrics appointment for February 22, the letter had already been uploaded to my USCIS account, and I'd already received it in the mail. Once she confirmed that everything was in order, she wished me a nice day and ended the call. Afterwards, I received an email from USCIS confirming that they had contacted me today, etc. 

Keep pushing, something's gotta give! 💯

5 hours ago, millefleur said:

Thank you for this! I'm going to work on writing the letter this weekend, will mail it to the field office, and then once it's in the mail I will pester them nonstop on the phone. It really seems like me and few other people at the Chicago office have been left behind in the dust for whatever reason. How do I know if I'm talking to a Tier 1 vs Tier 2 officer?

Based on my understanding, the Tier 1 officers are the Customer Service Reps who answer incoming calls to the USCIS Contact Center. Tier 2 officers are those who are able to access the biometrics scheduling system and set up appointments; they have in-depth information about cases. Whenever I called USCIS, I always requested to be connected to a Tier 2 officer. The officer who finally called me back set up my appointment while we were speaking on the phone. That's why I guessed he was a Tier 2 officer. Hope this helps. 🙂

2 hours ago, millefleur said:

Generic response in the myuscis inbox:

 

 

And they also mentioned that I'm currently within processing time, implying there's nothing else I can do right now. I'm going to work on drafting the letter to the field office about biometrics reuse as there's nothing else we can do right now.

 

@millefleur I empathize with your situation. My case was at a standstill until I had a breakthrough last week. I'm a March 2020 filer, and I had no updates about my case. I emailed USCIS last October and got the exact generic response you were given above. I resorted to calling them constantly between December 2020 and this past January. It was after my fourth call that a Tier 2 officer finally called me back and scheduled my biometrics appointment for February 22. The notice was uploaded almost immediately on my account, and I received it in the mail yesterday. I encourage you to persist and keep advocating for yourself. Best wishes.

On 1/12/2021 at 2:58 PM, blessedbeyond said:

 

I applied in March 2020 before the lockdown, and I'm still waiting for a notice about my biometric appointment rescheduling. 

Update: So I got a call from USCIS to follow up on my service request for a biometric appointment.  The officer I spoke with was kind and empathetic. My appointment has been scheduled for next month, and my account has been updated to reflect this.  Prior to this recent development, I'd contacted USCIS four times since they resumed services after the COVID-19 restrictions, but they'd been fobbing me off with the usual generic response. I didn't give up, refused to get discouraged, and now my tenacity has paid off. What a relief! 

2 hours ago, flipilychee820 said:

Ughhh... Talking to a live person on the phone. Do any of you have any advice how I can talk to a real person? My Green card will expire soon and I was advised by the live person I talked to in October to request for an appointment to extend my green card because I applied one year before it expires. She told me to call 30 days before it expires and it is so difficult to talk to a real person! I don't know what to do... with emma this is what I got 

I don't know what to do....I find this very annoying... I need advice...   

 

 

When you get through to the automated answering system and are asked how they can assist you, say: "Update my contact information OR technical assistance." Hope this helps. 

On 1/4/2021 at 1:24 AM, abfar said:

Anyone who filed in March/April/May/June 2020?

 

I moved my case my NYC to Houston and it seems my estimated completion time jumped from MAY 2021 to JULY 2021. No Bio appt so far and this houston thread seems pretty quiet.

 

Curious what the processing times are like at houston.

I applied in March 2020 before the lockdown, and I'm still waiting for a notice about my biometric appointment rescheduling. 

I was due to have my biometrics taken on March 26, but the appointment was canceled due to COVID restrictions. The ASC reopened last July, and after waiting for more than 90 days without a biometric rescheduling notice, I called USCIS on December 1(this was after emailing them last October using my USCIS account and receiving a generic response).  The agent I spoke with put in a service request, gave me a referral number, and told me to expect to hear back from them within thirty days.  Yesterday, I received the following email from USCIS:

"U.S. Department of Homeland Security
USCIS
810 Gears Road Suite 100
Houston,TX 77067

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Type of service requested:
 -- Fingerprints/Biometrics

The status of this service request is:

Thank you for contacting USCIS concerning the above-referenced N400 application. Below is a summary of what we have found and how the issue has been resolved or additional actions required.

USCIS has reviewed your request for a fingerprint  appointment. You are in the scheduling queue and will receive a new appointment notice when a date become available.  At this time, no further action is required from you.

USCIS is committed to adjudicating immigration applications in a timely manner, efficiently and in the order received.  We hope this information is helpful.  If we may be of further assistance, please let us know."

Please has anyone who filed a petition during the COVID restrictions had their biometrics taken since the Houston Southwest ASC reopened in July? 

Signed. 

1 hour ago, GeorgeandGeorgia said:

You can download it via uscis website, go to the Documents TAB

Hi, @GeorgeandGeorgia,I'd already downloaded and printed the letter from my online account- that's how I knew the scheduled date. Thanks for your help.

32 minutes ago, ken88 said:

Bio letter showed up in the online account.Our is scheduled on Mar 24. I haven't received any hard copy notice/bio yet.

Same here. Mine is scheduled for March 26. 

8 hours ago, Javi2 said:

Is online filing better/ faster than paper? I will file next week based on 3 years of marriage. If anybody could share their documents checklist that would be awesome!! Thank you!

I don't know if filing online is faster than paper; I found the online process to be very convenient, easy and straightforward. I filed on the basis of three years of marriage. Here is my checklist:

• Front and back copy of my ten-year permanent resident card
• Copy of our marriage certificate 
• Copies of our joint apartment leases 
• Copies of our  joint tax return transcripts (2016, 2017 and 2018)
• Copy of our child's birth certificate
• Copies of our joint quarterly bank statements (I did the same with my approved ROC petition)
• Copy of my husband's naturalization certificate 
• Copy of my husband's divorce decree

Additional evidence:

• Copy of our driver’s licenses to show joint residency
• Copies of our joint car insurance and our joint car title
• Copies of our joint medical and dental insurance cards

I hope this helps you. 

I filed online on March 3, 2020. The case status now shows that my biometrics appointment has been scheduled. 

On 11/20/2019 at 1:09 PM, blessedbeyond said:

Congratulations to everyone who has been approved so far and best wishes for everyone still waiting. More approvals are surely on the way.

 

An update to my case:

 

I received a text message today informing me that my status had been updated.  I checked the USCIS Case Status website and saw the  "New Card was being Produced" message. 

I was whooping and hollering all over the place.

 

I've been updating my case progress on this forum but the summary is that I originally filed to Texas Service Center in September 2018. Received the biometrics waiver letter in May 2019, my case was transferred to Potomac Service Center on October 2, 2019 and its been radio silence till today. Praise God!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I received my card today, exactly a week after my case was approved.  For those still waiting, please don't lose hope. Thanks VisaJourney and everyone who provided useful info during this process.

Now signing off from this group. Happy Thanksgiving.