NYBEtt

Can you file I-130 electronically and then submit the remaining forms via mail or is it advised to submit all forms via mail?

31 minutes ago, immi2021 said:

It's "will be scheduled". How long usually it takes for the local office to set the date after this?

anytime between a couple of hours and a couple of weeks

21 hours ago, Timona said:

Seems IO's notation was ignored as my oath is scheduled for Aug 14th. I was to fly tomorrow, July 27th but last week Tuesday, Air France decided to cancel my second leg and offer rebooking, credit or full refund. From Tuesday when I got the notice of second leg cancelation to Friday, I was calling them to find a fix. They were giving me headache - long wait time, call hanging up etc. Come Friday AM, I get a notice for oath. I was gonna postpone oath but while I am on call with airline, they do not offer me credible alternatives. So out of exhaustion and anger, I canceled the flight & sought full refund. However, before canceling, I quickly checked Google Flights and found another cheap flight on different airline which happen to be leaving a day after my oath. I then went ahead & looked at my country's ACS appointment availability and was surprised to find one which falls within my "would be new vacation dates."  The agent from AF had left me on hold. As soon as she came back and now armed with this new finding, I canceled AF and asked for my full refund. By the time I was asking for this refund, I had booked the other airline as well as appointment at my local ACS.

 

As the old adage goes, all's well that ends well. 

 

P:S I chose the ACS option because:

1. Online appointment scheduling here in the US has been shut down as of 7/22/21 due to bot infiltration who grab all spots and sell for profit. Therefore, as of today, you have to call in to get an appointment. Getting someone is taking 1+ hours on the phone.
2. My local ACS could be booked online and was within my new vacation dates. So why not?

that's great! good on you for being pro-active like that.

4 hours ago, Timona said:

 

Never mind. I just got an email and my oath is scheduled for August 14th, 12 pm...Yes, it is a Saturday (The actual letter has not arrived). Seems IO forgot to put the note to have my oath scheduled after September 1st or someone did not read it.

My life is a rollercoaster. The interview notice was probably in my mailbox 3 days before I found it on the day I was to leave for my first trip. I had to cancel this trip. Same things is now happening with oath. I am to leave next week Tuesday 😪

 

 

There is a spreadsheet

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UYpuRqSQkRAdX7Kr_nehvjsjCiNTyADPJ3CAc9qJHf4/edit?usp=sharing

 

Fill time-line, people

The IO did inform me that their recommendations are often ignored, which was the case with both me and you. Sorry you had to cancel your trip but at least you'll be done soon!

11 hours ago, Timona said:

 

My oath had not been scheduled. Since I'm flying out on 27th, IO and I agreed to put a note in the system for them to schedule after September 1st.

good luck and keep us posted. I had also requested a delayed (post labor-day) interview but they ended up scheduling it a week later. luckily the timing worked out better.

On 7/20/2021 at 2:29 PM, Timona said:

 

 

Congrats to you two.

Same day oath or oath within a month is unheard of here in Houston. Due to my travel next week, I tried to wiggle my way into one but did not succeed. All is good though, interview is the most important.

 

I think it's the look of the draw with big cities. When did your oath ceremony get scheduled after all?

12 hours ago, price411 said:

Hello guys, 

So it better to go through this approach instead of filling the normal way? July 21st is my interview date.. Travelling Aug 31st

Does your local office do same-day oath ceremonies? If not, you might not even be a citizen before your travel date. Either way, your only chance is trying to get an appointment for expedited service at a US passport agency. However, both the NYT and the WSJ have recently posted articles about how expedited service appointments are becoming more and more difficult to come by with some people even hoarding appointments and trying to sell them on reddit (!) so you will need to be flexible since getting an appointment even at 5AM might be becoming more difficult.

22 hours ago, madisonsquare said:

Hi everyone.

Soon, I am going to have my biometrics apt. I am wondering if they're going to shoot a picture of myself. If yes, is that picture going to be on my US passport when I apply for it?

 

Thanks!

The photo they take is used on your naturalization certificate.

9 hours ago, JER2020 said:

Awesome. This gives me hope 

On average, how long is it taking to get interviews after doing biometrics. Not reuse though, after new biometrics being taken? 

This varies significantly by local field office. I'm not sure there is much of a formal unless your local office does same day oaths. Your best bet is to look at VJ timeliness similar to yours and see now long it has been taking. 

On 7/6/2021 at 12:58 PM, JER2020 said:

Hello everyone. Still waiting for my interview to be scheduled, had my biometrics done a month ago in Charlotte, NC.

 

I am a bit concerned about upcoming travels starting in September. As long as I have a GC, I don't have any problems and am able to travel. Problem will be after my oath ceremony where I will have to turn it in. Passport applications, even expedited ones are taking close to 12 weeks from what I heard due to backlog. That would leave me at least 3 months without being able to leave the country. Hopefully its not the case.

 

Has anyone else thought about this?

 Yes lots of us have US passport agencies give you same-day passports and I discuss how you can make an appointment (with proof-of-travel)  in the Passports sub-forum:

25 minutes ago, Timona said:

Wait? Appointments windows are also open on weekends?

Appointment slots open up 13 days in advance, and that includes Friday appointments which become available starting the 13th day (ie Saturday) before the appointment. At least that was my experience last month!

3 hours ago, Timona said:

 

This is what I've been looking for the whole day. I've visited that website and even called the number listed 8774872778.... Surprisingly, it started telling me about Medicare. Would you believe it? I triple checked the number like 5 times. Anyway, I hanged up on that one. 

 

I am flying out 27th. So, I guess I'll hit the ungodly hours on the 14th of July and hopefully, I get an appointment. 

 

I'll duly report if I manage to get an appointment next week.

Oh wow Medicare? That seems a stretch even for USCIS!

If your flight is on the 27th, you can make an appointment for the 22nd, 23rd, or 26th since these are all 3 business days before your flight. If I were you I would set my alarm for this Friday 7/9 at 4:55AM so you are ready to make an appointment for Thursday the 22nd, or get up on Saturday 7/10 to schedule an appointment for Friday the 23rd. Technically you can make an appointment for the 27th if your flight leaves late at night, but that would be cutting it too close for me! Good luck and do keep us posted.

8 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Can you do a walk-in or did you need to make an appointment?

My specific airport (JFK) allowed walk-ins and I was flying out of the same terminal so I just dropped by after I checked in for my flight. The link below lists all the global entry centers for each state and will note if any of them require appointments.

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/enrollment-centers

45 minutes ago, JourneyFromA2 said:

Very nice. Thanks for the update.

one important thing I forgot: you should have your global entry card with you! You just hand that in with your passport and they set you up.

On 7/2/2021 at 3:34 PM, JourneyFromA2 said:

Thanks. I just called and was told the same thing. Basically I need to bring my new passport with me to one of the enrollment center.

 

Mod: I guess you can close this thread as answered.

Did this last week at the airport. It took less than 10 minutes.

10 hours ago, dhaval25 said:

What are the chances of same day oath ceremony (post interview)? Are they still doing it or oath will be scheduled in 3 weeks??

It all depends on your local office. And from what I see, there doesn't seem to be a formula for how oath ceremonies are scheduled either. I would say look at the VJ timelines for folks in your field office and see how things play out. That's the best data we have.

31 minutes ago, yutekao said:

Yeh we are am aware of that....but nothing we can do. 
 

Couple months ago it was showing 16-20 months. 

 

We have called and sent inquiries but still waiting. My wife’s 18 months extension expired and they gave her another 1 year extension stamp on her passport. At this point we really don’t know what we should do.
 

 

Did you contact your US House representative? It seems like that is the next step, since your case is so far out of normal processing times. And you should note that when reaching out to them.

2 hours ago, JJ and JJ said:

Good day Everyone, need some advises please:

I’m scheduled for an interview for July 29th at the Houston field office, if all goes well my understand is that sometime in August the oath ceremony would therefore be scheduled. My issue is that I had schedule a trip overseas departing Sept 1st for 2 weeks and I don’t believe I would ever get a passport on time even with the fast processing and I can’t re-enter the US with the naturalization certificate. I know we can reschedule the oath but if the second date falls during my time abroad I’m at risk of having my application withdrawn... so at this point is it better to reschedule the interview for a further date so that I don’t miss the oath ceremony? Or better to do the interview as scheduled and rescheduled the oath, possibly 2 times ?? I know you won’t provide me with legal advises but what would you do ?? thanks a lot (I can’t postoned this trip)

On 6/26/2021 at 11:27 PM, Golodhros said:

Soo many thanks NYBEtt, you just saved our holidays with this information!

glad to hear! report back with your success getting an appointment and same-day passport. good luck!

On 6/23/2021 at 12:39 PM, LKMK said:

Yeah. Looks like we are in the same boat. Were you transferred to Potomac in February 2020? I'm going to give them till the second week in July then I'm going to contact my Senator.

Since your case is way outside of normal processing times, if you have the time you should submit a request with USCIS and contact your senator as soon as you get the chance.

I am back to report on my experience applying for a passport at a US Passport Agency (in NYC specifically). For information on how to get an appointment at any US Passport Agency for urgent travel (i.e. any travel within 3 business days) you can read my post here (or scroll up).

Abridged version (aka TL;DR version): Appointment was at 2:30PM. Had passport in hand by 6:00PM!!

Too Long version:

Personal note:

58 minutes ago, -MDV- said:

NYC is doing both virtual and in person interview. My interview was on the ipad and a printer next to it. The officer printed a paper after the interview saying I passed the tests and recommended me for approval. The officer said that I was approved and I just need to wait for the oath schedule. 

Interesting - I had no idea! Well I'm sure you'll hear back within a week since you were approved on the spot. Keep us posted and good luck!

1 hour ago, -MDV- said:

Yea, I been checking but it still says "Interview Was Scheduled". My interview was last week Wednesday, I am just worried because I am seeing you guys getting your oath schedule same day lol. My interview was virtual interview maybe thats why. Also I remember the officer told me that my oath should be in 2-3 weeks in the mail. 

How was your interview virtual? Did you not receive a paper at the end that said whether you were approved or if your case needed further review?

21 hours ago, -MDV- said:

anyone here still waiting for their oath schedule after their interview at federal plaza? 

 

Interview was on 6/8/2021 and oath ceremony letter was uploaded to USCIS portal same day for me. I assumed you checked the portal? The interviewer said that even if you are approved on the spot, if the system is down during the interview the approval has to be entered manually after the interview and that could cause a delay of up to 2 weeks. Hang in there. I would say reach out to USCIS if you don't hear back within 2 weeks from the interview.

5 minutes ago, arken said:

Let's figure this way, leave with the US passport so you have one when entering the US" 😀

except that you can apply for a passport at the post office and have a friend or relative send it via courier to you while you are abroad