annelizabeth

In the past on my immigration documents for my k1 visa and subsequently conditioanl green card, removal of condition on current green card i was always asked the question of children and i have always said none. But recently i found out that i had a child back in my home country which was born 6 months after i came to the usa. Should i now list that child on the N400 form?

It's right in the N-400 instructions, all kids, step, adopted, natural...

Nick, now here's the funny thing. I too read right there in the instructions to include all kids, and so I wrote down my husband's kids (my step-kids). When I got to my interview they asked me about those and then said, they don't count and scored through them. Seems like they don't read their own instructions!

I didn't take any with me and they never asked for any. However, if your husband is thinking of getting a passport pretty quickly it wouldn't do any harm to get them done now and take them with you - just in case.

adding Jayde

User Name..........Location...........Application..........Passport Rcvd.....Certificate Back.............Service

Goran..............Richmond, VA..........07/15/09...............09/05/09.............09/05/09.............Normal

raleighn400........Durham, NC............07/30/09...............09/03/09.............09/05/09.............Normal

Rebelheart'son.....Atlanta, GA...........07/31/09...............08/31/09.............09/02/09.............Normal

Tini 27............Brooklyn,NY...........08/04/09...............08/14/09.............08/14/09.............Expedited

Sami76.............Atlanta, GA...........08/07/09...............08/28/09.............08/31/09.............Normal

jeangab75..........Durham, NC............08/17/09 ..............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

so2008.............Tampa, FL.............08/17/09 ..............09/10/09.............--/--/--.............Normal

Annelizabeth.......New Albany, IN........08/24/09...............09/17/09.............09/17/09.............Normal

Kathryn41..........Stockbridge, GA.......08/28/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

l.j./1999..........Brooklyn, NY..........08/29/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

wifey246...........Pomona, CA............08/29/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

cookiee............Miami, FL.............09/01/09...............09/14/09.............09/12/09.............Expedited

raleighn400_wife...Durham, NC............09/14/09...............--/--/--.............--/--/--.............Normal

Jayde..............Fort Lauderdale,FL.....09/16/09.............--/--/--............--/--/--...............Normal

Passport and Certificate were both waiting for me when I got home yesterday.

By the way, I think the new passports are awesome with all the different pictures and quotes on every page. It's much nicer than my husband's old passport.

This was in my email:

Your item was delivered at 11:20 AM on September 17, 2009 in NEW ALBANY, IN 47150.

Can't wait to get home and see if it is really there! 3 weeks and 3 days from application.

I made my husband come with me, but they didn't even ask if he was there, let alone want to speak to him. So, I don't think you need to get your wife to attend.

Good luck on the interview! I am sure it will be a breeze.

We have finished processing your passport, and it has been mailed to you. Your passport application locator number is xxxxxxxx.

You requested delivery by regular mail. Passport Agencies use Priority Mail. This means you should receive your passport on or about 09/21/2009.

Woohoooooooo

If it arrives on the 21st it will have been exactly 4 weeks.

What happened to the formatting? You know, in all my years here on VJ I never have been able to work it out!

One time I was returning to the UK with my USC hubby for a visit and I patiently queued up with him at Heathrow in the alien lines. When they saw my UK passport they said that next time I could just take him with me through the (much shorter) UK citizen line.

Next time I tried it and it worked without any problems.

I got caught out at my recent oath ceremony. The judge led the oath by reading it line by line, but then we all had to turn to face the flag and recite the pledge and I had to just move my lips!

Hi everyone,

I applied for a passport book using normal service and it took 3 weeks and one day to receive my passport.

Maybe this can help you decide between choosing normal or expedited service. So I am making a timeline here, you might like to add your info too.

User Name Location Passport Application Date Passport Receiving Date Post office service

---------- ----------------- ------------------------ ---------------------- ------------------

Sami76 Atlanta, GA 08/07/2009 08/28/2009 Normal (Not expedited)

Kathryn41 Stockbridge, GA 08/28/09 --/--/-- Normal (not expedited)

Annelizabeth New Albany IN 08/24/09 --/--/-- Normal (not expedited)

congratulations....now take him for half of everything....just joking.

I really should stop saying things like that - I think hubby is beginning to get a complex LOL!

Well, at long last, I am done with USCIS (unless I decide to bring over any family members). Last Thursday we got up early and drove 2 hours to Indianapolis to the Court House to arrive at 9am. When we found the right room there was already a long queue of people clutching their oath letters. Most of us stood and answered the questionnaire while we were waiting in line. The instructions said to wait until the day of the oath before answering. One lady had done it at home that very morning and had signed it and put her home town as the place of signing, but the officials crossed it out and wrote Indianapolis instead.

Hubby got bored with waiting and went to find a seat at the back of the courtroom, since the front part was obviously reserved for the new citizens with copies of the citizens almanac and the declaration of independence on each seat.

Eventually I got to the front of the line and the guy went over the questionnaire. He asked me if, since the date of my interview, I had .... married, divorced, left the country etc. When he got to the part about being arrested I said that I had driven particularly carefully on my way here to avoid any traffic violations and he laughed. He asked me for my green card and then told me to go find a seat in the front section.

Just after 10am the judge came in and introduced herself. There were 77 of us from many different countries. They called our names out one by one and we had to stand up and say where we were from. I agonized for ages trying to decide whether to say England, Great Britain or the United Kingdom and finally decided on Great Britain. India was the most common country of origin at that ceremony. After that, the judge invited any friends or family members who wished to take a photo to come right to the front, which was a right mad scramble! We all stood up, raised our right hands and repeated the oath line by line together. Next we all faced the flag and recited the pledge of allegiance. Oops I wish I had learned it off by heart!

The ceremony was then followed by a few speeches from various people: a message from ####### Lugar; one of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented flags to the youngest and oldest of the new citizens; the Indiana bar association; the county clerk urged us to register to vote and goodness knows who else. No film or message from Obama.

After that we all sat down again and waited to be called out one by one to receive our certificates, a little flag and some other bits and pieces before exiting the courtroom. The whole thing lasted 2 hours from arrival at 9am.

Hubby and I then went to get some celebratory lunch before driving to the airport to fly off to New Orleans for the weekend. Had a great time there! We spent several hours in Pat O'Briens piano bar where you could write requests on a napkin for the pianist to play (accompanied by some monetary reward!). Hubby kept getting his request ignored, but I wrote down that I was a brand new citizen and would she play something patriotic. My request was played right away! Everyone cheered and I had to stand up while the pianist played America the Beautiful. It was almost more special than the actual oath ceremony!

On Monday when we got home I went straight to the Post Office to put in my passport application. Ahh back to the waiting game!

Thank you all so much for your help and support over the years. We couldn't have done it without you. xxxx

Congratulations cookiee!!!!!

Congratulations and thank you for posting your oath experience.

Can use them for passport application afterwards if they don't get used for N400...

That's a good idea!

You know you are in danger of being flamed!!!!

I did warn you!!!

The first response is nearly always to read the guides pinned at the top of the forum.

I think NickD must be mellowing with age (or reaching the end of the journey)

Marm,

Just wondering if you had any news? Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

I have been here now for 20 months I think. It will be 2 years in December. Yeah when I arrived everything was a novelty such as the drive thru banks. They still love my accent here and my wife loves my expressions. Yeah theres things I miss about England but I don't wanna live there again. I see here as home now. I can still watch my football team (soccer) play on tv here and I can order some english dvds from amazon. We still have problems communicating now and again but my wife is s becoming a fan of some english shows and she can understand the accent and slang alot better.

The bread still sucks here lol but I am just so so better off here compared to England.

Hi there how're y'all doing?? Glad to hear you are still loving it.

I have passed the four-year mark now and have my citizenship ceremony on the 20th August. Yes, I still miss England from time to time but, to be honest, it is the people I miss most. People still comment on my accent, which is nice. My husband loves British comedies and he frequently orders films and series from Netflix. We still go to pub quiz every tuesday at Molly Malones (Irish pub).

So what things do I miss? I hate to say it, but I wish we had the good old NHS here! I also miss the proximity of Europe - it was so wonderful to be able to hop on a plane for an hour or two and be in an entirely different culture with different smells, food and language. My only other gripe really is the lack of decent vacation time compared with back home. Apart from that, there are many great things about living here and after all, home is where the heart is.

You know you are in danger of being flamed!!!!

Carie,

I think you are doing the right thing going for citizenship first, because then you are keeping your options open if ever you want come back here. Just imagine having to go through the whole process again if you changed your minds and wanted to return, because if you were just a permanent resident you would be considered as abandoning your residency.

I can't speak for Atlanta, but most places seem to be getting through citizenship in 3-5 months. I had to go through Indy and it has taken me almost a year, but that's not the norm.

You may also have to update your info with your employer by filling out a new I-9 form. Perhaps someone else can verify that?

It depends on what documents you used when you filled out your original I-9. If you presented an unrestricted SSN card plus a driving license, for example, these will not require to be updated. Your employer will let you know if your I-9 needs to be updated - it is their responsibility.

I got the yellow letter too and made sure I took the requested items with me and much much more. However, at the interview, all they asked me for was my ID and my current passport and the interview letter. I was almost disappointed!

Marm, the one thing that I find absolutely appalling about this is that the embassy feels it has the right to hold on to someone's passport indefinitely. What if they had an emergency in another country and needed to travel out of the UK urgently?

Hope it gets settled really soon - it sounds like they are finally moving on with it.

I have generally heard on VJ that it is not worth paying for expedited service because they are processing really quickly at the moment. The passport form asks when your journey is scheduled anyway, so you can put in the date.

One of the advantages for me is the ability to travel back and forth between USA and UK for exptended periods without putting my US permanent residency in jeopardy. At some point I would like for us to go and live back in the UK or Europe for a while but then I would also like the option to be able to return to the US without having to go through the immigration hoops again.