Hadassah123

Had my interview today and passed! 🥳

Most annoying part of the whole process was the long wait! My appointment was for 2pm, but I didn't get called in till just after 4pm - by then there was almost no one left. Heard from a guard around 2.30pm that I got lucky, because they were so backed up that everyone after 2pm was being re-scheduled.  Either way, am glad to have this over with! 

Was told I would be asked 10 questions, and that I had to have 6 correct. So then once I answered the first 6 correctly, she stopped. 
Had to read 1 sentence off the tablet in front of me and then had to write down one sentence on that same tablet (with a stylus pen thing, so it didn't turn out very pretty 😂).
 
Oath Ceremony scheduled for Thursday! 

Since they are so backed up, they try to schedule Oath Ceremony's asap after interview approval and will give you your Oath Ceremony notice right after the interview. In my case the system wasn't working, so the officer was going to try schedule it for later (which could be next month), but then called me while in the car on the way home (luckily husband was driving ) that she managed to schedule me for Thursday. However, now no interview notice and not enough time to receive it in the mail (I do see in myuscis account that it's been sent out 😅), so she told me to just show up with only my GC on Thursday. Guess we'll see how that goes! 

Same room! The officer behind his/her desk with a plexiglas screen in between you and them. The tablet is on your side of the screen, so that you can read, write, and check your info (that they will show you).

This happened today! 🥳

Thank you @Albator for sharing your experience, very helpful! And I can attest that it was the exact same. 

1) I checked in, handed over my GC and expired EAD/AP, answered the questions from the notice, GC&EAD got stapled to a sheet and was then told to proceed to yellow caution tape.
 
2) At yellow caution tape another officer told me to pick a spot with blue tape on the ground.
 
3) Had to wait till other 8/9 people were there. We started 5 min before ceremony time because everyone was already there. Officer had told us grab our oath pamphlet thing from the envelop given at check in.
 
4) Officer told us to raise our right hand and to repeat the Oath after him. After that was done, he said "congratulations, you are now officially a citizen of the United States" 
 
5) All done! Then had to form a line and someone took the sheet with my GC&EAD/AP stapled to it. Then got handed my naturalization certificate.
 
When I arrived the previous group was just finishing up and when I left, the next group was already gathering. Seems to be a constant flow of ceremonies! 
 
Husband  (and baby) came along and he took this pic. I wouldn't take a whole group of people along, but 1 or 2 should be fine. 
 
Very very happy to be done with USCIS! 
 
 

Hi all!

Did not think to check VJ for a N-400 September group before, so I'm only just now finding it after having my oath ceremony earlier today!

Happy to report that I am now a US citizen and forever done with USCIS! Whoop! 🥳

Timeline in my signature, downtown LA field office. 

Congrats!

Hi all!

Did not think to check VJ for a N-400 September group before, so I'm only just now finding it after having my oath ceremony earlier today!

Happy to report that I am now a US citizen and forever done with USCIS! Whoop! 🥳

Timeline in my signature, downtown LA field office. 

This happened today! 🥳

Thank you @Albator for sharing your experience, very helpful! And I can attest that it was the exact same. 

1) I checked in, handed over my GC and expired EAD/AP, answered the questions from the notice, GC&EAD got stapled to a sheet and was then told to proceed to yellow caution tape.
 
2) At yellow caution tape another officer told me to pick a spot with blue tape on the ground.
 
3) Had to wait till other 8/9 people were there. We started 5 min before ceremony time because everyone was already there. Officer had told us grab our oath pamphlet thing from the envelop given at check in.
 
4) Officer told us to raise our right hand and to repeat the Oath after him. After that was done, he said "congratulations, you are now officially a citizen of the United States" 
 
5) All done! Then had to form a line and someone took the sheet with my GC&EAD/AP stapled to it. Then got handed my naturalization certificate.
 
When I arrived the previous group was just finishing up and when I left, the next group was already gathering. Seems to be a constant flow of ceremonies! 
 
Husband  (and baby) came along and he took this pic. I wouldn't take a whole group of people along, but 1 or 2 should be fine. 
 
Very very happy to be done with USCIS! 
 
 

Same room! The officer behind his/her desk with a plexiglas screen in between you and them. The tablet is on your side of the screen, so that you can read, write, and check your info (that they will show you).

Good Evening LA filers,
 
I had my Oath Ceremony yesterday in DTLA. It is held outside in the courtyard behind the building. It is quick and I guess other people can come with you because it is open to the public. There are 2 desks:
- one to check you in, punch a hole in the green card, staple it with your appointment letter and give you an envelop (with inside: the little flag, what to do next and a passport application), you are then directed to stand in front of an officer who will read the pledge of allegiance in front of a small group, and once done, you go into another line to go to the second desk.
- the second desk is where you give your punched green card and you are remitted the certificate of naturalization.
 
there are flags in the courtyard where you can take pictures with your love ones if you want.
 
Good luck to all the applicants still waiting for this moment. I wish you all the best 🇺🇸

Hello LA Filers, 
 
I just got the interview today in DTLA and it all went well. The LA office is no longer holding same day Oath Ceremony, it seems that they hold them on Wednesdays and Fridays. I got approved right away and received my ceremony date and time on a paper (N-445) along with the  form N-652 at the end of the interview. My Oath is scheduled for next Wednesday, so in a week and someone I talked to from the Facebook group N-400 got her interview on Monday and her Oath is this coming Friday. 
Good Luck 🍀 everyone!

I'm confused - do you think she's scamming you or something? She's your wife, I'm sure she can explain to you why she needs your SSN. I've never thought of hiding my SSN from my husband and I can always see his, it's kept with all the documents. 

Reading this made think of Larissa and Colt

You made the mistakes, not USCIS. "They should have caught it" does not make you any less responsible.
The website is not ambiguous with regards to eligibility for citizenship. The terms they use have specific meanings and are used in specific ways. They have an entire policy manual that lays out specifics. Your misunderstanding of the requirements does not mean they made a mistake.
 
They adjudicated her application. They ran background checks. While your case was likely easier than most, they don't charge fees by the level of effort on a particular case. You apply -> You pay the same fee as everybody else -> USCIS adjudicates the application. Nobody pays only if approved.
 
Your wife's immigration was years ago. Timelines have changed since then.
Since she is an LPR, she can file an I-130 for a child or son/daughter. Since she is under 21 and unmarried that falls under F2A. F2A is taking a little under 2 years right now.
If your wife naturalizes after filing, the petition can be upgraded to IR-2. ETA: ~1 year from then.
 
Alternatively (and preferably), you (as the USC) can file for them as a stepchild. This could have been done at any time after marriage. USCIS has not delayed the process at all as this has been an option available to the child for years now.
Guide:
 
She would have a 2 year green card, not a visa. Her green card would be extended by 18 months by filing for ROC, not a visa. Citizenship cannot be approved until ROC is approved anyway.
I highly suggest taking some time to learn specifics and terminology to avoid similar mistakes that led to the denied N-400. Words matter.

Just so you know: if you'd like to use your K1 medical for your adjustment of status once in the US, you have to file for AOS within 60 days of your medical to ensure it's valid for 2 years. They've recently changed the validity of the medical because of increasing AOS processing timelines. This is mostly relevant if you're going to be filing from one of the major USCIS field offices (New York, Dallas, Houston, SF, Seattle, etc) where processing timelines have moved (well) beyond the original one-year validity of the medical.
 
Source:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/policymanual/updates/20181016-I-693Validity.pdf
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-b-chapter-4 (Section 4)

For future Dutchies reading:
 
I had my medical on Monday Feb 26th.
 
I arrived, waited a bit, and then:
 
1. Had to sit down in kitchen area - young doctor took my blood (make sure you have a sleeve that goes up past your elbow)
2. Handed over my vaccination records to Dr's assistant
3. Stepped into the office for examination by the older doctor:
Was asked various questions on whether I had been gravely ill in the past (by which he meant surgeries as well: I've had ear surgeries. I mentioned that briefly because I thought he would check my ears, but he didn't! Don't volunteer too much information), whether pregnant, drink alcohol, play sports, smoke, etc. Dr's assistant came back with my vaccination record - didn't need any! (still had a couple that were valid from earlier travels) Dr. measured my height and weight Had to lie down on examination table: checked my heart, lungs - had to do some deep sighs, also ones with open mouth Had to sit up: some more deep sighs, also ones with open mouth Was poked in lower back while being asked if so and so was painful Eye check with one of those old fashioned boards: had to say on which side the circle had an opening 4. Stepped back out from the office. Dr's assistant gave me the cup to pee in, did so in the (tiny!) toilet.
5. Handed cup back and double checked papers (address where you live, passport number, etc)
6. Had been given a sheet to bring along to the X ray clinic, received directions, walked over there and got those done. Easy as well.
 
FYI for the ladies - for the physical examination part I was only asked to take my shirt off, to keep bra on.
 
All in all, Dr.'s office took about 20 min where I'd budgeted an hour based on stories from other countries. Not the case, and overall just an odd, but easy procedure. Nothing to worry about!
 
For future Dutchies reading:
 
I had my medical on Monday Feb 26th.
 
I arrived, waited a bit, and then:
 
1. Had to sit down in kitchen area - young doctor took my blood (make sure you have a sleeve that goes up past your elbow)
2. Handed over my vaccination records to Dr.'s assistant
3. Stepped into the office for examination by the older doctor:
Was asked various questions on whether I had been gravely ill in the past (by which he meant surgeries as well: I've had ear surgeries. I mentioned that briefly because I thought he would check my ears, but he didn't! Don't volunteer too much information), whether pregnant, drink alcohol, play sports, smoke, etc. Dr.'s assistant came back with my vaccination record - didn't need any! (still had a couple that were valid from earlier travels) Dr. measured my height and weight Had to lie down on examination table: checked my heart, lungs - had to do some deep sighs, also ones with open mouth Had to sit up: some more deep sighs, also ones with open mouth Was poked in lower back while being asked if so and so was painful Eye check with one of those old fashioned boards: had to say on which side the circle had an opening 4. Stepped back out from the office. Dr.'s assistant gave me the cup to pee in, did so in the (tiny!) toilet.
5. Handed cup back and double checked papers (address where you live, passport number, etc)
6. Had been given a sheet to bring along to the X ray clinic, received directions, walked over there and got those done. Easy as well.
 
FYI for the ladies - for the physical examination part I was only asked to take my shirt off, to keep bra on.
 
All in all, Dr.'s office took about 20 min where I'd budgeted an hour based on stories from other countries. Not the case, and overall just an odd, but easy procedure. Nothing to worry about!
 

Yeah, I knew there are multiple offices, just didn’t know that the SF office had significantly different wait times, it’s kind of frustrating that my office isn’t on VJ. I’ll have to send off to get my EAD renewed by next month which is crazy! God this process makes me miss Europe 😂 By the time I get a green card I’ll be ready to get my wife to move back to England with me! 

Nah, I found out a while ago that there are multiple field offices, so I was even asking people on this page if they were in down town LA, or other offices, because people might consider it LA, while it isn't. 
I looked up the San Fernando office times and jeez, so much longer than LA and I thought LA was long! Though... I had not yet expected an interview letter yet. Was expecting it more to be around late summer. Am happy that it's earlier, but the difference with the San Fernando office is a little crazy then! 

4-6 weeks! A friend of mine, his interview was within 4 weeks of receiving his letter. From the time I got my letter, it was 6 weeks (though it actually got rescheduled due to "unforeseen circumstances" to 2 weeks later). 

4-6 weeks! A friend of mine, his interview was within 4 weeks of receiving his letter. From the time I got my letter, it was 6 weeks (though it actually got rescheduled due to "unforeseen circumstances" to 2 weeks later). 

Just found out my interview was scheduled today! YAY! Had thought it would take till at least mid-summer based on the processing times. Though, I'd seen some fellow LA people who filed before me getting their interviews recently, which already led me to hope/believe that it could be sooner. Though, with USCIS you never know.... 
 
Now to wait for the letter and interview date!

It sounds fair enough. Getting rid of tourist visa AOS would be a good thing also. Especially since it's usually tied with visa overstay also.

Yay! Congrats! Those dates are weird, wonder if they approve and send out in batches with different dates? 
 
Oh man, 8am is brutal, especially if you have a ways to drive in. So sorry! I am not a morning person, so I feel for you. Our interview is at 10am and we live just up the street. Luckily I've been saving a personal day off at work just in case I needed it. Good to know we should arrive early for security, thanks for that head's up! Keep me posted on how it goes and good luck! So happy this is almost done (for awhile...).

Ha! Sorry, meant I live in Los Angeles city, near downtown, sorry for the confusion! Thanks for the medical info, I was worried we would need to do it before if I got the dates wrong. Glad to hear they will let us know at the interview. Fingers crossed. I will post once we've done the interview to let you know how it goes. I had to order another birth certificate as I sent my other one to Switzerland for registration there but other than that I think we have everything they asked for in the letter. Good luck and it's so nice to see others getting their dates as well. Love visa journey for its camaraderie!

Just found out my interview was scheduled today! YAY! Had thought it would take till at least mid-summer based on the processing times. Though, I'd seen some fellow LA people who filed before me getting their interviews recently, which already led me to hope/believe that it could be sooner. Though, with USCIS you never know.... 
 
Now to wait for the letter and interview date!

Amazing news!! I've been seeing some movement for May applicants in LA but great to see June changes. Supper happy for you, congratulations!!