casualuser

It was a very painful reason. After I moved to the US, I filed a petition to bring my wife in August 2012, but USCIS denied my application saying that we did not have enough evidence and my wife did not know much about me. I appealed the decision and they denied it again. I received the final decision in March 2015 after a long wait and my wife was being frustrated. I was at that time studying my PhD and everything was beyond my control that we gave up on it. Now, right after my graduation, I processed the divorce just because they could not allow us to reunite. I indicated that in my application and the officer said that with in the statutory period, I gave a false information to get immigration benefit (did not show a good moral character). It is a double punishment from a wrongful judgment. I have contacted my attorney and decided to appeal the decision. Can anyone please share his/her opinion or experience? I have decided to appeal it, but one attorney told me that I am past the 5 years statutory period and can reapply instead of filing an appeal. 
 
Thank you.

Good Point. Updated profile with country info
 

Many people report a movement around the anniversary. It seems some case are stuck in an administrative deadlock and they have a team at USCIS that manually goes through all old cases and they clear them if  there is nothing wrong with them.

Hi all,
I had my citizenship interview this morning & now I am waiting to do my oath ceremony at 3pm today 😁
 
Brian 

My passport application was quick too. I have applied at a post office on 10/28 and I received my passport today. 9 days - not too bad for routine service.

Nope. I think various fora have it well documented, in what people report, that the information which L2 officers provide is inaccurate and misleading. It is possible it is a well-organized policy of minimizing litigation costs for USCIS. After all, if you believe that your application is within normal processing time you will not complain to ombudsman or your representatives, and you will not seek judicial relief.

First of all, this is March 2017 forum, while you appear to be a candidate for August 2017 filers forum. Raleigh processes cases from March/April right now, so you should expect another 4-5 months of wait, unless they catch up with the backlog, which seems to happen. Optimistically, you might hear back from them in 3 months after fingerprinting.

Hello All,
 
Both me and my wife attended the oath ceremony today. Raleigh has a nice small ceremony with a room capacity of around 40-50 people. The whole ceremony took around 60 minutes, but since it started late it actually took 1.5 hour(s). It was a slightly stressful event for us, since we came with our 3-year old daughter and she is very energetic. It was fine, we survived, the 3-year old was quite interested in what is going on and we enjoyed the event. I hope all of you (those waiting) will reach that stage soon!
 
I was surprised how well organized the whole thing was. Each chair had an envelope with "citizenship welcome materials" and I pointed out to my wife how well it was all aligned, exactly the same way on every chair! It really looked neat. They distributed the certificates extremely quickly. When they seat people they collect green cards in the order reflecting seating and then let new citizens stand in a line, while they were ready with a prepared stack of certificates matching the order of collected green cards. I think they distributed the certificates in about one minute!
 
President's Trump welcome speech was nice, in his style, but still welcoming and warm.

So ok...this was my experience at my Oath Ceremony today in Brooklyn.
 
Went through security relatively quickly and easily considering I showed up a good 40 minutes early.   Now, I had gone ahead and called Camdan Plaza East where the ceremony was going to be held, so I already knew that no cameras or cell phones were permitted in the courthouse (whether participants or guests), and I already was aware that there would be a possibility that guests were not able to view the actual ceremony.
 
All Queens, NY filers must have their oath ceremony at the court house regardless of whether or not a name-change is requested.  Just how it's done for Queens filers.   The building itself is beautiful inside, with wide spiral staircases, and lots of marble and artwork on the walls.   Headed up to the 2nd floor, where my husband and child were directed to the 3rd floor cafeteria.  I asked if they would be able to view the ceremony at all, and was told they would be called down later on.
 
Fast forward to 8:30AM when we got started with everything.  Applicants were taking up only 3 rows of the court benches, so it wasn't a long process to get everyone situated with how to fill out the back of the Oath Letter.   A few moments later, a representative from the voter registration office gave a small speech on how to vote and pressed us to fill out the application form and immediately hand it back over to her, and then she left the room never to be seen again.   After that, no one spoke to us or gave out any information on how the day would go, or welcomed us, nothing like that and participants were pretty much left on our own to just sit there and wait for....whatever was going to happen next. 
 
We were called up again to hand over the green card and receive an envelope.  Inside the envelope was a hard folder to place our certificate in, a copy of the oath, the passport application, and information on voting/serving on a jury.  Wish I'd gotten a flag, but oh well.  No welcoming letter from the President, but truth be told I didn't really expect one.
 
After about an hour, another lady started talking to us about passport applications and telling us that we can apply for the passport anytime after the ceremony (but not with them in any way, must be done through the post office or passport agency).  One person asked a rather simple question about the form, and when the staff didn't understand him due to a language barrier, I re-stated the question more coherently (I was sitting infront of him). The man was then replied to in a long, drawn-out condescending way that he "shouldn't be asking them anything about passports---ask us about immigration only!  When you go to the post office, you ask them questions about the post office, right???  I can't tell you anything about passports or the post office because I don't know anything about that."  Kind of went on and on increasingly condescendingly....okaaaayyyy....well they DID present the passport application forms to us and asked if people had any questions, but whatever.  She then stated we should apply for our SS status to be changed no less than 10 days after the oath ceremony, and asked if we had any questions about that process.  No one said a peep, probably because they were afraid of being lectured for asking a question.
 
After another wait, the 3rd lady came into the room and started setting herself up at a desk.  I was sitting in the front and could hear the staff conversations taking place since the room was nearly silent, and they were only a few feet away seated at the table.  At that point, one of them said to her "did you bring the country list?"  to which she replied "nah I didn't bother with it".  From reading other oath ceremony threads, and watching videos, I knew then that there would be no announcement of the countries recognized at the ceremony, which was a downer to me because I was looking forward to that part....almost like feeling like our immigration success was a global community effort we all shared in, but wasn't going to happen at my ceremony today.   It was also sad that they just seemed to decide on-the-spot to not be bothered with it and brush it off for whatever personal reason the woman had (maybe laziness?).
 
Soon enough, boredom sets in, since we are not being engaged in any way, and a few of us (myself included) start chatting among ourselves, not loudly.  We have a few giggles discussing our immigration journeys, what country we are from, etc. and generally how we're happy to become citizens.  About 10 minutes into our conversation, one of the workers comes over to us and ----- to my disbelief ---- tells us "You are getting too excited about this now, alright?  You all calm down and be quiet."  We, as a small group, were stunned that we were actually told to stop socializing with each other and just continue to sit there staring ahead in silence.  Personally, I was flabbergasted that she implied we shouldn't even be HAPPY about reaching this day in our lives.
 
One of the workers stood up and threatened everyone that if they didn't hand in all previous USCIS-issued documents (EADs and expired GC's) to them now or failed to mail them in at a later date "We have everything on file so we already know.  We can find out...I'm just letting you know we will find out"  I felt this was completely unnecessary of them to say this out-of-the-blue, and in a passive-aggressive manner.
 
Afterwards, we were called up by line to view our naturalization certificates.  As we approached the desk in single file, the lady barked out "what's your number?!" without explaining exactly what number she was referring to (I learned quickly she meant the last 3 digits of the alien number) then whipped out the certificate and gave each person literally a two-second glance at it before barking at us "sign your name!"  To the woman's eye-rolling annoyance, I refused to give it barely a 2-second glance, knowing this would be the only time I could get the certificate corrected for free, and looked over everything not just my name. Upon sitting down, I remarked purposefully loudly to the woman next to me (who whispered to me how rude she was) "You know, I've never been referred to as just a number before, I thought they only did that in jail."  The other worker met my eyes and slightly smiled sympathetically.  I think even SHE was wondering why her co-worker was so abrupt with everyone, despite her *own* prior unpleasantness towards participants.  
 
One poor girl who had requested a name change pointed out to the worker that the certificate didn't reflect her request.  The worker asked her what her name was supposed to be, and then flippantly remarked "Well they didn't do it.  Sign your name!"  The young lady, for obvious reasons, hesitated in signing it and the worker looked up at her and actually said "What's the problem?"  When the lady repeated that her name is not as requested on the certificate, she was again told to sign it as written.  She did end up signing it, and then respectfully asked "What do I do now, though, about the wrong name?"  The lady abruptly said "You have to go to civil court." and LITERALLY TURNED HER BACK TO HER in her swivel chair!!!  Completely ignored her until she walked away, head down, and confused.   "Next---what's your number?!"
 
Our families did eventually come down and were herded together into a small section partially away from us all. 
 
The judge arrived, we all rose out of respect and then were told to be seated again.  The judge immediately told us that she had just found out this morning that she would be presiding (from eavesdropping on the staff, I could hear them discussing which judge to call to administer the oath just before).  She gave a brief 5-minute off-the-cuff speech about the importance of voting, and serving on a jury.  There was no discussion about the importance of the day, no talk about immigrants contributing to the country, no mention about personal experience with the process.  Just a statement about voting, and jury duty---and a mention of "Happy Diwali" to those celebrating it.  She also introduced her new office clerk to us, a disinterested looking young man sitting next to her.  Overall, she had a pleasant personality, just wished something more poignant was said.  Anything.  Anything at all.   Something to make the day seem special.  Near the end of her comments, she spoke about how we should go forth and be respectable members of society and pay our taxes.  I noticed a few side-eyes being given and maybe we all thought the same thing....that we already *have* been paying taxes and *have* been good members of society.
 
We took the oath of allegiance, and then recited the pledge of allegiance.  We all clapped for ourselves and each other.  The judge handed us our certificate and shook our hands with a perfunctory "congratulations" and then we were immediately directed to leave the courthouse.  Her new clerk, adding to his aura of disinterest, stood next to her with his hands in his pockets, not speaking unless directly spoken to.  
 
All in all, it was a disappointing day.  There was no memorable moment, no feeling of a journey acknowledged, no special gathering, no poignant moment where I felt included as a citizen, no....niceness....about the entire experience.  I remarked to my husband later that it felt like I had just left another USCIS appointment where I just handed over some paperwork.  It was abrupt, the staff seemed mostly annoyed with our presence, rude for the most part, and just an anti-climatic moment all-around since my immigration process began.
 
Am I happy that my journey is over and I'm a citizen as the main thing?  Yes, I suppose so.  Just wish more thought was put into making it an actual special day for people who have struggled, and sweated, and cried, and stressed and sacrificed to make it as far as they did.  Previously reading other people's oath ceremonies in different cities/states had me thinking today wouldn't be "just like any other day".   
 
All in all, the highlight of my ceremony was giving @vkhutchings a hug as we congratulated each other outside of the courtroom.  
 
So that's it.  Oh yeah, that sums up nicely how I felt as soon as I left the courthouse.... "That's it?"

Hello all. I had my naturalization ceremony today at the Raleigh Field Office. We had a group of 50+ people from 24 countries that were naturalized at the ceremony. They went through the forms at check-in and made sure everyone had the questionnaire completed. Then collected the green cards once we entered the ceremony room. They went through the whole process. Next they handed the certificates out. We were asked to verify all the information on the certificate was correct. We were also notified, that if there are any changes required for the certificate, they address them for free if reported before leaving the naturalization ceremony.
 
Today marked the end of a long journey and we are absolutely relieved.
 
PLEASE VERFIY AND MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT THE INFORMATION ON THE CERTIFICATE IS CORRECT.

Congratulations! Expect mid-November interview.

Thank you @JoeSchmoe2017, @sunshinestate2013, and @sab2913 !

My wife just had her interview in Raleigh. The interview was quick, about 10 minutes long, but it was 30 minutes late. The officer just did the very minimum: civic questions, reading, writing and an express review of the N-400 form. She was recommended for approval. The officer suggested oath this Friday, but my wife preferred a later date and the conclusion was she will get an invitation letter by mail (he said that he cannot schedule her oath on the spot after this Friday because he does not have access to later dates).
 
I am next, on Monday.

I just got a notification (text and online change too) that my interview was scheduled on Sep 11.  I know that already for about a month.

Since my GC is employment-based I had to wait 5 years. Still, it appears that marriage certificates are being requested based on above mentioned reports. I understand the need for my children birth certificates ("good moral character"), but I do not see any point in asking for marriage certificate after 5 years, especially if GC is not marriage-based.

He asked for either original or photocopy of our Marriage certificate. He didn’t keep it, he just looked at it. So you’re good!

Out of the blue I finally received my I-797C showing my interview is scheduled for November 6th in St. Louis.  My online case status hasn't been updated since my biometrics appointment in January and I've received no email or text updates.
 
Guess I better start studying for the civics test now !!
 
Hope you all hear something soon !!
 
Mark

I think it all depends on which field office handles the case. Raleigh for example used to advertise on the www.uscis.gov web page* that they have two oaths per week, while some other offices offer only one ceremony per month.
 
* I cannot find this information now.

Yay! I passed!
Everything went smoothly.. I came with my brother who has an interview too. Our appointment was 1:05pm.  We got checked in at 12:35 but my brother was told to go to the 3rd floor and I was told to wait in the waiting area A. I don’t know why we got separated. Anyways, it only took him 15mins and he passed too while I’m still waiting. 1:45 finally an IO called me to go to his office, he was nice and he even apologized for the delay. When we got to his office, he told me to put my bag in the chair next to me and to remain standing and he asked me to raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth. He then asked me for my GC,Passport,ID and Marriage Certificate which is good thing I brought it with me. He made a copy of my GC and Passport. He then told me that we will start with Reading and Writing test. He hand me a paper and told me to read it “Who can vote?” Then gave me a paper to write with “Citizen can vote.” IO said you passed the Reading and writing test part. Now we will start with the Civic test then he asked me...
 
*What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
*How many amendments does the Constitution have? 
*Who makes federal laws? 
*Why did the colonist fight the British? 
*Who is the Vice president of the US?
*What is the highest court in the US?
 
I answered it all correctly and IO said Congratulations you passed the Civic test. After that he reviewed my N400, he asked me my full name, address, phone#, How did you get here in the US? He even asked me how did your husband got here in the US?is he a lawful permanent resident and when did he become one? Also he asked how and when did me and my husband meet? I wasn’t expecting those questions lol Anyways, a lot of questions, about my kids their birthdays, my husband’s birthday, date of our marriage. Who live with me.. etc. then the yes or no questions, it’s okay as long as you’re telling the truth you will pass. I asked the IO about the Oath Ceremony he told me you might go on October 26 or Nov 9. And to wait for the ceremony letter. 
I also received the application for passport that I will bring in to the ceremony. 
Best of luck everyone. I hope my experience will help you on what to expect on your interview.

HI ALL, FINALLY MY WIFE INTERVIEW WAS TODAY IN THE NEWARK OFFICE  AND YES SHE PASS!!  SHE JUST CALL ME AND GIVE ME THE GOOD NEWS AND THE OATH CEREMONY IS GONNA BE TODAY TOO!!

Very easy.  Had to read “Who was George Washington?” and write “Washington was the first president.”  Then he gave me 6 questions, I answered them all correctly. Can’t remember them all.  After that, we went through the application, he made corrections along the way. I had already prepared an addendum to my travel, since I was out of the country after sending in application.  He appreciated that. He did not ask for anything else but GC, Passport, ID.  I was over prepared with tax returns of last 5 years, marriage certificate and divorce decrees.  None of it mattered.  I filed under 5 year rule.  In and out in about 20 minutes.  Even received a passport application packet when I signed in at the reception.  

I passed.  Got N-652 "Congratulations! Your application is recommended for approval."  IO said I would receive Oath notice in 3-6 weeks.

@casualuser yeah definitely a very easy process. I went over-prepared with the paperwork but the IO did not ask for any. But hey better to go in prepared just incase.  Good luck with your interview!

Hello all. I had my interview at the Raleigh-Durham office today, 9/27 at 11:00am. I arrived at the office around 10:15am and had to wait to be checked in at 10:45am. I was called in for the interview at 1:00am. The IO was a very polite gentleman ans we engaged in small talk on our way to his office, shared a couple of jokes. Once in we completed the oath and he jumped right into the test portion.
 
Reading : Who can vote?
Writing : Citizens can vote.
 
Civics:
What group of people was brought to the US and sold as slaves?
Why did the colonists fight the British?
How many amendments to the constitution?
When was the constitution written?
What is the highest court in the United States?
What is the name of our Vice President?
 
After the he went through my application. He notified me that he had changed the selection for application from marriage-based to residency based as i have been a resident for over 5 years. He also said that there was nothing to question further in my application. After the application was complete, he asked me how soon would i prefer to become a citizen. He had Friday 9/29 available but that was short notice for work so I opted for the following Friday 10/6. He asked me to wait in the waiting area for my oath ceremony letter. I was handed the letter 10 minutes later.
 
I hope this helps to those who are preparing for their interviews.

Thank you! I had mine scheduled today, 9/26 @ 1:45 but they were running behind with their time so I wasn't called until 2:20. My IO was pretty nice. As soon as we get in to his office he asked me to raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth. He then asked for my gc,dl, and passport.
He had me start with the reading..."Who is George Washington?" then he handed me a piece of paper to write..."Washington was the first President."
Then he said, "Now for the civic questions, are you ready? Well nevermind you have no choice(we both laughed)...I answered the first 6 questions and he said, "Very good! You blew it away!" Lol
1. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
2. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
3. The idea of self-government is in the first 3 words of the Constitution. What are these words?
4. In what month do we vote for President?
5. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
6. Name one war fought by the U.S.  in the 1900's?
After the test, he went through my n-400 application pages by pages and asked questions just to validate what was written and to check you know your stuff. He asked why I didn't include information about my parents? I said it's because they're not here in the US.
Anyhow, I PASSED!! I had to wait another 1.5 hr for the schedule of my Oath taking which is this Friday, 9/29 @ 8
a.m! 
Thank you all and wishing everyone good luck!