Hamilton

5 hours ago, Gaps0214 said:

So, it's a bit of a disappointment. The letter we just received from USCIS is a notice of action re: 1-751 transferred to National Benefits Center.

The obvious question is WHY? 

We passed an N-400 interview more than a month ago while the I-751 pending at Nebraska LIN.

What could possibly be the reason for moving the I-751 to NBC instead of to the Seattle local office?

It doesn't make sense.

 

Any thoughts? Would appreciate it.

 

Cheers,

 

Sorry to hear this - though I would imagine any movement is good and signals more changes to come. 

59 minutes ago, Hamada91 said:

Makes sense thanks.

did you give them a copy of your naturalization certificate along with the original one? 

Yes, it's required.

4 hours ago, Hamada91 said:

Understood, but the guy that I quoted his reply, i just counted the days that they took to approve his passport they were 11 business days, mine are are 13 days as of this comment. And we have the same locator 69. Or maybe this isn’t how it works?  

No cause to worry. Nobody is going to have an identical timeline. Maybe they're a bit busier right now, more applications in advance of holiday travel. 

11 hours ago, Truth_Seeker said:

Hello

 

So, we are flying to Seattle from Germany for an appointment on 12 December 2022.  My wife has an appointment at 12:50.  And we have tickets to fly back home to Germany on 20 December 2022.

 

So, a question for those who have Naturalized through the Seattle office already.  Do you think there will be a problem for her getting her oath done on the same day?  

This is impossible to predict. I would say she has a very good chance of getting the oath on the same day because most people seem to get that, especially when they have appointments before 2pm. But there's always something that can go wrong with bureaucracy, so nothing is guaranteed. 

11 hours ago, forthecookies said:

I'm putting together the list of things I'll need to take to the interview. My case is based on 5 years of permanent residence. So far I have:

• Passport
• Green card
• Driver's license
• Details of any trips I took outside the US after submitting the application
• Tax returns (included as extra docs in application)
• Marriage certificate (included as extra docs in application)

Anything else I'm missing?

I doubt you'll need anything else. Good luck!

1 minute ago, asdfzxcvqweasdfzx said:

Thank you Hamilton! What is an emergency passport? I don't have the citizenship certificate, how do I apply for the emergency passport?

You can only get a US passport after your oath ceremony, once you're a citizen with a naturalization certificate. But if your travel is very soon after the oath (i.e., not enough time to go through the expedited process), you can apply for an emergency/urgent passport. Details here - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies/seattle.htmlv

Some people in this thread have gone the urgent passport route, so if you scroll back some pages you'll be able to find info on it.

It's definitely still cutting it close to your travel in Nov because it's hard to predict how soon your oath ceremony will be scheduled.

2 hours ago, asdfzxcvqweasdfzx said:

Hi everyone! I need some advice and help. I interviewed for my N-400 on Oct 19th at Tukwilla center. At the time of the interview, my I-751 data file was not in system and needed to be transferred from Nebraska. So the officer gave me a slip of paper that basically shows I have passed the written and writing test for N-400 but decision cannot be made yet. On Oct 23rd, my I-751 case was transferred and on Oct 26th the case was approved. However, now my N400 is still showing "Interview is scheduled". I have no way of getting in touch via Emma. I've tried twice contacting Emma and they just closed my inquiries. 

 

I have an international travel coming up on Nov 23rd, which I need to apply for a new passport for. Seattle typically takes 2 weeks to process an expedited passport case.

In addition, I plan to petition for my mom'f greencard once I become a citizen. Her current visa status is expiring on Nov 17th. 

 

How can I move my case? I'm so distraught.

This seems like it's actually moving along quite quickly. They transferred the I-751 case only a couple of days after your N400 interview, and they approved it yesterday. So I think you're on track to hear about the oath ceremony soon. 

You could reach out to your senator/representative and ask them to inquire for you - that usually gets a case going. But your case seems to already be making its way through the system - it's just hard to predict if it'll be complete within the next two weeks. 

You may want to look into getting an emergency passport for your Nov 23 travel - I believe those can be done in a day or two. The expedited process is longer than 2 weeks right now. 

8 hours ago, Southern_Belle07 said:

If I may ask, where did you set up the appointment and what are the requirements?

I scheduled the appointment on the USPS site, and all the document requirements are listed there too https://www.usps.com/international/passports.htm

7 hours ago, UCT said:

I have completed my interview and oath today. I found it is very helpful to read other people's experience. So I am here to share mine.

 

To summarize, I have name change in my N-400 application. I want to share how I got same day oath with the name change.

 

When I submit the N-400 application, I stated that I would like to change my name. But I learned from other people's experience, oath day won't be the same day if you would like to change your name. As soon as I received the interview notice, I went to Bellevue district court to change my name. I paid $301 for the name change at court. It was very easy. Just appear in front of judge and answer a few simple questions. It only took 5 minutes for the hearing. I then brought the court order to the interview.

 

My interview was at 9:45. I arrived at 9:18. After passed the security check, there was a line for checking-in. There were about 15 people in front of me. It took 15 mins to check-in. After checked-in I was instructed to go upstairs and wait in the waiting room. There is no sign in the waiting room. The staff would come out and call your number.

 

In the waiting room, there were many people (30~40 people). But I only waited for 3 minute. Staff came out and called my number, then walked me to a cubicle. I can see my wife is right behind me doing her interview (she was called 2 minutes before me, even thought I checked in first). The interview was virtual.

 

The lady who interviewed me was very very nice. She made some jokes when asking the civil test questions. She started with civil test, then went through every question in the N400 application. When she asked my name, I told her I actually went to court and changed my name already. She said that's good because they can't do name change here. And because I had my name changed at court already, I can have same day oath today. My wife's name is changed as well. So I let her know when we got to the session of my wife's name. She was able update all the names without any problem. It only took me 15 minutes to finish the interview. (my wife's interview took ~15 minutes as well). After interview, staffs congratulated me and told me to wait downstairs for the oath ceremony.

 

There was a line in oath ceremony entrance. I gave the staff my green card at the entrance. There were about 50 people in the oath room. The oath was fast, 15 minutes later, I received my certificate of naturalization. Total exactly 1 hour from leave my car to return my car.

 

The next step is to get my passport. For urgent travel (within 14 days), you can call the service center to get your passport faster. The normal passport can take 4-6 weeks (expedited) or 7-10 weeks (normal). I will travel in 2 months. The problem is it takes time to schedule application in the  passport acceptance facility (e.g. USPS). You can only make appointment within 4 weeks at USPS but there is no any date available. To get a slot, you would need to make appointment before 6am to book the date just opened 4 weeks later.  I counted the date and book the passport appointment before my interview 4 weeks ago. So my application appointment is later this week. 

 

Hope this helps. Good luck, everyone.

 

Congrats!! Also if it helps - I expedited my passport application last month and got the passport within 3 weeks of the USPS appointment. 

17 hours ago, Trent & Alexa said:

Thank you for your detailed experience! For the marriage evidence, did you bring documents similar to what was needed for 751?

You're welcome! Yes, I brought the basic evidence we'd filed for the 751, just updated (there's a list of suggested documents  to show marital union, like tax transcripts, leases etc.). 

Applied expedited + 1-2 day delivery. Locator 69.

Sept 9 - Applied at USPS

Sept 13 - In processing

Sept 28 - Approved

Sept 30 - Received! 

I'm amazed how easy and fast it was to get a passport. Exactly 3 weeks from application to delivery.

23 hours ago, LoveAndLight2045 said:

With my passport in hand, I just took some hours of introspection and started wondering about the possibilities now offered to me, as well as pausing a bit to think and reflect about the ride. Then I got a huge piece of carrot cake lol. 
 

how are you celebrating?

Fun!! We celebrated by going out to dinner. I've been doing some introspecting off and on as well. It'll feel more real when I get my passport, I think. Did you apply yet?

1 hour ago, LoveAndLight2045 said:

Fam—

 

I. Am. A. US. Citizen!

 

What a journey it has been. 
 

First things first, thanks for everyone for have shared your stories. They help me not only prepare for what to expect, but also stress a lot less. Thanks for the DMs as well, you know who you are
 

Second, on the stressful part, I can’t stress how trivial the whole process is really. It might differ for some, but the whole thing was done in less than 5 min for me. No documents asked whatsoever, no clarifying questions on my N400, nothing.  The bulk of the remaining “interview” time was chatting and laughing with the officer. I spent a lot of time studying my N400 application (what if I forget the exact history of my addresses, etc.) just in case. When I applied I forgot to mention a couple of trips outside the country and a speeding ticket, absolutely no big deal, the officer didn’t sweat it. I bought coffee on my way to the interview, couldn’t bring it in the building, and by the time I was out the coffee was still very warm for me to drink. Out of the ~50 min in the building (including oath), ~40 min was just waiting. 
 

I knew I would feel good at the end of all this long journey, but man o man is this relaxing. I’ll still hang in there from time to time until life gets my focus away, but it has been a pleasure fam. 
 

Best of luck to those still waiting. Work on your civics questions and review your application, but don’t loose sleep over it. All in all the interview is the easiest part. 
 

🤗

Ahhh congrats!! Yeah I wish I had known just how chill the interview process would be. I was so nervous about it for a solid two weeks before my interview! I'm happy for you

What's everyone doing to celebrate?

1 hour ago, arnab221 said:

My and my wife had our interview today and we were both approved. We also took our younger kid ( baby)  to the interview. Below is my experience . 

We arrived at 8:15 AM and found that parking meter was broken and no attendant was present . We parked and entered the building at 8:16 AM and went through security and customer service. Customer service gave us tags with P numbers. We went to the second floor seating area and waited for over 40 minutes .We were called by separate officers into two different interview rooms one after another for face to face interviews . Interview experience was nothing special . My officer started with civics questions following by reading/writing and finished with the N400 questions . In the citation question, I  did mention that I had two pretty old traffic citations which I wanted to mention. She said I did the right thing by non mentioning them in N400 application , given that they were older than 5 years. I finished and came out to the waiting area in about 20 minutes and found my wife ( she had the baby as well) had already finished her interview. My wife stated that her officer was very accommodative with our baby ( who was sleeping most of the time btw). We came back to the first floor for a quick  oath ceremony and the were handed our certificates. When we came out we saw that the parking attendant had just arrived and was collecting the tickets . We paid $8 on the way out. 

I felt that the process was very efficiently managed and I am grateful that they were very accommodative with our baby. 
 

Congrats bud!! I'm surprised they made you wait so long but I'm glad it was so smooth, especially with the baby. Now you get to sit back and relax!

11 minutes ago, Truth_Seeker said:

So with this said, is there a good place nearby  for  the spouse to wait?  We will be coming from Germany for the interview and will more that likely take the train/bus to USCIS.

Not really. Some people wait in their cars in the parking lot. There's also some benches outside the USCIS building where you can sit. It's not a particularly walkable area/nothing much around, but if the spouse goes away somewhere they probably won't make it back in time to enter for the ceremony (if the ceremony officer allows people to come in). I would just plan to sit outside and enjoy an hour or two of introspection, hah.

16 hours ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

Congratulations! Also, that is amazing news that your spouse could attend. I was not allowed to attend when my wife had her ceremony, so that changed recently!

Thanks!! It seems like everyone was unsure what the policy actually is. Someone inside told me that spouses can come in and wait in the waiting room with you (before the interview). I'm not sure the security guard outside would've allowed that, and the interview letter certainly says only the applicant is allowed. 🤷‍♂️ 

I think only one other person in the ceremony brought a family member in. Did your wife ask them specifically at the ceremony? Seems the answer varies. 

4 hours ago, LoveAndLight2045 said:

Hey folks. 
 

quick question about documents to bring: “Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.”

My partner can’t enter in possession of her birth certificate prior to the interview. Will her passport be okay instead? Not sure how we missed it in the interview invite letter

I think her passport will be fine, I wouldn't worry about it. I also think it's likely they won't ask for it at all, like with me. It seems like they typically just want to see the applicant's green card, ID, and passport (aside from any additional evidence stuff if it comes up). 

On 9/9/2022 at 11:58 AM, ChillinSea said:

Had my interview yesterday. Showed up 30 mins early and they waved me right in. Went through security, then a checkin with fingerprint and photo, sent upstairs to a waiting room and waited for 10 minutes before I was called in. I had an in person interview. Took about 20 minutes. In sequence we covered 6 civics questions, reading, writing, recent travels in reverse chronological order (since filing the N-400), what I am doing now, what I was working on for the last 5 years, and then went over many of the questions in the N-400 (like organizations I am a part of, whether I have been arrested etc, been to a police station). The in person interview was great to have since I was concerned about audio quality. The officer was professional, courteous and pleasant to chat with.

 

After that I went downstairs and lined up to enter the naturalization room. There were about 6 of us. The officer provided information about what would happen in the ceremony, what we should expect to do next (social security update, voter registration) and to not laminate our certificates. There was a quick oath and then they handed out the certificates. Please check your certificate for errors since its a $550 charge to get a new certificate. 

 

Wish all of you best of luck and hopefully a pleasant experience like the one I had. Thank you for the support and camaraderie on my journey. 

 

Congrats!! I wonder how they decide who gets a virtual or in person interview, or if it’s entirely random. Mine was virtual. 

4 hours ago, arnab221 said:

Congratulations , super glad that its finally over for you . Take some time off and enjoy now . 

Then we went through a lot of the N400 questions (current employment, current and old addresses, many of the yes/no questions).

On the above ask , do they expect you to remember exactly the addresses that you lived in , or would the name of the city  suffice ? 

 

Thanks man! 

She actually only wanted my current and last address, and I gave the full address for both (including zip code etc). I made sure I remembered my older addresses too though, best to be prepared.

8 hours ago, LoveAndLight2045 said:

So glad to hear this, it seems we’ve been on the same schedule for a while now. Congrats my friend!!!

 

do you remember the civics questions you were asked? I’m not sure why but it’s the only part that makes me worry slightly

Thank you!! Yeah, I'll send you a message. But remember you only need to get 6 right from 10. You would have to fail half of the questions to not pass. 

7 hours ago, starianova said:

Had interview and same day oath today. 10:45 appointment, parked at overly expensive parking lot for $8+ tax. Had to scan bags and photo + finger prints (not biometric).
Waited for 10 minutes or so and got called right on time. was in-person interview. No additional documents asked, just updated travel history based on my flight records they have.
Got same day oath which took another 10 minutes waits + 10 minutes. 

In and out of the building in an hour and half. It was fast.

 

 Congratulations, and thanks for coming back and telling us about it! 

I went through the timelines section of VJ and I don't think I had realized how many people get a same day oath in Seattle. It looks like the majority by far, based on dates entered for 2020-present.

3 minutes ago, eugene-eugene said:

Well kind of - yes but it basically ended up in that cabinet with my backpack and everything else. Also I personally had absolutely no connection while inside that building, not sure if my provider is crappy or if they do something with the signal there.

Hah this cabinet sounds weird. Cool, thanks! I'll let my wife know I probably won't be able to contact her until I'm out. 

1 minute ago, eugene-eugene said:

I took a small backpack with a bunch of stuff. Once I sat into the chair, their assistant told me to take out a few things like IDs and put the rest into the cabinet next to the table.

Ty! And were you able to take your cell phone in?