Kori-Kosun

Update on my parents’ N-400 interview @ Detroit DO today -- they both passed their interview today and are now awaiting their oath letters!!! 🇺🇸🎆🎉
 
Interview experience: We arrived about 45 minutes before the appointment time (they both had the same time listed on their Interview Notice NOAs). We were able to get in to stand between the outer set of doors and the inner doors to the building, as the inner doors had a sign stating we could not enter sooner than 15 minutes before the appointment time (as also printed on the NOA). We came through the second set of doors with about 20 minutes remaining before the interview time and went through the airport-style security; this put us at exactly 15 minutes before the appointment time once we were through security. My parents were asked to show their appointment letters and driver’s licenses; I stated that I was with them and showed my license at the checkpoint. We then checked at the Reception desk and were directed into the Interview waiting area for check-in. My parents gave their IDs and appointment letters to the USCIS staff that were set up at cubicle stations near the entrance to the waiting area, and they had their index finger prints and pictures taken (via a webcam) as part of the check-in process. We were then told to sit near the door in the back of the waiting area and to wait for them to be called.
 
My dad was called first, and his interview lasted about 30 minutes. He was sworn in and asked to confirm some of his biographical information. He was asked to read a printed question from a piece of paper (cannot remember what he told me it was), and then the officer dictated the answer for him to write down on the same piece of paper. Then he was asked six civics questions (answering all of them correctly), and then a few of the Yes/No questions. Since he was a member of the Young Communist League (Komsomol) to get his college education, he was asked about that further and was placed under oath again and made to sign a sworn statement (same thing happened during the Green Card interview). He was also asked about his military training and whether he was ever late with his income tax return or owed back taxes. At the end, the officer asked questions about the Oath of Allegiance and had him provide a signature digitally. He was given Form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results, with the following items checked:
You passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government. Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval. At this time, it appears that you have established your eligibility for naturalization. If final approval is granted, you will be notified when and where to report for the Oath Ceremony. My mom was called back to interview with a different officer after Dad had already returned with his approval. She has substantially the same experience as my dad, though she had fewer questions to answer on the application itself. She was also required to give a sworn statement about Komsomol and received the same approval at the end. Her reading/writing question was along the lines of:
“When do we celebrate Columbus Day?” (reading) “We celebrate Columbus Day in October.” (writing) Dad’s USCIS online account was updated right away, so by the time we got back to the car and checked on the smartphone, it had “Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled” as the status. A supervisor came out while Dad and I were waiting for Mom to finish her interview, and she mentioned they were having computer/network problems. Mom’s status is not yet updated, and perhaps it was because of those problems. Both were told to expect an Oath letter in the mail.
 
Civics questions they were asked are below:
 
Mom questions
1. What did the Declaration of Independence do? 2. What it one promise you make when you take the Oath of Allegiance? 3. What is the economic system in the United States? 4. What is the capital of your state? 5. Who did the United States fight in World War II? 6. Name one state that borders on Mexico.   Dad questions 1. Who was the first President? 2. Who is the Speaker of the House? 3. How many senators are there in the US Senate? 4. Cabinet?? 5. Name two freedoms in the Declaration of Independence? 6. Who is your representative in the US House?
07/03/18 GC approval date (both)
04/05/23 Eligibility date to file N-400
04/13/23 N-400 application filed online
04/13/23 LUD: “We received your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and sent you a receipt notice.”
04/13/23 LUD: “Case Is Being Actively Reviewed By USCIS”
04/13/23 Receipt Date (estimated wait = 9 mos.)
04/13/23 I-797C NOA: Receipt Notice posted in myUSCIS
04/13/23 I-797C NOA: Biometric Reuse letter posted in myUSCIS
04/14/23 Email: “We have taken an action on your case” (both) w/ no further update in account
06/05/23 LUD: "Interview Was Scheduled"
06/05/23 I-797C NOA: Interview Notice posted in myUSCIS
07/11/23 Interview — both passed!
07/11/23 Received Form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results (Recommended for approval)
07/11/23 LUD: “We recommended that your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, be approved. Your case was submitted for quality review.” (Dad only)
07/11/23 LUD: “Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled” (Dad only)
07/XX/23 Oath Letters Received
XX/XX/23 Oath Scheduled Date

My immigration journey is over! You can see details on our timeline; here are the highlights of our story:
- I came to the US on a student visa, completed my degree 
- Fell in love and got married, applied for I-130 and I-485, got 2 year green card 
- Applied for ROC, I-751
- As soon as I was eligible, applied for Naturalization, N-400 
- My oath ceremony was today and I couldn’t be happier to be a U.S. citizen 
 
The entire process from green card application to citizenship took a little over 4 years. We did it all it all it without attorneys. While there were frustrations, they were mostly because of the unknowns and all the waiting. In hindsight, it was pretty smooth. USCIS managed my N-400 with a pending I-751 remarkably well. We suffered the same roller coaster emotions many of us have shared on these forums, but looking back, while it was expensive and tedious, it actually worked. It’s hard to trust big, complicated bureaucratic processes. You and others have been so helpful. I learned so much from others’ experiences and treasure the support and guidance from all of you. Visajourney provides valuable information not available through UCIS or attorneys. So, thank you. I will remain on Visajourney to help anyone who can benefit from our experience. 
 

my mom got her biometric done last week. within one day her interview was scheduled. Is that a good thing or bad?

The paper you received at the end of the interview, Form N-652, has the name on the officer who interviewed you at the top of the form. If you look further down the page it says this:
 
4. Send any questions about your application in writing to the officer named above. Include your full legal name, Alien Registration Number (A-Number), and a copy of your Form N-652.
 
I would send a letter directly to the officer. 
 
I had my N-400 interview last week with a pending I-751 so a decision could not be made until that was approved. It was approved 5 days later — now i am also waiting for my oath ceremony to be scheduled. If I don’t hear in a few weeks I plan to write a letter to the officer. 

Hi everyone,
 
I haven't seen a thread for April 2023 Filers so here's one 🙃 I just filed yesterday 4/7/2023 after some technical issue with the online application. Hope you're all doing well, WE ARE NEARLY DONE WITH THIS THING! 🤗

64 days and you got some lightning record there! Congrats and good luck!

Thank you for the clarification. I do live in the US. With your reply, you've made everything very lucid and understandable 

Do you live overseas or in the US? I believe they dropped this requirement long time ago and don’t ask to upload any passport photos online. Everything they need biometrics-wise(including photos) they will either invite you for an appt again or reuse your biometrics from previous petitions you may have filed, like I-751 for instance. 

The delay is intentional. Your letters at best will be enjoyed by the fireplace with warm cup of coffee.
 
Save yourself the hassle, if your wait is like 3 years, get a lawyer to file Mandamus. 

Hi. Well, all in all a good day yesterday. I managed to connect with a live person. They were able to come up with - and give me - a receipt number (that works to track). It stated that my application was received on Feb 18. That rep mentioned that the check had been cashed (alluding to a while ago), which it had not .... until this morning. I also learned that application can be processed anywhere - so my assumption that it would be California was wrong. It was sent to Texas. The prediction on the system was if I were approved, it may be a min of 5 months from the receipt date. Further, I have learned that a biometrics appt is not always happening (although I don't know why this would be), and interviews are not always mandatory. I suspect both may be due to covid-19 restrictions. While I wait for the permanent "permanent resident" card, I was told that the extension letter would allow me access back home here in the event that I need to visit my family in Canada. I was told that it can be as long as 60 days before we should expect any communication back from USCIS (i.e. a receipt number and/or extension letter). The representative said that if I needed an extension letter right away for any reason, they would email it to me. Also, I told the representative that my 485 check was cashed within the same week that the courier delivered my application, so I was really concerned that the 751 fee had not posted yet. This forum helped me past the fear that I would be deported, or have to quit my job, if I got nothing back before my temporary permanent resident card expired this spring. The representative was knowledgeable, professional - and empathetic towards my anxiety.  At any rate ... I am feeling MUCH better about the world today, than even 48 hours ago. 

Hi Kori-Kosun. No, there has been no correspondence of any kind, and my fee check has yet to post (which I shall assume means that no USCIS officer has started looking at my file). 

I thought it only affected immigration visas for those countries added?
 
Cause technically.. k1 is non-immigration 🤔

Welcome to the forum.
 
OK, trying to make sense of your initial posting, it is quite confusing.  
 
You were 1.5 years late in filing Form I-751 Removal of Conditions (ROC) ?
 
When did your 2-year Conditiional Green Card expire?
 
After filing Form I-751, you recently received Form I-797 NOA1 - receipt/extension notice?
 
Subsequently, you also received a notice of "Termination of Conditional Resident Status" due to your failure to file your Form I-751 in a timely manner?
 
You had a 90-day window to file to petition for ROC, since it appears that you failed to do that, USCIS likely terminated your conditional permanent resident status and will likely place you in removal proceedings. If that sequence of events sounds close to accurate, it might be wise for  you to consider retaining the services of a competent immigration attorney, like yesterday!  

I get that you're worried, waiting for the I-130 petition to be approved so that you can move on to the NVC stage.  You want to be with your husband, the love of your life.  We're all going through this and it's painful.  The waiting really sucks, and you start to wonder why it's taking so long....  Hang in there, you'll be approved soon.  TSC is taking at least 7-8 months.  Be grateful that you didn't get assigned to Nebraska!  Those people have been waiting almost a year for just the petition adjudication.  If your relationship is bona fide, your documents are all good, and there are no problems related to inadmissibility, your petition will be approved.  It's hard not to worry but try to focus on the next stage and get all the documents ready to upload as it goes so much faster after the petition is approved.  If you have any red flags like a big age gap then side-load additional evidence of your bona fide relationship like financial co-mingling and visits since filing the petition at the NVC stage.  It only took us 4 months from the petition approval to receiving the CR-1 visa, so before you know it, you'll be together.  Good luck!

Sorry you felt hurt but don’t worry about that. A lot of officers tell people they don’t want to see their photos. That’s really common and nothing to take personally. 
 
Did you enter into your marriage for the right reasons and not for immigration purposes? If yes, then don’t freak out. Stay calm and interact with immigration in a composed manner. Just because it appears they suspect something wrong doesn’t mean they’ll come to that conclusion. If you haven’t done anything wrong it will likely work out. Focus on the next step and staying on track. Good luck! 

It’s the easiest interview you will ever have.   Your interviewer will go through your I-485 form you submitted for clarity. Your interviewer will make you answer the whole yes/no questions in the “have you been convicted before?” section of the form.
 
You might be asked questions about your marriage to your partner - just chitchat easy/friendly questions. Then you will be asked to supply new evidence of a genuine marriage. It doesn’t go beyond that. You should be out of the interview room within 15-30 mins.
 
You have nothing to worry about. Just make the copies of what you are asked to bring. It’s a very easy process. Good luck!

I entered the US on a K1 visa in January 2018.  After getting married and then submitting my application for AOS in February 2018,  receiving no RFEs, my AOS interview was scheduled for 17 September 2018.  You can imagine my horror when 3 days before my interview I received a letter from USCIS saying that I needed to bring a completed I-693 and I-130A to my interview!  I immediately made an infopass appointment, luckily for the next day, and received some clarity.  Two things:
According to the instructions on the I-693, if you file for AOS within one year of the date of your K1 visa medical exam (AND your K1 visa medical is satisfactory i.e. shows no signs of TB, syphillis or gonorrhea, and you have completed the necessary vaccinations as evidenced by your D-3025), you DO NOT need to undergo a new medical for AOS, and you DO NOT need to submit an I-693 for AOS.  You should simply submit the D-3025 with your AOS application, and that is all you need to do.  When I asked at my infopass appointment why I had been asked for the I-693 (3 days before my interview - FYI it's very difficult to get a visa medical done in 3 days!!), she said that it was probably an administrative error.  It likely that someone in the USCIS back office, when flicking through my file in advance of my interview, failed to see my K1 medical, or did not realise that I was exempt, and just absentmindedly ticked a box saying that I needed to bring this to my AOS interview.  In my AOS interview itself, I explained (very nicely!) to the USCIS officer that, as per the I-693 instructions, I should not need a new medical because my K1 visa medical was satisfactory, and I filed for AOS within one year of that medical.  I was also able to show him the D-3025 and the blood test results from my K1 medical, which I think helped.  In summary, he was very nice about it, and agreed that no new I-693 was required, and my AOS was granted  All that panic for nothing! The I-130A form does not remotely apply to my case!  The form I-130 is for US Citizens seeking to bring their citizen spouses to the US, and the I-130A is for the spouse beneficiary to provide supplemental information.  So essentially it is the start of a completely different visa process to the I-129F/K1 visa process which we had completed!  The helpful USCIS lady at my infopass appointment was completely baffled as to why I had been asked for it (and she even muttered under her breath "I need to talk to the person who issued this letter to you, because that is NOT correct..."!).  And when I turned up to my AOS interview and asked why I had been asked to provide the I-130A, the USCIS officer just brushed it off and said "no, we definitely don't need that from you".  So, essentially, this was another mistake by an idiot in the USCIS back office, who has no idea how much stress they caused! In short, if you get requests for forms shortly before your interview - don't panic!  You may need to provide them (in which case they will go ahead with the interview, but issue you an RFE, and your case will be held pending USCIS receipt of that further evidence requested), but in my case it was just a USCIS error! 

Mostly chiming in to share a heartfelt apology for this having happened to you. It looks like you've already been given some pretty solid advice on your questions, and I would only be repeating what's already been said.
 
This is an awful thing, and one I will never understand. I get that things happen, life happens, people change... but it is beyond me how someone could treat another person this way. Even if, God forbid, my husband and I fell on similar times... I cannot imagine treating him like that, just refusing to try and work it out. After everything he's done and given up to come here, to a new country away from his home and family... the least I could do in that situation is still act with his best interest in mind, at least until he's returned home. It's also crazy to me how  you can go through such a strenuous and stressful process such as immigration, get through everything you have to wind up here and married... only for that to be the time for one's true colors to show.
 
I hope you are able to get this ordeal behind you quickly, and without any consequence, so you can start over and move on with your life. Good luck to you!

I stand corrected 

Hi all. I want to share my story for those who is undergoing AP and hope this will help a little.
07/30 - I had my interview. CO didn't clearly say if I was approved or not. I had one missing doc and I was aware of that. This was a Police Clearance from one country I lived more than 6 months. They kept my passport and told me to send the doc to them and they will contact me. They gave me white 221 g form.
07/30 - CEAC status showed AP ( Your case needs further review. )
08/01 - Sent the Police clearance to the embassy.
08/02 - Got a text from the courier saying the doc was delivered.
08/02 - CEAC still on AP
..... I didn't call the embassy regarding the doc submitted cause my fiance told me that's not how the government works, the more you call them the more they do it late...
08/09 - Sent an email to the embassy and ask for acknowledgment upon receipt of the doc submitted. ( couldn't wait no more so I asked them )
08/11 - Got an email from the embassy saying they have received additional doc and referred my case to concerned team for processing. CEAC still on AP.
08/12 - CEAC changed to READY ( You can book your appointment. )
08/13 - CEAC showed READY ( your case is open and wait for two business days. )
08/15 - CEAC changed to AP ( Your case is undergoing necessary AP. This can take several weeks. )
08/16 - CEAC changed to ISSUED.
I hope this helps a little. There is an AP and there is an AP. They are two different cases depends on it's content. You are put on AP after the interview if your case needs further review , you may have one missing doc or they really need further review ( CEAC shows AP your case requires furhter review. ) and there is AP which showez your case is undergoing necessary AP ( If I am not mistaken this AP showed when they will issue you a visa soon )
If you have any questions on my case, feel free to ask I will help. God Bless to all of us.

Nigeria is not the only country with fraud and corruption but it was picked to be the poster child for scams.
Is it really so unlike the Wall Street corruption by wealthy people in high places with brief cases instead of sardine cans full of sand, who crash the housing market in their fine Italian leather shoes ? Those in the banking bubble who exploit home owners knowingly and foreclose ? I have been doing a lot of thinking about my own country's corruption lately, with their high profile and mostly secret oil and political fraud and corruption agendas. Fraud dressed in suits walking down Wall Street may not be as evident but will be continually exposed by good journalism for us to watch on Frontline in our living rooms instead of observed in the African markets. Just a little perspective to keep it balanced.

You should check this one out. Denials Of Family-Based Immigrant Visas At Consulates And DHS Petition Revocations
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm

Personally if you're looking for a reason to be worried you'll find it.
There are some things you can't get passed such as sufficient income, having met in the last two years, having a real relationship and the evidence to prove it. I would also say ability to communicate is also important.
Visiting often is helpful it shows that you're serious about the relationship. Just save all the receipts, tickets, boarding passes that you can.
Also the ability to communicate in English is a real bonus.
The Visa process can cause a lot of worry and will drive you crazy if you let it.
Don't look for more reasons to worry, focus on being organized, filling out the forms correctly, and meeting the requirements they ask for, anything else is just someone's opinion. If your relationship is for real it will work out.
Good luck to you!

Right now, it shows the earliest appt available is Sept 18. I've seen it change from time to time. Someone must have cancelled their appt recently because about a week ago, the earliest appt available was October 20 or something like that.
Once you have created an account on ustraveldocs.com site and filled out your profile info (you'll need the case # and DS-160 # for this), it'll show you the earliest appt available.
With regards to the Packet 3, you should not attempt to fill out the DS-160 or schedule the interview appt until you have received the Packet 3 letter. You can contact the consulate via their website inquiry form if you want to know whether they have sent you the letter. There is a list of questions that you can select from the drop-down list and one of them is "I have not received my immigrant/fiance's visa instruction package". They will get back with you within a day (usually less than 24 hrs). If it has been a while since the consulate received your case, send them another inquiry and they will email you a copy of the Packet 3 letter so you can start working on the DS-160/pay Visa fees/schedule appt and take it to the medical exam/vaccination.

- K-1 petition fee $535 (no NVC fee for K-1, it's for spouse visas)
- DS-160 fee $245 (to be able to schedule the interview at the embassy)
- Medicals - depends on the country
- AOS $1225, including biometrics ( when you file EAD and AP with AOS, its free, worth it!)
- ROC - after 2 years $595 to get 10 y GC
 
Thats about it! Don't forget to file for SSN card before getting married. GL!