zedkyuu

Paramount Theatre in Oakland. It's just across the street from the nearest 19th St Oakland BART station exit, between 20th and 21st on Broadway. Nice place. As calberry pointed out, though, parking's annoying.

likewise, my [afternoon] ceremony went smoothly. there were no street parking so I ended up going to the ACE parking garage nearby that charges $2 per 15 minutes and ended up spending $20. I need to figure out how to invest in parking garages near the paramount theater. it was my first time in the paramount theater and it's a beautiful space. I was struck by how low the security was which makes sense since the whole thing was really a celebration with live music and welcomes and congratulations. I guess for me anything with USCIS has always felt so strict with metal detectors and checking of IDs and forms that I wasn't used to this. my spouse, daughter, mother in law, and brother in law had to sit upstairs in the balcony and unfortunately I was in the back downstairs so they couldn't see me the entire time and I couldn't change seats since they give out the certificates based on your row number. the usher was super nice though and let my daughter sit with me so it didn't feel like a complete waste that my family came along. I too did not submit my passport application afterwards -- the line was huge so I was happy I had decided against it.
 
someone shared a story to me about a friend of his that was at a different oath ceremony. apparently he had a ticket for staying late at lake Anza. on one of the questions (on the back of the oath ceremony notice) about if you've had a ticket since your interview he answered [truthfully] yes but they couldn't find it on their database since it's a local park that issued the ticket. apparently it delayed his naturalization a whole year. I have no way of verifying the story but I don't know why they would make it up. I guess they take the final questionnaire on the back of the notice seriously!
 
good luck to everyone else on this thread. your day will come. and it will go smoothly too.

Congratulations! 

Hey zedkyuu and Calberry congratulations and thanks for all the info! Register to vote! And thanks zedkyuu for posting the updated list along with instructions... 

So the ceremony came and went, and I'm now a US citizen! I didn't stick around to submit a passport app afterward, though, so I'm going to have to drop by the post office sometime.
 
UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE Calberry........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|01/18/19|02/25/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|02/16/19|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE JandMA......... |03/16/15|03/17|03/22|03/22|04/09/18|--/--/--|03/12/19|04/19/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| SemoNowe........|02/26/08|05/29|05/30|06/02|06/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco....|IOE Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE  
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Legend: 
GC-Date: The 'Resident Since' Date located on your first green card.
Sent: Date N-400 was mailed to USCIS.
Cashd: Date your check was cashed / credit card was charged by USCIS.
NOA: Receipt Notice Date Printed on your official I-797 notification.
Fprints:  Date assigned for fingerprinting (Bio-metrics). If you do your biometrics via walk-in prior to your scheduled appointment, please enter the date in bold blue.
In Line: Date you received e-notification about the start of your interview scheduling.
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview.
Interview: Date of your interview.
Oath: Date Oath taken.
Field Office: Your local USCIS office where you will have the N-400 interview.

So the ceremony came and went, and I'm now a US citizen! I didn't stick around to submit a passport app afterward, though, so I'm going to have to drop by the post office sometime.
 
UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE Calberry........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|01/18/19|02/25/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|02/16/19|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE JandMA......... |03/16/15|03/17|03/22|03/22|04/09/18|--/--/--|03/12/19|04/19/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| SemoNowe........|02/26/08|05/29|05/30|06/02|06/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco....|IOE Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE  
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6. Red Font = "I'm A United States Citizen"!
 
Legend: 
GC-Date: The 'Resident Since' Date located on your first green card.
Sent: Date N-400 was mailed to USCIS.
Cashd: Date your check was cashed / credit card was charged by USCIS.
NOA: Receipt Notice Date Printed on your official I-797 notification.
Fprints:  Date assigned for fingerprinting (Bio-metrics). If you do your biometrics via walk-in prior to your scheduled appointment, please enter the date in bold blue.
In Line: Date you received e-notification about the start of your interview scheduling.
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview.
Interview: Date of your interview.
Oath: Date Oath taken.
Field Office: Your local USCIS office where you will have the N-400 interview.

So the ceremony came and went, and I'm now a US citizen! I didn't stick around to submit a passport app afterward, though, so I'm going to have to drop by the post office sometime.
 
UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE Calberry........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|01/18/19|02/25/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|02/16/19|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE JandMA......... |03/16/15|03/17|03/22|03/22|04/09/18|--/--/--|03/12/19|04/19/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| SemoNowe........|02/26/08|05/29|05/30|06/02|06/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco....|IOE Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE  
Instructions for adding/updating yourself (or assisting others) to this list:
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Legend: 
GC-Date: The 'Resident Since' Date located on your first green card.
Sent: Date N-400 was mailed to USCIS.
Cashd: Date your check was cashed / credit card was charged by USCIS.
NOA: Receipt Notice Date Printed on your official I-797 notification.
Fprints:  Date assigned for fingerprinting (Bio-metrics). If you do your biometrics via walk-in prior to your scheduled appointment, please enter the date in bold blue.
In Line: Date you received e-notification about the start of your interview scheduling.
Int Ltr: Date you received the official letter in the mail regarding interview.
Interview: Date of your interview.
Oath: Date Oath taken.
Field Office: Your local USCIS office where you will have the N-400 interview.

Had my interview appointment today at 630 Sansome with a very nice (surprisingly so!) officer.
I'm used to entering the building on the Washington St side, but this time, I found it locked; when I pulled on the door, a guard opened it and told me I needed to go in on the Sansome side instead.
Went to the 2nd floor, checked in, clerk told me to go to the 3rd floor. I think I had been sitting there no more than 5 minutes when my name was called. (So this would have been about 15 to 20 minutes early!)
 
The officer had me read out a sentence ("Name the state with the most people") and then write out its answer ("California is the state with the most people").
He then asked me these 6 questions:
- What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
- Who is the governor of your state now?
- Where is the Statue of Liberty?
- Name two national U.S. holidays.
- What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
- Who was the first president?
 
We then went through the rest of my app and he checked out my travel history (Canada didn't put stamps into my passport most of the time, heh, and I made some trips last year after applying), work history (I changed jobs last year), and then ran me through all the "no" questions (e.g. "are you a terrorist").
I'd brought a ton of documentation to justify not doing Selective Service (I didn't get my permanent residency until after the age of 26) and also to justify my wife's citizenship, but he basically took my verbal statements as testimony and left it at that. (He had me take an oath of truthfulness in the beginning.)
At the end, he had me sign a couple of things including the amendments to the application, then printed out a piece of paper that said I've been recommended for approval! He also said I should see a letter in 3-6 weeks saying what oath ceremony to go to.
 
So now the wait for that last piece of paper!

The table at the end of my last post shows a basic timeline.
 
I had about one month of notice for my interview (letter dated 12/21/18, saw it when I got back from vacation on 12/31/18, interview scheduled for 01/28/19). And the letter will be visible on my.uscis.gov.
So if you're worried about the letter arriving during your vacation, I'd say just check online every few days or so.
 
If you're worried about the letter arriving before your vacation and the interview happening in the middle of it, you can send the letter back requesting a later date. They do warn that it will delay your case, but I don't think that's a huge surprise.

I checked this morning and the oath ceremony letter is now visible. It's March 13 at the Paramount Theater in Oakland.
 
Regarding the activity questions: there's a questionnaire in the oath letter that you have to complete and bring to the ceremony along with the other stuff they ask for. It's pretty much asking you if you've done any of a number of things since your interview. For each item, it says that if you say "yes", you need to bring documents to support it, like a marriage certificate or an arrest record. These are the questions:
 
1. Since your interview, have you married, or been widowed, separated or divorced? Yes No
2. Since your interview, have you traveled outside the United States? Yes No
3. Since your interview, have you knowingly committed any crime or offense, for which you have not been arrested? Yes No
4. Since your interview, have you been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking
or violating any law or ordinance, including traffic violations? Yes No
5. Since your interview, have you joined, become associated, or connected with any organization in any way,
including the Communist Party, a totalitarian organization, or terrorist group? Yes No
6. Since your interview, have you deserted from, claimed exemption from, or been separated or discharged from
military service? Yes No
7. Since your interview, has there been any change in your willingness to bear arms on behalf of the United States; to
perform non-combatant service in the armed forces of the United States; or to perform work of national importance
under civilian direction if the law requires it? Yes No
8. Since your interview, have you practiced polygamy, received income from illegal gambling, been involved in
prostitution, helped anyone enter the United States illegally, trafficked controlled substances, given false testimony
to obtain immigration benefits, or been a habitual drunkard? Yes No
UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|03/13/19|San Francisco, CA|IOE Calberry........|06/04/07|02/05|02/14|02/13|03/08/18|--/--/--|01/18/19|02/25/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE JandMA......... |03/16/15|03/17|03/22|03/22|04/09/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| SemoNowe........|02/26/08|05/29|05/30|06/02|06/21/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco....|IOE Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE

Had my interview appointment today at 630 Sansome with a very nice (surprisingly so!) officer.
I'm used to entering the building on the Washington St side, but this time, I found it locked; when I pulled on the door, a guard opened it and told me I needed to go in on the Sansome side instead.
Went to the 2nd floor, checked in, clerk told me to go to the 3rd floor. I think I had been sitting there no more than 5 minutes when my name was called. (So this would have been about 15 to 20 minutes early!)
 
The officer had me read out a sentence ("Name the state with the most people") and then write out its answer ("California is the state with the most people").
He then asked me these 6 questions:
- What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
- Who is the governor of your state now?
- Where is the Statue of Liberty?
- Name two national U.S. holidays.
- What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
- Who was the first president?
 
We then went through the rest of my app and he checked out my travel history (Canada didn't put stamps into my passport most of the time, heh, and I made some trips last year after applying), work history (I changed jobs last year), and then ran me through all the "no" questions (e.g. "are you a terrorist").
I'd brought a ton of documentation to justify not doing Selective Service (I didn't get my permanent residency until after the age of 26) and also to justify my wife's citizenship, but he basically took my verbal statements as testimony and left it at that. (He had me take an oath of truthfulness in the beginning.)
At the end, he had me sign a couple of things including the amendments to the application, then printed out a piece of paper that said I've been recommended for approval! He also said I should see a letter in 3-6 weeks saying what oath ceremony to go to.
 
So now the wait for that last piece of paper!

Had my interview appointment today at 630 Sansome with a very nice (surprisingly so!) officer.
I'm used to entering the building on the Washington St side, but this time, I found it locked; when I pulled on the door, a guard opened it and told me I needed to go in on the Sansome side instead.
Went to the 2nd floor, checked in, clerk told me to go to the 3rd floor. I think I had been sitting there no more than 5 minutes when my name was called. (So this would have been about 15 to 20 minutes early!)
 
The officer had me read out a sentence ("Name the state with the most people") and then write out its answer ("California is the state with the most people").
He then asked me these 6 questions:
- What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
- Who is the governor of your state now?
- Where is the Statue of Liberty?
- Name two national U.S. holidays.
- What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
- Who was the first president?
 
We then went through the rest of my app and he checked out my travel history (Canada didn't put stamps into my passport most of the time, heh, and I made some trips last year after applying), work history (I changed jobs last year), and then ran me through all the "no" questions (e.g. "are you a terrorist").
I'd brought a ton of documentation to justify not doing Selective Service (I didn't get my permanent residency until after the age of 26) and also to justify my wife's citizenship, but he basically took my verbal statements as testimony and left it at that. (He had me take an oath of truthfulness in the beginning.)
At the end, he had me sign a couple of things including the amendments to the application, then printed out a piece of paper that said I've been recommended for approval! He also said I should see a letter in 3-6 weeks saying what oath ceremony to go to.
 
So now the wait for that last piece of paper!

Yup, exactly the same letter. I imagine it got posted there first, but I am pretty sure I never looked over the holidays!

Estimated case completion time is still "February 2019 (1 month)". There's no estimated wait time now; it says "We scheduled your interview" with no date.
 
Status on egov is: "On December 21, 2018, we scheduled an interview for your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, Receipt Number IOExxx. We will mail you an interview notice. Please follow any instructions in the notice. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address."

Well, I didn't check it for awhile, then went away for the holiday, and came back and found a nice shiny interview appointment letter in my mailbox today. I presume it was delivered yesterday as my mother-in-law (who was watching over the place) said she had been picking up mail regularly. And the notice date on the letter is... 12/21, exactly 7 day from when I said "7 days" on 12/14. It's like clockwork, it seems!
 
Anyway, interview is scheduled for 1/28. Gonna put 12/21 in for the letter date despite it not actually arriving until 12/31.
 
UserName........|GC-Date.|Sent.|Cashd|NOA..|Fprints.|In Line.|Int ltr.|Intrvw..|Oath....|Field Office.....|NBC/IOE zedkyuu.........|08/29/08|01/22|01/22|01/26|02/15/18|--/--/--|12/21/18|01/28/19|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE DandelionSF.....|01/14/08|04/25|04/25|04/28|05/15/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE littleitaly.....|08/03/15|05/24|05/24|05/24|06/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| Moonski.........|10/27/13|07/30|07/31|05/24|08/20/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA| mitchy_ponsi ...|05/08/14|03/04|03/05|03/16|03/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ip_84 ..........|03/11/15|08/15|08/15|08/15|09/12/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE ramu2012........|10/21/13|09/01|09/01|09/02|09/24/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE dakalti.........|09/15/18|10/01|10/08|10/08|10/29/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE SusieQQQ........|12/26/13|10/01|10/01|10/01|10/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE isy1025.........|11/10/13|08/13|08/13|08/13|08/22/18|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA|IOE