Shottie876

Congratulations 
Normally 2 or 3 days after it shows up in the tab.Hope you get it soon

Last Tuesday my status changed to on line for Oath ceremony! Even tho somebody deleted me from the list just wanted to share! Not being approved on the spot got me so stressed out but finally after a moth I got this news!!! Thanks to this forum for al the info! 

Had my Naturalization ceremony today in Houston, this journey is officially completed. Thank you visajourney! 

Hello guys I just saw on my document tab online my ceremony is scheduled for December 16 at 7:30am 

Well our journey is over my wife was sworn in this morning and now I can’t tell any more alien jokes. 🤪

Please update the spreadsheet.
 
The journey was long and tedious because of the wait times. Anyways we are both very happy to have USCIS out of our lives now.
 
Truly patience is what is needed when dealing with our crazy immigration delays so those still intimately involved with USCIS hang in there it will end eventually.

Here to clarify as husband was very sad and upset after his interview.
Husband went in, had a 15 minute interview and was given a sheet saying he passed the test but they needed more information as to why we owe taxes. Husband was bummed as he thought he was denied because he was told that his citizenship gets denied for missed payments as it shows lack of moral character. He took all the documents, payment plans and all but we did miss a couple of payments as I was laid off. They gave us 30 days to explain what happened and I wrote a statement saying that I was let go and we could not afford to make the payments but that I did reach out to the IRS to let them know my situation. None the less we got the approval letter on Oct. 4th. We are now just waiting on the ceremony. Husband is breathing a sigh of relief. 

Hi all!
 
I just had my interview this morning in Fairfax office and everything went very smoothly! I was approved on the spot and the whole thing took 15-20 minutes.
I didnt have to wait more than 10 minutes after the scheduled time to be called in.
The officer was very friendly and pleasant. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the way the interview went.
 
English test:
-Write "The people elect Congress"
-Read "Who elects Congress?"
 
Civic test :
    1- What did the declaration of emancipation do?
    2- Who is in charge of the executive branch?
    3- If the President can no longer serve, who becomes in charge?
    4- Name one state that borders Canada
    5- Date the Constitution was written
    6-What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?
 
I got the standard answer when asking about the Ceremony...will get an invitation by mail within 4-6 weeks but maybe sooner. The officer said they dont handle that part so she doesn't know timing for sure.
I live in VA and didn't request a name change. Will update here when I get the Oath date.
 
Let me know if you have questions and I will be happy to help if I can!

Guys! I haven’t been here in a while. I just got an interview scheduled notification this morning and I’m in NYC queens. I can’t believe this, especially since I heard people in NYC have been waiting close to a year lately. Actually I can believe it.... lol... cause I prayed hard and God is good! Just waiting for the notice in the mail to know my actual interview date. I pray it goes well. Congratulations to those who have already completed the process. And hopefully my fellow NYC residents are on the same track. 

And I got lucky today! Even though the officer claimed three months, it wasn't even a full week! I got my approval notice through the online account today. Now waiting for the in line for oath and oath scheduling.  
 
So if someone can update my timeline as 'ye' to approved that would be great. 
I updated the google docs spreadsheet here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vu0o5uuv7dhdTTEpsi5a3FqODw5watY7bHhpVnh-gfw/edit#gid=0
When I get my oath notice/date, I will let you guys know.

On Friday September 27th I had my oath ceremony in Chicago. It was a really nice ceremony. Because I had a name change it was at the federal court. My family was able to watch it and take pictures. The judge was really nice and the ceremony was very meaningful. There were 110 applicants from 42 countries. I'm very proud to have become an American Citizen. At the end of the ceremony they handed out forms to register to vote, which I did.  No matter the current political issues, America is a great nation and Americans are great people. I hope that you get your citizenship very quickly. Now I'm off to the Passport Agency to get my American Passport to travel without a visa to Europe which was a life long wish for me. Good luck everyone. 

Hi all, 

I had my interview in Chicago yesterday. Unfortunately, I got the all dreaded 'A decision cannot be made' box checked...

My report: I arrived 1 1/2 hours early, played it rather safe than sorry because of traffic. Check in was easy and then the wait began. There are two doors out of which the officers will come and call your number. The check in person will let you know which door/section is yours. Mind you though, even though you arrive early, they will not call you any earlier, they still go by your appointments (which is totally okay, just an FYI). Through this it happens that numbers that are way after yours are called before you. There was a steady flow of people coming in and out and about 5 or 6 different officers, I only paid attention to this for door 1, which was the one relevant to me. Some came out super happy and smiling, one I even overheard saying he was approved, some cam out with a 'meh' face, so not happy, but also not devastated, I was beginning to get my hopes up
Anyways, I waited a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes before my number was called (so only 15 minutes after my actual appointment time, which is not bad regarding the number of people waiting!). 
The officer came and we walked through the ominous door number 1. After that is a security door, only with badge and pin code you are able to get through. Anyways, we walked through several corridors until we got to his office. 
He started out with having all my identification documents in front of him, diver's license, green card, passport. Then he swore me in, took my picture and my fingerprints. 
First up was the test. My six questions were:
1. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
2. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
3. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
4. In what month do we vote for President?
5. What is one reason colonists came to America?
6. What is the capital of your state?
The 'read' sentence was ' Which state has the most people?'
The 'write' sentence was ' California has the most people.'
Needless to say, that piece was not an issue for me. Then we went on through the application and he made some corrections for me in the application (for example I put in that my husband was married '0' times, which obviously can't be true ). As others have said, they go through all questions again. 
At the end I had to sign for the changes he made and then sign for the oath. 
He looked at the supporting documents I had uploaded (I uploaded all the tax transcripts after submitting the app in the online portal, but he had them there). He didn't ask for any of the originals that I brought (husband's passport or naturalization cert or anything).
Then he took the piece of paper with the boxes and marked the test as passed, but then, to my horror, marked the 'Decision cannot be made' box and pointed to case files stacked high behind him... He said I shouldn't worry about it, he can't see that he needs anything else from me, but wants to take a second look and wants to be fair to adjudicate all the others that came first before mine. He said to expect an answer in 3 months or less. 
We then small talked a little while he prepped for the next candidate. 
All in all it was a really nice interview, without the small talk it only lasted about 15 minutes (30 minutes with small talk).
He was a really nice officer, made you feel at ease, but you can imagine that I was and still am disappointed about the outcome (especially when walking through the corridors and seeing other people's offices who don't have stacks of files sitting around on the desk or the floor, they probably approve on the spot 😟 ).

I hope he is faster than 3 months. He said the USCIS fiscal year ends end of September, so they normally get asked to do over time to get as many cases done as possible, but he didn't say that's a given, to not get my hopes up. 

Hi guys,
 
The journey got to the end, yesterday I became an American Citizen 😁 
Thank you all for creating such a helpful and supportive community here! 
Thumbs crossed for those who are  waiting and lots of good luck for everyone! 😍

Interview Date is set: Tuesday, October 22, 2019

I am officially a Citizen of this wonderful country. I took my Oath since morning at the Hialeah field office.
150 of us from 21 countries; Cuba had the most with 82; followed by Venezuela with 17.  Seven of us represented our lil country Jamrock .
Thanks to everyone who assisted me and gave me words of encouragement.
To everyone who's waiting; don't give up because there's light at the end of the tunnel..
 
Thanks again!!! Jamrep u ready for the party?🍾🍾

You GOT this:-D I have been using this deal online https://civicsquestions.com/all/ 
It's a pretty cool tool - It will even ask what state you are in so it can tell you the correct answer to "name your representative/governor"

Today my wife became a U.S. citizen!  It was a long journey, but it finally happened.  There were a  total of 48 men & women taking the oath to become citizens of this great & wonderful country.
 
To those of you still waiting to reach your goal of citizenship don't get discouraged and know that all of us are cheering you on.  When you are down in the dumps just remember that the wheels of bureaucracy turn very slowly, but they do turn. 
 
We all have something really special here with Visa Journey.  When my wife and I got engaged we were overwhelmed with what looked like impossible hurdles to jump through, but the VJ community helped us to navigate each & every step.  The sample forms, the forums, and the knowledge that we weren't alone in this maze made it all a lot easier.  When we wondered if we were the only ones who hadn't received any communication from USCIS we learned that others were experiencing the same thing.  I guess what I'm trying to say is try not to be discouraged, when things don't seem to be going the way you think they should be, take a deep breath and look at how far you've actually come.  When its all over you'll be amazed at how much you accomplished in such a short time.
 
Best of luck and my sincerest hope that everyone's cases move through quickly!

I had my interview on Thursday 9/5 in Chicago. In Chicago you can go there with family and friends if you want to, but they have to wait in the waiting room during the actual interview. They gave me a number and told me at which door to wait. I was dressed business casual. Black jeans with a button down shirt but can't say there is a dress code there. My appointment was at 1 PM but I think they called me in around 1:40 PM. Almost half the people came in with a lawyer. I didn't have one. I asked the officer if it matters and she said it gives some people piece of mind especially if you have a difficult case but normally you don't need one. The officer was very friendly. I was very nervous  While waiting to be called in I saw a lot of people coming out happy.  She took me into a small office room where she had a desk. They were not in uniforms or anything. Felt more like a job interview  Due to technical problems with the computer the interview took almost an hour.  Her computer had problems throughout the interview but we kept  chatting. I had a traffic ticket for speeding and she said that it won't be a problem as long as no injuries or death because of it. I hadn't put it into my application, but before the interview I decided to change my name and she did it. I just made my first name my middle name and my first name an English name. She asked me all the questions on the form one by one verbally. Make sure you read your application before you go to the interview so that you are familiar with the questions. Oh also before you sit down, she made me stand, raise my right hand and swear to which I just responded with "yes". Then you sit down. During the test she made me write "Washington is the first president." And she made me read out a sentence with Washington in it which I can't fully remember.  The questions were all simple. "What is the name of the national anthem? When do we celebrate Independence Day? Name two national US Holidays.  Who is in charge of the executive branch? What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for? We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?" As soon as I answered these correctly she stopped and told me I passed. I had to sign on a tablet a few times. I signed once with my old signature and once with my new signature that will go on the naturalization certificate with my new name. You don't have to change your signature, I did. She looked through my paperwork and asked if I ever were out of status. I never was and said No. She told me that my case was someone else's but that person was running late so she was given it and that she didn't have time to go through everything. She told me that she didn't see any problems with my application but she had to do some internal checks and because of that why she couldn't approve it right away. To be honest I was very disappointed. Mine should have been fairly straight forward and approved there and that was my expectation but it wasn't. So I left feeling a bit bummed about it because she also said "if you don't hear back from us in 4 months please send us a letter!" All afternoon and night I couldn't help myself thinking if I said something wrong or if there is something else that I don't know. But the next morning my status changed to "Approved!" Yay! That was a big relief. I hope your get approved soon too. I'm still waiting for the oath ceremony to be scheduled. It says that I'm in line for my oath ceremony. I saw that the same office also did oath ceremonies but because I have a name change it will be done at the court in Chicago. This all has been in the making for 10 years, I can't believe I'm this close to get my American Passport. Proud to become an American. I hope this information helps and that you will get your interview soon. 

You can take the copy that's online if you can't find the hard copy. They just going to scan the barcode. I never used the hard copy for my bio-metric nor interview. For some reason I can never find them.

Check your document tab on your online account. All the notices are there!!

Check you online account. This happened to my brother-in-law couple weeks ago. They just posted on the account. No letter was sent. He missed the interview, had to reschedule 

Congratulations my friend.Super happy that it all worked out for you!!!!

Had my interview this morning in Hialeah Florida and I was approved.
Oath Ceremony Sept 14.
Had some issues before approval because it was stated that I was out of the country from 09/04/14 - 06/08/15.
At that time I was only visiting the country on a visitors visa; I was a visitor from 1997 until Nov 2015.
The I/O said he couldn't approved me based on the fact it stated that I was a resident at that time.
I had left my old passport so I was unable to show him that I was visiting. After convincing him to check my date of resident on my LPR card which is 11/06/15,  he said " oh i'll over ride that then and approve you".
 
Please take all passport that you have used to enter this country, whether it have expired years ago.  

Oct 2nd interview

Thank u my friend,it is an amazing feeling to finally be over and done.Wishing for you all the best now.

Thank you for your kind words.With God iin the vessel I am smiling at the storm