chicago74

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. 

Oath ceremony scheduled to 9/27/19 in Chicago.

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. 

45 minutes ago, NJL said:

I just saw on the egov website that my interview was scheduled (no date yet). The egov website picked it up before my online account which still doesnt reflect it. I will update my timeline when I get the date.

 

DC Office

Biometrics done on March 29th 2019

Look at your documents tab, the interview document might be there. The account main page hadn't changed for me for a couple of weeks but the interview document had uploaded as soon as I got the notification. 

My interview got scheduled to September 5 in Chicago, I had applied on 3/7 ! Here is how it happened though. I use the Iphone app Case Tracker that notifies you for any changes in your case using public data. Last night 8/2 around 8 PM it gave me a notification that my interview was scheduled and that they will mail me an interview notice. I logged into the myuscis right away but it still was showing "We have reviewed your biometrics" which made me doubt it. This morning 8/3 I logged in again and it still wasn't showing anything about the interview. But then I just clicked on the Documents section and in the documents section I saw the Interview Document posted on 8/1. I din't get any notification from USCIS at all, which is weird. Thanks to the app I found out about it. I will probably get an official notification later but which one of us wouldn't wanna know the moment they schedule the interview, right? So I suggest use the app and check the documents section on the website when you login. I hope everyone's appointment will be scheduled soon. I know how it feels when someone posts about their interview, it is a bitter sweet feeling, you feel happy for the person but a bit disappointed that it wasn't you. Hang in there, yours will be scheduled soon!

I did 90 early filing. I'd appreciate to see others who filed early too. 

Does any of you have an idea of how long it takes to get an interview date?

Hi Everyone. I am from Chicago. I filed online 3/7/2019 and it got a receipt notice the same day, though the document was available online a couple of days later. I got a Biometrics appointment receipt on 3/8 and the appointment date was for 3/26. But I was not going to be able to go that day so instead of requesting a new date I just went there as a walk-in today 3/13 and they did my biometrics and they really didn't care about that I was 2 weeks early. My completion time was 15 months, after the biometrics it changed to 13 months. I'm hoping it won't take that long. I also want to recommend the Case Tracker for USCIS (I use it on Iphone). It gives you updates on your case when there is a change. I'm assuming my field office will be Chicago since I live there. 

Wishing you all a speedy process