Vikingoutwest

Hi All!

So, yesterday, 2-6-2020, was the big day! I am now an American citizen:-) It was a loooong day! My letter said to be at the venue at 8.30 am and we were there 15 minutes early. The line to get into the venue stretched through a plaza and around the corner of the building. It took us until 11am to get inside the building. After we got inside, it still took another hour and a half for everybody else to get checked in. The ceremony itself was not that long - I think we were out of there by 1.15pm. Crazy day! Checking in for the ceremony was easy - they had us sign our letter in front of the officer, and she verified my name against the green card. Then, I got an envelope with a tiny flag, a letter from the President,  some info about rights and responsibilities, a blank passport application, a hard folder for the certificate to be placed in after the ceremony, and a piece of paper with the words of the oath, the pledge of allegiance, and the Star-spangled banner on it. The ceremony started with a guy singing the national anthem, then the showing of 3 videos - one called "Faces of America" with quotes and pictures of immigrants, one showing some national parks and monuments set to America the beautiful, and one of President Trump welcoming us as new citizens - and then the Oath of Allegiance, and Pledge of Allegiance (I don't remember the exact order of the events). Afterwards, we went to pick up our certificates, and that is when you hand in your green card(s), work authorization, travel docs and whatever else you had issued by USCIS before. You receive the certificate and can sign it whenever you want, but then it is official:-D 

The wait was crazy, and very uncoordinated imo. The excuse the officers gave was that they underestimated the number of loved ones that the candidates would bring....lame!  Of course people will bring loved ones to witness their special day!!! The cool thing was that we were 220 people from 61 different countries and it was a great thing to see everyone become citizens of this country. 

14 minutes ago, malico89 said:

@Vikingoutwest that is a pretty accurate account! I remember the whoop whoop  It feels so good to be done!

 

The whole thing was a logistical mess getting in -- how can they not expect 220 people + 1+ guests each, and ONE metal detector NOT to be a massive bottleneck?! 

 

I arrived about the same time as you and had to wait 3 hours to get in the building. The only other thing I noticed is that as I was getting in, some people were already leaving with their naturalization certificates, so it looked like they maybe had an earlier ceremony (so 2 batches of oath people). I think that helped everyone fit into the auditorium by the time we got in (our ceremony ended up being at around 12:15pm).

Yeah that was crazy! And they kept saying "we are so sorry for the wait, and thank you for your patience" - uhm yeah what else are we supposed to do but wait...it's not like we can just leave... it was frustrating, especially because we missed our bus to return home (non-refundable tickets too) and had to scramble to find another way, and spend about 65 more dollars and 6 more hours to get home. Don't get me wrong, it was worth it, just turned into a long day. Also, did you guys notice the handwritten sign on the door? "screeing enterance" haha! Both words misspelled, for an event where everyone has had to be tested on reading and writing...it was some good comedy:-)

Hi All!

So, yesterday, 2-6-2020, was the big day! I am now an American citizen:-) It was a loooong day! My letter said to be at the venue at 8.30 am and we were there 15 minutes early. The line to get into the venue stretched through a plaza and around the corner of the building. It took us until 11am to get inside the building. After we got inside, it still took another hour and a half for everybody else to get checked in. The ceremony itself was not that long - I think we were out of there by 1.15pm. Crazy day! Checking in for the ceremony was easy - they had us sign our letter in front of the officer, and she verified my name against the green card. Then, I got an envelope with a tiny flag, a letter from the President,  some info about rights and responsibilities, a blank passport application, a hard folder for the certificate to be placed in after the ceremony, and a piece of paper with the words of the oath, the pledge of allegiance, and the Star-spangled banner on it. The ceremony started with a guy singing the national anthem, then the showing of 3 videos - one called "Faces of America" with quotes and pictures of immigrants, one showing some national parks and monuments set to America the beautiful, and one of President Trump welcoming us as new citizens - and then the Oath of Allegiance, and Pledge of Allegiance (I don't remember the exact order of the events). Afterwards, we went to pick up our certificates, and that is when you hand in your green card(s), work authorization, travel docs and whatever else you had issued by USCIS before. You receive the certificate and can sign it whenever you want, but then it is official:-D 

The wait was crazy, and very uncoordinated imo. The excuse the officers gave was that they underestimated the number of loved ones that the candidates would bring....lame!  Of course people will bring loved ones to witness their special day!!! The cool thing was that we were 220 people from 61 different countries and it was a great thing to see everyone become citizens of this country. @mixxin and @malico89 what did you think? I was the one that yelled whoop-whoop when they mentioned Denmark btw haha. Congratulations everyone, and I hope that was the last of the insane lines we ever have to wait in:-) 

On 1/31/2020 at 1:03 PM, Crazely said:

Guys @mixxin @Vikingoutwest Oath just got done 40 people attended the naturalizations from different countries.  It took only 1 hour. Good luck on Friday. I wish we can all get together and celebrate our finally done journey with the immigration.. 😊😊☺️

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! Soon Mixxin, Malico and I will join you as citizens! I hope the ceremony is as short as yours but I think it will be longer since it is in the big auditorium - will let you know! 

On 1/31/2020 at 11:06 AM, Emma Huang said:

Hi @mixxin @Vikingoutwest @malico89 can you guys share your experiences after the ceremony? There are some questions I have and would like to get an idea what to expect on my oath ceremony day.

 

1- How long is the ceremony? Should I arrive early?

2-Do you have to sign your N-445 in front of the officer?

 

Thanks!

I will definitely post an update after the ceremony - maybe thursday night, but definitely sometime friday, and I will make sure to include answers to these questions:-)

4 hours ago, malico89 said:

Been closely following this thread, it looks like I got the same oath ceremony date/location as a few people here! Feb 6, 8:30am, in some 911 Federal building on the east side. Interview was on 11/27. Finally!

Yeah! You got the same date and place as me and mixxin! That's awesome 😎 it's cool to know that some of us will reach a milestone together irl, after sharing some of the journey on here😃 congratulations and see you on the 6th🤗

Latest Stats:

63 applicants

57 have had/are scheduled for interviews

43 have become citizens

1 more is scheduled for the oath

This week we have 1 interview, and 2 more next week:

@dannynims has an interview tomorrow 1/21

@Grumpycatnj has an interview 1/29

@negrabella04 has an interview 1/29

Congratulations all! 

If anyone has updates to the tracker (or is an April filer and wants to join), please take a minute to fill in the info here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19px0T7I0L1r79JhIJJriP1EXI1sO3u1ImNhcP38FETQ/edit#gid=0

Hey @mixxin is your ceremony at this address? 

Portland 911 Federal Building Auditorium
911 NE 11th Avenue
Portland OR 97232

I just noticed it is different from where I had the interview, so got curious:-)

On 1/16/2020 at 4:11 PM, N400NYC said:

And shock horror today I received notice my interview has been scheduled - date is pending arrival of letter. 

Hey NYC! Did you receive your notification letter yet? When is your date? Congratulations again!

6 hours ago, shearar said:

yOU HOOOO

 

so happy for you !

you deserve the best !

Thank you Shearar! You all do too!!

3 hours ago, Crazely said:

Awww. I wish To see you both... but Im glad you both got your schedule.. 

Aww, same! I am happy for you that you got the earlier date though😃 

5 minutes ago, mixxin said:

Awesome, @Vikingoutwest! Same time as well.  I will undoubtedly see you there!

Yaaay!!!😃

On 1/16/2020 at 10:27 PM, Vikingoutwest said:

Guys, I finally got a notification from Casetracker that my oath ceremony notice has been mailed! 52 days from my interview (11/25/19). Hoping that the date will show tomorrow:-D Yay, finally something is happening! 

 

Congrats to everyone whose cases are moving along! And best wishes to all who are still waiting for notifications!

For the date! 2/6/2020😃will update the tracker tomorrow🤗I'm so excited! Hugs to all!

9 hours ago, mixxin said:

I did as well! I am scheduled for 2/6/20.

Me too!!! Just got the date, 2/6/20 at 8.30am

9 hours ago, Crazely said:

Yay!!!! Congrats!!! ☺️☺️☺️☺️

Congrats!!!! We are almost done in our immigration journey!!! 😊😊😊

Thank you! We didn't get the same date, but I got the same as mixxin😃

Guys, I finally got a notification from Casetracker that my oath ceremony notice has been mailed! 52 days from my interview (11/25/19). Hoping that the date will show tomorrow:-D Yay, finally something is happening! 

Congrats to everyone whose cases are moving along! And best wishes to all who are still waiting for notifications!

Guys, I finally got a notification from Casetracker that my oath ceremony notice has been mailed! 52 days from my interview (11/25/19). Hoping that the date will show tomorrow:-D Yay, finally something is happening! 

7 hours ago, Crazely said:

Date is January 31st. 😊😘😊

Congratulations! 😄 I checked my account again, and still nothing. No notification, still just says "we approved your application". Hopefully, I will hear something soon. I am way happy for you that you have your date set!!! 

5 hours ago, Crazely said:

Hey there, I got a notification on my email that my ceremony has been scheduled. I will let you know once the appointment is available online. Try to check yours. Im pretty sure we have the same date of ceremony. 

Omg! Yay congrats Crazely! Yes please let us know when you have the date😃I checked mine but there's nothing new. But you also had your interview notification before I got mine so I'm still crossing fingers that we will have the same date. Thank you for posting your news, it is so exciting🤗

4 hours ago, Toy said:

My interview was for 9:45am. I got there for 9:25am. Checked in. Did my finger print and by 9:30am I was called in. The IO asked for my green card only for me to realised it was in my car. He told me that he can’t conduct the interview with my green card. I told him can I go get it and he said yes that he will was for my by the door. I got it went in and gave it to him. He went straight to business. Asked my some questions (I can’t remember 5 but I recall the last one). 
How many senators does the US cabinet have. I said 9 he said WHAT I replied 100. Then he told me to read some words on a pad. 
Who can vote. 
then told me to write 

Citizen can vote. 
He asked me some few question about my N400 and I answered him. Seconds later gave me a paper to sign and another papers saying I was recommended for approval. I was in an out in before 9:45am. 
when I got to my car I got a notification saying oat will be scheduled.

Its been a long draining process. Above all am happy. 

 

Congratulations!!! Your interview sounds a little stressful, but you made it through and got approved = awesome! 😄

11 hours ago, mixxin said:

I don't see an estimated completion time on my profile as was previously shown prior to the interview. Just says 'We will mail you a letter when we schedule your naturalization ceremony.'  Did the estimated wait time reappear for you guys recently or has it been there? I am using the new USCIS site.

I think my estimates showed up about a week ago - they definitely weren't there all along. Yep, it is the main page of the same site as we received documents on - and mine also says "we will mail you a letter..." 

Happy New Year, friends!
No oath date yet...I have an "estimated completion time" of February 2020, and an "estimated wait time" of 2 months. What do yours say? 

The case tracker app almost gave me a heart attack yesterday when I suddenly got a notification - I thought woohoo here we go, finally an Oath letter - but it just wanted to say Happy New Year. 

I am hoping we all hear something very soon!

Happy New Year, Everyone 😄

Latest stats:

63 filers

57 have had/are scheduled for interviews

42 have become citizens

1 more is scheduled for the Oath

We have 1 interview this week:

@Allen has an interview on Thursday 1/2

Next week we have 3 interviews and 1 oath:

@geo has an interview 1/8

@thisisreal has an interview 1/8

@PandaCA has an interview 1/9

@delisyus has the oath 1/10

Congratulations all!

As always, I am sending positive vibes out to all who are still in the process, and hope we all get great news soon!  Best wishes for the New Year - Let's go, 2020🎇🎆

On 12/25/2019 at 12:13 AM, N400NYC said:

I generally don't follow this thread for the reason you just noted - just about everyone from April 2019 has already become a citizen....

 

The NYC office is a hot mess (has a backlog of about 30,000 cases). My wait time was down to under a month but today blew out again to 3 months. I'm in the "feeling hopeless" phase...most people in Manhattan wait 12 months before getting an interview. How that's fair while people in other offices/states become citizens in <6 months is beyond my comprehension. 

Thank you for responding. Man, I am so sad that your office is so far behind and that the system is so ineffecient. It is completely unfair all around. I hope they do find some way of making the process smoother all over the country and create a standard timeframe for everyone. I hope the very best for your case! 

On 12/26/2019 at 9:58 PM, mixxin said:

Anyone waiting for the Oath ceremony get a date yet? I'm still waiting. Quite sad that you can have it the same day or 2 months later.

Not a word yet for me. My status is still "oath ceremony will be scheduled" 🤔 it is pretty weird that it is taking so long to get scheduled, one would think the system would know what dates are available - even if that date was months away for some reason. I'm hoping this means they are gathering up a bunch of us for some kinda enormous ceremony haha.

4 minutes ago, dannynims said:

My interview is scheduled for 21 Jan. Just forgot to update on sheets. I just did it. 

Oh awesome dannynims (I assume you are nimscj?). Congratulations on being scheduled! Thank you for updating the sheet:-D