cdherrera

1 hour ago, rpeterson1991 said:

Congrats! A few questions if you don't mind.

 

Are you a WAC filer, and did you file in the beginning or the end of March 2019?

 

I also filed in March 2019, and filed the N400 in April 2020. Thus far no updates (other than the biometrics interview from last year).

Should I be anticipating an interview appointment for both the I-751 and N-400? Thanks!

My I-751 had an SRC case number. I filed towards the end of the month. 

They are doing joint interviews for both applications. Many of the people on the May N-400 filers group are getting interviews this month. I am not sure why.. It's so much faster than expected. On the website it estimated May of 2021 for me. I never even received the notice for the interview in the mail. I just got the update online and printed it myself. Within the same week I got an update that my I-751 had a canceled interview (even though I wasn't aware there was ever one scheduled), my biometrics would be reused for the N-400 (I did my I-751 biometrics in November 2019), and the update for the interview appointment. All of these updates were only online, no actual notices in the mail. Not sure if they got lost or if they were never sent, but if you haven't set up your online account to send you notifications via email or text, you should. The interview notice only addressed the N-400, but when I arrived the agent was ready with both files. 

Hi everyone, I had my I-751 and N-400 joint interview today. It went great! There was really no additional things asked, just reviewed the applications making sure all info was still accurate. Then proceeded to the civics test and oath. It took less than an hour from start to finish. Best of luck to the rest of you guys! 

10 minutes ago, lntdenver said:

Had my interview today at Cleveland Ohio Office.  
 

IO was very professional and clearly stated the steps we were going thru and what I was to expect.  
 

She asked me to stand and sworn me in to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.  
 

Then proceeded to the civics test:

- what is the capital of our state 

- who is the speaker of the House of Representatives 

- when is Independence Day celebrated

- name one of the rights from the first amendment 

- who is in charge of the executive branch 

- name one of our senators 

I got all those right so she stopped at 6 questions.  
 

then she asked me to read from the tablet screen:

- How many senators are there?

Then she said to me and I had to write down in the tablet:

-There are one hundred senators

 

She said I had passed the civics and English tests. Then proceeded with the yes/no questions that are in the N-400 form (have you ever.....?) 

There was one question about are you a member of any organization... and I paused and said “athletic organization? I am a member at the gym”. She smiled behind the mask and said those are ok and do not count.  And I said “Costco?” She said everyone likes to say that on that question, and I said “we must all be proud Costco members”. And we both chuckled.  

At the end she stated she was recommending me for approval and that I was to wait for them to contact me regarding oath ceremony.  They would either hold it at the courthouse (If they open) or at USCIS office. And likely only myself would be allowed in the room because of Covid.  

 

I had brought a binder with evidences, printed everything I submitted and more evidences. The only things I was asked to present were my Appointment letter, my Green Card and my Passport.  
She did not ask me for Husbands (USC) birth certificate or passport.  Nor asked for our marriage certificate.  I thought she would ask for that since my passport has my maiden name, and the Green Card has my married name.  
 

she printed a One page report That states you passed the civics and English tests and your application is being recommended for approval. 
 

now back to the waiting game! 

Congrats! We are hearing of so many people taking their oath right there and then, I was wondering if anyone had to wait anymore. No biggie, at least you are approved!! This wait is at least slightly less stressful. Thanks for sharing your update

On 9/25/2020 at 6:10 PM, B and E said:

Definitely request a original now as a backup in case they ask for it later if possible and bring the copy with you in the meantime. You may need the marriage certificate for something else later. Good luck!

thank you! I do have a certificate from the ceremony, but I doubt those have any legal standing. I will bring the copy I have and hope for the best. I imagine what I am trying to prove now is that we continue to be married. We already proved we were married in the original application, now it's just removal of conditions and N400. Maybe that will help.. I am just hoping for the best. Bringing so much proof of the legitimacy of our marriage. There is a ton of pictures of our travels, with our families celebrating holidays for years and several financial ties.. I think any reasonable agent will be good with that, just have to hope I don't get the super strict one. I will report back tomorrow!

On 9/25/2020 at 6:04 PM, B and E said:

Hi All,

 

My experience was similar. Arrive 15 minutes before hand. They wont let you in before that. I showed my appointment letter to the security person. I was asked to wait to be called by the IO. In the office with the IO we began with the reading test.

 

I was asked to read: Where is the White House?

 

Then to write: The White House is in Washington DC

 

Then the civics test:

1) Name 2 American holidays

2) What did the Emancipation Proclamation do

3) Who was the first President?

4) Who is the speaker of the house of representatives

5) Name one branch of government

6) When is Independence Day

 

After completing the tests we proceeded to go through my N-400 Application. At the end I was told I was approved for Naturalization and my Oath would be done the same day.  I was directed back to the waiting area where I filled out a white form asking about any changes such as travel and criminality since the interview (5 minutes ago lol). As well as a space to write in my current home address, and where the local USCIS office is located. I returned the form to the person at a window along with many other people. It seems like everyone there was for naturalization. After some time small groups were called to do the oath in the ceremony room socially distanced of course. 

 

We then received small American flags, a packet with new citizen info, Passport forms, our naturalization certificate, and a letter from the president. I was surprised to see how much information was on the certificate. My picture from biometrics was on there! (This was reused from ROC). They also listed marital status, date of naturalization, country of former citizenship and a whole bunch of other information. 

 

Hope this helps! It will all work out well

Was your interview for your ROC and N400 together? I am wondering if my spouse needs to come with me. The interview letter does not mention that and I am driving very far for the interview. I did hear of someone else who last minute had to get their spouse there. 

12 hours ago, Boston17 said:

Scanned copy should be OK. When did you file your i751 and N400?

I filed i751 in March of last year and N400 May of this year

11 hours ago, sailorgal said:

They honestly did not ask me for any docs, not even my 2019 tax return receipt. Now it might be different with you since you have a joint I-751 N400 interview, so I can't tell you for sure. 

8 hours ago, Chrisfer77 said:

They might ask you for more evidence: An original copy of the certificate. is recommended to take a hard copy of all the documents they ask on the n-400 plus the evidences you provided.

I have plenty of other proof: mortgage, car loan, joint credit cards.. I feel like it will be sufficient, but I just have to go hope I don't get someone who is extremely strict and does not accept it all as enough. 

Hi everyone, I have an interview next week. I realized today my marriage certificate is nowhere to be found. I have a scanned copy in my computer, but i cannot find the original. Any clue if this is going to be a huge deal? I got married in Hawaii and I am currently in Texas. There is no way for me to get another copy fast enough. My interview is for my pending I-751 and N-400

Can anyone tell me if I am in big trouble if I do not have my marriage certificate? I have a I-751 as well as the N-400 pending with my interview on Monday. I cannot find it, but I do have a scanned electronic copy. Will that be enough? I got married in a different state so there is no hope for me getting a new copy in time. 

6 hours ago, sailorgal said:

Hi all, I am officially a US citizen as of a few hours ago!

 

I had my interview appointment this morning. I was allowed in the building 15 minutes prior to my interview time. After the security check, I was checked-in at the reception over an iPad. I was instructed to go to a room where an IO was waiting for me over another iPad. They took about 10 minutes to review my file and we proceeded straight to the civics test part of the interview;

 

- what was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?

- name your US representative. (The IO didn't know the person I named so they had to look it up haha)

- the House of Representatives has how many voting members?

- what is the capital of the United States?

- in what month do we vote for President?

- what ocean is on the West Coast?

Lost connection on the iPad twice during this test, gahhhh!

 

Reading - what day is Columbus Day?

Writing - Columbus Day is in October.

 

The IO then reviewed my application and some of my responses on my n400 form. We then went over the qualifying yes/no questions.

 

Any forms that they needed me to sign as well as the form for the writing test were sent over to the printer in my interview room by the IO. I would sign the form, hold it up at the camera so they could take a screen shot of my response and at the end of the interview all those documents went into a shred bin.

 

At the end of the interview, they told me I was approved, sent me a notice over the printer that reflected my approval, informed me that I will be taking my oath after the interview. I then took my oath with 4 other appliancants in the ceremony room. Also received an envelope with a few forms - passport application, voter registration, letter from the president, a cute little American flag, and naturally my certificate of naturalization. Make sure everything on this certificate is correct before you leave the USCIS office because fixing any mistakes that you notice after you leave will cost you $500.

 

The interview lasted about 25 minutes, would have been quicker if it wasn't for the connectivity issues. The process leading up to the oath and the oath took about 15. I was done in under an hour and 15 minutes or so. They had the usual COVID restrictions in place; face mask, social distancing. No cellphones are allowed in the building and you take your mask off during the interview. All in all everything went smoothly, 10/10 won't do this again now that I'm done lol! 

 

And that is all folks. I wish y'all all the very best with your interviews!

 

#murica🇺🇲

Congratulations! So happy for you!

12 hours ago, B and E said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I am happy to announce that I am officially done and have completed my visa journey lol. I was naturalized today and I'm happy it is done. The interview was good. It was a small socially distanced oath ceremony with no friends/family allowed. I received my certificate of naturalization today. Now I'm applying for my passport. Good luck everyone! I hope you get your interview dates soon! All the best

 

E

Congratulations! Would you mind sharing more specifics on the interview? I have mine next week and I am getting really nervous!

18 hours ago, Chrisfer77 said:

So, did they tell you they will use your biometrics and they set up an interview , all those news the same day? 

Essentially, yes. I saw the update for interview on the site Wednesday. It stated there would be a document for it within the next couple of days. The next morning both documents for the interview and for the biometrics were uploaded. 

1 hour ago, sailorgal said:

Good point, I just printed a proof of when I submitted for my change of address just so I have it on me.

 

My interview is on Sept 23rd, so in a week, at the Raleigh-Durham USCIS Center in North Carolina. I read up some reviews about this particular center and to answer your question about what might happen next - one review said the immigration officer had them take their citizenship oath the same day they interviewed after their interview was done. I don't know how often this happens because I have mostly read about how the IO tells you at the end of the interview if you have been approved, denied, or if they need more evidence from you. If you have been approved, they send your case for administrative processing and from there I could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks before you are scheduled to come in for the oath ceremony.

 

Next week, how exciting! My center for the interview is in Harligen Texas which is way down South. It would be incredible if it included the oath, but I'll keep my expectations low. I am hearing of a lot of people waiting for an oath ceremony, so I will assume I will have to do the same. The website says my application is expected to be completed next year in May.  I am honestly surprised that I got an interview this soon considering how delayed everything is. Anyway, good luck in your interview! 

Just now, sailorgal said:

Hi there, same thing happened to me. I moved and updated my address but my letters/notices are still going to my old address (which fortunately is my in-laws' address so I just collect my USCIS mail when I visit them). The USCIS website shows my new address as my 'physical address' but still has my old address as the 'mailing address'. I have changed my address before, multiple times actually, and never had this issue. So, a glitch in USCIS's system maybe? Although I did get lucky and they moved my case closer to my address so my interview location is 30 mins away vs almost 2.5 hours of driving had they scheduled it based on my old address. You might be able to update it when you go in for your interview, at least that is what I plan to do.

Yeah, maybe a glitch.. I am less worried because I do have proof that I submitted my new address, and since I am still a home owner in the area I still have some connection to there. I'm just going to bring the proof with me the day of the interview just in case. When is your interview? Any clue what happens after that's done?

Hi everyone, I applied May 9th and just received an update online. They are reusing my old biometrics ( I got fingerprinted in November 2019 for I-751) and I have an interview Sept 28th. I'm curious, I moved in the summer and updated my address on the website as we are supposed to. Despite that my notices are being mailed to my previous residence (which is a home I still own, so no big deal) and my appointment is near my old address, which is 4hrs from where I am at now. I certainly do not mind driving there for it, but just wondering if I should be concerned that they will see this as a problem. Since I still own my previous home, I am in the area often. I only moved because Covid changed the job availability for me, and had to take position out of the area. 

On 9/1/2020 at 9:21 AM, Scandi said:

That's the service center that prepares cases for interviews. All N-400 ends up there at first as they all require an interview. When you also have a pending i-751 it most often gets transferred to NBC as well, as the i-751 and N-400 then will be adjudicated together (you receive one hinterview, both petitions in one interview). 

Hey,  I got an email update about an interview for the I-751 application being either cancelled or descheduled. As far as I know, I did not have anything scheduled. Never got a notification for that.. Is this just because they are going to combine the two applications to one interview?

6 hours ago, Scandi said:

That's the service center that prepares cases for interviews. All N-400 ends up there at first as they all require an interview. When you also have a pending i-751 it most often gets transferred to NBC as well, as the i-751 and N-400 then will be adjudicated together (you receive one interview, both petitions in one interview). 

Hopefully this means we will get an interview scheduled soon. Thanks for the response!

For those of you guys who have both I-751 and N-400 applications pending, have you received updates on one case and not the other? I just received a notice that states my I-751 application has been moved to the National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit,  MO.  No new updates on the N400. Anyone have any insight on this center? 

41 minutes ago, AraRang said:

 I got an interview notification for I751. I applied in NOV 2018. nothing for N400. I was hoping to get a combo interview and be done with all this process but I don't think combo interviews are an option right now. I haven't get fingerprints for N 400. lets see how long it takes. sooo tired. 

Hang in there! The process is long, but eventually it'll be over and worth the trouble. Did you just get your interview notice? How long did you wait in "we are ready to schedule your interview" update before you got the actual interview?

9 hours ago, Linyahui said:

Hopefully this is a fluke--my husband's processing time went from January 2021 (6 months) to December 2021 (17 MONTHS)!!

 

WHAT. THE. #######. 

Mine went from December 2020, to March of 2021, and now May.. I think we're all going to keep getting pushed back. I'm in Texas..

1 minute ago, Scandi said:

It tells you which month and year your case is estimates to be completed, meaning it should say "February 2021" or "December 2020" etc. My date hasn't changed even once. The "5 months" that you see is counting down though. If yours says 5 months now it should change to 4 months when a new month begins. However, as you can see, others have reported that the estimated time has recently increased instead of decreased. 

Yeah, now I see that it says at the top March 2021, but 5 months at the bottom. I'm guessing 5 months was the timeline I would have followed had there been no pandemic issues, but March 2021 is my new delayed timeline.  

8 hours ago, Dublindave said:

My estimated case completion has just increased by a month. June 2021 instead of May, things are moving backwards instead of forward. 

What do you guys see on your estimated wait time exactly? I applied May 9th. I don't remember what the wait time was when I first applied, but as of now it says 5 months. Does it update as time passes to reflect wait time from now, or time from when I first applied? 

6 minutes ago, Scandi said:

Yeah it's a bit tricky to get a stamp right now due to the virus, they only accept emergencies still. No idea when they will start handing out stamps to non-emergency cases. 

I have until December, so hopefully I'll figure something out  before then. I travel through a check point to visit my family. At worst, I won't be able to go home to see them anymore from where I work until I can either get a passport stamp or my N400 application goes through.  Anyway, I appreciate you being so helpful!

17 hours ago, Scandi said:

The point is to have proof of your status in case you look for a new job (proof of status is needed to fill out the i9 for instance) and if you need to travel abroad then you need proof of your status to get back into the US. That's the point.

That makes me feel a little uneasy because I do drive through BP check points in Texas. Idk what they will do once all my paperwork is expired.. I was just reading about the i-551 passport stamp as another option of proof. I would need an infopass appointment for something like that, which I can't imagine I will get any time soon.