Ricky+Vanessa

8 hours ago, Meg101 said:

I checked my online USCIS account and saw I finally have a ceremony scheduled for March 26th. They must be working hard through the backlog & appear to have arranged a huge catch all one at an event centre in my city rather than at the courthouse!
 

For those who already attended, what happens at the ceremony? I’ve heard it is 2 hours long but that’s all I know and I feel a mix of nerves and excitement at the uncertainty. 😅

Mine was 30 mins max. Don't know what it's like elsewhere. They gave a little speech (I heard it twice within two weeks and both times exactly the same). Played a video, we stood and repeated the oath, they played another video (America the Beautiful), I think he said something else and that was it I think. 

They took our green cards on the way in and on the way out we were give our naturalization cert.  At my location there were people downstairs to help you register to vote. 

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

Yes, if filing under 3 year rule

Interesting

1 hour ago, Japm said:

How do you see the field office?

 

I received my interview date, April 15th 🤩

 

Does anyone know if my husband has to go? It doesn’t mention anything in the letter

Congrats!!

No, he doesn't need to attend. Mine never and I ended up having a same day oath by myself lol.  I didn't mind though.  I was just glad it was all over!

3 hours ago, minivatreni said:

 

4 months is really quick, congrats!

 Thank you! Yeah, they are moving really fast with a lot of cases.  So glad I didn't renew my green card and just did citizenship. My 10 year green card was due to expire at the end of October so I was cutting it close anyway. 

Fingers crossed for the February filters too. 

On 2/1/2024 at 3:25 PM, Laure&Colin said:

Starting this thread as I submitted my application this morning! 

 

I've been a LPR for 12 years but I was so unexcited about the idea of dealing with the USCIS again that I hadn't filed until now. Then time came to renew my green card and I thought, oh well, I might as well file my N-400 instead. What eventually convinced me is that citizenship applications are apparently processed much faster than I-90s! I'm the anxious kind and traveling around with an expired card and a piece of paper didn't sound great to me. Anyways, the online application was shockingly fast and easy. Now the waiting begins!

 

You had the exact same thought process as me!  Been here 14 years.  Just finished the process (I was an October filer).  Good luck!

On 2/18/2024 at 12:38 PM, Meg101 said:

Yay that’s speedy and reassuring to hear. What were the fees?  Did you have to send off your British passport?
 

I’m itching to get back to England to see my new nephew who was born this month but I’m currently in limbo waiting for the citizenship ceremony date so need to patiently stay put. 😅

Passport is $130 plus $60 to expedite (standard processing is 6 to  weeks and expedite currently running at 2 to 3 weeks).  Standard delivery is free - which is what I did and it is sent via USPS Priority Mail.  1-2 day delivery is an extra $19.53.  I paid $50 at USPS for processing AND photo.

Got my naturalization certificate back yesterday by first class mail.  So, I got it back less than a week after my passport arrived.

YES!  I totally get you about itching to get home.  Saaaaaaaaaaame...but then I'm always same and I go home every year (or more if I can swing a decent flight)  lol.  I just didn't want to be without a way back in the country in case of emergency.  I still have both of my elderly grandparents at home and go back to see them as often as I can so the thought of being "stuck" gave me more anxiety than this process!

Fingers crossed everything moves along smoothly and you get to see your new nephew soon 💓

13 hours ago, Lexie_777 said:

Think how many people have already successfully passed the interview and got citizenship! English is your native language, I suppose, so it's already easier for you than for most people😉 If you have paid your taxes and had no legal issues, you'll be fine!

I'm having my interview tomorrow. Good luck to us both😊

Hope all went well for you!!

12 hours ago, Meg101 said:

Thanks for taking time to offer some words of encouragement. I am very thankful to have being a native English speaker in my corner. I have paid taxes but I do have some items in my criminal background when I was a juvenile, I keep telling myself they haven’t been an issue to date though. 🤞🏽
 

Good luck to you for tomorrow! If you feel called to, I’d love to hear how it goes. 😊

To be honest, this entire N-400 was the easiest most stress free part of this entire journey for me.  Don't stress about the questions - learn them of course - but don't stress.  I got asked all the questions I actually already knew prior to studying.  I did study pretty hard - my daughter and I used flash cards (if you need them just holla - it feels like a waste of money now they are just sitting around but they really helped) and this lady on Youtube.  I listened to her while I was doing random stuff around the house and a couple of times while going to sleep lol.  https://youtu.be/jpRMh_vKIi4?si=hAvdiqTdqP_9y9dX (my daughter and I randomly say "Hello my friends!" to each other  )

Anyway, you've got this!

9 hours ago, Moe428 said:

I had my interview and oath ceremony yesterday.  It was quite smooth except for waiting for the oath ceremony after the interview, but still better than having a separate path ceremony.

Congrats!  Yes, def better doing it all in one day.  I did have to go back the following week for my daughter's ceremony though (and her interview was 2 weeks before mine)

3 hours ago, zentaco said:

So I noticed in the letter that originals should be brought to the interview of copies were supplied. Some documents are "copies" by default (ie. car contract emailed to us digitally), while others were scanned and shredded (car registration cards). I'm thinking I'll pad with some other original documents for those car docs, as I still have the original renewal notices and a bunch of original car maintenance receipts. Do you guys think I submit these online ahead of time, or just bring them with me to the interview?

  Take it with you. I submitted the absolute minimum online.  Nothing more than they asked for. 

I took the originals they asked for as well as tax records just because everyone else seemed too. 

They didn't ask me for anything at all. 

7 minutes ago, Godschild said:

Thank you! It sure did. I'm officially a citizen. I was in at 9 am, and I was done by 9:45 am. I've applied for my passport. I'm glad this chapter is over. I wish everyone the best of luck on their journey. 

Congrats!! 

17 hours ago, NotworkSte said:

Tried to get it in earlier this month but had a couple of work trips. Just submitted it tonight.

I love seeing fellow Brits on these forums!  Good luck!    I think the process went really fast for me and very smoothly.

(Looking at your timeline I see you took just as long as I did to apply for citizenship lol.  I got here Aug 2010!)

16 hours ago, Godschild said:

My interview is tomorrow. Wish me luck. 

Hope it went well 🤞

1 hour ago, samack said:

I just got notified that my interview was scheduled! I'm in shock at how fast that was!

 

NOA/biometrics reuse: 1/10/2024

Interview scheduled: 1/24/2024

Interview: 2/28/2024

FO: Pittsburgh, PA

 

Now I can start studying! 

This has to be the fastest I've seen!

9 hours ago, Loafhack said:

Mine went from 4 months to 1 day... I'm checking tomorrow and the suspense is killing me! 😬

1 hour ago, gogogo786 said:

 

Well it went down to 1 day today for me. Hoping for an interview date soon.

Fingers crossed for you both. Mine said 6 months right up until the day of my interview lol 

Why not delay the oath ceremony until you get back? 

At my ceremony, in Saturday hust gone, the officiant even said you plan to travel rebook your oath ceremony and travel with your green card. 

Alternatively check how often your local office does the oath ceremony a d try and get in sooner. Mine seemed to do multiple ceremonies that day (I did same day ceremony). And then try getting an appointment for quick turnaround passport. 

Delaying the oath makes the most sense though. I'm just not seeing the point of travelling with the certificate on chance. 

6 minutes ago, MT2021 said:

Congratulations 

what’s your field Office ??

Thanks! 

Atlanta, Georgia 

17 hours ago, Bluewaters said:

Had my interview today and everything went well. Interviewer was very nice and friendly. We started with the civics test and then continue with the written test. I believe our interaction certify the speaking test. 

 

After the test, she then went over the application with me. She took my green card and congratulate me. 

 

She couldn't conduct the oath ceremony right after the interview because there was a national network problem in printing the certificates. 

 

So all applicants that were approve citizenship today were asked to wait still 12 noon. And we had a big oath ceremony. It was awesome.

 

Good to those waiting.

 

Civics test questions asked were;

1. Who is the president now?

2. Who is the vice president?

3. How many years do we vote for senators?

4. What stop one branch of government from becoming powerful?

5. What is one right for everyone living in America?

6. Who is the father America?

Congratulations!!!!

What was the written test?

19 hours ago, stillbaffled said:

Eek! My timeline on USCIS went back up to 6 months. I know I know it's probably just a computer spitting out numbers, but still.
I applied online Oct 30. 
Since then, I emailed them once and got a response.
The email was that my middle name is not N/A, as I have no middle name but had been advised not to leave fields empty.
Their response was to take care of it when I get my interview.
Sigh.
I'm concerned.

  I'm sure it'll be fine.  Mine says 7 months and I have an interview date so who knows.........

Interview date Jan 20th (which is a Saturday). 

36 minutes ago, whiterose123 said:

Where do you see your timeline?

On the USCIS website.  Once you submit the application you should see an estimated date of completion.

10 hours ago, Meg101 said:

I was surprised at how little I knew about any of the questions so decided to start early in a casual way to make it less stressful for myself lol.  

I’d be lying if I also said that a friend’s experience isn’t in the back of my mind. She went for an interview without studying as she thought it was just an interview for I751 (insanely quick processing having only applied for N400 2 months before) and failed the test because she got unlucky with all the questions for dates and numbers. Apparently it wasn’t clear on the interview paperwork that it was a combo interview.  USCIS forever keeping us on our toes!!! 😅

Hey fellow Brit!  I can see that my letter is coming in today's post.  So I'll know how long I've got.  My daughter's is scheduled for Jan 4th so I'm expecting somewhere around that timeframe.

I started studying this weekend and to be honest I feel ok about it.  There are a couple of answers I slip on but I've got time and I'm just crossing my fingers they don't ask me those lol.  Some of the questions are the same question worded differently.

Checking USPS Informed Delivery and saw that my daughter (who was my K-2) has a letter from USCIS coming.  Checked my account and lo and behold there's a notification that the interview has been scheduled (this happened 12/06 so basically the day of my last post lol).  HOWEVER, I can't see the date because the actual document won't open!!

On 11/30/2023 at 9:49 PM, Godschild said:

My timeline changed from 6 to 5 months. Anyone else at the Raleigh office? 

These guys are rolling!

Not Raleigh, but I'm in Atlanta.

Applied on the 1st Oct and really just forgot about it lol.  Just checked and it's saying 5 months.  I better get to studying!