xOldBenKenobiX

On 2/4/2021 at 11:20 PM, Cheese_lover33 said:

thanks for the always very helpful info! I had my ceremony today and it was quick and organized..:-) now all done! Because I will have international travel soon, I need to apply for a passport right away.. I did some research and it seems that the Post Office option is not very recommended due to they need to take your Naturalization Certificate away, many instances they lose it I read.. versus if you apply for it in person at the Travel Agency, they will only look at it and return to you at the spot. However, there is no appointment available at the Agency due to Covid.. am wondering have you done your passport application? if so, at the post office? what is your experience? Do they accept credit card payment or I need a cashier's check? Thanks!

I have never heard of them taking your certificate away, I had no issues, they just revise the documentation to ensure that is real, but nobody had to keep mine.

Where did you hear that they take the the certificate away?

Also, your best bet is to apply directly with the post office or the Detroit Passport Agency , I am not sure of their availability of appointments and turn around, but they would have the resources to verify your documentation right there and then and give your certificate back right away.

24 minutes ago, R. Vieira said:

I passed the interview this morning. Super easy...I think it was around 15 minutes total... 6 questions, one read test, one write test, then she went through some of the questions fr.the form, asked if I wanted to change my name and I said no, then she asked me to confirm the info on the screen and sign it. On my way home I got an email saying that my case was selected for quality review, and a few seconds later got another one saying I'm waiting in line for the oath. Half an hour later another email came in saying that a notice with the oath details has been mailed...

I applied under the 5 year rule after a divorce. They never asked anything about it other than " you are currently divorced? Me: That's correct". She didn't look at any support documents I had. 

Thanks everyone

Congrats buddy...

43 minutes ago, Cheese_lover33 said:

too cute!! thanks for sharing your experience! I am filling out the form required at the ceremony. As it states that the signing date should be the date of the ceremony, I am wondering whether the location should also be USCIS office of Detroit or my address city? I can sign the paper but not wait until the ceremony date to sign it in front of the USCIS officers, correct? Thanks!

I filled the form with my home address and signed it before leaving for the ceremony.

I had no issues showing up with everything filled and signed, as other people were holding up the line to fill up theirs there.

They did give everyone a welcome package that came with a small flag. 

Here with my wife's Llama on her work desk. 

On 1/29/2021 at 5:43 PM, Portugreece said:

I’m so excited to dress up for my Oath ceremony! Did you buy an American flag or does it come from their office? Where did you buy it? 

That was my flag, I have had it for awhile, it used to belong to one of my old neighbors who passed away, and when people come and cleaned up his place they threw it on the trash, I saw and picked it up.

He was a veteran and I did not think that it was a good thing to disrespect a flag and his memory like that.

I believe that you can get flags on Amazon, or even walmart and target.

11 hours ago, Cheese_lover33 said:

noted, thanks! Was the ceremony with very limited applicants in this one room? How long did the whole process take? Do I need to prepare a photo to take with me to the ceremony? Thanks!

The ceremony was great, short but sweet, on my ceremony there was about 30 people taking the oath, we were let in 30 minutes prior to the ceremony starting.

They verified the paperwork and documentation we had, they also took all of the old copies of green cards and other previous documents, work permits and such to be destroyed.

Only the people taking the oath were allowed in, the only part that sucked, because I wanted to have my wife and son there with me.

We were sat apart, with masks the entire time, also our temps were checked at the door, to speed up I filled my paperwork before leaving home.

The ceremony was short, we were all done and out within 20 minutes, last year the same ceremony had over 70 people and lasted about an hour and half.

The certificate was giving out right there, the picture on it was the same from when I applied, so no need to take any 2x2 pictures.

At the point of the ceremony, everything is ready as far as the citizenship goes and there is no need to do any other paperwork.

Enjoy your ceremony, I still wake up in the morning and do not feel like it really happen, and maybe I am just dreaming.

2 minutes ago, Cheese_lover33 said:

congratulations!! 

I have my ceremony coming up very soon and I started to check the passport application process, it is a bit confusing.. I am wondering whether you have started the process? any experience to share? Thanks!

With the new process you get the naturalization certificate right there, and they give you an welcome package with it.

The package they gave me came with a passport application, you can apply online https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html

It seems to be very easy to follow online and if you are not in a rush a new passport should be issued within 90 days or so.

I am finishing my application this weekend

Post oath ceremony

19 hours ago, Portugreece said:

I passed the Interview! I was nervous about being talkative as my Dad advises me “less talk, less mistake!”. I was scheduled at 10:40am, I arrived there at 10:25am. It’s pretty easy to go to the right direction as the staff is guiding you to go where to go from the metal detectors to the staff who checks your Interview letter.  After getting my temperature and the staff check my letter, I was told to go sit right next to the door. Turn off your phone at the waiting room, don’t let them catch you using your phone! 

 

The interview was smooth. The tests were blurry in my memory 🥲 reading test is about Columbus, and the writing is about Columbus, I think I misspelled his name to “Columbos” even though I’ve read his name on the reading test. It doesn’t matter because I passed it anyway. The civics questions I remembered were 

*When do we celebrate Independence Day?

*What are the two rights of the declaration of Independence?

*Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme court? 

I forgot the rest 🥲

 

Thank goodness there were no Vocabularies! I was more worried about that because I have a friend who has been memorizing it back in Texas and their IO asks them the definition of terms. 

 

He asked me about how I met my husband. That’s pretty much it! 

 

Thank you for all the tips and Good luck everyone! 

Congrats, I am glad everything worked out well

On 1/21/2021 at 11:03 AM, R. Vieira said:

🤔🤔🤷‍♂️

Good luck Tuesday buddy

15 minutes ago, Portugreece said:

I finally got a schedule for my interview! Same date Jan 27.

That is awesome, good luck

@Alexabbas334 Any updates on your case?

12 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

Why would a change in administrations cause cancellations in February?  

I'm not sure, when researching delays at this time of the year, that was one of the reasons I found. 

3 minutes ago, Dkell said:

I hope they reschedule soon.

Good news. Congratulations on this big step in life.

Thank you, It is great news, only 12 days post interview.

For what I can gather aside from the government changes.

Please also note that USCIS offices often deschedule interviews if they have scheduled too many people for the same day. as well as other scheduling issues,  maybe the whole office is getting further and further behind so they need to delay people while they try to catch up.

So overall aside from the frustration, I would think that the reschedule should happen quickly.

56 minutes ago, Dkell said:

My interview got cancelled today. No reason was mentioned. 

Sorry to hear that, my buddy who was scheduled to interview on Feb 2nd got his canceled too, it might be related to the change of administration.

This was so fast.

1 minute ago, Cheese_lover33 said:

Congratulations! I saw from your previous post that you are well prepared with a big folder full of documents, may I ask whether the IO asked you to show any documents? Any experience in that regard? Also is there a glass in between you and the IO? Did you need to have mask on the WHOLE TIME? Thanks! Also did he tell you how long is the wait for the ceremony? Thanks!

I wore my mask the entire time, there was plexiglass between us. I was asked to sanitize my hands before handing anything over to him. 

The only 3 things he took from me were my driver's license, green card and passport. 

I scanned all of my documents and uploaded them with corresponding labels on their side, so he had access to it all, and did not asked to see anything in the folder. 

He also had my full file including the previous green card application. 

He said I'm on the list to be scheduled, typically between 30 and 60 days, I also already saw on their site that my application was recommended for approval and awaiting scheduling. 

9 minutes ago, Portugreece said:

Oh wow I’m so happy for you! Congratulations!!! So there’s no vocabularies asked? 

Nope, not at all during my interview. 

So here in my experience. 

We arrived early, my appointment was aq 11:20, and we were there at 10:10, I waited to go in a 11,they sent me back out to wait until 11:05.

I came back in, passed the initial entry and metal detector. 

Went to the kyosk in the waiting area, was office checked in, I was reminded to turn off my cell phone and wait for my name to be called. 

At that point I waited to be called in, the case agent came and got me, the agent scalded a woman near me for being on her phone, as this was a phone free area. 

During the walk to his office he asked if he had pronounced my last name correctly. 

We had a pleasant chat about the difference in using r and rr both in Portuguese and Spanish. 

And how his ex wife was Brazilian too. 

Once in the office, he complemented me on my English and the actual lack of an accent. 

He explained how the interview was structured, and made a funny comment on how in each of my photos, passport, green card and driver's license, I'm always looking angry. I confess I'm not photogenic. 

We than did the civics part.

3 hours ago, Alexabbas334 said:

Hey buddy! Thank you! I just got back and thought I would check and see how it went with you. I tried to look for you however I was already called in around 8:15 or so and then made exit out the other way so I didnt see you. 

My interview went well. The civics questions I was asked were: 

1. when was the constitution of the US written? 
2. what are the two rights of every person in the declaration of independence?

3. Who vetos bills?

4. Capital of the United States? 

5. Why did the people move to the United States? 

6. What is one duty that only US Citizens have?

 

 

I got all of them correct. Then she asked me to speak a statement on the Ipad and then write it down. Went through all the questions in my application. A couple of questions regarding my work phone number had changed. She also asked me about my marriage, my children and where I work. Eventually she said she cannot make a decission today as my application needs to be reviewed by a supervisor. My attorney was on the phone all the time. 

 

I will keep you guys posted once I hear either way. Good luck to everyone else! 

My interview was at 11:20, so we didn't get there until 10.

I had a favorable decision, so now I'm waiting for the oath ceremony notification. 

I hope your decision is fast and favorable. 

I'll put a recap of my experience later on. 

Good luck tomorrow @Alexabbas334

This might be useful too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYDIVVmRUy8

8 minutes ago, Portugreece said:

Oh wow! I wish you luck! You can do it! 

I am just hoping that I do not shut down, I am trying to keep calm, but at times in stressful situations, I can get a little bit of panic attacks, so I have been working on controlling my emotions for the past few weeks.

But I do think that I am well prepared for the interview.

Also, I got my book ready 

1 hour ago, Portugreece said:

Yes I am scheduled on January 27. I hope it isn’t common in the Detroit office 

@Alexabbas334 and I are interviewing next week, so expect an update coming right after the interview.

A quick google search and I came up with this article.
https://usahello.org/citizenship/prepare/n400-vocabulary/