Maria P.

Congratulations on reaching the end of the journey! This site was such a great resource and definitely helpful for keeping sane during the added complications of covid.
 
If it helps, the passport process is pretty straightforward, especially after all the other forms you've filled out. My husband went to the post office the day after his ceremony and took his Naturalization Certificate and a printed copy of the filled out application and they took photos there. We expedited so he could travel for the holidays and he received his passport in just over 2 weeks!

Hello all. Final update for our journey. Had the oath ceremony just before the holiday break started. At first it seemed a bit mundane, but when they asked the families to sit in while everyone was getting sworn in… I just felt such immense emotion and excitement and pride. Felt like I was watching a graduation! I’m so happy to be moving on to the nitty gritty of getting Mr.Idu set up as a US CITIZEN now. Waiting for the offices to reopen after their holiday breaks so we can start on the “fun” passport process. 
 
Wishing everyone luck and can’t thank visajourney.com and all y’all in the forums for great guidance and support. We were part of the group of folks pursuing the I-130/IR1 during 2020 covid height and, when everything shut down, this website kept me sane during that time.
 
Happy New Year to all! 🎉🇺🇸

Hello All, 


N400 Filing : August 31 2023 ( Marriage based) 

Interview date : December 20 2023 Seattle field office. 

Security let me in at 8 AM, waited for 1 hr and Office called my number. 

Civic questions. 

1. When is the last day to file federal taxes
2. There were 13 original states , name 3
3. Name one state that borders Canada
4. What did Martin Luther Jr do
5. What are 2 parts of us congress
6. In which month we vote for president 

Reading : how many senators are there 
Writing : there are 100 senators.

Asked yes or no question’s from N400, adjusted few travel dates. I have 3 speeding tickets officer added them to my N400. 

Signed iPad with changed made and oath of allegiance. 

Printed paper and informed that she can not make a decision and have to send it to her supervisor. 

Walked out everything completed in 40 min. 

Happy Holidays everyone & good luck for who ever is attending interviews.

Same here. Applied early August online and I have not heard back from them.
 
This is an old Reddit post. Please read. It will tell you that there is randomness in the process to a great extent. This is the reason why some new cases get interviews quickly while others get delayed. I understand that understaffing and other particular issues with immigration cases play a role. But unfortunately, it is still a random game.
 
https://www.reddit.com/r/USCIS/comments/yn60ig/decoding_ioe_case_numbers/

It’s all so disheartening.
 
Fingers crossed we both hear something soon! Sending all my luck to you! 

Congratulations and thank you for sharing your experience!
You are done; the rest is just formalities!

One of the best if not the best christmas present i got. 
My journey finally came to an end, and i am happy to be done with immigration. 
After everything i've been through in US, the felling of relief i felt when officer said "congratulations, you became a US citizen" is hard to describe. 
Office: Cennetial in Denver, Colorado
It was very quiet in this office, there were only 7-8 of us that day. 
I came 2 hours before my interview and no one said anything for arriving too early. They let me in and also they even called me for an interview one hour before my schedule time. 
The whole interview process and oath took around 20 minutes. 
I applied under 5 year rule.
Both officers that were interviewing that day were very smiley, in a good positive mood. 
It started with civics questions, then went to reading and writing. 
After that i went through a lot of yes and no questions. 
The only thing they asked a little bit in more detail was my travel. I have 8 trips in total with around 500 days out of US for 5 years. One trip in particular was 176 days and officer was interested why i was out of the country for so long. 
I said it was during covid and i had to take care of my sick father and that's it. He put that info in the system, made me sign at the end and then he asked me if i want to get an oath right now. 
Hope this come in use for anyone who traveled a lot during 5 years. 
The whole wait time is a lot more stressful than interview itself. 
Please also, dress up. This is a nice occasion and special moment in your life. Don't go like most people did, like they went to walmart. 
Good luck to all still on this journey, you got this!
Now it's time for expedited passport. 

Just got back home from the interview ❤️ So, here are the spilled details my dear VisaJourney family:
 
Arrived at 7:40am, interview was scheduled at 8:00am. Orlando Field Office looked really nice, super clean, very nice vibe... 
There were already plenty people there when we got there, our ticket got called around 9am. I noticed some officers were not allowing spouses in, some did. Some allowed two people in, and then the spouse was sent out after 5-10 mins. Our officer let both of us in and explained that since i751 is pending, he will have both of us, but that he will ask my husband to change seat and stay at the back of room for the N400 part of interview.
 
Our officer was super friendly, and explained from beginning that he looked at application, he saw i751 pending and requested it to be shipped from Potomac, but it still did not arrive to Orlando field office. He said - "Here is what we will do -> we will do both interviews now, I can approve both of them, but I cannot put you into oath ceremony, because I need to sign the i751 papers unfortunately.  Only after I get physical file - I can sign it and you will be scheduled for oath ceremony. Also, because you change your name {I have requested surname change on my n400}, your ceremony must be at the city court house, not here, so unfortunately you will have to wait till January or February anyway, not just because of i751. Technically, you are creating new identity because of name change and judge will need to certify/approve/ that before taking oath. If all goes well today and I get your file in 2-3 days, we will send you the oath ceremony invitation in a mail within a week or two."
 
He did not ask anything what we expected about our marriage and it appeared he already made up his mind before interviewing us, he said "I looked at your application and I can tell it is bona fide marriage, am I correct?"  he double checked our IDs, address, marriage date, any children (none). Then asked my husband to swap seats and stay at one row behind me (near wall of the room) and be quiet. 
I was asked civics questions (what Susan B Anthony fought for, what if president cannot serve - who is replacing , two longest rivers, name 2 national holidays, what led to civil war, what do you do when you plead allegiance...) 
Reading + writing.
Updated my work situation (since I started new job last week).
 
I had asked if he wants more pictures, affidavits that we got from friends and new quarterly bank statements, etc. and he said "unless you really want to give it to me, but I think you can just recycle that, I have enough evidence to approve you". He then asked me all the eligibility questions on whether I was ever in combat, a communist, terrorist, etc.  Asked me to sign the new name change, and some oath of allegiance understanding statement. Then he said I am approved on both applications, we will get the oath ceremony date as soon as he is done with bureaucracy regarding i751.  Shook hands, said thank you and we said our farewells.
 
Guys, I am not sure, but I feel like wearing a suit & tie and formal clothes, did play some attitude role. I was shocked to see some people came in sweatpants, in hoodies and even baseball hats. Cmon, this is federal government building, I could see non-verbal reactions from officers when they were calling numbers and a trio of people in sweatpants and messy hair showed up vs. nicely presented couples and solo applicants.
 
p.s. there is no change at Online Account.... will update when oath ceremony note will be here  I feel super happy, but not fully relieved just yet. USCIS journey is over, but not quite yet a citizen) Wishing everybody good news for this Xmas and Happy New Year... !
 

Just got back home from the interview ❤️ So, here are the spilled details my dear VisaJourney family:
 
Arrived at 7:40am, interview was scheduled at 8:00am. Orlando Field Office looked really nice, super clean, very nice vibe... 
There were already plenty people there when we got there, our ticket got called around 9am. I noticed some officers were not allowing spouses in, some did. Some allowed two people in, and then the spouse was sent out after 5-10 mins. Our officer let both of us in and explained that since i751 is pending, he will have both of us, but that he will ask my husband to change seat and stay at the back of room for the N400 part of interview.
 
Our officer was super friendly, and explained from beginning that he looked at application, he saw i751 pending and requested it to be shipped from Potomac, but it still did not arrive to Orlando field office. He said - "Here is what we will do -> we will do both interviews now, I can approve both of them, but I cannot put you into oath ceremony, because I need to sign the i751 papers unfortunately.  Only after I get physical file - I can sign it and you will be scheduled for oath ceremony. Also, because you change your name {I have requested surname change on my n400}, your ceremony must be at the city court house, not here, so unfortunately you will have to wait till January or February anyway, not just because of i751. Technically, you are creating new identity because of name change and judge will need to certify/approve/ that before taking oath. If all goes well today and I get your file in 2-3 days, we will send you the oath ceremony invitation in a mail within a week or two."
 
He did not ask anything what we expected about our marriage and it appeared he already made up his mind before interviewing us, he said "I looked at your application and I can tell it is bona fide marriage, am I correct?"  he double checked our IDs, address, marriage date, any children (none). Then asked my husband to swap seats and stay at one row behind me (near wall of the room) and be quiet. 
I was asked civics questions (what Susan B Anthony fought for, what if president cannot serve - who is replacing , two longest rivers, name 2 national holidays, what led to civil war, what do you do when you plead allegiance...) 
Reading + writing.
Updated my work situation (since I started new job last week).
 
I had asked if he wants more pictures, affidavits that we got from friends and new quarterly bank statements, etc. and he said "unless you really want to give it to me, but I think you can just recycle that, I have enough evidence to approve you". He then asked me all the eligibility questions on whether I was ever in combat, a communist, terrorist, etc.  Asked me to sign the new name change, and some oath of allegiance understanding statement. Then he said I am approved on both applications, we will get the oath ceremony date as soon as he is done with bureaucracy regarding i751.  Shook hands, said thank you and we said our farewells.
 
Guys, I am not sure, but I feel like wearing a suit & tie and formal clothes, did play some attitude role. I was shocked to see some people came in sweatpants, in hoodies and even baseball hats. Cmon, this is federal government building, I could see non-verbal reactions from officers when they were calling numbers and a trio of people in sweatpants and messy hair showed up vs. nicely presented couples and solo applicants.
 
p.s. there is no change at Online Account.... will update when oath ceremony note will be here  I feel super happy, but not fully relieved just yet. USCIS journey is over, but not quite yet a citizen) Wishing everybody good news for this Xmas and Happy New Year... !
 

Just got back home from the interview ❤️ So, here are the spilled details my dear VisaJourney family:
 
Arrived at 7:40am, interview was scheduled at 8:00am. Orlando Field Office looked really nice, super clean, very nice vibe... 
There were already plenty people there when we got there, our ticket got called around 9am. I noticed some officers were not allowing spouses in, some did. Some allowed two people in, and then the spouse was sent out after 5-10 mins. Our officer let both of us in and explained that since i751 is pending, he will have both of us, but that he will ask my husband to change seat and stay at the back of room for the N400 part of interview.
 
Our officer was super friendly, and explained from beginning that he looked at application, he saw i751 pending and requested it to be shipped from Potomac, but it still did not arrive to Orlando field office. He said - "Here is what we will do -> we will do both interviews now, I can approve both of them, but I cannot put you into oath ceremony, because I need to sign the i751 papers unfortunately.  Only after I get physical file - I can sign it and you will be scheduled for oath ceremony. Also, because you change your name {I have requested surname change on my n400}, your ceremony must be at the city court house, not here, so unfortunately you will have to wait till January or February anyway, not just because of i751. Technically, you are creating new identity because of name change and judge will need to certify/approve/ that before taking oath. If all goes well today and I get your file in 2-3 days, we will send you the oath ceremony invitation in a mail within a week or two."
 
He did not ask anything what we expected about our marriage and it appeared he already made up his mind before interviewing us, he said "I looked at your application and I can tell it is bona fide marriage, am I correct?"  he double checked our IDs, address, marriage date, any children (none). Then asked my husband to swap seats and stay at one row behind me (near wall of the room) and be quiet. 
I was asked civics questions (what Susan B Anthony fought for, what if president cannot serve - who is replacing , two longest rivers, name 2 national holidays, what led to civil war, what do you do when you plead allegiance...) 
Reading + writing.
Updated my work situation (since I started new job last week).
 
I had asked if he wants more pictures, affidavits that we got from friends and new quarterly bank statements, etc. and he said "unless you really want to give it to me, but I think you can just recycle that, I have enough evidence to approve you". He then asked me all the eligibility questions on whether I was ever in combat, a communist, terrorist, etc.  Asked me to sign the new name change, and some oath of allegiance understanding statement. Then he said I am approved on both applications, we will get the oath ceremony date as soon as he is done with bureaucracy regarding i751.  Shook hands, said thank you and we said our farewells.
 
Guys, I am not sure, but I feel like wearing a suit & tie and formal clothes, did play some attitude role. I was shocked to see some people came in sweatpants, in hoodies and even baseball hats. Cmon, this is federal government building, I could see non-verbal reactions from officers when they were calling numbers and a trio of people in sweatpants and messy hair showed up vs. nicely presented couples and solo applicants.
 
p.s. there is no change at Online Account.... will update when oath ceremony note will be here  I feel super happy, but not fully relieved just yet. USCIS journey is over, but not quite yet a citizen) Wishing everybody good news for this Xmas and Happy New Year... !
 

Just got back home from the interview ❤️ So, here are the spilled details my dear VisaJourney family:
 
Arrived at 7:40am, interview was scheduled at 8:00am. Orlando Field Office looked really nice, super clean, very nice vibe... 
There were already plenty people there when we got there, our ticket got called around 9am. I noticed some officers were not allowing spouses in, some did. Some allowed two people in, and then the spouse was sent out after 5-10 mins. Our officer let both of us in and explained that since i751 is pending, he will have both of us, but that he will ask my husband to change seat and stay at the back of room for the N400 part of interview.
 
Our officer was super friendly, and explained from beginning that he looked at application, he saw i751 pending and requested it to be shipped from Potomac, but it still did not arrive to Orlando field office. He said - "Here is what we will do -> we will do both interviews now, I can approve both of them, but I cannot put you into oath ceremony, because I need to sign the i751 papers unfortunately.  Only after I get physical file - I can sign it and you will be scheduled for oath ceremony. Also, because you change your name {I have requested surname change on my n400}, your ceremony must be at the city court house, not here, so unfortunately you will have to wait till January or February anyway, not just because of i751. Technically, you are creating new identity because of name change and judge will need to certify/approve/ that before taking oath. If all goes well today and I get your file in 2-3 days, we will send you the oath ceremony invitation in a mail within a week or two."
 
He did not ask anything what we expected about our marriage and it appeared he already made up his mind before interviewing us, he said "I looked at your application and I can tell it is bona fide marriage, am I correct?"  he double checked our IDs, address, marriage date, any children (none). Then asked my husband to swap seats and stay at one row behind me (near wall of the room) and be quiet. 
I was asked civics questions (what Susan B Anthony fought for, what if president cannot serve - who is replacing , two longest rivers, name 2 national holidays, what led to civil war, what do you do when you plead allegiance...) 
Reading + writing.
Updated my work situation (since I started new job last week).
 
I had asked if he wants more pictures, affidavits that we got from friends and new quarterly bank statements, etc. and he said "unless you really want to give it to me, but I think you can just recycle that, I have enough evidence to approve you". He then asked me all the eligibility questions on whether I was ever in combat, a communist, terrorist, etc.  Asked me to sign the new name change, and some oath of allegiance understanding statement. Then he said I am approved on both applications, we will get the oath ceremony date as soon as he is done with bureaucracy regarding i751.  Shook hands, said thank you and we said our farewells.
 
Guys, I am not sure, but I feel like wearing a suit & tie and formal clothes, did play some attitude role. I was shocked to see some people came in sweatpants, in hoodies and even baseball hats. Cmon, this is federal government building, I could see non-verbal reactions from officers when they were calling numbers and a trio of people in sweatpants and messy hair showed up vs. nicely presented couples and solo applicants.
 
p.s. there is no change at Online Account.... will update when oath ceremony note will be here  I feel super happy, but not fully relieved just yet. USCIS journey is over, but not quite yet a citizen) Wishing everybody good news for this Xmas and Happy New Year... !
 

Just got back home from the interview ❤️ So, here are the spilled details my dear VisaJourney family:
 
Arrived at 7:40am, interview was scheduled at 8:00am. Orlando Field Office looked really nice, super clean, very nice vibe... 
There were already plenty people there when we got there, our ticket got called around 9am. I noticed some officers were not allowing spouses in, some did. Some allowed two people in, and then the spouse was sent out after 5-10 mins. Our officer let both of us in and explained that since i751 is pending, he will have both of us, but that he will ask my husband to change seat and stay at the back of room for the N400 part of interview.
 
Our officer was super friendly, and explained from beginning that he looked at application, he saw i751 pending and requested it to be shipped from Potomac, but it still did not arrive to Orlando field office. He said - "Here is what we will do -> we will do both interviews now, I can approve both of them, but I cannot put you into oath ceremony, because I need to sign the i751 papers unfortunately.  Only after I get physical file - I can sign it and you will be scheduled for oath ceremony. Also, because you change your name {I have requested surname change on my n400}, your ceremony must be at the city court house, not here, so unfortunately you will have to wait till January or February anyway, not just because of i751. Technically, you are creating new identity because of name change and judge will need to certify/approve/ that before taking oath. If all goes well today and I get your file in 2-3 days, we will send you the oath ceremony invitation in a mail within a week or two."
 
He did not ask anything what we expected about our marriage and it appeared he already made up his mind before interviewing us, he said "I looked at your application and I can tell it is bona fide marriage, am I correct?"  he double checked our IDs, address, marriage date, any children (none). Then asked my husband to swap seats and stay at one row behind me (near wall of the room) and be quiet. 
I was asked civics questions (what Susan B Anthony fought for, what if president cannot serve - who is replacing , two longest rivers, name 2 national holidays, what led to civil war, what do you do when you plead allegiance...) 
Reading + writing.
Updated my work situation (since I started new job last week).
 
I had asked if he wants more pictures, affidavits that we got from friends and new quarterly bank statements, etc. and he said "unless you really want to give it to me, but I think you can just recycle that, I have enough evidence to approve you". He then asked me all the eligibility questions on whether I was ever in combat, a communist, terrorist, etc.  Asked me to sign the new name change, and some oath of allegiance understanding statement. Then he said I am approved on both applications, we will get the oath ceremony date as soon as he is done with bureaucracy regarding i751.  Shook hands, said thank you and we said our farewells.
 
Guys, I am not sure, but I feel like wearing a suit & tie and formal clothes, did play some attitude role. I was shocked to see some people came in sweatpants, in hoodies and even baseball hats. Cmon, this is federal government building, I could see non-verbal reactions from officers when they were calling numbers and a trio of people in sweatpants and messy hair showed up vs. nicely presented couples and solo applicants.
 
p.s. there is no change at Online Account.... will update when oath ceremony note will be here  I feel super happy, but not fully relieved just yet. USCIS journey is over, but not quite yet a citizen) Wishing everybody good news for this Xmas and Happy New Year... !
 

Good luck! You'll be fine! Все будет хорошо!

Guys, I am having interview tomorrow morning at 8am and I am having a major anxiety panic mode. I think the civics test is all prepared for, documents arranged, but I am freaking out... what if we are missing something or officer will be in bad mood or they lost the application file or I don't know ((((  Gosh... Just want this to be over. So so so much... 🥲

You got this! You know and have the answers for everything. You’re prepared. Once you’re there in the moment you’ll be much more calmer than now. It’s hard not to think of worst case scenarios when it comes to these things. Just take it one step at a time and shall things come up you will address them as they come. You’re as prepared as you can be. Let us know how everything goes tomorrow and good luck!

Ok, that doesn’t sound too bad. I was able to find the same info just now. So looks like I did everything correctly. OMG I’m relieved, thank you for replying quickly. It’s been a while since I applied so I don’t remember these details, but I’m sure I followed whatever direction was given as I was signing the form, so I should be in the clear. Thank you!

Glad to be nearing the end. Grateful for this community.

Thanks. I did not notice any document on the officer's desk. I think everything she was working with was on her PC. She had mentioned that something had not come yet so I assume she was referring to the I-751. She asked for evidence of a continuing marriage; I had pictures, joint bank statements, insurance cards, mortgage statements, tax transcripts, marriage certificate and our kids' birth certificate (all of these were already uploaded with the N400 application). She asked to see the marriage certificate and only made a copy of the birth certificates.

Hi all! Mr. Idu’s oath ceremony has been set… finally! Happy to be at this milestone. Will update more once he’s done done.

Ah yeah I can understand the worry if you mailed it! I think you can go back into your case online and upload evidence after the fact? I can't check because they closed our case. 
 
It wasn't a big deal for people needing photos, they had a camera to take them that day for those who were approved. I'm not sure if they need it to be in digital form when they use it.

Anyone has luck with submitting FOIA to expediate the processing of the N400? 

According to USCIS, everything should be printed one sided: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/tips-for-filing-forms-by-mail

Yesterday, my case status changed to “Interview Was Scheduled”.. I am now waiting for the notice on the mail to determine when the interview will be ☺️

My time has finally come to share some news!
My interview has been scheduled! 😁
Such a relief to be honest!
Field office Colorado, Denver (I haven't seen anyone from Colorado so far)
My timeline: 
August 10th - applied 
August 10th - actively reviewing 
November 20th - interview scheduled for December 29th, it's would be the best xmas/new years present in my life to enter the 2024 as a citizen! 
 
Also regarding my case, i don't know if this matters but, my timeline dropped from 6 months to 4 on November 1st. It increased a few days later to 6 months again. Then a couple of days ago it dropped again to 4 months when a day later i received interview notice. 
 
 
 

My case is completely gone from my dashboard. I think they’re updating their system.