M+K IL

Been trying to find a website that will let me combine flags from my background, and so far I've not managed to find anything good. OpenAI's generator has ... shoddy outputs, and I'm not that well-versed with Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or similar tools to do it myself (not in my non-existent free time anyway)

Thanks!

I'm naturalizing and changing my name too, so... in the rare occasion when I need to provide my old birth certificate (very rare - the naturalization certificate or a US passport suffices as proof of citizenship in the US, so the only situation I see is if I want to sponsor my parents) -- I'll just show the original birth certificate as well as the name change document from the court.

I now have many (2+2+1) weather apps on my phone, some of them with the ability to choose multiple data sources, and also check weather.gov which does not have a prediction for my ceremony date yet.

So far only AccuWeather predicts thunderstorms, but fingers crossed. If not for a kid and and mius we would play it safe and camp in a hotel within walking distance of the courthouse.

Our last weekend as non-citizens! And grandparents just returned from their many-days (2+2+2+2+2+1) visit to see Mr. 2 for the first time so we are catching up on zzz

2 hours ago, Mike E said:

Basically, USCIS can compare you most recent CBP biometrics with your most recent USCIS biometrics to decide if the delta is large enough to justify another collection.

Ah, I wonder if the reason I had a biometrics appointment is that I've been using Global Entry in the meantime.

At that appointment they just sample two fingers so it did look like they were just measuring the delta

34 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Not possible. You go to SSA with it. You leave SSA with it.

Oh, good to know, thanks! There are threads where people talk about the SSA office losing documents, I wonder if those are because the procedure was different during COVID closures.

From the SSA website they didn't say if documents are taken for processing or returned, so we ended up worrying. Thank you!

34 minutes ago, Mike E said:

 

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

Sounds like you should get your passports after your SS cards and DLs are updated

Thanks... Yeah I guess in this case I'll have to take the risk the SSA loses the naturalization certificate, sigh.

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

 

Are you up to speed on the separate change of name document that the court has to issue?  

It should be a separate document attached to the naturalization certificate, and I can ask the court to provide additional copies, right? Is there anything else I should know?

Our judicial oath ceremony is scheduled for 8/25, and per the suggestions on this forum we are thinking of getting passports and passport cards first, /then/ using the passport card when updating our names on our Social Security cards, then using that to update bank accounts, names used for payroll, etc.

Problem is... expedited processing now takes an estimated 7-9 weeks, and normal processing takes 10-13. Not including mailing time.

What happens if, say, we end up with W-2s with our old names?

And... Given this timeline - is taking an emergency trip out of the country to qualify for an urgent travel appointment the only recourse? We also thought of using expeditors but a) are not sure how much faster it is, and b) are told on another forum that those are currently not allowed to operate

Thanks!

On 8/12/2023 at 12:24 AM, M Z said:

I have a weird situation and hoping if some one could help me. My interview was scheduled for 8/26. The status was updated on 8/10. Today when I checked, the status was showing de-scheduled due to unseen circumstances. and immediately after that it was again changed to oath scheduled but the weird thing is the second one also has the same date of 8/26 and time. In the documents both letters have the same date and time.  

I'm guessing they cancelled your appointment in error. Best to bring all notices to the ceremony?

4 hours ago, Francyn said:

Thank you for asking this because I actually did switch first and middle name. Glad there is no need to fret..yet. 🤗

I guess it makes sense if you're changing your entire name... in our cases we are only changing our last names and didn't get flagged

Ours just got scheduled (yesterday but the email arrived this morning) for the 25th!

Got notified by email today (the 9th) that our oath ceremony is scheduled for the 25th (16 days from now). Very Pythagorean!

On 8/3/2023 at 9:40 AM, zeroshucksgiven said:

I filed ROC 751 in 02/2022 and filed N400 in 05/2023 - got a notice on 07/11/ for an interview N400 on 08/24/23. my 751 is still pending though (MSC)

Hopefully that will be a combo interview!

51 minutes ago, g9g9g9 said:

 That is interesting so it is also as they are just doing the federal judge oaths I assume then which means it will take a while. 

There are reports that people not doing name changes also get sent to judicial oath ceremonies - presumably to make sure they have enough numbers. From past reports we just need around 100 people or so, so it should not take too long, fingers crossed!

(Some of the ceremonies in 2022 are massive - hundreds of people, and relocated away from the courthouse - but presumably that's dealing with the pandemic backlog)

Just now, g9g9g9 said:

No name change .

Hopefully yours get scheduled soon then! For a data point, my wife's was initially scheduled for 8/6 then cancelled, so since yours can be done at the USCIS auditorium hopefully you're looking at under a month from approval date.

4 minutes ago, manyfudge said:

So this happened to my spouse.  Swore oath and received passport same day.  Left the U.S. when we returned to the US, used global entry with no issue at US preclearance Calgary.

 

We are all up for renewal and now have added 2 passports in the renewal app.

 

 

Did you update your information before entering on the TTP website, update it on arrival, or enter the country with the GE data still showing you're permanent residents?

Howdy! Did you choose to change your name? Wife and I got recommended for approval 07/13, still waiting for the oath ceremony (perusing the court's website, looks like in 2022 they had many judicial oath ceremonies but in 2023 have held only one in January. Going to post the tabulated data once I have time to crunch it).

1 hour ago, mam521 said:

When you check in online with your airline, use your US passport.  You'll get eGates in GB - use your British passport.  

 

When you return to the US, ask the CBP officer if you can head to the GE office to update your information.  Most major airports are doing "instant" interviews, so you can head to the line and update once the CBP officer has admitted you back to the US. The GE officer will update your profile on the spot so you can use next time.  

 

I'd also download the MPC app.  If the regular immi lines are long, the MPC line is typically shorter and then you can go jump in queue for the GE interview line.  I just did this exact thing in May.  

Also: updating the info on a GE card (and requesting a replacement card in case, say, you change your name) can be done without an appointment, so you can also just do it ahead of the trip.

That reminds me, I should renew my card now.

My wife brought all her passports, but the IO also only wanted to see the latest - which has never been used to leave and reenter as we renewed at a consulate within the US

1 hour ago, Marrienne said:

I PASSED!! Oath within the next 60 days (most likely in September)

Thank you everyone!!

Congratulations! Still awaiting my oath ceremony too, how do you know it would be within 60 days?
 

I've not heard it happened before, but apparently enough in the first round got disqualified they are doing a second random selection

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-will-conduct-second-random-selection-from-previously-submitted-fy-2024-h-1b-cap-registrations

Good luck! 5 years should be straightforward, plus you probably fall in one of the safest buckets when it comes to suspicion of fraud! (Anecdotally, my wife and I interviewed on the same day, same ethnicity and country of origin, and she got out in 10 mins and I in 30. My IO was nice but very thorough, hers was just super nice).

If you ever owe money to the IRS, even if you pay it off immediately (no payment plan), bring the account transcript for the current year showing you have no balance due. If you have a payment plan, bring the payment plan. Apart from that.. any moving traffic violation, bring evidence of payment just in case, and yeah ... if you're good with the questions, you should be good to go!

@TBoneTX can tell you that his wife passed in six straight question after sweating over learning the questions - and my wife also passed in six after initially getting all the politicians' names mixed up (in practice they seem to go for the easier ones - I get 'who is the president right now' - but she was ready to answer who's the Speaker of the House and our US Rep just in case).

1 hour ago, Ontarkie said:

They are gorgeous, I love the white one.

Thanks! That was taken a couple of days before Mini-M+K was born. They decided to kindly test the portable crib and made sure it's fit for purpose.

Then when mini-MK came home and was wailing these two decided he's a cat too and meowed back, that was a funny conversation. Never repeated since, they reverted to only miaowing when they beg (youngster) or demand (big brother) their food.

Though the youngster would chirp at birds too.

@Ontarkiecongratulations! Yeah, with mius two is definitely better, glad your Hillbilly consented to it. We initially adopted only one, and when we got a second to keep him initially they fought quite a bit (the younger one is really attached to the older one, the older one too, but youngster likes to play rough) but it seems they are basically a bonded pair now.

Very different personality wise, youngster gets easily scared by hoomans or changes in environment while the older brother is crazy for cuddles and like exploring new places - so it's good for them to have each other for company.