sionnach

Got my US passport on Friday, and my most important piece of paper the Naturalization Certificate arrived today...

Just got to go to a Social Security office someday soon, and get that very last part of the process complete...

Finally got to the social security yesterday, apart from waiting it was very easy.

Now that status is also updated.

So that's me now fully complete with USCIS and Social Security, all done...

Got my US passport on Friday, and my most important piece of paper the Naturalization Certificate arrived today...

Just got to go to a Social Security office someday soon, and get that very last part of the process complete...

Good to know. I tried to make an appointment at SJ but they said they don't do that. I think I would have rather waited 2 weeks for an appointment as opposed to spending all day in line.

To make an appointment call them at (408)867-1159.

They keep 15 min timeslots, from 10am-3pm Mon - Fri for the appointments...

Take a photocopy of front and back of your DL as well asas the documents listedand above. Try to avoid the passport office on Meridian in SJ. I spent 4.5 hours waiting for my turn with only 30 people ahead of me. If you go during the week in Saratoga, they are usually fast. You can fillout the application online and print it out to save time. We didn't need any proof of legal entrance or foreign birth certificate.

As a FYI the Saratgoa Post Office is appointment only. One needs to make a phone booking, and the wait time is about two weeks...

Tks guys for the advice.

I must get my stuff together and get the application in.

Menina, tks for the advice on the Meridan post office - that is where I would have went. I'd rather drive to Saratoga and get it done quicker...

Just had my Oath ceremony a few days ago, so now want to apply for a passport.

When applying for the passport, does one just need to include just the Naturalization Cert - or does one also have to include my original Birth certificate from my home country.

I also see that "proof of your admission to the United States for Permanent Residence" may be needed ? (I'm not even sure what document they are looking for from this ?)

What did you guys include for your application.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks...

Yep it means little, I'm in a similar position. I have my naturilaztion cert and nothing was updated on the uscis webstie...

Congratulations! Where was it held? At ours, they projected images from all of the different countries as they called out the names. It was really awesome. I'm happy for you that you have finally finished the immigration journey!

It was held at Gilroy Gardens...

Had my oath ceremony today, was a special event for "Earth Day" which was held outside at a wonderful gardens.

377 people from 63 countries were present.

I'm glad to now be officially a US citizen !

Updating my time schedule.

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N-400: November 2012 Applicants

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USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox

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UserName..........|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Bio......|IntInline|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office......|

==================|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|==================|

NewAmerican.......|10/28/12.|11/08/12.|11/05/12.|12/21/12.|12/28/12.|01/28/13.|03/05/13.|--/--/--.|NYC, NY...........|EB: 12/04/12

Nenita and David..|10/31/12.|11/06/12.|11/02/12.|12/03/12.|12/28/12.|01/07/13.|02/11/13.|--/--/--.|Dallas, TX........|

grecos............|10/31/12.|11/07/12.|11/13/12.|12/06/12.|12/10/12.|02/11/03.|03/14/13.|03/14/13.|Baltimore, MD.....|

theonlyjess.......|11/01/12.|11/08/12.|11/06/12.|11/16/12.|--/--/--.|01/18/13.|02/27/13.|03/27/13.|Dallas, TX........|

vartanarsen2......|11/01/12.|11/08/12.|11/05/12.|11/23/12.|12/20/12.|--/--/--.|01/31/13.|--/--/--.|Boston, MA........|

amino.............|11/07/12.|11/14/12.|11/13/12.|11/29/12.|12/04/12.|12/05/12.|01/14/13.|01/15/13.|Dallas, TX........|

KAT & A...........|11/08/12.|11/16/12.|11/15/12.|11/30/12.|12/04/12.|04/10/13.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Orlando, FL.......|

alex27............|11/09/12.|11/15/12.|11/13/12.|11/29/12.|12/04/12.|12/05/12.|01/14/13.|01/15/13.|Dallas, TX........|

kamimitsu.........|11/09/12.|11/16/12.|11/19/12.|11/30/12.|12/06/12.|12/24/12.|01/29/13.|--/--/--.|Greer, SC.........|RFE: 01/29/13

rajugc............|11/10/12.|11/15/12.|11/19/12.|12/12/12.|01/08/13.|--/--/--.|02/21/13.|--/--/--.|Luisville, KY.....|

Mood..............|11/13/12.|11/21/12.|11/22/12.|12/11/12.|12/13/12.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Houston, TX.......|

readytoleave......|11/13/12.|11/20/12.|12/03/12.|12/17/12.|01/11/13.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Pittsburg, PA.....|

AusToUSCitizen....|11/15/12.|11/23/12.|11/19/12.|12/10/12.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Atlanta, GA.......|EB: 12/05/12

Celine............|11/20/12.|11/29/12.|11/30/12.|12/13/12.|12/17/12.|03/15/13.|04/22/13.|--/--/--.|Atlanta, GA.......|EB: 03/18/13

spectheintro......|11/21/12.|11/28/12.|11/27/12.|12/20/12.|01/22/13.|01/23/13.|02/26/13.|--/--/--.|Norfolk, VA.......|

alacranita........|11/21/12.|11/29/12.|11/28/12.|01/02/13.|01/04/13.|01/14/13.|02/21/13.|03/14/13.|Buffalo, NY.......|

Joshua Ebbi.......|11/23/12.|11/30/12.|11/29/12.|12/18/12.|12/13/12.|01/29/12.|03/07/13.|03/27/13.|Houston, TX.......|EB: 12/10/12

ammali............|11/24/12.|11/30/12.|11/28/12.|12/17/12.|12/26/12.|01/29/13.|03/05/13.|03/20/13.|New Orleans, LA...|

Fan-b-imm.........|11/24/12.|11/29/12.|11/26/12.|12/12/12.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Baltimore, MD.....|

mozplay...........|11/27/12.|12/05/12.|12/04/12.|12/18/12.|12/26/12.|01/11/13.|02/13/13.|--/--/--.|Buffalo, NY.......|

nyla..............|11/28/12.|12/07/12.|12/05/12.|01/04/13.|01/22/13.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|NYC, NY...........|

smilegirl.........|11/28/12.|12/08/12.|12/10/12.|12/20/12.|12/26/12.|01/11/13.|02/14/13.|--/--/--.|Newark, NJ........|

sweetcdngrl.......|11/28/12.|11/30/12.|12/03/12.|12/18/12.|12/20/12.|03/15/13.|04/17/13.|--/--/--.|Baltimore,MD......|

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USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox

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UserName..........|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Bio......|IntInline|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office......| ==================|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|==================|

sionnach..........|11/02/12.|11/08/12.|11/14/12.|12/03/12.|03/14/13.|03/15/13.|04/18/13.|04/26/13.|San Jose, CA......|

dagabe14..........|11/05/12.|11/09/12.|11/09/12.|12/05/12.|12/07/12.|12/11/12.|01/15/13.|03/06/13.|Seattle, WA.......|RFE: 01/15/13

C787..............|11/05/12.|11/09/12.|11/08/12.|11/27/12.|01/02/13.|01/28/13.|03/08/13.|04/16/13 .|Los Angeles, CA...|

Marie09...........|11/06/12.|11/13/12.|11/09/12.|11/28/12.|01/04/13.|01/08/13.|02/11/13.|03/22/13.|Reno, NV..........| scabbage29........|11/12/12.|11/16/12.|11/16/12.|12/07/12.|01/09/13.|01/18/13.|02/13/13.|--/--/--.|San Jose, CA......|[/color]

515sheep..........|11/12/12.|11/20/12.|11/24/12.|12/04/12.|12/07/12.|01/16/13.|02/28/13.|--/--/--.|Des Moines, IA....|

NicoNShawn........|11/14/12.|11/20/12.|11/19/12.|12/14/12.|--/--/--.|12/21/12.|01/29/13.|02/22/13.|Chula Vista, CA...|

Aneta73...........|11/19/12.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Chicago, IL.......|

SyrGuy............|11/20/12.|11/27/12.|11/26/12.|12/20/12.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Santa Ana, CA.....|

Syedi01...........|11/26/12.|12/04/12.|11/29/12.|12/28/12.|01/28/13.|02/01/13.|03/01/13.|--/--/--.|Saint Paul, MN....|

MikeInWyoming.....|11/26/12.|11/30/12.|11/30/12.|12/17/12.|01/23/13.|01/28/13.|03/04/13.|--/--/--.|Casper, WY........|

Luke and Deanna...|11/27/12.|12/04/12.|11/29/12.|12/28/12.|01/11/13.|01/28/13.|03/01/13.|05/08/13.|Saint Paul, MN....|

lc13..............|11/26/12.|12/06/12.|11/29/12.|12/26/12.|12/28/12.|02/15/13.|03/25/13.|--/--/--.|Denver, CO........|

lc13wife..........|11/26/12.|12/06/12.|11/29/12.|12/27/12.|12/28/12.|02/20/13.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|Denver, CO........|

=================================================

USCIS Lincoln, Nebraska Lockbox (Military Filing)

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UserName..........|Sent.....|ChkCashd.|NOA......|Bio......|IntInline|Int Ltr..|Intview..|Oath.....|Field Office......|

==================|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|==================|

..................|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|--/--/--.|..................|

Finally had my interview this morning, and passed it.

Such a relief after all this wait.

Got the Oath ceremony letter handed to me at the office this morning after the interview was completed, which will be held next Friday. Guess I need to go out and buy a new suit for the occasion

Interview tmrw morning, fingers crossed

The parking lot is medium size and fills quickly. We arrived at 7:30 and had no problem parking. There were only a couple of people ahead of us at security. It was fast. You need to remove shoes, jackets, belts, etc. after checking in at the desk. Then check in at the second desk and on to the waiting roim. We waited over an hour, but most people were called in pretty quickly. All the staff were very friendly. Good luck!

Thanks for the information, I found out today that the security opens at 7:15am.

Hi there,

I will have a very early morning interview in a few days, and wanted to get feedback from others that have used the newly relocated USCIS center in Santa Clara (1450 Coleman Ave). How is parking, wait time at security etc ?

I have used the older center which was in San Jose, but not the new one yet.

Many thanks...

Mine was held in Campbell. There were 400+ ppl there to become citizens. I heard there were two sessions going on, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Mine was scheduled in the morning. I arrived 9:30 sharp, with my notification letter and greencard. I forgot to fill out the back of the questionnaire. So did that on the spot. Then I handed both the letter and the greencard to the person guiding us to the seat. It felt a bit sad to see him toss my greencard in the box (more like a trash bin) simply cuz I only got the card for a couple of months and never got to use it. Anyways, the ceremony went a little bit over an hour. Then they handed us our naturalization certificate row by row, which was quite efficient. After that, everyone hurried to join the line for the passport application, which you need to bring the actually application, two photos and a checkbook (or money order). I had to run to the bank to get a cashier's check cuz I didn't realize that I had used the last check in my checkbook. But that wasn't too bad. When I got back 20min later, the long line was down to a couple of ppl.

That was it. A good day to become a U.S. citizen

Congrats to you, good to hear of a local getting citizenship.

When will you go to the social security office, is this after the passport arrives ?

Received my interview letter today. For April 18th.

Tried to update my info, but it came out weird.

Oh wow, I just looked at my case status online, and I saw it finally changed !

"On March 14, 2013, your N400, APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION was scheduled for interview. You will receive a notice with a time and place for your interview. If you have not received the notice within 30 days of the date the notice is mailed, please call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for further assistance."

Did not yet receive a txt or email, but I assume I will get that tmrw.

Finally it changed from "Initial Review" to "Testing and Interview".

Goodness me, I wonder if this is something to do when I rang up the USCIS yesterday and complained about no movement in my case ?

Can somebody please update me as a US citizen finally this looong journey is over. Sooo happy

And fingers crossed for the rest of the group!

Congrats to you...Wonderful news...

Geez louise sionnach. Well at least you know that the hold up has nothing at all to do with you or your case.

menina ... this may be worth posting in the main forum. It may help someone else too.

The holdup unfortunately has nothing to do with the office move, ever since my biometrics Dec 3rd (which I passed and background checks were all good) the office never got my paperwork (so it was some USCIS blunder)as the local office cannot start their process until they get it, so I was not even put In Line for Interview. This is why I have made no progress.

I was giving them some more time after my last infopass appointment (4 weeks ago)for them to find it, but they did not call me at any point. My online status has not changed. I was hoping to get in next week and talk to them again, but right now one cannot even make an appointment probably until the 20th March. I'm not sure who to call at this point for help.

Been four weeks since my infopass appointment, and no movement on my case. Was not contacted also.

I just went online to make a new infopass appointment and it looks like our San Jose office is being moved to Santa Clara, from the 15th March to the 20th March.

As a result "At this time, there are no information appointments available for the office in your area. Please try back again later"

Oh boy, this process it taking longer and longer !

That's great news, congratulations! Your journey is almost over, that's so exciting! When I applied for a green card, based on marriage, we were interviewed by a very nice female IO in Manhattan, hoping to get similar person this time

wow! that's a long time.... and you sent your application almost 1 month before me! And I thought New York was the slowest. Hopefully we'll be hearing from USCIS very soon

I'll be making another infopass appointment next week, after that I will have to contact some congress person

I'm still waiting for my interview letter, I've been placed in line for interview scheduling aver 6 weeks ago, I'm starting to worry a little, wondering why it's taking so long? :/

Not to worry, I'm still waiting for news also, been three weeks since my last infopass appointment. And I have not even been placed In Line for Interview yet. My Biometric was done on the 3rd of Dec.

Incredibly frustrating experience.

Good grief, sionnach!!! Yes yes, patience and all, but good grief!!! Did you at least stomp your feet, pout and maybe swear a little while you were practicing patience?? Hopefully this will light a bit of a fire under their butts, but regardless, it's good that you know. If you don't hear from them in 30 days, I'd do another infopass and then depending on the answer, maybe start to think about contacting your senator or local rep.

Oh ... and I'd be stomping, pouting and cussing all through the wait. I don't do patience well, lol.

It's government unfortunately so one has to have patience.

I've set my own goal to have another infopass in 4 weeks if I hear nothing before then...

Fingers crossed...

View Postmenina, on 13 February 2013 - 07:02 AM, said:

I was told that the 5 month timeframe just means that they are under the national goal which is 5 months. I believe they are actually processing faster than that. How long after biometrics did you receive the yellow letter? If it has been awhile, there is no harm in booking an infopass. We have the same local office, and they seem to be hit or miss when it comes to updating status. With ROC, our case stayed on initial review through biometrics, an interview, and all the way to 2 1/2 months after the interview when I finally booked an infopass to see what was going on. The staus finally changed 2 weeks later to card production. So if you've had the yellow letter for awhile and not been placed in line for interview, it probably is a good idea to just make sure you aren't missing something like an interview date already set. Also, when is your 3 or 5 year mark completed? They might be waiting until it is closer to that. I'm looking forward to hearing what you found out so that I can kind of anticipate my own timeline. Good luck!

------------

Did the Biometrics on the 3rd of Dec.

Yellow letter arrived on the 31st Dec.

Since then I've received no updates or change in status, thus my concern. Thanks for the info that you shared on your experience, it confirms to me that a infopass appointment is needed.

I made a InfoPass appointment for next week, so hopefully I will be able to get more info and get things moving along.

Been a green card holder since 2006, conditions fully removed in 2008.

Had my infopass appointment today, no issues in seeing someone. Person was very friendly.

She told me that my fingerprints and name check were all good. But there is an issue with locating my "folder".

In other words the local office does not have my "folder" and thus why things have not moved for me.

She will look into it, and took my phone number.

I asked if I could expect an update in the next two weeks, and her response was that it may take longer than that - but they would call me if something was needed.

Well I have to say from being first very excited about applying for citizenship, this drawn out experience is taking the good out of it.

I just want it done at this point, but the wait will continue.

At least I was uber careful about photocopying/scanning all of my submitted paperwork, so I have that to fall back on if needed.

I was told that the 5 month timeframe just means that they are under the national goal which is 5 months. I believe they are actually processing faster than that. How long after biometrics did you receive the yellow letter? If it has been awhile, there is no harm in booking an infopass. We have the same local office, and they seem to be hit or miss when it comes to updating status. With ROC, our case stayed on initial review through biometrics, an interview, and all the way to 2 1/2 months after the interview when I finally booked an infopass to see what was going on. The staus finally changed 2 weeks later to card production. So if you've had the yellow letter for awhile and not been placed in line for interview, it probably is a good idea to just make sure you aren't missing something like an interview date already set. Also, when is your 3 or 5 year mark completed? They might be waiting until it is closer to that. I'm looking forward to hearing what you found out so that I can kind of anticipate my own timeline. Good luck!

Did the Biometrics on the 3rd of Dec.

Yellow letter arrived on the 31st Dec.

Since then I've received no updates or change in status, thus my concern. Thanks for the info that you shared on your experience, it confirms to me that a infopass appointment is needed.

I made a InfoPass appointment for next week, so hopefully I will be able to get more info and get things moving along.

Been a green card holder since 2006, conditions fully removed in 2008.