avvypudge

I had my interview at the Newark office on Wednesday 2/18/09 and am so happy to say the journey is finally over!!!!!! The interview was a pretty easy going experience but a very very very long one!!!! We arrived at Newark at around 8:10am for my 8:40 interview. The room was already full at 8am which is unbelieveable!!!! but i guess people just get there early and wait it out! I finally got called into my interview at about 10:30am and by that time was very anxious! My immigration officer was extremely mean and didnt seem to enjoy interviewing people....I guess i probably wouldnt enjoy it either. I kept a smile on my face regardless.

As soon as i entered his office and was sworn to tell the truth he sat down and quickly questioned my application based on marriage, thankfully i had all my originals and extra copies of everything. Make sure if you go to the newark office you have all originals, extra copies and updated information. I gave him some updated bills from my husband and myself, our 2008 tax returns (he was surprised I had lodged them already) but i told him we do it every February - which we do. Then he asked me about my trips out of the USA and questioned how many trips i had taken, it all matched up in my passport and when he had all the information he needed he actually smiled at me and made some chit chat with me...After the initial start to the interview and his mean approach, we chatted for a long time about Australia and lots of different things. He found out i was pregnant and we chatted about that back and forth... He certainly changed his mood once he realised i had all of my documents and was legitimate.

Then he finally tested me, i got the first 6 questions right so he didnt bother with the other four. the questions were very easy, they were from the new test and i was glad to just have it over and done with...then i had to write the sentence, we have one hundred senators and say it out loud. Then he worked on his computer a little bit and said you got the job...and i looked at him with a strange look on my face and he was like relax, you passed you are going to be a citizen today...which surprised me as he said my oath would take place that same day! i was prepared leave and have to come back! i was relieved to be able to get it done in one day! apparently Newark is one of the only places where they process everyone on the same day. I wish i had of known that because i didnt have my camera with me! After he gave me all the necessary paperwork to say i had passed we chatted a bit longer and he wished me luck with the baby and i wished him well and finally left the interview.

My husband was worried because i was taking so long, but i went back out to the waiting room expecting to wait another 25-30 mins for the oath ceremony...but ended up waiting another 4 hours. wow what a long day when you arent allowed food or drink in the waiting room. Not good for a pregnant woman!!! So i made my husband stand guard in the room in case they called my name and snuck out to the water fountain a few times in the day.

We later found out that there was a cafeteria on the second floor and my husband and i could have popped down there for food, but its over with now! If you go to Newark make sure you put some snacks in your bag and a bottle of water and be prepared to wait a long long long time!!!!! all up we waited over 7 hours.

The oath cermony had about 100 people in it and they run them every hour in Newark, it was a nice short ceremony which lasted about 25 minutes, again i wish i had of had my camera there but i am just glad to have my papers and able to vote and get my passport!

If I could give any advice make sure you keep a clear head! take originals and copies of everything, he asked for both, and take your camera to Newark! I saw a few people get denied because they didnt take copies of documents...even though he had my file in front of him, he still wanted to see everything - it seemed like opening my file and actually looking through it was too much for my immigration officer!

Good luck to everyone with up and coming interviews!!!!!!

Hey everyone, I Got my interview notice today Notice was sent 12/24/08 Received 2/1/09 and the interview date is for 2/18/09 at 8:40am in the Newark office. Thanks so much and good luck to everyone!!!

nothing for me yet still waiting! i hope i get an early christmas present!!!!

I also filed at the VSC and it took over three weeks for my first NOA. Vermont is much slower than everywhere else, and they are also transferring all the N400 cases to the national benefits center. Not sure if this will make things slower or faster but we will just have to sit and wait! good news is that i got my fingerprints done already, that came in the mail the same day as my NOA, so it shouldnt be too much longer for you now!

Hi I mailed mine out on October 10th to the VSC- they cashed the check last Thursday 10/23/08. I am awaiting my NOA. Fingers crossed this wont take too long. Good luck everyone else!

Mailed packege-Oct. 27

Received package-Oct.30

Cashed my check-Nove. 3

avvypudge,did you get NOA?

Hi yes i got my NOA on Friday and just received my FP notice yesterday for 11/21

Got my fingerprint notice in the mail today - woo hoo!

UserName........ Sent...........NOA1......... Biometrics..... Interview......Oath........ Office

Avvypudge........10/10/08...10/30/08...11/21/08...............................................VSC/Newark

bgbirl...........10/10/08.......10/20/08..................................................CSC

thea.............10/11/08.......10/24/08..................................................VSC/Washington DC

TX101............10/15/08.................................................................TSC

Dima.............10/23/08

Thomas F.........10/23/08

tmman............10/23/08

kokobearus.......10/27/08

AJ - my letter says exactly the same thing. Our dates etc are exactly the same and My local office is also Newark. I wonder if we will get processed and interviewed at the same time?

Hi everyone i finally got my first NOA today, my app has been transfered to the National benefits Center like most other apps sent in lately. Hope everyone else is moving along!

UserName............... Sent.................NOA1......... Biometrics..... Interview......... Oath

Avvypudge.............10/10/08(VSC). 10/30/08....

Hi I mailed mine out on October 10th to the VSC- they cashed the check last Thursday 10/23/08. I am awaiting my NOA. Fingers crossed this wont take too long. Good luck everyone else!

I am mailing my form tomorrow 10/15/08 overnight mail. They should have 10/16/08. So I will start the timeline. Please join me. I am sending to Texas Service Center. My I-751 is still outstanding.

N400...........DOA..........Bio..............Interview...........Oath

10/15

10/10

(vermont)

Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me with a couple of questions regarding my n-400 application. I am applying based on the 3/3/3 rule. My three years perm Residency is due January 12th 2009 so i am applying October 14th 2008.

I am confused about a couple of a the questions.

In part 7. Time outside the United States - A How many total days did you spend outside of the united states during the past 5 years?

well I have only been living in the usa since 2005 when i got married, (3 years). In 2003 and 2004 i worked in a summer camp over here where i met my husband, but i was still living in Australia. I am sorry i am just confused by this a little bit i hope i am making sense. In this 5 year question, i will have been living outside of the USA for two of those years because i wasnt a resident yet and i am applying based on the 3/3/3 rule. So do i just add up all the days i was still living in australia which would prob be like 500 days? Does that make sense????

Also part B of the question says how many trips of 24 hours have you taken outside of the united states during the last five years.

How do i answer this question when my application is based on the 3/3/3 rule, when again in the first two years of this 5 year period i was living in Australia.

Thank you so much for any help you may have to offer me

great thanks so much!

Hey everyone, i am new to this forum and I wish i knew it existed when i started this journey!!!!

I am about to (hopefully) submit my N-400 based on 3years marriage and residency etc. I have a couple of questions, i hope i am not being repetitive!

My permanent residency was granted 1/12/2006, so after reading the filing instructions just like the 751 application i can file 90 days prior to the 12th January 2009? Am I correct????? I was hoping to send in the application October 12th of this year. I always wonder with the USCIS if i am reading their instructions correctly, or if i am making myself crazy.

Also with all my documents do they need to be certified copies? or just photo copies? I was thinking the copy of greencard, Social security card and hubby's birth certificate would need to be certified copies, but does the tax returns, bank accounts, copy of leases etc need to be certified also?

Thanks a million in advance for any help you may have to offer me. I just cant wait to be immigration free!!!!!!