Jules67

Jules67-Aww...Too bad you didn't take the kids there. Oh well, at that age and for their situation, maybe it was better for them to be in the play group and at home instead of being at the ceremony. Hope your kids are feeling better too. Great to hear that you applied for an expidited passport and that they didn't take your naturalization certificate. Lol..sigh...I wish they had a passport office and passport day around here too, so I don't have to worry about my cert. being lost in the mail either. Oh well. Nevertheless, hope you get your passport soon (btw..feel free to add your info on the passport message thread too) and good luck in getting your passport soon. Happy travels! Congrats!

Ant

Hello Ant and all,

Just an update: Applied for my passport and passport card on National Passport Day (March 27). Received both two weeks to the day, Saturday April 9th by regular US Mail. I did not pay for expedited service, therefore it was quite a pleasant surprise!

seychelles here I come!

Jules67-Congrats on your oath ceremony and thanks for sharing about that here on VJ!

Wow, 900 citizens and 3000 people...What a festive crowd, indeed!

By the way, did you bring your children to the ceremony too? (you mentioned about this in another post). And if you did, did you have any problems with them at the ceremony?

Glad to hear that the judge was interactive and that you had a nice celebration with your partner afterwards.

Good luck with your journey as a USC, and good luck with the passport application too.

Ant

Ant,

Thanks for the good wishes. We ended not taking the kids. The older set (3 yr olds) had activities planned with their play group and did not want to pull them out for the day. The younger set (1 yr old boys) were both not feeling well, therefore we kept them home with the nanny. From the amount of kids there, it would not have been a problem.

On a side note, yesterday was National Passport Day, took advantage of that and applied for an expedited passport, as we're going to my home country in June. They did not take my naturalization certificate. They did scrutinize it, made a copy of it and gave me back the original. I should have the passport in two weeks.

I had my naturalization ceremony yesterday. It was a rather festive crowd. 900 new citizens and their families, around 3000 in all. The day was spent with a lot of waiting, but it was ok as it did pass quickly. There were lots of kids in the crowd. Once the judge arrived at 12:30 it was a smooth ceremony, quite solemn. The judge was quite interactive with the crowd and quite welcoming of the new citizens.

Celebrated by going out to lunch with my partner. It is restaurant week in Boston, wo we took advantage of it. 3 Course meal for $38.10 with a glass of wine with each course. First time ever been drunk at 3pm!

I am glad that part of the journey is over. Now on to my passport, vote registration and change of restriction on my social security card. All these can wait until next week!

Thank you all that have provided advice and make this forum a fun and lively place to be. I will drop in once in a while!

P.S. Could Somone edit my status to red font?

Thank you all for responding to my query. I will be bringing my family, including four children (2 three yr olds and 2 one year olds). A friend is accompanying us to give a hand should it require that we remove ourselves (excluding me) should the kids become disruptive. My experience with the toddlers is such (at church and other gatherings) that I am confident they will do me proud. However, kids are kids, and should they need to be removed from the ceremony, we will make sure that it happens. It is very important to me that they are there with me, as my journey in some ways have been their journeys as well.

This forum has really made me realize what a gift it is - American citizenship. I have appreciated this and other debates on here tremendously as it has time and again reminded me of freedom and democracy, of which is sorely amiss in a lot of our home countries.

Again, thank you all, and Vive la difference!

Jules

I will be taking the naturalization oath on March 18 in Lowell, MA. Does anyone know if relatives and friends can attend? If yes, how many can come? Thanks for your help.

Updating my status...Oath date letter received. Whoo! Whoo!

Instructions for adding/updating yourself (or assisting others) to this list:

1. DO NOT DELETE THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

2. Please make sure you are using Rich Text Editor as your message setting.

3. Click "Reply" on the most recent/updated posting version of this list.

4. Remove (top and bottom) around the list.

5. Always use [Courier New] Font.

6. Red Font="I'm A United States Citizen"!

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N-400 September 2009 Applicants

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USCIS Lewisville,Texas Lockbox

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

UserName..........Sent......ChkCashd..NOA.......Fprints...Int Ltr...Intview...Oath......Office

TETE..............09/01/09..09/??/09..09/09/09..10/01/09..10/19/09..11/23/09..--/--/--..Boston, MA

Jules67...........09/01/09..09/06/09..09/11/09..09/29/09..10/30/09..12/08/09..03/18/10..Boston, MA

Maryces21.........09/01/09..09/04/09..09/03/09..09/28/09..10/09/09..11/24/09..02/26/10..Jacksonville, FL

CutieMinie........09/01/09..09/??/09..09/08/09..11/02/09..11/19/09..12/10/09..02/12/10..Lewisville, KY

Saddle Bronc......09/02/09..09/03/09..09/13/09..09/26/09..10/13/09..11/16/09..--/--/--..Fairfax, VA (Alex,VA oath)

FredEQ574.........09/04/09..09/??/09..09/23/09..11/12/09..01/20/10..02/24/10..--/--/--..???, PA

Waiting2008.......09/08/09..09/11/09..09/11/09..10/07/09..11/07/09..01/04/10..--/--/--..Raleigh/Durham, NC

WaitinginNY.......09/08/09..09/11/09..09/11/09..10/07/09..01/??/10..02/02/10..--/--/--..New York, NY

Adairsky..........09/08/09..09/??/09..09/??/09..09/23/09..11/15/09..12/08/09..01/06/10..New York, NY

Ant+D+BabyA.......09/09/09..09/15/09..09/15/09..09/30/09..10/13/09..11/18/09..11/23/09..Buffalo, NY (walk-in fprints, private oath)

Linaj.............09/10/09..09/16/09..09/21/09..10/07/09..11/09/09..12/10/09..--/--/--..Portsmouth, VA

HowGee............09/11/09..09/16/09..09/16/09..10/08/09..11/17/09..12/15/09..01/22/10..New York, NY

Snj_immigrant.....09/14/09..09/18/09..09/17/09..10/16/09..10/21/09..11/24/09..11/24/09..Mt.Laurel, NJ (Philly,PA fprints)

Keepfaith.........09/14/09..09/18/09..09/18/09..10/07/09..10/21/09..12/08/09..--/--/--..New Orleans, LA

ALnRosa...........09/14/09..09/??/09..09/25/09..10/09/09..10/21/09..12/08/09..01/07/10..New Orleans, LA

Dorothy...........09/15/09..09/21/09..09/18/09..10/14/09..01/08/10..02/08/10..--/--/--..New York, NY

ToLoveandBeLoved..09/19/09..09/28/09..09/23/09..10/17/09..11/18/09..12/15/09..12/16/09..Atlanta, GA

Onuche............09/20/09..09/24/09..09/28/09..10/30/09..11/09/09..12/10/09..02/03/10..Houston, TX (walk-in fprints)

Dcooper...........09/21/09..09/24/09..09/24/09..10/07/09..11/30/09..12/29/09..04/01/10..Boston, MA (walk-in fprints)

Vamred............09/23/09..09/??/09..09/25/09..10/20/09..11/15/09..12/14/09..--/--/--..Fairfax,VA

Radu33............09/26/09..10/05/09..10/01/09..10/27/09..12/15/09..01/20/10..01/20/10..Newark, NJ

J.W...............09/28/09..10/02/09..10/05/09..10/24/09..11/21/09..12/16/09..--/--/--..Memphis, TN

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

USCIS Phoenix,Arizona Lockbox

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

UserName..........Sent......ChkCashd..NOA.......Fprints...Int Ltr...Intview...Oath......Office

Jovana-Danijel....09/09/09..09/??/09..09/15/09..10/08/09..11/??/09..12/16/09..--/--/--..Chicago, IL

Vivekjay..........09/10/09..09/??/09..09/15/09..10/08/09..10/17/09..11/18/09..01/22/10..San Jose, CA (walk-in fprints)

Brewie............09/14/09..09/24/09..09/28/09..10/15/09..11/27/09..01/07/10..01/20/10..Chicago, IL

Dakine............09/15/09..09/24/09..09/24/09..11/10/09..??/??/09..01/19/09..01/19/10..Oahu, HI

Bittu.............09/??/09..09/??/09..09/16/09..11/04/09..11/??/09..12/08/09..01/28/10..San Francisco, CA

Sherose...........09/17/09..09/24/09..09/28/09..10/17/09..11/09/09..12/03/09..01/07/10..San Francisco, CA

Mohanp............09/22/09..09/??/09..10/01/09..10/21/09..11/09/09..12/03/09..01/07/10..San Francisco, CA

Hanhan............09/22/09..09/28/09..10/01/09..10/09/09..11/09/09..12/03/09..01/07/10..San Francisco, CA (walk-in fprints)

Kashif-2..........09/23/09..09/30/09..10/03/09..11/02/09..11/16/09..12/16/09..--/--/--..Seattle, WA (re-scheduled fprints)

Shredshark........09/23/09..09/??/09..09/29/09..10/??/09..11/??/09..12/03/09..--/--/--..Kansas City, MO

Doddles...........09/26/09..10/02/09..09/30/09..10/24/09..11/09/09..12/07/09..01/21/10..San Francisco, CA

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

USCIS Lincoln,Nebraska Lockbox (Filing Under 319b)

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

UserName..........Sent......ChkCashd..NOA.......Fprints...Int Ltr...Intview...Oath......Office

Juli323...........09/01/09..09/??/09..09/04/09..09/29/09..10/23/09..12/22/09..12/22/09..Dallas,TX

Hi DCooper,

I was wondering if you had abandoned VJ. From the looks of it, the Boston office is either very backed up or perform very few oath ceremonies. Until you posted your oath date, I was the one with the longest time out. Oh well, at least it will be over soon. Congrats on getting your oath letter.

Hello all,

I had my interview today, and for the most part uneventful.

My appointment was for 10:30am. Breezed through security and deposited my NOA2 at the window. It was not until noon that my name was called. The interview was conducted in two parts by two different officers. The first part of the process was the civics, writing and reading test. I was done in five minutes. I was sent to another room to await the second part of the interview.

The six questions asked where:

1. What is the name of the National Anthem?

2. What ocean is the West Coast on?

3. What is the Law of the Land?

4 Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

5. What major event happened on September 11, 2001?

6. We elect the president for how many years?

I waited another two hours before being called for the second part of the interview. The officer was extremely courteous and very professional. She went through my application thoroughly. I was asked about evidence of Selective Service which I did not have. I never did sign up for it as my initial entry was on a student visa..

She said that it did not matter anyway because of my age. With the words "Congratulations, I am recommending you for approval", she ushered me back into the waiting room where another person would have me sign my photographs and issue the Oath letter. That took another hour of waiting before finally being called.

I walked out of the JFK Federal Building at 3:30pm, Oath letter in hand. Four hours of wait time and about 30 minutes for the entire interviewing,testing, signing process before I had the Oath Letter.

While I am not pleased that my Oath Ceremony is not until March 18, 2010. At least I do not have to worry of it being sent through the mail.

The Oath Ceremony will be conducted in Lowell (about half an hour from Boston) on March 18, 2010 at 12:30pm.

I am going to try not to think about it until March, hard thing to do!

Thank you all for the community of VJ. It has been invaluable!

Well, it seems that three of us have interviews scheduled for Tuesday. Mine is at 10:30 am. I am lucky that the local office is quite close to my own office. I am taking only the morning off.

Good luck to all of us!

Call me negligent, careless and more, that's ok because I am guilty. But I need your help on this.

My wallet's gone with my: driver's license, greencard, EAD, and other important things. What's ironic is that my interview is on the 8th of next month, what should I do since I no longer have my greencard to present as original? It's indeed bad timing for this incident to happen but if I request for a new one, will I have the chance to get my new one in time, I just don't know what to do, especially too that tomorrow is Sunday and all offices are closed. Please guys help me, your inputs will be highly appreciated. I got all the blames already that I could take in, so what I need is your help that will alleviate the dilemma I am in. Thanks.

File a report with your local police ASAP. Bring the report with you to your interview. Do you have the document letter that came with your GC? If so, bring that as well. Get a replacement of your Driver's License ASAP.

Do not pospone your interview. Bring these items with you. Let the Immigration Authorities make that decision. If you follow all these steps. they wil consider you for your interview.

I didn't just sent the N-400 plus the supporting documents required in the instructions.

I did not include a cover letter with my application.

Interview is scheduled for December 8th. Only docs being required of me are my greencard, passport and/or any other travel docs used to enter the US, and my interview letter.

N-400: Past I-485/2yr green card case touched...., 10 days before citizenship interivew...Huh?

Hi Everyone,

Just to let you all know that I have my N-400 citizenship interview in 2 days...on Wednesday November 18...

And after I had finished studying for the civics/history test today with my husband, he then said to me:

"Why don't you check your online status on CRIS to see if they have any updates?"

So I checked online...Only to discover a new update....

Last Updated: 11/08/2009 (and on a Sunday too, lol...)

Form Number: I-485

Form Title: APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Huh????

"Why are they touching my 2yr green card case now?," I thought. After all, that case was approved 3 years ago....It doesn't make sense....

Are they checking up on my file in preparation for the interview, and seeing if I qualify for citizenship?

What's odd too, is that it said on the online system it says that my case was approved on November 21, according to CRIS...

(which was the same message it was about three years ago, right after I got my green card)

But the "RESIDENCE SINCE" date on my green card says...November 14....(approved at green card interview)

And my citizenship interview is on November 18....

So will they go by the residence since date or the online date, and will it make a difference?

Did this happen to anyone else too?

What do you think? Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc. greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Ant

Hello Ant!

I am so excited for you. Good luck on your interview tomorrow. I hope that someone can help you with those confusing updates being recorded on your case. My thoughts and prayers will be with you tomorrow. I am confident that you will breeze through it. The prayers will be to calm the nerves!

I have three questions:

I am still unclear as to what the yellow letter folks keep referring to is.

The only letters I received from USCIS were the two NOAs. First was for biometrics, second is for interview.

I did not send any documents with my application, except for the required passport size photographs. On the second NOA, I am being asked to bring the following:

This letter (NOA2)

Your Alien Registration Card (green card)

Any evidence of Selective Service Registration

Your passport and/or any other documents you used in connection with any entries into the United States.

Should I be bringing tax returns or any other docs not listed here?

Is there a way of finding out oath ceremony dates for the Boston Office? I have been told that Boston does not perform same day ceremonies. I am thinking of a surprise Christmas visit to my parents and this can happen only if the oath ceremony is before Christmas.

And I guess a fouth question (I feel sheepish asking this):

Can I travel on my country of birth's issued passport once I am naturalized, or is that a no no?

Any advice on these above questions is much appreciated.

Jules67,

I wish you good luck on your interview, as for the rest of us, we all hope to receive that snail mail confirmation very soon too.

Jules67-Welcome to the September 2009 N-400 filers list! Thanks for adding your name and info here. And yes, do keep up the updates here! Let's all track our progress together! Congrats on getting your interview letter too! Good luck with the interview on Dec 8 (my birthday..lol..) and good luck with the studying! Don't worry, you'll be prepared when the time comes in December soon.

Ant

Hello,

My application was sent on 09/01/09

Check Cashed on 09/06/09

NOA letter Received 09/14, letter dated 09/11

Fingerprinting done on 09/29

Case status (checked online) moved to local office (Boston)

Still waiting for snail mail confirmation as of today

Update: Received Interview letter this am (11/4/09). Lettet dated 10/30/09.

Interview date: Tuesday, December 08,2009. 10:30 am!

Thanks a lot, Ant+D+A,

I am so happy to have found this online community. Eventhough I went through a lengthier process in obtaining my greencard, I still am as inpatient, nervous and anxious as then. My American family seem a bit bemused by my excitement. I feel quite lucky to go through such an experience since it makes me more aware and grateful of such a precious gift-American citizenship!

Thanks, Hanhan,

Making up for lost time here, since coming across visajourney... After reading some older posts from June filers, I am a little confused. My first NOA was for my fingerprinting, and my second one is for the interview. Some folks talk about an NOA prior to the one for the fingerprinting. What is that about? Also, some postings mention a yellow letter..anyone can inform me on that?

Funny story...since learning online that my case had been moved to the local office, I have been so eager to check the mail...this morning while driving to work, I saw the postman walking up the street (At the beginning of the street, my home is at the end of the street, about half a mile. I circled the block and went back to my house, waited in the car for half hour. Eventually he did show up...and you guessed right, my second NOA (Inteview letter). Needless to say, I was almost an hour late for work. It did not matter as my colleagues were quite happy for me..

It is 11:18pm, and am still elated. My partner is in bed, my dogs sense my excitement and will not leave me...

Jules67-Welcome to the September 2009 N-400 filers list! Thanks for adding your name and info here. And yes, do keep up the updates here! Let's all track our progress together! Congrats on getting your interview letter too! Good luck with the interview on Dec 8 (my birthday..lol..) and good luck with the studying! Don't worry, you'll be prepared when the time comes in December soon.

Ant

Hello,

My application was sent on 09/01/09

Check Cashed on 09/06/09

NOA letter Received 09/14, letter dated 09/11

Fingerprinting done on 09/29

Case status (checked online) moved to local office (Boston)

Still waiting for snail mail confirmation as of today

Update: Received Interview letter this am (11/4/09). Lettet dated 10/30/09.

Interview date: Tuesday, December 08,2009. 10:30 am!

Thanks a lot, Ant+D+A,

I am so happy to have found this online community. Eventhough I went through a lengthier process in obtaining my greencard, I still am as inpatient, nervous and anxious as then. My American family seem a bit bemused by my excitement. I feel quite lucky to go through such an experience since it makes me more aware and grateful of such a precious gift-American citizenship!

Hello,

My application was sent on 09/01/09

Check Cashed on 09/06/09

NOA letter Received 09/14, letter dated 09/11

Fingerprinting done on 09/29

Case status (checked online) moved to local office (Boston)

Still waiting for snail mail confirmation as of today

Update: Received Interview letter this am (11/4/09). Lettet dated 10/30/09.

Interview date: Tuesday, December 08,2009. 10:30 am!

Hello,

My application was sent on 09/01/09

Check Cashed on 09/06/09

NOA letter Received 09/14, letter dated 09/11

Fingerprinting done on 09/29

Case status (checked online) moved to local office (Boston)

Still waiting for snail mail confirmation as of today