rostov007

I’ll put some info here for now until I find a better place for it:
 
We just returned from a long day at USCIS.  She was approved after the interview this morning and she took the oath this afternoon.  We decided to do the name change outside USCIS because the interviewer didn’t know how long it would take to finish the change and schedule the oath ceremony.  There was one this afternoon so he offered to place her in it if she wanted to postpone the name change, so she did.
 
We arrived 15 min before her appointment time (the maximum amount you can be early) and checked in and got a waiting number.  You then go upstairs to the waiting room until your number is called.  She was only in the room about 15-20 minutes before she came out approved.  She said they asked her 6 questions for the 100 list and she got all correct.  They had her write the answer to a verbal question on paper.  (“Name the three branches of the US government”. She then wrote the answer in a complete sentence “The three branches of the US government are...”) and then he checks it.  
 
They only asked us to provide one document, our daughters birth certificate, but they did ask her a lot of questions.  She said it was very conversational and relaxed, like talking to someone instead of formal.  Very easy if you are telling the truth and have studied English and the government.
 
For the oath ceremony we came back at 1:30 and waited upstairs to be called.  Then the families go to the auditorium while the applicants check in.  The ceremony itself is quite short depending on how many applicants.  Ours was just under an hour for the whole thing. 
 
She walked in in the morning at 8:30 and left around 3:30 a fully naturalized citizen.  Some of the people she sat with had their interviews in early December and had to wait until today to take the oath.  I think we got lucky that our interview was on the same day as an oath ceremony that had open slots available.
 
Relax, enjoy it, and you will do fine.
 
best to you,
 
Richard

I’ll put some info here for now until I find a better place for it:
 
We just returned from a long day at USCIS.  She was approved after the interview this morning and she took the oath this afternoon.  We decided to do the name change outside USCIS because the interviewer didn’t know how long it would take to finish the change and schedule the oath ceremony.  There was one this afternoon so he offered to place her in it if she wanted to postpone the name change, so she did.
 
We arrived 15 min before her appointment time (the maximum amount you can be early) and checked in and got a waiting number.  You then go upstairs to the waiting room until your number is called.  She was only in the room about 15-20 minutes before she came out approved.  She said they asked her 6 questions for the 100 list and she got all correct.  They had her write the answer to a verbal question on paper.  (“Name the three branches of the US government”. She then wrote the answer in a complete sentence “The three branches of the US government are...”) and then he checks it.  
 
They only asked us to provide one document, our daughters birth certificate, but they did ask her a lot of questions.  She said it was very conversational and relaxed, like talking to someone instead of formal.  Very easy if you are telling the truth and have studied English and the government.
 
For the oath ceremony we came back at 1:30 and waited upstairs to be called.  Then the families go to the auditorium while the applicants check in.  The ceremony itself is quite short depending on how many applicants.  Ours was just under an hour for the whole thing. 
 
She walked in in the morning at 8:30 and left around 3:30 a fully naturalized citizen.  Some of the people she sat with had their interviews in early December and had to wait until today to take the oath.  I think we got lucky that our interview was on the same day as an oath ceremony that had open slots available.
 
Relax, enjoy it, and you will do fine.
 
best to you,
 
Richard

I wanted to let my VJ friends know that Anh is on her way here as we speak. She just sent me an email from Taipei during her layover. I'm very excited, I've already done all of my bachelor preparations, the florist is on standby, and we have a lovely weekend in Seattle planned.
I'm posting this not only to share my joy, but also to post something of a warning as well. This may seem obvious, I certainly knew it already, but no matter how excited your wife or fiance is to be with you, the fact remains that she is leaving her country, her family, and her friends to come to a foreign country for the rest of her life. Last night I called her on the phone just as she was boarding the plane in HCMC, and she was crying. I know my wife's voices, and this was the sorrow of loss tone that I learned so well during her Mom's funeral in HCMC. Never forget the courage it takes to get on that plane, regardless of the depth of love she feels for you.
The tone of the email from Taipei was distinctly more positive, like she had mourned and now remembered why she went through the earlier pain. I love her for both of these abilities, she is amazing.
Oh, one thing I just found out is I will have a business trip to New York City in October so very quickly after her arrival, she will get to take photos with the Statue of Liberty. How cool is that?
Best of luck on all of your journeys,

I wanted to let my VJ friends know that Anh is on her way here as we speak. She just sent me an email from Taipei during her layover. I'm very excited, I've already done all of my bachelor preparations, the florist is on standby, and we have a lovely weekend in Seattle planned.
I'm posting this not only to share my joy, but also to post something of a warning as well. This may seem obvious, I certainly knew it already, but no matter how excited your wife or fiance is to be with you, the fact remains that she is leaving her country, her family, and her friends to come to a foreign country for the rest of her life. Last night I called her on the phone just as she was boarding the plane in HCMC, and she was crying. I know my wife's voices, and this was the sorrow of loss tone that I learned so well during her Mom's funeral in HCMC. Never forget the courage it takes to get on that plane, regardless of the depth of love she feels for you.
The tone of the email from Taipei was distinctly more positive, like she had mourned and now remembered why she went through the earlier pain. I love her for both of these abilities, she is amazing.
Oh, one thing I just found out is I will have a business trip to New York City in October so very quickly after her arrival, she will get to take photos with the Statue of Liberty. How cool is that?
Best of luck on all of your journeys,

I wanted to let my VJ friends know that Anh is on her way here as we speak. She just sent me an email from Taipei during her layover. I'm very excited, I've already done all of my bachelor preparations, the florist is on standby, and we have a lovely weekend in Seattle planned.
I'm posting this not only to share my joy, but also to post something of a warning as well. This may seem obvious, I certainly knew it already, but no matter how excited your wife or fiance is to be with you, the fact remains that she is leaving her country, her family, and her friends to come to a foreign country for the rest of her life. Last night I called her on the phone just as she was boarding the plane in HCMC, and she was crying. I know my wife's voices, and this was the sorrow of loss tone that I learned so well during her Mom's funeral in HCMC. Never forget the courage it takes to get on that plane, regardless of the depth of love she feels for you.
The tone of the email from Taipei was distinctly more positive, like she had mourned and now remembered why she went through the earlier pain. I love her for both of these abilities, she is amazing.
Oh, one thing I just found out is I will have a business trip to New York City in October so very quickly after her arrival, she will get to take photos with the Statue of Liberty. How cool is that?
Best of luck on all of your journeys,

I wanted to let my VJ friends know that Anh is on her way here as we speak. She just sent me an email from Taipei during her layover. I'm very excited, I've already done all of my bachelor preparations, the florist is on standby, and we have a lovely weekend in Seattle planned.
I'm posting this not only to share my joy, but also to post something of a warning as well. This may seem obvious, I certainly knew it already, but no matter how excited your wife or fiance is to be with you, the fact remains that she is leaving her country, her family, and her friends to come to a foreign country for the rest of her life. Last night I called her on the phone just as she was boarding the plane in HCMC, and she was crying. I know my wife's voices, and this was the sorrow of loss tone that I learned so well during her Mom's funeral in HCMC. Never forget the courage it takes to get on that plane, regardless of the depth of love she feels for you.
The tone of the email from Taipei was distinctly more positive, like she had mourned and now remembered why she went through the earlier pain. I love her for both of these abilities, she is amazing.
Oh, one thing I just found out is I will have a business trip to New York City in October so very quickly after her arrival, she will get to take photos with the Statue of Liberty. How cool is that?
Best of luck on all of your journeys,

Thank you. =)

Not only am I confident that she is using you, but she's terrible at it. Because she won't succeed.
Right?

Please leave your personal political beliefs out of these discussions. Most of the people on this site are looking for sincere help and you are not helping when you behave this way. You only cause anxiety. If you don't know, then butt out.

Please leave your personal political beliefs out of these discussions. Most of the people on this site are looking for sincere help and you are not helping when you behave this way. You only cause anxiety. If you don't know, then butt out.

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

Ok, and I wasn't saying "wait" as an attack, I'm saying without larger budgets to hire more people, the lines will stay the same length. When you go to the grocery store, which moves faster? 20 people being served by 5 cashiers, or 20 people being served by one cashier? Of course, logic says 5 cashiers can each take care of 4 customers each at a much faster rate.
But my larger point is, corporations don't think that way. Their single largest expense is labor, so to make higher profits they will try to do the job with less workers, not more. In addition, I don't think the US gov wants the process to move faster. I think it moves exactly how fast they want it to for 2 reasons. First, files in the system longer have a greater chance of catching fraud. Second, we've all read stories on this site about relationships that could not survive the visa process. It taxes a new relationship and gives it some adversity to work through. The chances of only solid relationships coming out the other side is increased. Some will end in divorce, that's true, but it knocks down the percentage of wasted work this way.
Would I have preferred a faster process? Sure, but I also now know we can survive any adversity thrown at us.
Cheers,

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

Ok, and I wasn't saying "wait" as an attack, I'm saying without larger budgets to hire more people, the lines will stay the same length. When you go to the grocery store, which moves faster? 20 people being served by 5 cashiers, or 20 people being served by one cashier? Of course, logic says 5 cashiers can each take care of 4 customers each at a much faster rate.
But my larger point is, corporations don't think that way. Their single largest expense is labor, so to make higher profits they will try to do the job with less workers, not more. In addition, I don't think the US gov wants the process to move faster. I think it moves exactly how fast they want it to for 2 reasons. First, files in the system longer have a greater chance of catching fraud. Second, we've all read stories on this site about relationships that could not survive the visa process. It taxes a new relationship and gives it some adversity to work through. The chances of only solid relationships coming out the other side is increased. Some will end in divorce, that's true, but it knocks down the percentage of wasted work this way.
Would I have preferred a faster process? Sure, but I also now know we can survive any adversity thrown at us.
Cheers,

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

Ok, and I wasn't saying "wait" as an attack, I'm saying without larger budgets to hire more people, the lines will stay the same length. When you go to the grocery store, which moves faster? 20 people being served by 5 cashiers, or 20 people being served by one cashier? Of course, logic says 5 cashiers can each take care of 4 customers each at a much faster rate.
But my larger point is, corporations don't think that way. Their single largest expense is labor, so to make higher profits they will try to do the job with less workers, not more. In addition, I don't think the US gov wants the process to move faster. I think it moves exactly how fast they want it to for 2 reasons. First, files in the system longer have a greater chance of catching fraud. Second, we've all read stories on this site about relationships that could not survive the visa process. It taxes a new relationship and gives it some adversity to work through. The chances of only solid relationships coming out the other side is increased. Some will end in divorce, that's true, but it knocks down the percentage of wasted work this way.
Would I have preferred a faster process? Sure, but I also now know we can survive any adversity thrown at us.
Cheers,

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

Ok, and I wasn't saying "wait" as an attack, I'm saying without larger budgets to hire more people, the lines will stay the same length. When you go to the grocery store, which moves faster? 20 people being served by 5 cashiers, or 20 people being served by one cashier? Of course, logic says 5 cashiers can each take care of 4 customers each at a much faster rate.
But my larger point is, corporations don't think that way. Their single largest expense is labor, so to make higher profits they will try to do the job with less workers, not more. In addition, I don't think the US gov wants the process to move faster. I think it moves exactly how fast they want it to for 2 reasons. First, files in the system longer have a greater chance of catching fraud. Second, we've all read stories on this site about relationships that could not survive the visa process. It taxes a new relationship and gives it some adversity to work through. The chances of only solid relationships coming out the other side is increased. Some will end in divorce, that's true, but it knocks down the percentage of wasted work this way.
Would I have preferred a faster process? Sure, but I also now know we can survive any adversity thrown at us.
Cheers,

Ok, and I wasn't saying "wait" as an attack, I'm saying without larger budgets to hire more people, the lines will stay the same length. When you go to the grocery store, which moves faster? 20 people being served by 5 cashiers, or 20 people being served by one cashier? Of course, logic says 5 cashiers can each take care of 4 customers each at a much faster rate.
But my larger point is, corporations don't think that way. Their single largest expense is labor, so to make higher profits they will try to do the job with less workers, not more. In addition, I don't think the US gov wants the process to move faster. I think it moves exactly how fast they want it to for 2 reasons. First, files in the system longer have a greater chance of catching fraud. Second, we've all read stories on this site about relationships that could not survive the visa process. It taxes a new relationship and gives it some adversity to work through. The chances of only solid relationships coming out the other side is increased. Some will end in divorce, that's true, but it knocks down the percentage of wasted work this way.
Would I have preferred a faster process? Sure, but I also now know we can survive any adversity thrown at us.
Cheers,

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO

The process will not speed up if privatized, because as a rule corporations in the US attempt to achieve higher profits by lowering their universally largest expense, labor. The reason it takes 5 months from file to embassy is a 5 month pile of files on their desks waiting to be worked. What they need, in an ideal world, is more labor not less.
Also, keeping the profit motive from the award of a visa is a great thing. Can you imagine how much corruption would creep in if the company running it was paid on the number of Visas processed? Osama bin Laden would probably have gotten one. Just look at the privatization of prisons. In one case from the top of my head, the CEO of the prison company paid a judge to send him more prisoners, people who would otherwise have gotten fines suddenly started going to jail.
The reason the US Visa process is above reproach is strict ethical guidelines and no profit motive. If you want it to move faster, lobby your Senator and Congressmen to increase the NVC, USCIS, FBI, etc. budgets. Until then, wait in line like everyone else.
IMHO