Jump to content

gandacel

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    135

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by gandacel

    Interview and oath experience Boston

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    My immigration journey has come to an end after - almost - 7 years. I had my interview last Thursday, on the 13th in Boston. Matt and I left the Cape at 5am because I'm a nervous Nellie. Parked at the Quincy T station which made life a whole lot easier - unless you like to drive in the city. There's a few places around the USCIS building to grab a coffee and something to eat if you get there too early, like we did - Dunkin, Panera, Starbucks, etc. As soon as you walk in you have to go through a metal detector - backpacks and drinks are allowed (might seem like a silly side note, but we were worried about having a backpack and liquids with us - too many airports and embassy visits I guess). Once you finally get to the USCIS floor, you check in at the counter, they only need to see your interview letter. My interview was supposed to be at 9, they said to get there at 8:30, which we did. I got called in at a little after 10. It's a good size room, people with all sorts of immigration issues. All the chatter around me and the screaming babies did not help my nerves. Bring some headphones! 

    The lady who interviewed me was very pleasant. All business, but nice. She asked me to remain standing and raise my right hand and swear I will tell the truth. Then she asked me for my green card and my passport. Those were the only 2 things she asked from me (I brought tax transcripts and marriage certificate, our birth certificates, Matt's passport - even though I applied under the 5 year rule). Then she asked if I wanted to start with the test, and I said sure. She said it's easy and not to worry. My questions were:

    1. What year was the Constitution written?

    2. What does the Constitution do?

    3. What is freedom of religion?

    4. Name on state that borders Canada.

    5. What ocean is on the East coast?

    6. How many senators are there?

     

    Then she asked me to read this sentence: What do we pay the government?

    And then I had to write: We pay taxes.

     

    She said I passed the test and next we will go over my application. I said I will take out my copy as well if that's ok; she said sure. Went over address and employment history, how many trips total, and then moved on to the yes/no questions at the end. And then she asked me if I'm available the following Thursday for the oath, and told me to go wait for my oath letter. The whole interview lasted less than 10 minutes. Had to wait about another hour for the letter.

    Little history: no kids, had the same job for the last 3 years, bought a house 2 years ago, had a bunch of trips to Europe and the BVIs and Canada, but nothing longer than a month. Both green card applications were approved with no interview in a fairly short amount of time. No reason really why I waited so long to apply, a little bit of laziness, a little bit of different vacation plans or other things going on in our lives. 

    I was definitely more stressed out than I should have been, seeing how easy the interview was. 

     

    The oath took place at Faneuil Hall, had to be there at 12. You need your oath letter and your green card. And maybe a mini fan - no AC in that small room with more than 500 people in there! They have everyone take a seat. Then they ask you to fill out the back of your oath letter - which I did in the morning. Then they ask the people who do not have their green card to come check in. Then they have every row get up, one at a time to go check in - surrender your green card moment. I thought it was a pretty dumb way of doing it, having everyone check in about an hour after we got there,an hour of just sitting and sweating. So you have 398 people get up and sit down again. Like it wasn't hot enough before we did that! Then the judge came in, said he approves the name changes and our citizenship. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and then the judge stepped out. Then they asked the guests we brought to step out of the building before they start handing out our certificates - for security reasons, very strange. You form a line again by rows, check your name on the certificate to make sure there are no errors. And that's it.

     

    There were a bunch of people outside with voter registration form. You can also do it online - maybe not in every state, I'd check first. 

     

    After we went to the Post office on Milk street and applied for a passport. We waited there for about an hour because they only had 1 person taking passport applications. If you don't have pics with you, they can take one pic for $15 right there. I had them done at Triple A for $12 for 2 pics - as I wasn't sure if I needed them for the interview. They can also make a copy of your driver's license, front and back. I would highly advise to make a copy at home and be prepared. The people working there are slower than a turtle on its back. I had dowloaded and filled out the application the day before. You will also need a personal check or a money order - no cards! And your brand spanking new certificate. Also, there is a $25 Post Office processing fee that you can pay with a card. 

     

    And when I get my passport and my certificate back, I will go to the Social Security office and get that last thing done - should be fun!

     

    Hope this helps someone out there. Keeping my fingers crossed for everyone to get a speedy approval!

    N-400 - March 2017 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    2 hours ago, taninme said:

    Hi,

     

    I've received the following notice today. When should I expect to get the actual letter with the interview date any idea anyone? thanks 

     

    On June 19, 2017, we scheduled an interview for your Form N400, APPLICATION FOR NATURALIZATION, Receipt Number.*************** We will mail you an interview notice.

    I received the interview notification on a Friday, had the letter on Monday. Good luck! 

    AOS Interview (Marriage based)

    in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

    Posted

    since you are adjusting status from a k-1 visa, I believe you will need to bring your passport with your k-1 visa and you marriage certificate - that makes you eligible for applying for a green card. someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't see what else you would have to bring to prove you are eligible to apply.

    as for the second thing they're asking, they want you to bring original and copies. so both.

    Husbands name

    in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

    Posted

    if you took your husband's last name when you got married, then all the paperwork for AOS should be in your married name. that's how i did it, and i did not encounter any problems. we just got back from europe a couple of days ago, and my passport is still in my maiden name and green card in married name. no issues whatsoever :) best of luck! message me if you have any questions, i'd be more than happy to help :):)

    How can I build up credit?

    in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America

    Posted

    I applied for a Capital One and got approved, this is the link: http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/cash-rewards-for-newcomers/?linkid=WWW_1010_CARD_TGUNS11_CP22417AD_C0_01_T_CP22417AW it has a $300 limit, which is good for a first credit card. If you rent, your rent per year should be less than you yearly income, otherwise you will get denied. i just got mine a month ago and so far all good. good luck!

    Change of address

    in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

    Posted

    Hi guys, I'm back with another question...I am a green card holder (conditional) and my husband is the USC. We are moving this coming Monday to another place, but only for 3 months, when we will move again. I know I am required to fill out form AR-11 online, and my husband form I-865. Is it necessary though since we will be there only for 3 months? I just don't know if it will cause more confusion - after reading all the cases in which USCIS messed up :D Any input would be deeply appreciated.

    Worried about My Case Status!

    in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

    Posted

    You were definitely blessed. There are persons still waiting since last year. My sister AOS last year Sept and her hubby in December. She received her EAD in Jan and he got his in February. Her I-485 was transferred to CSC in February for faster processing and her hubby was interviewed at their local office last week. She is still awaiting a decision while he received his welcome letter on Monday. This leaves us to think about the method. Why separate the two when they were petitioned together as husband and wife? Can't figure out the process. SMH.

    I gave up trying to figure out why they process petitions and applications in the order they do. It took 6 months for our K-1 petition to get approved, while other people got an answer in 2-3 months, even without an expedite request. I guess we were unlucky then, and got lucky in the AOS stage. As my husband always use to say in those times when I was mad at the whole process and the way they were handling it, things fall into the right place...eventually. And now all's good with the world :D I know waiting can be stressful, but you gotta find the strength to go on and not even bother to try to figure out why things are so messed up at VSC or CSC and so on...

    How do you print out Sype Conversations???????

    in General Immigration-Related Discussion

    Posted

    Copy messages on Skype and paste it in WordPad you can print it from there.

    That's what I did and I didn't have any problems. They didn't ask me anything that was in my 'proof of relationship' file. Don't stress too much about that, I'm sure you will be fine - I had copies of Matt's passport stamps, emails with our flight reservations from our trips, cards from/to him, from his parents, emails, receipts he had from the flowers he sent when I was away, facebook wall, messages and about 120 pictures. I don't know if the embassy in Moscow is tough on K-1ers, but if the relationship is strong and you have the evidence to prove it, you will be fine. Good luck!

    transit visa

    in Working & Traveling During US Immigration

    Posted

    Actually, from the same link Laure&Colin posted above, you can also see that :"'Transit without visa' concession - DATV exemptions Close

    If you are a national of a country covered by the DATV system, you may be able to transit the UK airside without a visa. To qualify for this exemption:

    you must arrive and depart by air; and

    your onward flight must be confirmed, and must depart within 24 hours; and

    you have proper documentation for your destination, including a visa if necessary."

    And Ghana is a country covered by the DATV system. I assumed that 1. you are a national of Ghana and 2. you are travelling to the U.S. on some sort of visa. I hope I wasn't wrong :)

×
×
  • Create New...