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Portland OR USCIS Office Reviews
Average Rating: 4.5
/ 5
88 Review(s)
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| Portland OR |  Review #6052 on May 11, 2010: |
cappucino
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
I had my interview for AOS in spring 2008, we came prepared with stacks of paperwork. The interviewer was friendly, she was in training so she was conferring often with her trainer. The interview was less than 30 mins, the interviewer said they have only 30 mins per applicant, and that includes their time to fill out case paperwork, so it is very short. She asked how we met and about the marriage. We did not have photos from the marriage which troubled her (it was Buddhist), but when we gave her our mortgage approval letter, she was happy and that is all that she needed. We spent the rest of the time with her talking about house repairs.
| | | Portland OR | Review #6033 on May 7, 2010: |
Alan D.
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
Yay.
Not much trouble at all. I was a little worried because we don't have any joint assets, and the only thing I had to show for that was putting the family on my employers health insurance. So we showed the insurance cards and a bill from the clinic for my wife's checkup.
I also forgot to bring pictures of the wedding. DOH
Anyway, it was pretty much a breeze. We had to help the lady put all the name changes in order (2 for my wife, 3 for her son). She was a little confused about that, and On had to explain that changing your name is no big deal in Thailand and everybody does it.
I think she knew we were legit and was just trying to satisfy her checklist.
Questions asked:
Who proposed to whom and when?
Age difference?
How did you meet?
The rest was formality, she made On and son answer all the formal questions again that are on the AOS checklist. Then she said she'd approve it, took our employment authorization cards, the entry visa from the passports, and said we'd get the green cards in about 2 weeks.
| | | Portland OR | Review #5380 on December 10, 2009: |
Craig and Mingjun
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
I didn't really know what to expect, but by having all the items that they requested, our interview went very smoothly. The gentleman even gave a heads up about a very nice small plane service between Portland and Seattle  All in all, it ended up being like talking with a friend. He verified information in our application, and talked to our friend and translator for some things. Nothing to be scared of!
| | | Portland OR | Review #5352 on December 4, 2009: |
Lansbury
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Naturalization
This is a report of my naturalization interview and oath ceremony at Portland, Oregon. I have included parking information which I couldn't find out beforehand and which would have been less stressful to know.
The interview was at 1.30pm on December 1st and as like just about everyone else in Oregon the only practical way to get to the office was to drive. However the office is situated an easy walk 2 or 3 blocks from the Portland Greyhound bus station, the Amtrack station and light rail if you choose public transport. As I was driving I looked before hand for parking information and all I could find was there are parking meters and parking lots nearby. There are indeed meters all around the office and surrounding streets but I couldn't find an empty parking space, so I used the parking lot one block from the USCIS office on NW Glisan. If you decide to park there it is cheaper after 1pm but still more expensive than meter parking. The address of the USCIS office is 511 NW Broadway but the entrance on The Broadway isn't used so you go in at the other side of the building on NW 8th. You go through the large entrance doors and immediately are in front of the security scanners. The hardest part of the interview day was getting past the metal detector, after 4 attempts I finally remembered everything I had which was metal including my pants belt. There didn't seem to be any problem with taking a cell phone into the building. In front of you is a corridor stretching the whole length of the building and room 106 is about half way down on the right. As has been said many times before place your interview letter in the box to the left of the door, amazing how many people I watched have a problem with that, and take a seat in the waiting room. The time past watching a woman who every time someone put their interview letter in the box casually walked out the waiting room and moved her letter back to the front of the pile. of course it made no difference the interviewing officers all had a list of their own to determine the order people were called in.
At various time officers would come into the room and call out a name and at 1.45pm my name was called. As we left the room the officer apologized for keeping me waiting which I thought was very nice and anyway I had expected to wait longer than I did. We walked to her office and when we got inside she said something with her back to me which I didn't hear apart from "Before you sit down" the rest apparently was raise your right hand. It became apparent that part of the reason I didn't hear was because she was chewing gum which made her mumble at times when she spoke. I was able to understand her but for someone who had problems with English it would have been hard for them to do so. After I sat down she asked for my Green Card so I had to stand up again to get it out my wallet. She did the test first. Name 3 of the original Colonies, a State which borders Mexico, Who is the Commander-in-Chief, What party does the president belong to, Name 2 US political parties and who wrote the Constitution. She had the questions printed on a sheet of paper and wrote my answer by each question. Only she started to write the answers before I said them so if I hadn't of known the answers I could quite easy of read what she put down. I then had to write The people elect Congress and read Who elects Congress. She then went through the N-400 very briefly and got to my occupation and was surprised to see what I done in the UK. Her tone gave me the impression this was the first time she had read the N-400. She said no point in asking if you have ever been arrested or joined a terrorist organization is there picked up a stamp and stamped a large red "Approved" on the form. At no time did she ask to see any of the documents that USCIS had instructed me to take in fact the copies sent with the N-400 were all she looked at. All done in about 10 minutes. She said "Would you like to attend tomorrows oath ceremony" as if I would say no and gave me the letter to came back at 1.45pm the next day.
The oath ceremony. Again no space on the parking meters was back into the small parking lot I used yesterday which again had ample space. Through security, easier this time I left my belt at home and turn left into room 117 which is the office where the infopass and other inquiries are done. There is a waiting area for people attending the ceremony in that room. Being English I completely overdressed for the occasion wearing a sport jacket, shirt and my Zimbabwe tie with elephants and giraffes all over it. Some were in jeans and tee shirt. One guy wore a suit, he turned out to be the only other Brit there most were quite casually dressed, which is the norm in Oregon even for weddings and funerals. At 1.50 we were taken upstairs to where the oath ceremony is held. The guests, of which there quite a few, were taken into the room while those taking the oath remained outside to have our interview letters checked that we had signed the back to say we hadn't got divorced, joined the communist party or changed our minds since the interview. The Green Cards were taken and we were sent into the room in order and there matched against the photograph on our certificates and ask to sit. The ceremony was conducted by the USCIS Director at the Portland office and started with a speech of welcome, what it means to be a US citizen, how we should strive to defend our rights and the constitution and the opportunities open to us as soon to become citizens. A short video of still photographs was then played showing immigrants arriving in the US from the late 1800 and early 1900 hundreds which written comments from some about their hopes and achievements in their new life. She then said there were 34 people being sworn in from 20 different counties and asked us to stand as she read the list of countries out. She then lead the oath swearing us in as US citizens and at the end said "You are now all US citizens" which was greeted with applause and handshakes. She then invited everyone in the room to take the Pledge of Allegiance after which the certificates were presented along with of course a flag. The ceremony concluded with a video of President Obama welcoming us as new citizens and that was it.
The interview was friendly and professional and quite informal. The oath ceremony was well done without being padded with unnecessary formality and the right amount of time to be special without it dragging on to long.
| | | Portland OR | Review #5339 on December 2, 2009: |
MrMrs Drummer
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Adjustment of Status
We had our interview for AOS on Portland, OR today December 2nd, 2009. We had the appointment at 8 am. We arrived to the office at 7:30 am. Found good parking across the street from Union Station, 2 blocks from the USCIS office. The guards were very nice. We pass the security screening, we can bring cell phones, bags and electronics. Just take them out the bags and pockets before going to security check. Then we went to room 106 and leave the appointment notices in a basket outside the room. Wait in the room to be called. At 8 o\'clock the officer took our appointment letters from the basket and called us. Very nice young officer. he greeted us and took us to his desk. He took us the oath and asked for our IDs (passports). He opened our big file that he already had and asked some questions: if I arrived on the day I said on the form, went to the Yes and No questions in the I-485 form. Asked if we had engagement rings, and we showed both engagement and wedding rings in our hands. Then asked us when and where we met, asked proof that we are living together, we gave copies of lease agreement, utilities bills, joined car title, bank accounts and insurance. He said everything was fine and that we had enough proof of our relationship and said the cards will arrive within 2-3 weeks in the mail. Everything took about 15 min! Kudos for USCIS Portland!!!  
(updated on September 20, 2011)
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