civilservant

Atlanta Field Office was bang on my online estimate of 10 months back when I was granted USC in May 2019, just as an FYI. I was sworn in at 9 months, 25 days(ish)

ajmstevenson

Thanks, and good to know. As someone who is a planner I hate the sitting around and waiting but I understand I just have to be patient.

ajmstevenson

Well in the race between queues, the UK has now formally received my old passport and now I'm waiting to see if they need anything else in order to process my application. I don't think they should but we'll see.

The USCIS estimate online is now 10 months, but still no change in my case.

ajmstevenson

Good Afternoon All,

Two pieces of good news. Firstly UK passport came back pretty quickly, and mostly uneventful despite some delays due to customs clearance and I have a new shiny UK passport in my possession.

Secondly, while I was away in FL I got notification USCIS had taken action on my case, and I have been scheduled for an Interview! The date is in May and so I am very excited to see what the next part of this journey looks like. I am sure I will have a million questions between now and then but plan to do some digging here to make sure I am as prepared as I can be. For now I'm just grateful this seems to be moving quickly given the current estimates for the processing times.

Maste

Good luck with the N400 interview! I recently had mine and honestly, it was a walk in the park compared to the other interviews I've had. Study the 100 questions, most you should hopefully already know anyway. The English 'test' is nothing to be concerned about as an English speaking native. All my interviewer did was just confirm a few things on my application and made updates where needed (new job), made small talk with me, asked me the questions at the end of the form, then asked if I'm willing to take the oath and defend the constitution etc... and that was it.

Any changes to your application since you sent it in, write it down neatly on some paper. When he asked for the changes, he appreciated I wrote it down and he just copied the info onto his computer from this, which made it easier than him having to check spelling and addresses I gave him etc!

I took all forms I submitted with my application - didn't ask to see anything at all except my current green card and state ID. My application was bare bones - marriage cert, tax returns, joint car ownership, and vet bills for our two dogs. That was it.

civilservant

Jut FYI - at Atlanta they do the testing before you get to the interview. It'll be done at a booth in the main waiting area, which is pretty loud. The interview (if anything like mine) felt more like an interrogation than an interview - the officer stared at me, unblinking, as she asked every question. It really was quite weird!

tom169

Mine, in Charlotte, wasn’t quite an interrogation, but the officer never broke character. Certainly not the laissez-faire N-400 interviews I read on here from time to time.

Maste

Yeah, like mine... Weird to read all of these 'interrogation' style interviews when every single one of mine have been super relaxed, except for the serious question parts of course.

ajmstevenson

Apologies for the delay in posting, but its been a hectic week with a very unexpectedly quick outcome to my citizenship. Also warning for long post coming!

Firstly my interview was scheduled for May 17th at 10am at the Atlanta facility in Tucker. The letter still listed a lot of the COVID restrictions so wasn't sure what to expect. I took the day off work (as did my Husband) and we followed the instructions to not arrive any more than 15 mins early. We joined the queue to enter the building right at 10am, and I asked if my husband could join and the answer was "does he have an ID" to which I said yes and they let him in. We went through the security screening and then joined a long line of people at check in. I saw the area referred to above with the windows like the DMV and wondered if that would be me. It took about 15 minutes of waiting to get the through the line to check in so was worried about being late to the appt, but folks in front of me had similar or earlier times and they didnt say anything to me. I was checked in and sent to the 2nd floor to wait for my name to be called. As a side note, the person checking in next to me was given a slip for a virtual interview (more on that later).

My husband and I went to the second floor waiting area and took a seat. It seemed the COVID restrictions were somewhat in place but not fully. I was not required to mask, but seats were spread out in the waiting area. At about 10.30 my name was called, and only I was allowed back with the officer (I asked and he said my husband would have to remain in the waiting area). My interview was conducted in his office

The interview was pretty calm. I had to raise right hand and swear to tell the truth. The office asked a couple easy questions about my name and DOB, asked to see my appt letter and green card. He commented on my address (I live near the airport) and asked if I worked there. I said yes, explained that both myself and husband do, and he asked specifically what I did. He was like "I never met anyone that did that before". A few questions about my family and then boom, hit me with a civics question. In the end I think I only got about 4 questions (I couldn't remember him asking more than 4), then I read a statement off and iPad, and then had to write a statement in English on the iPad. He made a comment about the question on whether I was a Nazi was blank. I said I didn't think I had left it blank (and had the printout to show him if needed; in fact I had my giant binder with everything in it from every time I have sent them anything in duplicate) but he filled in that section again and had me sign. He told me I had passed, and then said "we're going to schedule you for tomorrow for your oath". Based on the conversation we had he mentioned that he noted my case had moved quick (about 6 months total) and that in the office they were trying to get through applications quickly due to a backlog, and even had Saturday interviews. The virtual interview I mentioned, the office stated that the offices in South Carolina and Arkansas had less of a backlog than Atlanta, and so for a select number a day they were having them conduct the interview virtually to assist ATL; apparently you go to a cubicle with a video screen and iPad and its the same format as mine. He then mentioned that they added events for Oath ceremonies for the Wednesday and they'd been advised anyone who was successful in their interview on the same day as me to try to schedule them next day. He commented that my biometrics had been waived, and then waffled a bit on whether I would need to bring a new picture since mine was 10 years old. After a few minutes he said "it went through so it should be fine". He asked me to go take a seat in the waiting area and in about 30 minutes I would have an appt letter brought to me for the following day. He didnt ask to see any of the evidence in the giant binder I brought, and all in I was in his office for maybe 30 minutes max, and most of that was awkward silence while he moved between the different things he needed to do the system.

I went back to wait and sure enough, about 30 mins later my name was called and I got my oath scheduled for the next day, Wednesday May 18th at 10am. The officer had told me they typically schedule 14-18 days later, but this was very unexpected. Unfortunately my husband was leaving on a work trip later that day so wouldn't be with with me at the ceremony. Before I left they showed me the questions to answer and where to sign on the back of the form. This letter said not to arrive any earlier than 30 mins before, and again similar COVID language. A good friend of mine and my husbands agreed to meet me there to come with me since my husband couldn't come. I got to the facility about 9.25am and was told to wait until 9.30am to rejoin the line. When we did the office up front said that only those with a letter and taking the oath could come in for the ceremony, so no guests, which was a a bit of a let down. I got through the security pretty quickly, and went to the check in desk, where I was immediately redirected to the 2nd floor to check in, so different from the day before. Went up and showed the check in officer my letter, with the questions completed as requested and then was asked to take a seat. There were a lot of people who had not completed their forms that had to be pulled aside to complete, but once done they sat everyone down. At about 9.50 they asked us to stand and file in to the room where the ceremony would take place, and we formed a line to check in. They took my appt letter, and then my current and all prior Green Cards, and then my work and travel permit from pre-green card. It was a bit weird to turn all that over. I was assigned a seat number (number 8) and there were about 50 seats in the room spaced out. On my seat was a packet which had my passport application form and a flier with a referral to the midtown processing office, information on voting in federal elections, the oath, and the "Congrats on being Citizen" flyer, and a my own personal mini flag. As I was sitting there someone in a row behind me tried to take a picture was told firmly by one of the officers that no photos were allowed in the room or building. That was disappointing to hear as they had all the cool welcome to America banners out.

At about 10.10 after a final few people filed in they got started. An officer stood at the front of the room and provided some info on passport applications and if you had immediate travel (next two weeks) to call the number on the sheet of paper in the packet to get an in person appt. She mentioned if you had children they would now become citizens based on the ceremony (for those not born in the US) and the process for how to get them a certificate, or to just go ahead and apply for their passport with your own. Then she mentioned about how they would notify social security but that you can go in person to get an updated card, just need to give it a couple of weeks. Finally she mentioned they would bring out certificate to us, and before we leave to validate the information. Then later on when we get back home, to sign it with a black ball point pen to make it valid, and not to lose it or laminate it since its our proof of citizenship and difficult to replace. Then she asked us to locate the slip of paper in our envelope with the oath, stand up and raise our right hand. We recited the oath after her, and then she congratulated us all on becoming US citizens. That was about it, but she made a statement of "even though this was an abbreviated ceremony, it does not make you any less of a citizen than any other citizen". They walked through and handed out the certificates, and asked us to verify the data on it before leaving the building. And that was it. I checked all looked good (including my 10 year photo which is one of the few I actually like) and off I went. A little anti-climatic but nonetheless awesome to be complete with this process.

Next step for me is to get scan in a copy of my certificate to keep for any issues, then the DMV and passport application. I am a little worried about the passport as someone I work with got her citizenship last year and she mentioned that she knew some people who filed and waited over 8 months to get it back, but hoping they are the exception not the commonplace. If anyone here has any experience or insight to share I would appreciate it.

This whole process began back in Jan 2009 with filing for a K-1 visa. 13 years later I am now officially a US citizen. For reference I filed my N-400 November 15th, almost exactly 6 months from filing to Oath.

Rete

Congratulations! Very nice write up.

ajmstevenson

Hi all,

Wanted to post a few updates here since I received my citizenship;

1. I applied for my new Drivers License. This was actually surprisingly easy and pain free. I live in GA, so I looked up the Department of Driver Services (DDS) and they have an online form you can fill in before you show up in person. If you live in GA I highly recommend this as it expedited my process significantly; it gave me a confirmation number once complete. As part of that form I was able to "opt in" to register to vote. I went to the closest DDS which opened at 7.30am, and at 7.21 am when I got there I was the 10th person in line. Once inside, anyone with the online confirmation number could just check in and get a ticket. I probably waited about 10 mins before I was called back to meet with someone. He reviewed my Certificate of Naturalization, scanned in a copy, and then re-took my picture. I confirmed he would register me to vote, and then I was given a temp license and sent on my way. The temp license was funny as it was a letter sheet of paper. My actual licence came in about 10 days later and is valid through 2029 and no more "limited term" printed on it. Fun fact in GA these are now green, which made me chuckle since I turned in my green card at the oath ceremony
2. I filed yesterday for my US passport. Instead of using the paper copy DS-11 they gave me in my packet at the ceremony I used the online filler at travel.state.gov. It fills in all the same info, but gives you a chance to correct any mistakes. I made an appointment with my local county clerks office, in fact they had a convenient location about 15 mins from both my home and work, so yesterday I went over there. I took my cheque book (intersting the US govt still requires cheques for a lot of things) and my new US drivers licence, my certificate of naturalization, a copy of my certificate, a copy of the front and back of my drivers license and 2 passport photos. This was also a pretty quick process. I checked in at the clerk's office and waited about 5 minutes to see someone. She reviewed all my info, asked for my original certificate and the copy (they preferred black and white, but i brought a colour copy just in case) and then asked if the picture i brought was a likeness of me and stapled to the form. She had my raise my right hand and confirm that all the information was accurate and valid, and then I cut her a cheque for the US Department of State. I applied for the large book passport (my work requires travel and sometimes a lot), the passport card, and then paid for both the expedited process and the USPS 1-2 return shipping so I can track my passport. It felt a bit weird turning over my original certificate as that's my only proof of citizenship right now, but it had to be sent. I have an electronic copy saved just in case. Hoping this goes smoothly/quickly as I currently have a cruise penciled in in early August.

Will let you know as things progress with the passport. My plan once I have my passport is to apply for global entry since I travel back home to the UK frequently, and my work sends me overseas too.

S Folinsky

When I was in practice, I would tell my clients that I was preparing them for the possibility of an interview by the office from Hell. From time to time, there would be an OFH where I would abort the interview and seek to speak to a supervisor. Always got a different interviewer.

jkeller

Congrats! A very nice write up. Funny about your "green card" drivers license, guess you've been downgraded until your certificate/passport arrives. I have global entry and it's worth it. There is never a line for those kiosks, ever, at Houston IAH airport.

tht

the worst part about turning in the original certificate was when I got it back… it was folded and with a staple hole in the corner via regular mail…

ajmstevenson

A quick update on the passport front. I logged into the online system today to see I had been officially moved into "In Process" status, with them stating they had received my application 06/13, so almost exactly one week from being at the appointment at the county clerk. It correctly states i applied for both the book and card and requested expedited service which is quoted as 5-7 weeks.

Will follow up with more updates as I get them. I also had a question which is probably stupid but I was thinking about so figured I would ask (my old boss used to say there are no such things as stupid questions). I know prior to my naturalization if I had a change of address you would typically have to notify them either when you file your forms, of if you changed address after you filed with a change of address notice. I assume now I have that piece of paper that says I'm a citizen I don't need to let them know when I change address. I only ask because it lists where you resided at on your certificate.