Finally an update to my case!!

[Rahul Kumar]

Hi all,

I am very happy to report to you all that my name check was completed on 7/9/04 (pending since 10/03).

I had also managed to get a very quick interview date from the USCIS. The name check showed up on USCIS's computers today (FBI sends results by cable/tape to USCIS) and as the local DO promised (after I visited their office and called them many times) they gave me the next available date - TOMORROW 7/20/04!! Yeah, I got my interview letter by fax today. For once I am spellbound by the USCIS's efficiency and commitment to keeping their word. I dont feel all that bad suddenly as I have shaved off atleast 2 months wait (between scheduling interview and actual interview date).

I worked very very hard to clear my namecheck by calling the FBI daily and called the analyst's themselves. I wrote to the FBI Asst Directors and so did my congressman. Yeah my congressman also played a very vital role and kept the pressure on the FBI by making is aide call the FBI liaision weekly for a status update. I feel so happy.

I will detail my namecheck and interview experiences later on.

I would love to hear from people about their interview experience especially relating to the 4 years + 1 day rule (reentry after an absence of 1 year). Please post them by tonight so I can draw parallels....

My timeline
Priority Date 8/15/03
Fingerprint notice received 9/16/03
Fingerprint date 10/4/03
Name check submitted to FBI 10/12
Name check cleared by FBI 7/9/04
Name check showed up on USCIS's computers 7/19/04 (Today!)
Interview Date 7/20/04 (Tomorrow!)
Case Status Online -> NO CHANGE (The officer mentioned that my file has been procured from the Vermont SVC to the Dist Office)

Wish me luck!
Rahul

[citizen2004]

Great to hear these rare +ve actions by the USCIS. I had applied under 4 yr + 1 day category and the interview was a breeze....atleast on that part..I would have gotten the oath letter the same day..but for another A file on me that had existed earlier and that needed to be reviewed..so now I am waiting for that to happen...I hope my congressman can pressure them to move them faster...

[WouldBeCitizen]

Man
You got it! You kicked Butt!! Congrahulations !!!

So go there by all means put a nice suit and answer all those easy questions. Do not volunteer any unasked info. Remember the hot water you have been through and want to come OUT OF IT not more deep INTO it. So answer and keep quiet. Do not volunteer. Things all chaltha rahtha hai :-)

Again, you did it! Here is a bow! :-)

PS:- In your original post there was a date mistake. You said tomorrow (9/20/04). Should be corrected to (7/20/04) :-) I can sense your excitement in typing the typo ha ha go ahead and ace the interview. If wouldbecitizen can do it with all his parnoia (sp?) then anyone can do it, nay ace it

[rick1]

Congratulations Rahul
That's indeed very good news. I hope that we all would be hearing similar good news soon.
Good luck for tomorrow's interview. It shouldn't be that bad.
rick1

[choyty]

Congratulation Rahul. We are happy for you. Wish you all the best.

Choyty

[Jitender]

My congrats to you too, Rahul.

Your participation in this forum has been extremely beneficial to me and, I am sure, to lots of other participants.

Good luck for the interview and best wishes.

[Rahul Kumar]

Thanks a lot everyone for the kind words.

I just got all my documentation ready. I am taking with me the following.

a) Photo copies of my passport/Green Card/Drv Lic/Reentry/SSN + originals
b) Complete tax transcripts since 1998 when I first came to the US
c) Proof of Residency (Lease Aggrements, Pay stubs, Bills etc)
d) Selective Service Regn Info
e) Documentation to prove that the INS made a mistake when entering my name (name on GC is reversed compared to everywhere else)
f) Docs to show why I left the US for a year - educational (College Transfer Certificates, Degree Certificates, College Transcripts)
g) 1 Certified Deposition for a speeding ticket violation. 1 screen printout from court computer where i was found NOT GUILTY! (this is sealed with the court seal, do you think this is sufficient ? I had no time to get my DMV record!)
h) My lucky chain & ring !!!

Am I missing anything ?

[rick1]

Yes, you might need your birth certificate. The officer who interviewed me did not accept any name but the birth certificate to prove my name. They happened to have one in their files with the spelling of my name wrong. She still took the wrong version of my name and disregarded my passport, green card and any other document. She said that I should've brought my birth certificate with me even if it's not listed on the interview letter.
Anyway, maybe you won't need it but it's a good idea to have it with you.
rick1

[redkarr1]

Great news Rahul! Congratulations!!

I am sure the interview will be a piece of cake for you. In all likelihood, you will be scheduled for the oath ceremony immediately after the interview. Please post your interview experience on this thread. Good luck!

[hm11]

Congrats!! I am sure it will go smooth. Once you are done with the interview please summarize your name check experience for others. Good luck.

[fitness99]

Congratulations!

[Rahul Kumar]

Hi all. Here is my detailed interview experience. So happy to be posting this today.

As you know I had approx 22 hrs notice for my interview , something I am not complaining about but am happy of so I had less than "perfect" documentation due to lack of time . I wished I had more time to get more stuff paperwork but I was happy with what I had. I had waited for my name check a very long time.

How I organized my paperwork

I prepared separate files for separate topics. One file contained photo copies of all my documents to give to interviewer (as stated in interview letter). One file contained complete tax transcripts (I applied under the 4yr + 1 day rule) and my parent’s bank statements for the year I was away from the US to show someone lived here and I did not abandon residency. The other file contained proof of my legal name. My names were mixed up in my GC (first name / last name). I had a copy of my brothers and father’s passports showing how the names were entered in them (Chennai passport office ignored Surname and entered my FULL name in the Given Name section). The last folder contained misc info like a copy of my N400 / traffic ticket records / Selective Service etc. All folders were clearly marked and arranged for quick reference.

Preamble
I came to the US in 1998 thru my parents and left to finish my education in India. I came back in mid 1999 for graduate work and stayed ever since. I have never held any other visa in the US except a green card (Thank You God!). So my case is relatively straight forward. I initially applied from Philadelphia (Aug ’03) but later my job moved me to Vermont (Dec ’03). You all know my name check has been pending for a long time.

My Interview Experience
My interview was to begin at 9am at St Albans, VT . Today in VT we had a thunderstorm and I got up at 5 am itself due to the monstrous roar of thunder and scary lightning. There was a flash flood warning at St Albans. I was concerned that the office must not shut today. But then I knew it would not. Today was my day; I have waited so long for this day. Nothing can spoil it. Period.

I reached the DO by 8 am, one hour early. I parked my car in an obscure spot behind some cars in the DO as I own a luxury car and did not want to be ‘flashy’. The security guard at the DO took a good 10 minutes to inspect my file folder and let me in after making a fuss as I did not have a “regular” interview letter. I was the only person in the DO. There was a van bearing the name of an Indian Restaurant standing outside. I was chuckling along hoping they were going to serve me a grand feast and Naturalize me today itself as compensation for delaying my case. As I was waiting another Indian guy emerged from the adjacent room where he came for his fingerprinting.

I was called in at 8.45. An elderly man (about 60 years old) came out and pointed to me and said Come. That’s it. I followed him to his office. I was about to take a seat when he said “DON’T SIT!” He administered a quick oath (not that oath stupid!) and then I sat down.

The first question he asked me was “I saw you come in and you did not have Vermont plates on you car, prove to me right now that you are a Vermonter or I won’t even talk with you”. I was shocked. Apparently, I had parked just outside his office and my car was staring at me from his window!!! I immediately took out my Drivers License and showed it to him. It was issued over 7 months ago. It seemed to satisfy him. I had other proof too (Rent receipts, lease agreements, utility bills) but it was not asked for.

He had a big file on me. Everything from my dad’s letter to the Chennai Consulate in India that he wrote in 1991 to my most recent change of address in Dec’ 03 was in that!

He saw my reentry permit in my hand and asked if it was still valid. I said no and he took it away. “Then it’s mine he said”.

Then he went over every single line on my N400 line by line. Reiterated every question I had marked Yes or No. He took down my new address, freely made changes to my N400 paperwork with updates.

Then came the part where there is a question, “Have you ever been detained by an officer….” I had marked yes and he immediately asked me if I was arrested. I mentioned it was just speeding tickets and had already submitted documentation about the incidents. It seemed to satisfy him.

Next came the crucial part – my trips aboard. I was a bit nervous as the 4yr + 1 day rule can be interpreted subjectively. He asked me about it, I told him I left once in 1998 for 1+ year. He read my reasoning I submitted and asked me why I went again. I told him it was to complete my degree. He asked me if I filed my taxes for that year. I said I did not make any money but I filed a 1040EZ with $0 wage. He laughed – his first and last time in that interview.

Then there was an awkward silence for 5 minutes. He went through every single page and numbered them!!!! The pages included previous records of mine.

He had a computer screen with a tabbed window with many tabs. All my info was in there. Some tabs had an exclamation mark in them for missing info. He manually entered info into them.

When I got my application receipt it said I had missing evidence and that they would ask me to bring it to interview. Today I found the missing evidence was

a) Missing fingerprint card (What ?????)
b) Missing evidence bout my being detained by a police officer (I sent in a court deposition!!!)


He manually entered them as received and saved the form.

Out of the blue he asked me questions on US History. I think he asked me at least 10 and I answered every one of them promptly. All questions were from the USCIS question bank. He then marked my English and history test as PASS on the computer.

Then he printed out a form with my name/DOB/A#/Ph/Country of Origin on it and asked me if all looked right. I said yes (the DO had taken care of my name appearing incorrectly in my GC!)


Then he told me that he would schedule me for an Oath ceremony in Sept or Oct and sent me on my way. I asked him if it was possible to schedule it for August. He immediately blurted out asking why I was in a hurry! I mentioned about my impending marriage and he seemed was satisfied (my god he was trying to test me all along!) It seems the Aug ceremony is full and I won have a spot. Interesting to note that US Servicemen from Iraq are flying in to attend this ceremony. Naturally, they have precedence.

Then he took my file, wrote something on a post it note, and saved the application on the PC. On the screen he selected a radio button “Approved for Natz, forward to Supervisor” and saved it!!

Overall a good experience, and since I had a lot of information and knowledge of the laws and I had the benefit of learning from your experiences I faced the interview with confidence.

I am approved for Naturalization and the supervisor will review the file now. I pray there are no further delays. Thanks all for your valuable suggestions.

The entire process lasted 20 minutes.

[jancdn]

Congratulations Rahul!!! I am so happy for you - Ironic that after the long long wait your interview came up so quick - just as well - no time to fret! You made my day!

[ibm101]

Well Rahul:

Congrats on ur name clearance. I wish all goes well for u.

In my case its been 5 months since the FBI did a record check for me however, I do not have my oath letter still.

PD Jan., 2003
FP april, 2003
Interview July, 2003
FBI name check clear 11th Feb., 2004

oath??????????????????

[Rahul Kumar]

jancdn,
Thanks for your kind words. I am your your application will move very soon. Looks like Philly takes 11 months . A move within the DO's jurisdiction wont change anything. As long as you have your mail being fwd'd too. To be on the safer side I would call the 800 number once a month to see if interview is scheduled or not. Did you find out about your name check?

ibm101,
Are you in NY ? Contact the clerk at your DO and impress upon them that you are waiting for an oath. Send a letter to the head of the DO by certified mail. Is your local lawmaker involved ? If not you know what to do. If there is one thing this experience has taught me it is - Persistance pays! All the best

[ibm101]

ibm101,
Are you in NY ? Contact the clerk at your DO and impress upon them that you are waiting for an oath. Send a letter to the head of the DO by certified mail. Is your local lawmaker involved ? If not you know what to do. If there is one thing this experience has taught me it is - Persistance pays! All the best[/QUOTE]

Nope, I am in California (oakland office). I have tried from congressman to Lawyer. My lawyer said I should see something in November. Let see

[PRUSA]

Rahul, I wish you get the oath letter soon!

You wrote that you called the FBI analyst. What did you tell him/her? Did analyst ask you questions about your background?

[Rahul Kumar]

I wanted to post a DETAILED 'Lessons Learnt' post about my FBI Name Check. Will do so in the weekend. I hope others can have the benefit of such.

But to answer your question, the analysts rarely even picked up their phone , and when they did they were pretty reticent. They never asked me any questions, I asked them a tonne of them though!!!

[Rahul Kumar]

Wonder of Wonders:

I got my oath letter today . Oath scheduled for 9/17!!!! My God. Monday morning I dont have a clue as to my CZ status. Tue I had interview and Wed I have oath letter. I am sure I have created some kind of record for the quickest interview turn around time!

The God's have made up for the namecheck delay.

I pray all happens smoothly from here on and I can go and get married to my darling who has waited patiently for a year now for me to take her away

My timeline
Priority Date 8/15/03
Fingerprint notice received 9/16/03
Fingerprint date 10/4/03
Name check submitted to FBI 10/12/03
Name check cleared by FBI 7/9/04
Name check showed up on USCIS's computers 7/19/04 (Monday)
Interview Date 7/20/04 (Tuesday)
Oath Letter Received 7/21/04 (Wednesday) - Today!
Oath Date Scheduled 9/17/04
Case Status Online -> NO CHANGE



Love you all
-Rahul

[waitingvsc1]

Rahul, Congratulation and wish you all the best in your life, you have done a great help and assistance in this forum , your wait paid off.

[SagarSahilSehra]

Wonder of Wonders:

I got my oath letter today . Oath scheduled for 9/17!!!! My God. Monday morning I dont have a clue as to my CZ status. Tue I had interview and Wed I have oath letter. I am sure I have created some kind of record for the quickest interview turn around time!

The God's have made up for the namecheck delay.

I pray all happens smoothly from here on and I can go and get married to my darling who has waited patiently for a year now for me to take her away

My timeline
Priority Date 8/15/03
Fingerprint notice received 9/16/03
Fingerprint date 10/4/03
Name check submitted to FBI 10/12/03
Name check cleared by FBI 7/9/04
Name check showed up on USCIS's computers 7/19/04 (Monday)
Interview Date 7/20/04 (Tuesday)
Oath Letter Received 7/21/04 (Wednesday) - Today!
Oath Date Scheduled 9/17/04
Case Status Online -> NO CHANGE



Love you all
-Rahul

oh hahahahahha oh man RAHULLLLLLL..damn man... now thats a news ...u got that department really good dude really good. i am sure now u feel good about ur time and effort u put in...

but i am afraid u wont show us the path lol... maybe for free??? i dont think so... write a small book about ur experience, and tell us whats the price... maybe thats why u making us all wait till weekend dude....comon spare some minutes for ur friends here...

congrats dude.

[WouldBeCitizen]

but i am afraid u wont show us the path lol... maybe for free??? i dont think so... write a small book about ur experience, and tell us whats the price...

What the heck!
It is my immigration God I willingly gave him. It is my idea that he take the God and use him. It is my thing in all. And now he refused even to lend me his Lakshmi. He is completely selfish guy, whereas I, willingly gave him everything to speed up the process. The moment I said, take my immigration God, things came back like swift electricity to him. See what great things you can accomplish by giving it things free. Yet he refuses to give me his Lakshmi, even after I promised to share the riches with him!

Now he writes a book and makes money? Damn, Rahul, give me back my immigration God. Do not you dare misuse him! LOL

[phillydude]

Wonder of Wonders:

I got my oath letter today . -Rahul

Wow! thats great news. I had not paid attention to this thread this morning assuming you guys were still discussing about the interview!!

[Rahul Kumar]

People,

For those interesting in sharing my Lakshmi, sure. Go ahead. Not that she has been overwhelming , but she surely has been fair with me, considering I started out in 1998 with a negative net worth , a dream in my heart, America on my mind and a one way ticket from India. (with a Green Card ofcourse!).

If I write a book, I can write it in a paragraph.....

While your trust in God is a must, patience is the most important virtue you need to possess along with his brother - perseverance and mother sincerity. Nothing is impossible, everything can be achieved through consistent, directed effort. The system does work, just slowly for some. Another very useful tool in such matters is communication. Regardless of how worthy you are, unless you can impress upon the other party about how deserving you are, its unlikely you will get 'it' in the timeframe you want 'it'.

[WouldBeCitizen]

People,

For those interesting in sharing my Lakshmi, sure. Go ahead. Not that she has been overwhelming , but she surely has been fair with me, considering I started out in 1998 ...

You surely killed the whole thread with a single stroke bud. I thought you could laugh it off like I always did, particularly when your case started moving swiftly. "LOL" in my thread could have told you that !If it did not, here it is.... LOL - laughing out loud.

And you thought I will take away your Lakshmi! That was the L....A.....S....T thing I had in my mind anytime. A joke is a joke is a joke is a....

Good luck in everything! Au revoir.

[Rahul Kumar]

WBC,
Of Course. I knew it. Im a cooooooooool dude too!!!

LOL!

[manjula1998]

Congratulations Rahul on everything going so well for you. You have mentioned verifying the "name check status at USCIS webiste". How is that done?

Our Congressman intervened for my husband. An FBI officer responded in writing to our Congressman on June 29th about my husband's status being still pending and how it cud take many months etc blah blah blah.

Not heard anything afterwards from BCIS or FBI or the US Cong office

What more can a Congressman's office do?

Are we risking making the FBI guys angry by going to the Cong man again and again?

My husband's interview date was Nov 7th 2003, he cleared his interview, his oath ceremony is still pending, as they are awaiting his name check approval.
Its over 9 months now !!!!!!

Please share the address of the website you are talking about, may be I can go in there to see whats going on

Thank you and appreciate any help you may be able to provide

NS

[Rahul Kumar]

Hi Manjula1998,

I did not mention that I checked my namecheck status at the USCIS 'website'. I confirmed it appared on their system. I did it by calling my local DO.

I am willing to bet your husband's namecheck is pending from even before Nov 7 2003. What is your fingerprint date ? NameChecks are submitted soon after FP.

Unfortunately, you have limited options. However you have leverage. Read these documents

http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress...rity071003.htm
http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress03/hardy102303.htm

98% of namechecks are completed in 120 days. I am positive your husband is waiting for 10 months atleast. Take this to your caseworker and ask him/her to get a status update given you fall under 2% of the people.

Next step is to file a FOIPA request with the FBI. Refer my previous posts about this , there is a thread with title "Name check pending since October".
FOIPA will tell you weather or not there is a file about your husband with the FBI. Presence of a file itself does not indicate adversity.

If your FOIPA result comes back with "No-Record" , you have furthur more leverage. This means they have no file or record of your husband and he does not exist in their system. Take it to your congressman again, and explain that this is pure administrative delay.

If it still does not work you need to first ask yourself if you/husband have a pressing need to become a USC fast or if you mind waiting for a few more months. If you do, then you will need to contact the FBI personally.

This department is highly understaffed, so its tough to get things moving here

My namecheck was pending for 10 months too and recently cleared.
I will post my experience soon.

All the best
Rahul

Congratulations Rahul on everything going so well for you. You have mentioned verifying the "name check status at USCIS webiste". How is that done?

Our Congressman intervened for my husband. An FBI officer responded in writing to our Congressman on June 29th about my husband's status being still pending and how it cud take many months etc blah blah blah.

Not heard anything afterwards from BCIS or FBI or the US Cong office

What more can a Congressman's office do?

Are we risking making the FBI guys angry by going to the Cong man again and again?

My husband's interview date was Nov 7th 2003, he cleared his interview, his oath ceremony is still pending, as they are awaiting his name check approval.
Its over 9 months now !!!!!!

Please share the address of the website you are talking about, may be I can go in there to see whats going on

Thank you and appreciate any help you may be able to provide

NS

[manjula1998]

Thank you for your wonderful response. Its indeed very detailed. I am surprised that you did not respond with a succint one liner!!!! Thank you for all the detail.

Now.................. what in the world is FOIPA? Who do I talk to about that?

You also mention taking it to a "case worker" who is that? Is it the Congressman by any chance?
I need your expert advice again

Never heard of it before. But you are right my husband does seem to be in the unfortunate 2% who get scrutinzed for no reason at all.
He does not even fit the racial profiling bill actually. We are Hindus from India wonder where they got the idea that he has shady links


Are we in a hurry? To tell you honestly we are not!! But its just the wait that is annoying I must say.

He is not bothered too much so I am worrying on his behalf basically.
As long as they will turn around and come back eventually we are o.k. I guess

I am going to call my local FBI office sometime next week. Lets see what happens.

Oh B.T.W his fingerprinting was a month or so after we applied in June 2003, I guess around Aug 2003.

So its been a YEAR!!!

Thank you for writing such detailed responses again

NS

[Rahul Kumar]

manjula,

You are welcome.

FOIPA stands for Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. Under this act, you can get your file(what the govt knows about you) from the government for your records - this is the law. There are portions exempt from this law ofcourse.

You can get your whole INS file using FOIPA. Same with your FBI file.

FOIPA in the FBI is handled by the Records Dissemenation and Management Office - the same office that handles your name checks!

I filed a FOIPA request and got a 'No-Records' and took it to my Congressman. Filing such a request will be of great help to your case.

Even if you are not in a hurry its good you are concerned about this as it might shock you to know that FBI has name check request's pending since 2000 (not for Naturalization though)

I will send details of how to file FOIPA by private message as I don't want to list fax and phone numbers on a public forum and overwhelm the small window of opportunity we have to enquire about our status

Just having a clean record is not necessarity a guarantee of having an expedious namecheck. Most namecheck requests are held up due to either common names (my last name is very common - Kumar) or by sharing a name with a person of interest. Unfortunately, these things take time to resolve.

Feel free to ask me or other knowledgeable posters for their thoughts.
-Rahul