Chicago IL - N-400 Timeline

Oath Ceremony Done! US Citizenship achieved! Total time was about 2 hours + change. If you have young kids, feel free to take them along. You will get preferential treatment :) and will be in the first row next to the stage and first ones to receives the Naturalization Certificate. The USCIS Chicago team did an exceptionally great job, and they had Coloring tables for young kids in the Oath Ceremony room.

All the Best for rest of Chicago Applicants

If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask!

zapper2002
 
zapper2002 said:
Oath Ceremony Done! US Citizenship achieved! Total time was about 2 hours + change. If you have young kids, feel free to take them along. You will get preferential treatment :) and will be in the first row next to the stage and first ones to receives the Naturalization Certificate. The USCIS Chicago team did an exceptionally great job, and they had Coloring tables for young kids in the Oath Ceremony room.

All the Best for rest of Chicago Applicants

If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask!

zapper2002
Click to expand...

Zapper2002 congrats again, how is the mood in the office in the morning and did you have any arrests or tickets that raised questions and did you apply on 3 year or 5 year? Thanks in advance and sorry if 2 many questions
 
Moods pretty good. The immigration officers are very professional & non-intimidating. The security personnel are a little stiff especially when you get into the building but that's their job. Also, once you reach the 3rd floor, be ready to be corrected sternly by the security personnel if you don't follow the instructions. Ex: sit close to the door # for which you got the buzzer. For Oath ceremony sit in the front rows of the center section of the waiting area etc....

I did not know we could apply on 3years GC(I dont think we can but not sure if there are certain scenarios when you can i.e preferred application etc.), i though it was always 5 years post GC or 90 days before your 5th anniversary of GC.

No arrests, we had 3/4 tickets in the family. Answered "NO" to the citation/traffic questions in N400. But did take a few of tickets + a standard clearance/report from DMV just incase it would have been raised...No questions were asked by IO at interview.

No problems, ask away ...I would be happy to help.
 
Congratulations zapper2002! Appreciate the detailed description of the interview process. The oath ceremony took 2 hours. Do the front row people get to leave earlier after receiving their certificates?
 
Thanks, You can leave as soon as you receive the Certificate. The front row typically are the first to get the certs, and front row is closest to the doors and once you receive the certs you can leave. But most people will stay back to take photos with the flag , officials etc...
 
Both me and my wife passed the interview yesterday. IO was young, sharp and very professional. Mine was employment based GC. IO asked about the following things:

Employment:
How long I worked for my sponsored employer?
When did you leave your sponsored employer?
Where are you working now?

Travel history:
Have you traveled out of the country longer than 6 months?
There were no POE stamps for couple of trips. IO asked about them. No issues with it.

Traffic tickets:
I had few traffic tickets(couple of speeding tickets). Disclosed all of them. IO wrote a note about it(and told me to slow down). But was not concerned about them. Wanted to make sure that I don't have any DUI etc. I have never done DUI and will never do.

English language and civics tests were very easy.

Verified Passport, GC, Driving license and other docs.

Finally IO went through the application asking me the questions from the application.

For me the focus was primarily on the employment, travel dates. I struggled hard and took couple of days off from to get court dispositions and collect payment receipts for my traffic tickets. IO did not ask them or any other supporting documents.

After the interview IO made a copy of the first page of the passport and made me sign on photos and oath section and told me that I have passed the interview and being recommended for approval. After that I waited for my wife to finish her interview. She was interviewed by a different IO and her interview went smoothly as well. After the interview we waited for an hour or so to get the oath letter.

Couple of pointers:
Be very polite and strictly follow the directions of the immigration officers. Plan to start early if you are driving and your interview is in the morning(peak traffic). It took couple of hours for us to drive from NW suburbs. It was very stressful. Luckily immigration parking in front of the district office is valet parking only. So we just gave the keys, took the parking receipt and literally ran across the street. We were few minutes late, but did not have any issues.

We are eagerly counting days to finish the oath(12/03).

Thanks to the posting of zapper2002 and others about their experiences. Thanks to Rajiv Khanna for hosting this forum. Thanks to everyone(past, future and current) on this forum for sharing their experiences and providing their suggestions.

Me and my family wishes all of you the best in all of your immigration processes.

regards
vidchin
 
Vid,

Congratulations!!! It seems as if your DO is located in an upscale area with valet. Enjoy your upcoming oath, please slow down till 12/03/2010, then you can show off your horse power to all...lol!!!
 
I apologize if this is the wrong thread to be asking a few questions, but the application will be going through the Chicago offices and I thought you ladies and gents could offer me some advice.

My girlfriend, a green card holder for approximately 14 years (she was born in Korea, moved to the US when she was 6, and received her green card at about the age of 12) has finally decided to become a citizen. She really should have done this much earlier so things would be less complicated, but c'est la vie. So, just a couple of questions:

The only issue she has is that, in the past 5 years, she took a trip outside of the United States for approximately 11 months (it was less than a year). From the research I've done she will need to provide some sort of evidence to prove that she intended to retain her residence. Tax forms for the past 5 years, bank statements, and a letter explaining her reason for being out of the country for that long seem to be sufficient evidence. My question is: At what point would this evidence need to be submitted? Attach a cover letter along with the application explaining all of this?

Also, if she decides to move, should she update her address change during the interview process? And lastly, if we were to get married would this affect the process at all? From what I've read all you have to do is bring the marriage certificate and update your status at the interview. Thank you guys for any help.
 
Completed oath on 12/02/2010. About 240+ took the oath. We were not allowed to take any pictures. Ceremony was simple. After GC and oath letter given a naturalization packet and told to sit down in order. Stood up when the judge came in and for the oath. It whole thing was done in an hour.
 
Hi all!
This is funny I started my N400 journey just few days after the last post. This seem to be the only Thread for Chicago DO close to my timeline. I wish I had discovered the forum earlier I would had post my experience. I hope that everyone in this thread have had they oath done and peace of mind. Although I was lucky enough to have a very nice IO that picks calls when I do call him to inquire on my case I must say that the wait is wracking especially if you live in Northern Indiana where there little or no infos related to Oath schedules... I know there's nothing to do than waiting in confidence... (lol). Good day everyone... I will update.
 
Hi Need2DO_Indiana
Hey buddy let me join you. It is surprising that nobody had posted anything after 12/06/10.
Got Interview scheduled for 07/26. Let's see how it goes.
 
hi everyone,i got the e-mail from USCIS yesterday,and show the online status had change to testing and interviewing. i was little suprised,cause i just done the fingerprint on Tuesday which's 21st June,and i think should have two step which for YL and transfer to local office.then status will be change to testing and interviewing..is anybody have same situdation with me!
my timeline


04/20/11 N-400 Sent
05/25/11 RD & PD(when i mail got the problem with USPS)
06/11/11FP Notice Received (Appt 06/21/2011)
06/21/11FP Don
06/23/11 online status change to "Testing and Interviewing"
 
Got my interveiw this morning. I passed the interview but CIS will send a written decision about my application. The IO asked me to signed all documents, photos, requested name changed... too...
I asked him how long it take to get a letter he told me about 2 months....

Reading Test : Who lives in the White House?
Written Test : The President lives in the White House.

Civics Test : Who is the governor of your state now?
: Where is the Statue Liberty?
: Name 2 national U.S. holidays?
: What movement to end the racial discrimination?
: Who was the first president?
: What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

Now waiting time for a decision.....
 
springfield said:
Got my interveiw this morning. I passed the interview but CIS will send a written decision about my application. The IO asked me to signed all documents, photos, requested name changed... too...
I asked him how long it take to get a letter he told me about 2 months....

Reading Test : Who lives in the White House?
Written Test : The President lives in the White House.

Civics Test : Who is the governor of your state now?
: Where is the Statue Liberty?
: Name 2 national U.S. holidays?
: What movement to end the racial discrimination?
: Who was the first president?
: What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?

Now waiting time for a decision.....
Click to expand...

You mean that you passed the English and civics tests, right?

If you had passed the interview itself, you would have gotten an interview results letter (form N-652) with the box checked "Congratulations! You have been recommended for approval", and, if you live in Chicago area, you would have been given an oath appointment letter as well.
The fact that they marked the box "A decision cannot yet be made" on N-652 indicates that there was some kind of a problem with your case that requires further review.

Did any issues come up during the interview itself? Issues regarding travel/continuous residency? Or anything else?
 
baikal3 said:
You mean that you passed the English and civics tests, right?

If you had passed the interview itself, you would have gotten an interview results letter (form N-652) with the box checked "Congratulations! You have been recommended for approval", and, if you live in Chicago area, you would have been given an oath appointment letter as well.
The fact that they marked the box "A decision cannot yet be made" on N-652 indicates that there was some kind of a problem with your case that requires further review.

Did any issues come up during the interview itself? Issues regarding travel/continuous residency? Or anything else?
Click to expand...

I passed the test.... I did not ask why he could not recommend for approval.... Lets see
 
Waiting for oath letter

Hi Need2DO
I guess I am in the same situation,I live in Michigan City, Indiana, I had my interview on May 4th and was recommended for approval, my case status was updated on May 9th that my application was put in que to be scheduled for an oath ceremony, I made an Infopass appointment and went today, the IO told me that since I live in Indiana I have to wait because they have fewer oath ceremonies and there must be many people in que before me, there is a ceremony coming up in South Bend on July 15th but they only do 40+ applicants each ceremony, the following one is August 12th. Please update me when you receive your letter.
 
Sorry for being away.
Good to see that the thread is fed again.
@ Springfield, "Decision cannot be made.." is very common anytime that the IO is unsure about what to make of a situation that come up. Situation related but not limited to mariage, child support, travel, trouble with the law... they issue that even in cases where files are missing or the background check is not completed yet. But more often applicants do get approve after review. So hope this will be your case too.
@Indiana_NW, we are in the same situation indeed. It's so unfortunate, almost unfair that we have to wait because the court would not waive its right to administer the oath. Thanks for the dates. I have yet to receive anything. Will update if any.
@ Everyone thanks for joining and sharing. Good luck to all.
 
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