2012 august n-400 tracker

ripcurl said:
Mogambo1, thanks for posting a detailed experience. This will certainly help others. It is good to know that you didn't have much trouble on extended travel. In fact I asked my attorney on extended travel and he told me that unless you have taken employment while abroad or have stays more then 6 months, there shouldn't be any issue as you have not broken the rules as long as you have ties to US and have more than 30 months in US.
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Hi Mogambo1,

From your interview experience after having extended travels, do you think that one should hire an attorney for this. Since you had all the ties here and none of your trips were more then 6 months. I am in the same boat and none of my trips are more then 6 months.

Since you went through this and have been on this forum for some time, I thought you could give some pointers.
 
I think every case is different and every officer is different, so cant comment on your case. But I am personally against wasting money on hiring the immigration attorney's, as all they do is represent you and if you are able to properly defend your case, I think you would be able to do without them.

During GC process I had to (unfortunately) go through 2 EB based applications: EB1a-EOA and NIW, due to retrogression of case processing for my country. I did both myself and succeeded twice getting my both I-140 approved. While my co-workers paid between $1000 to $6000 per case for getting their applications checked by attorneys or asking them to file from scratch.

I think it will be your call whether you can get every evidence (depicting your ties with US during your absence) photocopied/ scanned and printed and rehearsing how to answer each question posed to you by USCIS IO during interview. I took the color scan printouts of the following, just in case anything is asked or to totally avoid IO going to another room to get photocopy of my any document.

Essentials:
1. 2x PP sized (2 x 2 inches) photos
2. Original DL
3. Color copy of DL (Front and Back)
4. Original GC
5. Color copy of GC (Front and Back)
6. Original Passport from your current Country
7. Original SSN
8. Color copy of SSN (Front and Back)
9. Color copy of Approval Notice for my I-140 EB1a-EOA
10. Color copy of Approval Notice for my I-140 NIW
11. Color copy of Marriage Certificate


Proofs of Tax Payments:
1. Federal Tax Transcript for year 2007 (I got my GC in 2007)
2. Federal Tax Transcript for year 2008
3. Federal Tax Transcript for year 2009
4. Federal Tax Transcript for year 2010
5. Federal Tax Transcript for year 2011
6. State Tax Transcript for year 2010 (I could get this one for only one year)

Proofs of maintaining my abode in US during my absence (ownership/ rental)
1. Mortgage Tax Statement Printout for year 2007
2. Mortgage Tax Statement Printout for year 2008
3. Mortgage Tax Statement Printout for year 2009
4. Mortgage Tax Statement Printout for year 2010
5. Mortgage Tax Statement Printout for year 2011
6. Original Rental Lease/ Contract for year 2009
7. Original Rental Lease/ Contract for year 2010
8. Original Rental Lease/ Contract for year 2011
9. Original Rental Lease/ Contract for year 2012
10. Verizon FiOS Original Monthly Bills for last 6 months in 2012 and one bill for year year 2011
11. 10 pages: Printout of Summary of all transaction done during last 2 years on my Amex Business Credit Card
12. 3 Regret Letters for my job applications (as latest as a day before interview) showing I still receive letters at my current address
14. Bank 1: last 1 year Statements
15. Bank 2: last 1 year Statements
16. My USC Child's DOB Certificate
17. My Child's Current Schooling Docs
18. My Child's school grade cards

Proofs of Employment
1. Employment Contract for year 2009
2. Employment Comntract for year 2010 and later
3. VA- LLC Certificate of Incorporation for year 2008
4. NJ- LLC Certificate of Incorporation for year 2012
5. NJ State Sales Tax Registration Certificate showing my name and address along with my LLC name
6. Business Bank Account Statement showing showing my name and address along with my LLC name

Proof of reasons for frequent trips abroad
1. Time line of photocopies of a medical diagnosis of family member

Also took these "Just In Case"
1. H1B Approval Notice for year 2004
2. H1B Approval Notice for year 2005
3. H1B Approval Notice for year 2006

Used a 2 inch ring folder with sheet protectors to classify the information and documents above.



ripcurl said:
Hi Mogambo1,

From your interview experience after having extended travels, do you think that one should hire an attorney for this. Since you had all the ties here and none of your trips were more then 6 months. I am in the same boat and none of my trips are more then 6 months.

Since you went through this and have been on this forum for some time, I thought you could give some pointers.
Click to expand...
 
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mogambo1 said:
Hi, I think every case is different and every officer is different, so cant comment on your case. But I am personally against wasting money on hiring the lawyers. During GC I had to apply for EB applications twice due to retrogression of case processing for my country. I did both NIW and EB-1A based I-140 both approved in time without any problem while my colleagues paid upto $6000 per case for their I-140 preparation fees. I think it will be your call whether you can get everything photocopied/ scanned and printed evidence showing your ties with USA during your absence and rehearse how to answer if this question is asked or if that question is asked. I am having my lunch right now and typing with one finger, let me finish and I will try to list all the docs I took along with me, just in case I am asked...
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Thanks for putting all the details of your interview...appreciate it.
 
mogambo1 said:
Thanks and sorry had to post such a long post so, forums.immigrationportal.com logged me OFF and had to repost.
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Mogambo1 & others, what do you intend to do with all the immigration related records/papers/copies after naturalization at the end of this long journey? Keep or shred them?
 
Mogambo1 and others-
First of all to Mogambo1 - You are really an asset to all of us still trying to get our citizenship. You published very good information for the rest of us to use in our process and I thank you for it on behalf of all the rest of us in this struggle.
Question to anyone: 1.) Why is the I-751 take up to 7-10 months to get approved and what kind of information are they looking for to get the approval. 2.) Do they go through the same information with the naturalization application (N400) or it becomes easy after the I-751. Is this true that the N400, you go through the Customs/Border patrol, FBI finger print/FBI name checks before approval ? If so, didn't they do these steps during the Green Card-Removal of conditional status(I-751) and if not, do you know what took 7-10 months during this process. I would have thought they must have done all these and such the Naturalization will just be straight forward and faster. Maybe I am wrong-
Anyone with a thought ?
 
Arrived for interview this morning -- 8am -- Boston DO.

After passing metal detectors, etc. went up to receptionist and showed him the appointment letter.
Told to have a seat. Got called after 10 mins.

1) Led down a long corridor with tiny offices by lady USCIS officer

2) Sat down, officer told me to put my stuff down and raise my right hand and she administered the oath
"Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth" -- Yes, I do

3) Opens my file and asks for passport, GC and Driving license

4) Asks and verifies my name, address, employment, marital status and children. Asked me if I
want to change my name -- “no”.

5) Ask me if I studied and ready for Civics test, I said yes and she proceeded:
i) Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
George Washington

ii) The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
435

iii) We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years
2

iv) Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
World War II

v) Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

vi) In what month do we vote for President?
November

6) Tells me to write a simple English sentence
Washington was the first president of USA

7) Verify trips outside USA especially the recent one in 2012.
Said yes, I did go on vacation for 2 weeks.

8) Goes through questions from N-400 Part 10 A-1 to D-15 , D-23- F-30
Response is “No”

9) Question Part 10 D-16 (Citations)
Said “Yes”, and officer asked for court disposition and receipts
I gave attested driving record and receipt printouts and court disposition (original)
She will not accept copy of court disposition. No big deal. I have a copy.

10) Question Part 10 H 34- 37
Response is “yes”

11) Sign on the N-400, print name, and signed another form for naturalization cert.

12) Brings out big stamp and puts “Approved”.

I ask her about oath date. Says can be done today and tells me to wait in her office. I glanced at a chair next to her desk and noticed 8 thick binders of other cases. I am guessing I was the first or second candidate in that morning. Comes back 5 mins later, leads me to another side of building and then obviously the person is not sitting in their cube/office. Tells me to wait for the oath
letter in the mail. I thank her and left USCIS at 8:50am. My impression -- very professional, courteous and fast USCIS officer.

Hope this helps, and good luck to all !
 
Wow you are giving this update while you are in DO office and waiting for the oath.
congratulations..

mojavetoo said:
Arrived for interview this morning -- 8am -- Boston DO.

After passing metal detectors, etc. went up to receptionist and showed him the appointment letter.
Told to have a seat. Got called after 10 mins.

1) Led down a long corridor with tiny offices by lady USCIS officer

2) Sat down, officer told me to put my stuff down and raise my right hand and she administered the oath
"Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth" -- Yes, I do

3) Opens my file and asks for passport, GC and Driving license

4) Asks and verifies my name, address, employment, marital status and children. Asked me if I
want to change my name -- “no”.

5) Ask me if I studied and ready for Civics test, I said yes and she proceeded:
i) Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
George Washington

ii) The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
435

iii) We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years
2

iv) Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
World War II

v) Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

vi) In what month do we vote for President?
November

6) Tells me to write a simple English sentence
Washington was the first president of USA

7) Verify trips outside USA especially the recent one in 2012.
Said yes, I did go on vacation for 2 weeks.

8) Goes through questions from N-400 Part 10 A-1 to D-15 , D-23- F-30
Response is “No”

9) Question Part 10 D-16 (Citations)
Said “Yes”, and officer asked for court disposition and receipts
I gave attested driving record and receipt printouts and court disposition (original)
She will not accept copy of court disposition. No big deal. I have a copy.

10) Question Part 10 H 34- 37
Response is “yes”

11) Sign on the N-400, print name, and signed another form for naturalization cert.

12) Brings out big stamp and puts “Approved”.

I ask her about oath date. Says can be done today and tells me to wait in her office. I glanced at a chair next to her desk and noticed 8 thick binders of other cases. I am guessing I was the first or second candidate in that morning. Comes back 5 mins later, leads me to another side of building and then obviously the person is not sitting in their cube/office. Tells me to wait for the oath
letter in the mail. I thank her and left USCIS at 8:50am. My impression -- very professional, courteous and fast USCIS officer.

Hope this helps, and good luck to all !
Click to expand...
 
I have every imp document color scanned and stored electronically, no matter it is my or my wife's or my kiddo's DOB Certificate or another immigration document such as even old IAP-66 forms from year 1999 (or DS form, like they call it now), SSN, I-140/ I-485 docs and what not. So even if we loose paper documents we still have electronic files for all docs, from which we can print full color copies either from my home printer or lets say a nearest Fedex Office Document Center in case of a calamity and still carry on with your whatever applications we may wish to file in future.

So frankly speaking I DO NOT require the paper copies of the docs that I had printed in preparation for my Nat interview, but I would still keep color copies of the some imp ones just in case I require them in future and don't have time to get them photocopied or print them since my color printer runs out of one color toner and stops printing.

Moreover all the color prints are expensive so I would still keep them in a manilla folder and place in a hanging file folder in my filing cabinet labelled as "USC Docs". Rest of the docs like bank statements etc can be shredded but I would personally take them out of my sheet protectors and place them in in same manilla folder in my filing cabinet. It wont hurt to keep few important ones which you think you might require while applying for "let's say" while opening a new bank account or something else in future.


usfp said:
Mogambo1 & others, what do you intend to do with all the immigration related records/papers/copies after naturalization at the end of this long journey? Keep or shred them?
Click to expand...
 
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Congratulations on your approval and all the best for your today's oath.

mojavetoo said:
Arrived for interview this morning -- 8am -- Boston DO.

After passing metal detectors, etc. went up to receptionist and showed him the appointment letter.
Told to have a seat. Got called after 10 mins.

1) Led down a long corridor with tiny offices by lady USCIS officer

2) Sat down, officer told me to put my stuff down and raise my right hand and she administered the oath
"Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth" -- Yes, I do

3) Opens my file and asks for passport, GC and Driving license

4) Asks and verifies my name, address, employment, marital status and children. Asked me if I
want to change my name -- “no”.

5) Ask me if I studied and ready for Civics test, I said yes and she proceeded:
i) Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
George Washington

ii) The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
435

iii) We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years
2

iv) Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
World War II

v) Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)

vi) In what month do we vote for President?
November

6) Tells me to write a simple English sentence
Washington was the first president of USA

7) Verify trips outside USA especially the recent one in 2012.
Said yes, I did go on vacation for 2 weeks.

8) Goes through questions from N-400 Part 10 A-1 to D-15 , D-23- F-30
Response is “No”

9) Question Part 10 D-16 (Citations)
Said “Yes”, and officer asked for court disposition and receipts
I gave attested driving record and receipt printouts and court disposition (original)
She will not accept copy of court disposition. No big deal. I have a copy.

10) Question Part 10 H 34- 37
Response is “yes”

11) Sign on the N-400, print name, and signed another form for naturalization cert.

12) Brings out big stamp and puts “Approved”.

I ask her about oath date. Says can be done today and tells me to wait in her office. I glanced at a chair next to her desk and noticed 8 thick binders of other cases. I am guessing I was the first or second candidate in that morning. Comes back 5 mins later, leads me to another side of building and then obviously the person is not sitting in their cube/office. Tells me to wait for the oath
letter in the mail. I thank her and left USCIS at 8:50am. My impression -- very professional, courteous and fast USCIS officer.

Hope this helps, and good luck to all !
Click to expand...
 
Just collected my first US PP and returned Nat Cert from Passport Agency. Updated my signature.
 
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Yes, showed my travel ticket booked for 11/27/2012 and requested for same-day-service-while-waiting after paying additional expediting charges, but they said that they can't produce it on same day (11/15/2012) as I still have time to travel, but the best they can do was make it ready for pickup on 11/19/2012, so I said okay. They gave me option for pick in person on 11/19/2012 or their mailing it on 11/19/2012 for an expected 11/21/2012 delivery. I chose a personal pickup on 11/19/2012.

sarwarmd said:
Amazing passort dates. You got the passport within 4 days. You must be travelling soon.
Congratulations..
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Enjoy new status, passport and last but not the least travel...

mogambo1 said:
Yes, showed my travel ticket booked for 11/27/2012 and requested for same-day-service-while-waiting after paying additional expediting charges, but they said that they can't produce it on same day (11/15/2012) as I still have time to travel, but the best they can do was make it ready for pickup on 11/19/2012, so I said okay. They gave me option for pick in person on 11/19/2012 or their mailing it on 11/19/2012 for an expected 11/21/2012 delivery. I chose a personal pickup on 11/19/2012.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks and good luck for your cases, I see you are waiting for your interview while your spouse has applied for PP on 11/13. I think he/she will get it in 2 weeks even under regular processing.


My next challenge is OCI which I plan to apply tomorrow. It usually takes 2 months. Its holiday time, (11/22 Travisa is closed and so must be consulate ) so more worried. Some lucky ones had even gotten it in 1 month. Lets see...

sarwarmd said:
Enjoy new status, passport and last but not the least travel...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. Probably, my cases are the most complex here or the most complex scenario. I can not take my USC without my kids having their GCs.

Yes, my wife has applied for her passport. Yes at post office, they informed my wife that she can expect within two weeks.

Probably you need to surrender your passport and Indian citizenship to embassy close to you. This you need to before you apply for OCI. If you know this, it is ok. If not, please check the details on the Indian embassy web site.

mogambo1 said:
Thanks and good luck for your cases, I see you are waiting for your interview while your spouse has applied for PP on 11/13. I think he/she will get it in 2 weeks even under regular processing.


My next challenge is OCI which I plan to apply tomorrow. It usually takes 2 months. Its holiday time, (11/22 Travisa is closed and so must be consulate ) so more worried. Some lucky ones had even gotten it in 1 month. Lets see...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, I do plan to apply both together in same envelope. $190 + $290= $480 MO for Renunciation Cert + OCI. Will mail both apps in same Priority Mail Envelope to NY-Travisa tomorrow. Unlike here, we share our info and experiences, OCI thread is lifeless, seems even zombies are scared to visit it :)


sarwarmd said:
Thanks. Probably, my cases are the most complex here or the most complex scenario. I can not take my USC without my kids having their GCs.

Yes, my wife has applied for her passport. Yes at post office, they informed my wife that she can expect within two weeks.

Probably you need to surrender your passport and Indian citizenship to embassy close to you. This you need to before you apply for OCI. If you know this, it is ok. If not, please check the details on the Indian embassy web site.
Click to expand...
 
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Mogambo1 and others-
First of all to Mogambo1 - You are really an asset to all of us still trying to get our citizenship. You published very good information for the rest of us to use in our process and I thank you for it on behalf of all the rest of us in this struggle.
Question to anyone: 1.) Why is the I-751 take up to 7-10 months to get approved and what kind of information are they looking for to get the approval. 2.) Do they go through the same information with the naturalization application (N400) or it becomes easy after the I-751. Is this true that the N400, you go through the Customs/Border patrol, FBI finger print/FBI name checks before approval ? If so, didn't they do these steps during the Green Card-Removal of conditional status(I-751) and if not, do you know what took 7-10 months during this process. I would have thought they must have done all these and such the Naturalization will just be straight forward and faster. Maybe I am wrong-
Anyone with a thought ?
 
Thanks Yemi, but I am not aware of the process related to I-751 so wont be able to comment properly.

Yemi said:
Mogambo1 and others-
First of all to Mogambo1 - You are really an asset to all of us still trying to get our citizenship. You published very good information for the rest of us to use in our process and I thank you for it on behalf of all the rest of us in this struggle.

Question to anyone: 1.) Why is the I-751 take up to 7-10 months to get approved and what kind of information are they looking for to get the approval.
Don't know. 2.) Do they go through the same information with the naturalization application (N400) or it becomes easy after the I-751. Is this true that the N400, you go through the Customs/Border patrol, FBI finger print/FBI name checks before approval ? My understanding is only FBI FP, NC and background checks are done for N-400. And perhaps background checks are exhaustive that they MIGHT be including data from CBP.
If so, didn't they do these steps during the Green Card-Removal of conditional status(I-751) and if not, do you know what took 7-10 months during this process. I would have thought they must have done all these and such the Naturalization will just be straight forward and faster. Maybe I am wrong-
Anyone with a thought ?
Sorry, don't know.
Click to expand...
 
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Changing signatures for OCI thread. My last case details on this thread are given below:

N-400, DO: Cherry Hill, NJ; 5yr Ann: 11/1/2012

2012 (Pri)
8/2: Mailed
8/6: PD
8/12: Init Rev
8/13: FP NOA
8/14: FP Done
10/12: In-line for Int
10/17: Int Sch
10/22: IL
11/14: Int/ Oath/ USC
11/15: PP Applied
11/16: PP Issue Date
11/19: Got US PP in hand
11/20: OCI App Mailed

2012 (Sec)
8/2: Mailed
8/6: PD
8/12: Init Rev
8/13: FP NOA
8/14: FP Done
10/05: In-line for Int
10/9: Int Sch
10/14: IL
11/14: Int/ Oath/ USC
11/15: PP Applied
12/1: PP Received ?
 
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N400 2012 dallas

I mailed my my application in July 2012. Got my finger printing done middle of August. Still in line for interview. I have been checking USCIS web site and the processing time is 5 months on the web site. Is it pretty normal not to get an interview letter yet. Has anyone else applied from Dallas tx? Please reply. Thanks
 
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