thanks for your guys' great information, now it's our turn to report something.
application sent: 06/08/2008
FP: around 07/10/2008
IL: around 08/30/2008
ID: 09/24/2008 (wed.), 1:40PM.
our 5-year GC anniversary (employment based) was 8/29, so we sent in the applications about <90 days before that.
didn't expect everything went so quickly... we have overseas travel plans in october (haha, and found here we're not the only "crazy" ones).
read about the same day oath thing, so arrived at 12:45pm to try our luck to see if we can get in earlier...
room 103, about 20 people waiting, submitted interview letter to reception, was told to wait.
not until 1:15PM was someone called (lunch break?).
some took lawyers, but most cases were approved in 20 mins.
1:55PM, my wife was called first (i thought we would be called at the same time), kind of awkward since we brought our documents in the same folder... so she went in and i was worried what if i got called right after by another officer (she took everything!!).
NO, after 20 mins (2:15), she was out with a smile. she was told her case was too straightforward, and after a few simple questions, and wrote down "i drive a blue car to work", her case was approved!!
she also got that lucky notice to have the oath on the same day.
now i was getting nervous, time was ticking ticking ticking away (i knew 3:00PM was the last ceromony and my wife was told to wait there at 2:30PM)......
no, no, no, i figured my case was somehow misplaced or with a really slow officer or ...
the nice reception lady noticed this and checked for me, yes, it was still in a pile of other cases in some officer's mailbox-like queue...
2:45PM, i was called while wife went to room 101 waiting for the ceromony group got called...
officer appologized to me for the delay and everything went well ... "the white house has a big tree" and 6 civic questions (who becomes president when president dies, how many senators, how long when we re-elect house of representives...), then he went over my N400 application line by line but very quickly. he only asked for GC, passport, and DL (all my tax, employment letter, marriage cert.... were of no use)
in the end, he stamped here and there, asked me to write my name on the pictures (on one side of the front) in N400, one of which would be used on the naturlization certificate.
he told me my case was approved BUT it's too late for the same day oath, he went to find the earliest one for me, and it's next tue morning. i had to take it (which means another few hours loss of hourly wage, sigh...)
when i got out, it's 3:15PM, and saw my wife still waiting in 101 (outside area) with a bunch of other people. i thought i might still get a chance to jump in... so i rushed back to the reception and asked if i could join... she kindly said no and "the cutoff time is 3PM". also, another officer told me there might be no more room for me.
so, lucky and unlucky...
around 3:45PM, she came out with a U.S. flag, new paper, some booklets and a happy face, among with other people, some were indeed in tears and taking pictures.
WHAT a journey! GOOD LUCK everyone!