Will certainly do. The Big Day is tomorrow
Application mailed - 7/11/08
Application received - 7/15/08
Priority date - 7/11/08
Notice received - 7/18/08
Fingerprint appt notice - 7/22/08
Fingerprint appt date - 8/6/08 in Philadelphia, PA
Fingerprint completed - 8/6/08
Interview letter received - 8/22/08
Interview scheduled - 9/23/08
My timeline
Application mailed – 8/01/08
Application received – 8/05/08
Priority date – 8/07/08
Fingerprint appt notice – 8/12/08
Fingerprint appt date - 9/05/08 in Philadelphia, PA
Fingerprint completed - 9/05/08
Interview letter received - 9/24/08
Interview scheduled - 10/17/08
As promised, my interview experience :
Arrived at the Mt. laurel office at 9:15am for the interview that had been scheduled for 9:55am. They let me in, and in fact, there were about 25 people sitting in the waiting room already. I gave the appointment letter to the lady at the check-in desk and she asked me to take a sit. It is a very spacious, brand new office with very nice and pleasant people working there. The officers would come and call the applicants, smile and greet everyone - so I was impressed. All went pretty fast and around 10:30am, the AO came out and called my name. We walked to his office, where he asked me to raise my hand and swear etc, then the interview started. He asked for my GC, DL and a passport. Then he went through the application, just asking whether anything changed between then and now. I have my GC for more than 8 years and had a few trips that were more than 6 months in 2000 and 2001 and was waiting for him to ask about it - no word. I guess it was irrelevant at this point as he looke at the last 5 years only. Then he asked only about my last trip outside of US in 2006 that lasted 6 days. He also asked why my first child was born outside of the US while I was a green card holder - I said that my husband was working over there and my family still resides there, so I felt more comfortable being close to them - he said it makes sense.
Had to write a sentence - "I want to become a US citizen" and answered all 10 questions. He didn't ask for any documents or taxes as he had everything on file already ( Isent everything with the application). Yes, he asked if I pay taxes - I said yes. That was it for the taxes (I brought the transcripts and the actual returns with me, just in case). He only asked for my marriage certificate and I gave him a copy. I asked if he needed my birth certificate as well, he said he had it from my GC file and showed it to me along with the envelope that I sent in 1999 to participate in the Green Card lottery that was impressive. Then he said, everything looks good but he still needs to check if I have all the requested background clearance papers My heart stopped for a sec and then he said everything was fine, and even joked that they have nothing negative on me He said that I was approved and if I wanted to do the Oath ceremony at 3:15pm, he could schedule me for that. I said yes, of course - and that was it. He was very pleasant, professional and family oriented. He did mention a few times in the beginning that once you are a citizen you can sponsor your family and relatives. Then he repeated it again. I came back at 3pm for the Oath ceremony and it took about an hour for everyone in the room to receive certificates. There was something very exciting about the ceremony, especially when they showed us a movie about the first immigration. I guess all 24 of us sitting there were very excited.
The only "annoying" thing about the process was that he made me change my official signature (the one I have been using all my life) as it was considered not quite readable and since, I have taken my husband's last name, he said that it has to have something from it Now I don't know what to do - shall I change it on all legal papers like bank, DL, SSN etc? That will be a major headache..
As promised, my interview experience :
Arrived at the Mt. laurel office at 9:15am for the interview that had been scheduled for 9:55am. They let me in, and in fact, there were about 25 people sitting in the waiting room already. I gave the appointment letter to the lady at the check-in desk and she asked me to take a sit. It is a very spacious, brand new office with very nice and pleasant people working there. The officers would come and call the applicants, smile and greet everyone - so I was impressed. All went pretty fast and around 10:30am, the AO came out and called my name. We walked to his office, where he asked me to raise my hand and swear etc, then the interview started. He asked for my GC, DL and a passport. Then he went through the application, just asking whether anything changed between then and now. I have my GC for more than 8 years and had a few trips that were more than 6 months in 2000 and 2001 and was waiting for him to ask about it - no word. I guess it was irrelevant at this point as he looke at the last 5 years only. Then he asked only about my last trip outside of US in 2006 that lasted 6 days. He also asked why my first child was born outside of the US while I was a green card holder - I said that my husband was working over there and my family still resides there, so I felt more comfortable being close to them - he said it makes sense.
Had to write a sentence - "I want to become a US citizen" and answered all 10 questions. He didn't ask for any documents or taxes as he had everything on file already ( Isent everything with the application). Yes, he asked if I pay taxes - I said yes. That was it for the taxes (I brought the transcripts and the actual returns with me, just in case). He only asked for my marriage certificate and I gave him a copy. I asked if he needed my birth certificate as well, he said he had it from my GC file and showed it to me along with the envelope that I sent in 1999 to participate in the Green Card lottery that was impressive. Then he said, everything looks good but he still needs to check if I have all the requested background clearance papers My heart stopped for a sec and then he said everything was fine, and even joked that they have nothing negative on me He said that I was approved and if I wanted to do the Oath ceremony at 3:15pm, he could schedule me for that. I said yes, of course - and that was it. He was very pleasant, professional and family oriented. He did mention a few times in the beginning that once you are a citizen you can sponsor your family and relatives. Then he repeated it again. I came back at 3pm for the Oath ceremony and it took about an hour for everyone in the room to receive certificates. There was something very exciting about the ceremony, especially when they showed us a movie about the first immigration. I guess all 24 of us sitting there were very excited.
The only "annoying" thing about the process was that he made me change my official signature (the one I have been using all my life) as it was considered not quite readable and since, I have taken my husband's last name, he said that it has to have something from it Now I don't know what to do - shall I change it on all legal papers like bank, DL, SSN etc? That will be a major headache..
As promised, my interview experience :
Arrived at the Mt. laurel office at 9:15am for the interview that had been scheduled for 9:55am. They let me in, and in fact, there were about 25 people sitting in the waiting room already. I gave the appointment letter to the lady at the check-in desk and she asked me to take a sit. It is a very spacious, brand new office with very nice and pleasant people working there. The officers would come and call the applicants, smile and greet everyone - so I was impressed. All went pretty fast and around 10:30am, the AO came out and called my name. We walked to his office, where he asked me to raise my hand and swear etc, then the interview started. He asked for my GC, DL and a passport. Then he went through the application, just asking whether anything changed between then and now. I have my GC for more than 8 years and had a few trips that were more than 6 months in 2000 and 2001 and was waiting for him to ask about it - no word. I guess it was irrelevant at this point as he looke at the last 5 years only. Then he asked only about my last trip outside of US in 2006 that lasted 6 days. He also asked why my first child was born outside of the US while I was a green card holder - I said that my husband was working over there and my family still resides there, so I felt more comfortable being close to them - he said it makes sense.
Had to write a sentence - "I want to become a US citizen" and answered all 10 questions. He didn't ask for any documents or taxes as he had everything on file already ( Isent everything with the application). Yes, he asked if I pay taxes - I said yes. That was it for the taxes (I brought the transcripts and the actual returns with me, just in case). He only asked for my marriage certificate and I gave him a copy. I asked if he needed my birth certificate as well, he said he had it from my GC file and showed it to me along with the envelope that I sent in 1999 to participate in the Green Card lottery that was impressive. Then he said, everything looks good but he still needs to check if I have all the requested background clearance papers My heart stopped for a sec and then he said everything was fine, and even joked that they have nothing negative on me He said that I was approved and if I wanted to do the Oath ceremony at 3:15pm, he could schedule me for that. I said yes, of course - and that was it. He was very pleasant, professional and family oriented. He did mention a few times in the beginning that once you are a citizen you can sponsor your family and relatives. Then he repeated it again. I came back at 3pm for the Oath ceremony and it took about an hour for everyone in the room to receive certificates. There was something very exciting about the ceremony, especially when they showed us a movie about the first immigration. I guess all 24 of us sitting there were very excited.
The only "annoying" thing about the process was that he made me change my official signature (the one I have been using all my life) as it was considered not quite readable and since, I have taken my husband's last name, he said that it has to have something from it Now I don't know what to do - shall I change it on all legal papers like bank, DL, SSN etc? That will be a major headache..
Hi All,
He only asked for prove of my Selective service. NOthing else.
Sorry to hear about your delay. You mentioned above that the officer asked about proof of Selective Service. What document did you provide him to prove it? Thanks.
Yes, oath letter one week oath is common.I have 2 questions.
1. Is it normal that they issue letter so close to oath date?
Mt Laurel may not have Infopass appointments available so soon. Worse case scenario is to show up at oath and tell them you haven't reveived oath letter, You have already received confirmation of your oath date and time so you are good to go.2. If I don't get my letter by Thursday, then should I schedule info pass and go or call USCIS as my mail comes around 4p.m? I don't want to miss my oath date. Pals suggest.