Finally, and I really mean finally, I took the Naturalization Oath yesterday, 4/13/05, in Orlando, FL. The ceremony was at the University of Central Florida’s Arena. I attended an afternoon ceremony where over 300+ new citizens from 73 countries took the oath. There was a ceremony in the morning also where probably another 500+ took the oath. The ceremony was pretty well organized and we were done in about an hour. Most of the participants had applied in December 2003 and completed the interview in the last couple of months. So right now Orlando DO is taking about 15-18 months from PD to oath.
It took me 23+ months to complete this journey. There were no complications except, Orlando, DO kept on telling me that they did not receive my A-file from TSC to schedule the interview. I visited Orlando DO 3 or 4 times on a monthly basis, wrote to TSC by certified mail to transfer the A-file on 2 occasions, and got the Senator and the Congressman involved. After getting the Senator and the Congressman involved, I got my interview letter. Interview was fine, except, the officer could not close the case and approve my application since the system showed another A-file that had to be looked at and merged in order to make the final decision.
I kept the regular communications going with the Senator’s and the Congressman’s office. After the interview, I sent a thank you note to the officer and politely reminded to complete the review and make the final decision. Again, visited the Orlando, DO after another month, and luckily an officer looked up the case and it turned out that they had received the other A-file from NRC, while the officer who interviewed me had part of the file. He went and put everything together for the interviewing officer’s mailbox. After that I received a voicemail from the interviewing officer that they have approved my case and I should receive an oath letter soon. Finally, after another couple of weeks, I received the oath latter for ceremony on 4/13/05.
Just some tips and lessons for people in similar situations…
* Be persistent and professional, but polite in your dealings.
* Keep visiting the local Do’s on a regular basis no matter what you find out. * No matter how frustrating, keep asking the same question differently. Once in a while, you may bump into a helping hand. Also, it generates activity on your case.
* Do NOT hesitate to write polite, but firm letters by certified mail to local DO or Service Center, when appropriate.
* If your case gets even slightly out of average processing times of your DO, get the Congressman and Senator’s office involved ASAP.
* Some DO’s are a lot slower than others, but you got stay on top of your case.
* Never lose hope, and keep at it.
Good luck to everyone who is going thru’ this journey!
My timeline:
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PD: May 2003
Name check Cleared: May 2003
1st FP: June 2003
Follow up: Visited DO, wrote letters, got Congressman and Senator involved – July to November 2004
2nd FP: November 2004,
Interview Letter Recd’: November 2004
Interview: January 2005
Oath Letter Recd’: March 2005
Oath Ceremony: April 13, 2005!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Applied for Passport: April 14, 2005 with expedited service!
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It took me 23+ months to complete this journey. There were no complications except, Orlando, DO kept on telling me that they did not receive my A-file from TSC to schedule the interview. I visited Orlando DO 3 or 4 times on a monthly basis, wrote to TSC by certified mail to transfer the A-file on 2 occasions, and got the Senator and the Congressman involved. After getting the Senator and the Congressman involved, I got my interview letter. Interview was fine, except, the officer could not close the case and approve my application since the system showed another A-file that had to be looked at and merged in order to make the final decision.
I kept the regular communications going with the Senator’s and the Congressman’s office. After the interview, I sent a thank you note to the officer and politely reminded to complete the review and make the final decision. Again, visited the Orlando, DO after another month, and luckily an officer looked up the case and it turned out that they had received the other A-file from NRC, while the officer who interviewed me had part of the file. He went and put everything together for the interviewing officer’s mailbox. After that I received a voicemail from the interviewing officer that they have approved my case and I should receive an oath letter soon. Finally, after another couple of weeks, I received the oath latter for ceremony on 4/13/05.
Just some tips and lessons for people in similar situations…
* Be persistent and professional, but polite in your dealings.
* Keep visiting the local Do’s on a regular basis no matter what you find out. * No matter how frustrating, keep asking the same question differently. Once in a while, you may bump into a helping hand. Also, it generates activity on your case.
* Do NOT hesitate to write polite, but firm letters by certified mail to local DO or Service Center, when appropriate.
* If your case gets even slightly out of average processing times of your DO, get the Congressman and Senator’s office involved ASAP.
* Some DO’s are a lot slower than others, but you got stay on top of your case.
* Never lose hope, and keep at it.
Good luck to everyone who is going thru’ this journey!
My timeline:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PD: May 2003
Name check Cleared: May 2003
1st FP: June 2003
Follow up: Visited DO, wrote letters, got Congressman and Senator involved – July to November 2004
2nd FP: November 2004,
Interview Letter Recd’: November 2004
Interview: January 2005
Oath Letter Recd’: March 2005
Oath Ceremony: April 13, 2005!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Applied for Passport: April 14, 2005 with expedited service!
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