Had N-400 interview in Portland, Oregon

H

Harish Krishna

Registered Users (C)
Hi there,

I had my N-400 interview in Portland, Oregon this afternoon. At the end, the officer printed the N-652 form and checked two boxes: a) you passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government; and b) Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval.

The interview was smooth and quick. I had 2 tickets for speeding, which I had included in my N-400 application. He said it was good I had included them because I got a citation (ticket), but that they're only interested in violations that involve arrests.

I took my IRS transcripts with me and he added them to the file. He liked that I had procured the transcripts directly from the IRS, even though it wasn't required.

Questions were trivial: 6 from the 100 list; 1 sentence to read aloud; and 1 sentence to write.

All and all, it was the easiest visit to the INS I ever had. Waiting now for my oath letter, which should be arriving in August.

Thanks to all for the info provided in this board. It helped me a lot during N-400 preparation and waiting period.

Best wishes, Harish

________________________________________
N-400 sent to NSC: 02/23/05
PD: 02/25/05
FP: 03/25/05
Interview: 07/12/05
Waiting for oath letter...
 
Congratulations! Did the officer ask for any other document apart from the stuff they mention in their interview letter? How many years' worth of tax returns did you provide? Thanks!

Harish Krishna said:
Hi there,

I had my N-400 interview in Portland, Oregon this afternoon. At the end, the officer printed the N-652 form and checked two boxes: a) you passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government; and b) Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval.

The interview was smooth and quick. I had 2 tickets for speeding, which I had included in my N-400 application. He said it was good I had included them because I got a citation (ticket), but that they're only interested in violations that involve arrests.

I took my IRS transcripts with me and he added them to the file. He liked that I had procured the transcripts directly from the IRS, even though it wasn't required.

Questions were trivial: 6 from the 100 list; 1 sentence to read aloud; and 1 sentence to write.

All and all, it was the easiest visit to the INS I ever had. Waiting now for my oath letter, which should be arriving in August.

Thanks to all for the info provided in this board. It helped me a lot during N-400 preparation and waiting period.

Best wishes, Harish

________________________________________
N-400 sent to NSC: 02/23/05
PD: 02/25/05
FP: 03/25/05
Interview: 07/12/05
Waiting for oath letter...
Click to expand...
 
The officer didn't ask for anything else other than what appeared in the interview letter. I got 3 years worth of tax history from IRS --IRS mails it to you for free, BTW.
 
Harish Krishna said:
The officer didn't ask for anything else other than what appeared in the interview letter. I got 3 years worth of tax history from IRS --IRS mails it to you for free, BTW.
Click to expand...

Hey Harrish


I am also with Portland Oregon,
Actually it doesnt seem like there are a lot of people from Portland OR in here.
But anyway i am going for my fingerprinting on the 11 of next month. How was your experience with fingerprinting.
And also how are the officers in Portland.

I was in SF before and never had any problem with ins officers have been great and wondering about your experience in Portland.
Isnt it you can take oath after the ceremony in Portland as somewhere i read.

I would very much appreciate your answers.

Thanks and congrats
 
The INS officer was very professional and friendly. I didn't have any difficulties.

I went for my FP the day after receiving the appointment letter. Yes, in Portland you can show up at the ASC any time and they'll take your FP as long as you bring your appointment letter with you. No questions were asked.

I had my interview in the afternoon, so I can't answer about oath being given the same day as interview.
 
Do you mean you can go for fingerprinting anyday after receiving your appointment letter or is it the day as stated in the letter but only you can go anytime you can.
 
I have been reading helpful posts here and now would like to contribute my interview experience at Portland, Oregon Office.

My interview is at 2:00pm and I arrived around 1:35pm. As instructed by the sign on the door, I left the interview letter in the basket outside Room 106. There were about 8 groups of people waiting in this big room. It turned out that more than half of them were waiting for the 1:50pm oath ceremony.

I was called by a female officer around 1:55pm. She greeted me and led me to her office. She put me under oath and asked me to sit down. She asked for my driver license, current passport, and green card and then explained to me what to expect: we would go over and update my information first before taking the history and English tests. She pretty much went over most of the questions I filled out on the N-400 applications (e.g., your first name, last name, current job, how many times you have traveled after getting the green card, etc.) Asked me about organizations that I belonged to and those questions about moral characters at the end of N-400 form.

She then looked at her computer screen and asked me a few US history questions. Questions I was asked were all from the sample civics questions downloaded from the web, e.g., how long do we elect each Senator? What is the bill of rights? when was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

She then pointed to a sentence printed on a piece of paper and asked me to read out loud. On the same piece of paper, she asked me to write down a sentence.

She typed on her computer for a while and then printed out a piece of paper. She asked me to go over the information and if all correct, sign it. (If I remember correctly, the form is called Naturalization Certificate Preparation Form. The information on it will appear on the Certificate.) Finally, she asked me to sign the front side of the two photos I submitted with N-400.

She photocopied my driver license, green card and passport. She checked on the N-652 form: "You passed the tests of English and US history and government." and "A) Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval."

And then, the unthinkable happened.

She said "Well, it is too late to put you in today's ceremony (remember, the ceremony took place at 1:50pm.) How about tomorrow?" My eyes were wide open and, in a controlled voice, I said "Sure!" She then filled out a
form titled "Same Day Administrative Naturalization Ceremony" Form with the information about when/where/what to bring for the oath ceremony.

I left her office and out on the street around 2:15pm. A total of 20 minutes.

==========================================================
A few comments that I'd like to add:

1. The officers are very professional. They would come to the waiting room, call out your name and then greet you. My interview officer even made small talk with me during the interview and teased about my handwriting. She was
trying to make me feel comfortable.

2. When she asked me if I've ever been cited, arrested, etc., I said "Yes, I was fined twice for speeding." She nodded and then moved on. I did have proof that fines were paid (I got it from the county office) but she did not even ask for it.

3. Selective Service? She just talked to herself saying "you were above the age," and then moved on.

4. She only asked me if I file taxes but did not ask for any proof. I did bring tax transcripts for the past 4 years free of charge from IRS.

5. If possible, I kept my answers to only Yes/No to avoid any unexpected follow-up questions.

6. When she asked me how many times I traveled abroad after having the green card, I quickly responded. She smiled and said that most people stumbled and got panic.

Good luck to all of you who are still in the process.

Bigcake

Nebraska Service Center
Portland, Oregon District Office
N-400 sent to NSC on 3/18/05
Priority Date 3/21/05
Fingerprint at Portland, OR on 5/18/05
Interview at Portland, OR on 8/3/05
Oath Ceremony at Portland, OR on 8/4/05
 
Congrats to you
And thanks for writing in all the details of how and what happened at the interview

I am going for my fingerprinting from Bend OR on Thursday.
Hopefully for my interview oath can be taken on the same day to save another long drive.
Even next day oath is better too.
 
Got oath letter...

I received the oath letter today; have an appointment for August 25. My name in birth certificate is slightly different from what appears in passport/Green Card, so I have to attend a "name change" before a federal judge while taking the oath.

--Harish
________________________________
My timeline:
N-400 sent to NSC: 02/23/05
PD: 02/25/05
FP: 03/25/05
Interview: 07/12/05
Oath: 08/25/05
 
Oath Ceremony

I had my oath ceremony yesterday.

You were supposed to check in and wait in Room 106 by 1:50pm. A staff would then gather everyone around and lead you to upstare where the oath ceremony would take place.

I said "suppose" because I was stuck in traffic on I-5 (near Exit 278) for nearly an hour for no reason (did not see any accident or road contruction). It was 2:02pm when I finally arrived at the Federal building and I had given up any hope of going through the ceremony. But I got lucky. They were a bit behind schedule so I caught up with them outside the ceremony room.

The director called each one of us to the door. Each one of us handed the oath letter (with all questions answered and signed) and the green card to a lady at the door. Family members were already in the room and we were asked to sit in the designed seat. Only 11 of us for the ceremony. The ceremony started. The director gave us a usual speech, showed us a short video, asked us to stand and intruduced our names and nations. We took oath and received the certificate and a flag one by one. Wathced another short tape, pledged legend, antoher short talk and some reminders of the importance of the certificate. The ceremony was over in less than 40 minutes. You are allowed to stay for a while to take pictures and chat with the director. (The sequence of events might be different. I was exhausted and excited in the room and most of the things were blur.)

Some interesting things I learned.
0. It was usually a 90-minute drive for me to get to Portland and I left 140 minutes before thinking to have 50 minutes of margin of error. I was wrong. I-5 is so hard to predict.
1. On the average, 5000 people in Oregon are naturalized per year.
2. Ceremonies in Portland office are usually small. We only had 11 people (but from 7 different countries.)
3. It takes about 30 minutes to make a certificate. The director asked us to make sure the information on the certificate is accurate. If not, they can fix it in less than 30 minutes. However, if you find a mistake after leaving the room, you will have to go through all the red tapes to get it fixed. It will be a long long process.
4. You are actually allowed to make photocopy of your certificate even through it says on the certificate that is illegal. The director told us that the law has changed and he actually encourages us to make photocopies.

So the first two things I did after getting the certificate were 1). apply for a US passport, and 2). phoned USCIS to upgrade my wife's I-130 petition (it took me 40 minutes of waiting and 10 minutes with the staff but I did it.)


Bigcake

Nebraska Service Center
Portland, Oregon District Office
N-400 sent to NSC on 3/18/05
Priority Date 3/21/05
Fingerprint at Portland, OR on 5/18/05
Interview at Portland, OR on 8/3/05
Oath Ceremony at Portland, OR on 8/4/05
 
Ranni said:
Congrats to you
And thanks for writing in all the details of how and what happened at the interview

I am going for my fingerprinting from Bend OR on Thursday.
Hopefully for my interview oath can be taken on the same day to save another long drive.
Even next day oath is better too.
Click to expand...

If your interview is scheduled before 11:00A.M. then you will have a chance to attend the ceremony the same day. That will a perfect situation even for me, but I would be equally happy to attend the ceremony the very next day. From this board, I have seen many terrible stories about not getting an oath letter for a long time after the interview.
 
bigcake said:
If your interview is scheduled before 11:00A.M. then you will have a chance to attend the ceremony the same day. That will a perfect situation even for me, but I would be equally happy to attend the ceremony the very next day. From this board, I have seen many terrible stories about not getting an oath letter for a long time after the interview.
Click to expand...

Thanks BIGCAKE for the info..I am encouraged by smooth application process at PDX..

My dates are:
Mailed app: 22-JUN-05
NOA: 24-JUN-05
FP: 18-AUG-05
Interview:??-???-??
Oath:??-???-??

Ranni, how about yours?
 
Hi

I am sent the application on 22nd of june like yours.
My fingerprinting is on 11th of August so you and me are sailing in the same boat.
Keep me posted with your updates and i will keep you posted with mine.

Thanks
Ranni
 
Had n-400 interview but officer checked B)-- A decision cannot yet be made about your

Hi,

Someone please shed some light on this situation:

After the naturalization interview, immigration officer gave a N-652. He marked that you have passed the english and US govt test. In the middle section, there are two checkboxes: A)--- Congratulations!....
B) --- A decision cannot yet be made about your application.

Officer check marked (B) - decision cannot ....... The reasons he gave that your name has not been cleared by Security (which is done any another US Govt. Agency - officer does not know the name of the agency). Also he mentioned that CIS cannot predict when security clearance will be done and asked not to contact CIS at least before 6 months.

Anyone had similar situation? Any one can shed any light on this. What are the options available to expedite the process?

Thanks a lot in advance..

Harish Krishna said:
Hi there,

I had my N-400 interview in Portland, Oregon this afternoon. At the end, the officer printed the N-652 form and checked two boxes: a) you passed the tests of English and U.S. history and government; and b) Congratulations! Your application has been recommended for approval.

The interview was smooth and quick. I had 2 tickets for speeding, which I had included in my N-400 application. He said it was good I had included them because I got a citation (ticket), but that they're only interested in violations that involve arrests.

I took my IRS transcripts with me and he added them to the file. He liked that I had procured the transcripts directly from the IRS, even though it wasn't required.

Questions were trivial: 6 from the 100 list; 1 sentence to read aloud; and 1 sentence to write.

All and all, it was the easiest visit to the INS I ever had. Waiting now for my oath letter, which should be arriving in August.

Thanks to all for the info provided in this board. It helped me a lot during N-400 preparation and waiting period.

Best wishes, Harish

________________________________________
N-400 sent to NSC: 02/23/05
PD: 02/25/05
FP: 03/25/05
Interview: 07/12/05
Waiting for oath letter...
Click to expand...
 
FP was in Portland and it was in ins support centre.
Good thing you can go anytime and it is done is 2 minutes.
There is hardly anybody in there.

You can go before your appointment time and you will be done in no time.
 
FP in Portland

Went for FP at Portland today. Scheduled time was 2:00pm but was there at around 12:30 and they did FP. It was so convenient.
Process took less than 5 mins.
Now looking for the interview notice.
 
Congratulations to Harish Krishna, bigcake

Nice job on describing the process.

All the best to others!
 
Citizenship interview next Monday at Portland

Thanks Harikrishna and Bigcake for your detailed posting about the interview process. It is a great help.
My interview is next Monday (22nd) morning. Since it is downtown Portland, does the USCIS have a parking space? Is there a parking lot nearby?
 
Birth certificate

Hi Harishkrishna,

You said your name in birth certificate is different from the one in passport. Did the officer ask for your birth certificate during the interview?
I do not have an original as it was not mandatory to get a birth certificate for those born before 1970 in India. I just have affidavits from my parents and thasildar and this what I used for green card processing. Is that sufficient?

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top