Los Angeles, CA - N-400 Timeline

tha4js said:
Sorry for any typos, grammar errors etc.
I'm gonna type this on the fly...

Here's my Oath Experience:
Arrived around 6:45 w/ my wife. We had breakfast at Carls Jr thinking we would be one of the early ones.
Finished breakfast around 7:10 and headed to LASA. We weren't one of the early ones haha...
But we still got to the entrance around 7:25. We were told to go in separate lines.
My wife had to line up on the visitor area while I had to line up with the rest of the new soon to be citizens. :)
While in line they said to make sure we had our N-445 filled out, which I did.
Once inside there were about 40 or so lines to turn in our appt paperwork and for us to choose which line we wanted to go to.
I looked for the shortest line and turned in my n-445 along w/ my greencard.
They asked if anything had changed since the interview, if I had any traffic tickets, am I still willing to defend the country etc...
I said no changes and yes I'm still willing to defend the country.
They wrote OK on the N-445 form and wrote a table number on the form.
They said after the ceremony go to that table number to pick-up your naturalization certificate :)
Sat down at around 8:05 in waited for the ceremony to start. I filled out the voter registration while waiting but did not sign yet.
Ceremony started at around 9:00 AM and lasted about 20 mins.
First the judge presiding gave a short speech about how her parents naturalized and she is a US born citizen.
She also gave us alot of credit doing it the "hard" way and that she knows that we will value our new citizenship because of this journey.
Then we said the Oath of Allegiance and I felt goose bumps, it felt great!
After the Oath I turn to my wife "she was sitting on the visitors section but only about 50 yards away from me.
And she was in tears, so was I!
Then after the Oath they showed a couple of videos
1st one was with our President welcoming us and a music video of "Proud to be an American".
Both were very emotional and very rewarding.
After the ceremony, I picked up my certificate and we were done!
I was gonna get the passport at the time but did not have cash. The person doing the photos said the ATM was down at the time :(
So I'm gonna go to the Post Office this week and get that taken care of.

All in all it was a great experience and I'm happy that it's all over.
Like the music video says..

I'm "Proud to be an American!!"
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Congratulations, tha4js! Good detail.

I am also now a US citizen. I have attended ceremony in afternoon at LA Sports Arena. My wife and I both had ceremony the same time so it was nice.

We reached around noon and parked our car near Science Center parking lot. Parking was $15 (All parking area provided by LASA/Exposition park have the same price for that day). We used S Figueroa St to enter so we ended up in this parking lot. It is a covered parking area which is nice. There is one parking in just front of the LASA, if you are on W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd you can use that lot, you can see that lot in Google map, it’s not covered but it is closer to the entrance. If you are looking for the food there is a Subway and a Burger place on Figueroa & Martin Luther. They have parking for customers only so you can find some parking if you want to eat there.

We entered the gate around 12:30 pm by showing our oath letter and green card to security. We went to one of the 40 counters, the one closer to entrance have longer queue so immigration staff was asking people to go further down which we did we just had 2 person before us for the processing. We gave our oath letter and green card to officer and he verified all answers and marked OK on the letter. He returned the letter, he gave us a table no. on the letter which we need to go to pickup our citizenship certificate after oath. We set in the arena around 1:00pm and waited for the oath. I was not sure about voter registration so I kept the form and decided to mail it later. Also for passport we decided to go to our local post office and apply. The ceremony started at 1:58pm with 3002 applicants and lasted around 20 minutes. This was an emotional moments for us when judge congratulated on becoming US citizens. After the ceremony we waited for our turn to pick up the certificate and we were done around 3:15pm.

We have applied for the passport today morning and hopefully will receive it in 3/4 weeks.

It’s been a long journey so wish you all good luck and hope to see everyone as fellow citizens! Long live USA!
 
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westlakeuser said:
Congrats Indore, so we were part of the same group!
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Nice description. Congrats, Yes, we were in same group. We showed up around 12 PM. There were already people sitting in Arena. Tori Spelling's husband, Dean McDermott also became citizen at same time. It was nice experience.
 
slan - no problem and thank you very much. :)

indore, westlakeuser - congrats it feels good to finally say were USC. (My wife said hey.. you became a USC @ USC) we goth laughed :)
 
Congrats to all new USCs! Another question: did anyone apply for a Passport right there at the LASA or know what payment methods they accept? Also if there are any facilities to make a copy of the Naturalization Cert before submitting it with the passport application? Thanks a lot.
 
Oath letter received today. Sept 24 Los Angeles Sports Arena 8:00 AM. Santa Ana office.

04/14/2010 : N-400 Sent
04/16/2010 : N-400 Rec.
04/29/2010 : Checks Cashed
05/03/2010 : NOA Rec.
05/06/2010 : Online status -> RFE sent
05/10/2010 : Rec. FP letter;
05/26/2010 : FP Scheduled
05/26/2010 : FP done
06/05/2010 : Case sent to local off.
06/07/2010 : Interview Letter
07/26/2010 : Interview Date passed
08/27/2010 : Oath Letter
09/24/2010 : Oath Date
xx/xx/2010 : Passport Application
xx/xx/2010 : Passport Received
 
Finally Case Transferred to Local Office!

If anyone has a recent Interview experience at the Los Angeles DO that they wouldn't mind sharing, I will appreciate it greatly. Thank you.
 
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Since my case was transferred to the local office and although the date the interview letter was issued is on the 31st of August, there have been 3 LUDs on my case--the last one being today. Anybody knows what that could be for? Just wondering if they can all of a sudden change your interview date or something.
 
When I got my Interview Letter, there was a checklist of documents for the interview attached to it (form N-659--which is a form letter, not individualized). One of the documents listed for people applying based on marriage to a USC (which is my case) is:

"E. Proof of marital union as well as proof of residence;"

I had already submitted tax transcripts, bank account statements, tax returns and marriage certificate with the original application. I've been married for almost 7 years now but I have no kids yet or I would have sent birth certs too.

Also point B. of that same checklist says:

"B. Your current marriage certificate registered by a civil authority; and" (rest of the points continue).

If anyone can shed some light into what documents to bring for point E. above, that would be appreciated.

Also, should I bring my wife to the interview?
 
My Interview Experience:

Went to Santa Ana DO along with my wife. After reading the forums, I was well prepared by taking loads of supporting documents on my travel, taxes, paystubs, bills for proof of address etc.. Actually I had to carry to bid bags along with me.

We went 30min before the interview and through security(almost like airports) and straight away asked to proceed to the waiting hall. I took this time to freshen up and review the copy of my application on my previous employers, travel dates etc. 20 minutes into the wait, they called my name exactly at the time printed on the letter. They said that my wife would be called separately. I told that I carry the supporting documents that are common such as Taxes, Marriage certificate etc..

The officer is a lady and seems to have no time for even eye contact. I tried to be nice and tried to exchange some pleasantries, but she seems to care little. Just said it is a busy day for her. She led me into her cabin that is a little further than most offices.

The first question (even before looking at my application) was when did i leave company XYZ(the company that got me GC in first place) and I gave her an approximate year (i couldn't remember,so gave a wrong year).

In fact I left the company immediately after GC and it was more than 5 years ago. Since the N400 application asks us to fill last 5 years of employment history, I did not list the company I got my GC through..Bummer..

She started going over my application page by page, cross verfying my current address, date of birth, age (asked atleast 6-7 times), verified passport stamps with that of the application travel dates. On the Employer history she asked me the dates of the company I did not list and wrote it down. she seems not too pleased with the fact that I left out the company that I got me GC..

Then she said, another officer is going to review my file and interview. And for some reason she changed her mind and started asking me civic questions, which i answered correctly (the first six).

Then she made me write a sentence, read a sentence asked my age again (is she in love with me?) sign the application and gave the letter of approval and said LA office is going to contact me on Oath ceremony dates.

They did not ask me to show anything other than my passports, GC, driver license.

All done in 15minutes max.

Lesson Learned: If yours is employed based, be prepared to answer why (&when) you left the company.

Good luck to you all...

Santa Ana, 5 year based
06/01/2010: N-400 sent to Phoenix, AZ
06/03/2010: N-400 confirmation received
06/11/2010: Check cashed
06/23/2010: FP noticed received for Santa Ana DO
06/25/2010: FP Completed (went ahead of time due to travel)
07/06/2010: FP Actually Scheduled
xx/xx/2010: Case sent to local office
09/10/2010: Interview
xx/xx/2010: Oath
xx/xx/2010: USC
xx/xx/2010: Passport Application
xx/xx/2010: Passport Recieved
 
Got my oath letter a few days ago for the Sept 24th ceremony. Unfortunately I am out of the country now and will not return until Oct 19th. I emailed OathCeremonyD23@dhs.gov asking to have the date rescheduled to the Oct 27th ceremony.

They replied the next day confirming my request to reschedule, but could not confirm a new date.

"This correspondence is being sent in response to your email. You have been scheduled to attend the September 24, 2010 Oath Ceremony at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Since you are unable to attend this ceremony, you will be rescheduled to attend another Oath Ceremony within the next 90 days. A Form N-445, Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony will be mailed to the address that you have provided. If a Form N-445 is not received within the next 90 days, please schedule an InfoPass appointment with the Los Angeles Field Office in order to ensure that you are properly rescheduled for another Oath Ceremony."
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Hi
Please i have to ask about the oath letter form N-445 , If is it necessary answering and signing this form now or it can be wait until the cermony day in 24sep
 
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90 days and counting

I don't have all the dates but my case priority date is 03/10/10

Interview date is 6/16/10 -passed Los Angeles

today is the 90th day from my interview and still havent received any oath letter...
im starting to get worried because from browsing through this thread i see people getting their oath letter, 4-6 weeks from their interview date.

called the 1-800, rep told me to wait another 2 weeks, because according to his "system" USCIS is processing may received date/priority date of 03/03/10 -03/10/10
when i called this morning.

anyone know why its taking forever my oath letter ? i think my application is denied.....

TIA
 
Indore said:
You can fill up the form now and sign before the officer.
Click to expand...
Thank you my friend
Ok i have another question please .
About this :
You must bring the following with you:
Any Immigration documents you may have.

what is that mean ?
all the form i recived during the naturlization procces ? notice of action...interview letter..fb letter ??
 
akabeware said:
I don't have all the dates but my case priority date is 03/10/10

Interview date is 6/16/10 -passed Los Angeles

today is the 90th day from my interview and still havent received any oath letter...
im starting to get worried because from browsing through this thread i see people getting their oath letter, 4-6 weeks from their interview date.

called the 1-800, rep told me to wait another 2 weeks, because according to his "system" USCIS is processing may received date/priority date of 03/03/10 -03/10/10
when i called this morning.

anyone know why its taking forever my oath letter ? i think my application is denied.....

TIA
Click to expand...


USCIS forgot about your case, make an info pass. Alternatively, hope that this weekend your oath letter shows up in the mail. If nothing comes, then an info pass should be strongly considered.
 
Al Southner said:
USCIS forgot about your case, make an info pass. Alternatively, hope that this weekend your oath letter shows up in the mail. If nothing comes, then an info pass should be strongly considered.
Click to expand...


Thanks for replying,Actually i had an appointment on Aug. 31st, ask the officer about my case status, she couldn't find any info on my case at first, then by logging in on the "3rd system" she found my case, she told me that my case is approved just wait for the letter, her excuse was there's a lot of people applying for citizenship....

Anyways, ill just wait until 120 days is up, to make another appointment, don't want them to give me an excuse that they dont have to do anything until 120 days over...

Any advice on what to ask the officer on my next visit ?
 
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