San Jose, CA - N-400 Timeline

[mahba]

Hi N400toLawrence,

My experience was no lines. Took less than 10 minutes to go through security and get to the waiting room which was large and mostly empty. I assume that your spouse will be in the waiting room with the baby when you go for the interview - you should have no problem. I believe there is a restroom where you can change, but even if there isn't you should be able to find a Mcdonalds or something close by with a restroom that you can use.

As to whether your spouse will be able to return with your child if he/she leaves the building - that is really up to the security person, I guess. Depending on how friendly he is, that may or may not happen. In any case, your time there is unlikely to be more than 30-45 minutes, so worst case he/she can wait outside or drive around with your child, or go to a park or some such thing until you are done.

Good luck!

Hello:

Sorry that i am back so soon for another question. Since we are bring a three year old with us on the day of interview, I want to make sure everything go smoothly and that the child doesn't end up waiting for hours in the line.

1. My interview is at 8:40am in the morning and i want to make sure that getting there around 8:20 is good enough? Anyone recently been to the interview please share with your experience, was the office crowed? was the security line long? was the room filled with people waiting for interview? What did you do if you brought your child with you? Well, here is what i would do: I plan on bring in a few books, a bag with activities and craft so the child can be entertained while my spouse attends her. This is under the assumption that our stay at USCIS is no more than a hour otherwise the child will get bored without being able to scream, run, and play actively.

2. I assume that once i am in the interview and if it turned out i need to stay longer than i expected (say more than 30 minutes in the interview session), can my spouse leave with the baby and return? or should we just figure out a place to meet if this is the case that they have to leave the building so the child can play a bit?

3. Since we are going hiking after the interview, i assume there is a restroom there that i can change into my normal cloth (i think i will dress a bit formal for the interview)??? any idea?

Sorry for so many questions, we are trying to coordinate with each other and want to ensure everything goes smoothly to make sure the baby doesn't get bored or run out of patience. Help us please.

 

[Huracan]

Hello Siliconhybrid:

I went to application support center shortly after my fingerprint and again about 1 month ago when i first received my interview letter. I was told that they no longer have the printouts and CDs available as the new test will take effect soon. This is why the flashcard in their bookstore is backordered and i feel they have no intent to print more for sale. Do you think you might be able to share yours with me? I would be glad to pay a fee or return the CD after my interview. Anyone care to share your copy?

Thank you

Check this page, you'll find more than you ever wished for

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=bb93667706f7d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD

 

[Annie-SanJose]

Mine (regular processing too) would be less than 2 weeks.
I applied at USPS on 2/22, and now the Department of State web site says it is mailed out today using Priority Mail, so it should get here in 2 to 3 days.
BTW, what is "backup documentation", you meant the naturalization certificate?

Yes, in my case the backup documentation was a naturalization certificate, for US born Americans I believe it is a birth certificate.

Got my passport today Mar/6. Less than three weeks for standard processing. I did not even request overnight delivery. It came through regular priority mail. They put "delivery confirmation" on the envelope which gives a nice extra assurance that it won't get lost.

I did not get the second envelope with the naturalization cert yet but imagine it will probably arrive by tomorrow or Monday.

I guess this puts me at exactly one year from Naturalization application to passport received. Although I did ask the interviewing officer to have my oath scheduled for after Jan/20 since I was going out of the country for the holidays. So I guess my total time is probably about two months greater than normal.

 

[ahsieh]

Yes, in my case the backup documentation was a naturalization certificate, for US born Americans I believe it is a birth certificate.

Got my passport today Mar/6. Less than three weeks for standard processing. I did not even request overnight delivery. It came through regular priority mail. They put "delivery confirmation" on the envelope which gives a nice extra assurance that it won't get lost.

I did not get the second envelope with the naturalization cert yet but imagine it will probably arrive by tomorrow or Monday.

I guess this puts me at exactly one year from Naturalization application to passport received. Although I did ask the interviewing officer to have my oath scheduled for after Jan/20 since I was going out of the country for the holidays. So I guess my total time is probably about two months greater than normal.

Got my passport today, which was mailed with a Priority Mail envelope.
The naturalization certificate was indeed in a large brown plain envelope, which was sent my first class mail.
They all came from SF so that's why they came together even though one was Priority Mail; don't know why you didn't get both at the same time.

OK, next and final step is to go to SS!

 

[a_singh]

Can you please list down the documents that you took for the interview?

 

[neon_lite]

I took an infopass today to verify my oath date. The main reason for the infopass was that recently some of my mail has been misplaced (like the 1099 forms etc.), so I was afraid if the oath letter had been lost in the mail.

Anyway, I had wait in the waiting area 1.25 hours for a 2 minute conversation. The office told me that I was scheduled for the 04/24 oath ceremony and that I should receive my oath letter toward the end of March.

So, all those with PDs in April and May 07 who still haven't received their oath letters, hang in there. There is a very good chance that all of you will get your oath letters in March end for April Oath ceremony.

 

[arungk_us]

Any one with mid or late July priority date in 2007 get their IL in the past 2 weeks?


Thanks,
Arun
PD : 7/26/2007

 

[nonu]

I am also interested in knowing if any one with Later July PD got the interview letter.

PD 7/25/07

 

[nitinkrsri]

So the next Oath date is 04/24...

The office told me that I was scheduled for the 04/24 oath ceremony and that I should receive my oath letter toward the end of March.

So, all those with PDs in April and May 07 who still haven't received their oath letters, hang in there. There is a very good chance that all of you will get your oath letters in March end for April Oath ceremony.

Good to know that the next Oath is at 04/24.
I believe there is only one oath date for every month, please correct me if I am wrong. Passed my interview on Feb 28, so hopefully will get 04/24 as Oath date. Keeping my fingers crossed.
regards

 

[gctocs]

July 07 PD

July 07 PD
looks like wait is going to be longer, I got info pass on last Friday 3/7/08. Immigration officer indicated wait period of 2-3 months. Wont be anticipating for another month.


PD July 27 07
FP Oct 29 07
IL <???>

 

[waitforsolong]

The window 15 officer sounds mean all the time, but he is also helpful sometimes based on my experience. On my last visit, he checked the record, told us precisely what date my case moved to supervisor's desk.

Today, I got window 4 officer. She sounds very nice, soft voice. But, all she told us was go back home and wait for another month before checking. We could not get any information from her. And she is not trying to listen at all. She just want to chase us away, with her very nice soft voice.

 

[gctocs]

suggestion needed

I am advised to get IL in few months () San Jose) is it advisable to move to San Francisco for faster processing, save commute as well.

 

[arungk_us]

July 07 PD
looks like wait is going to be longer, I got info pass on last Friday 3/7/08. Immigration officer indicated wait period of 2-3 months. Wont be anticipating for another month.


PD July 27 07
FP Oct 29 07
IL <???>

Ouch! that hurts. Guess we will keep waiting. Thought it had been moving along nicely and and now appears to be more delay. Guess will come back in a couple of months and see things move ahead

Thanks for your post.

-Arun

 

[arungk_us]

The window 15 officer sounds mean all the time, but he is also helpful sometimes based on my experience. On my last visit, he checked the record, told us precisely what date my case moved to supervisor's desk.

Today, I got window 4 officer. She sounds very nice, soft voice. But, all she told us was go back home and wait for another month before checking. We could not get any information from her. And she is not trying to listen at all. She just want to chase us away, with her very nice soft voice.

What is a name check? Do you know how/why folks get into it. Seems like an awful thing to get stuck in.

Thanks,
Arun

 

[nonu]

Infopass?

What is infopass? Could someone please help me understand what it is all about and is this something USCIS sends or one requests.

 

[yummyk]

What is infopass? Could someone please help me understand what it is all about and is this something USCIS sends or one requests.

An Infopass is an in person appointment that you make to check on the status of your case. If you call the USCIS number, the customer service reps can only give you very limited information. However, if you have an infopass appointment, the information officer has a computer link and can see your entire case. He / she can tell you if your name check has cleared, whether your interview has been scheduled (and when) - even if you don't have the IL yet, and can also give info about an oath ceremony if you have already had your interview.

In short, you can learn a fair amount of information with an infopass appointment, and it's great if you have been scheduled for an interview or oath but have not yet received the notification. If you have not been scheduled, then they just tell you that you are "in the queue" and generally seem to give a timeline of "1-2 months" until you receive your IL or oath notice in the mail.

Check the USCIS web site for more information about scheduling an infopass appointment. You can schedule and de-schedule online.

 

[pursanj]

hi Waitforsolong

I am also in teh same boat. I deposited my I-215W on Feb 7 and the officer told me that I shld get the oath letter in 2.5 to 3 months. I guess things will happen when they are meant to !

take care

 

[jetsam]

Me & my wife had our citizenship interview last week at the Monterey highway office in San Jose. Overall it went well, but few pieces of advice for anyone going there

1) I took the directions to this office from Google maps. Unfortunately the directions were not accurate. This caused real stress in terms of finding the USCIS office and getting there on time. Instead of google saying to go straight on Monterey Road and make a U turn at the next intersection after the USCIS office, it said to make a left on Stauffer Blvd which was before the USCIS office. On Stauffer when you turn left there is a building with Gold's gym in it. There is no USCIS office sign posted anywhere there even though you can technically enter into the parking lot from there and walk back to the USCIS office. We just went down the street looking where is the USCIS office for almost 20 mins.

2) I took my cell phone along with me. Once I got to the office, the security guy asked me to keep the cell phones out. Since I was already late I asked him what options I had since it was a long walk again to put the cell phones back in the car. He was rude and said that if I didn't get rid of the cell phones and argued with him, he will inform the officers above and my application could be cancelled. Ultimately I found a nearby coffee shop vendor and asked him to watch my cell phones till I got back from the interview. He charged me $3 for that which is fine.

3) When I went inside there and upstairs I had to deposit the USCIS letter in the inbox. There are people sitting behind the inbox and you can't see them (which is bizarre). They took me & my wife's letter. Within couple mins my name was called by an officer. When I turned around, he didn't seem happy and said I was already late. When I went in, initially he was upset and then I apologized saying I couldn't find this place and was lost. He understood and looked over my case and said it was pretty straight forward and went thru the paperwork. Asked me to sign couple of places incl. photos. etc. After that he asked me to write a sentence in english, which I did (pretty simple). Then he started with the questions(verbal). Most of the questions centered around whether you understand the meaning of the constitutation, declaration of independence etc. Seems like the emphasis is nowadays more on that than just simple one word answers. I did goof up on couple questions. But ultimately he passed my application and said that I will get the oath letter for April since March was already full.

4) For my wife, it went really smooth. As soon as she saw him, she apologized that we were late. But the officer himself was bit flexible and accomodating. So overall it went well for her.

Moral of the story
1) Go well in advance of your interview time. Have enough buffer time, should something go wrong. Don't fully rely on directions from Google.
2) Keep your cell phones in the car after parking. Don't take into the USCIS office.
3) Don't argue with the security people.
4) Read & prepare well for the interview. Understand the meaning of the content for the test.

So, finally we have passed our interviews. Now waiting for the oath ceremony in April.

 

[gctocs]

Jetsam,
I had same problem reaching San Jose (Near First Street) )office for finger prints. I used GPS, so dont rely 100% on these rather take birds eye view for location. S

 

[injunguy]

jetsam,

Thanks for sharing and congrats on passing the interview! What was your PD?