Seattle DO - N-400 timeline

Had my interview today, but surprisingly the IO did not give me the oath date letter. He said that I've passed the test, shook my hand and said they will be waiting for final approval. Anybody heard about that?

P.S. He scanned my selective service card prior to the interview... will they be verifying it?

More surprises…
 
I have been busy and off the board for a while but just wanted to (a) congratulate FlyingTurk on getting his IL: well deserved. Good luck with the interview when that day comes; and (b) say I will update the spreadsheet in the next few days.

seattlerus: I guess it does happen. One thought: the FBI may not have had time to process and report back on your FPs yet. From memory your second FP date was pretty recently? Regardless, my hopes for a speedy resolution.

Otherwise, thanks to username and anxious1 for reporting on the interview experiences. It is VERY disappointing that the delay between ID and OD seems to suddenly have widened out to 4 weeks. It means that those of us at or near an ID will not be able to vote on November 4th, since the in-person registration deadline is October 20th or 21st. BTW, in case anyone is tempted to "pre-register": DON'T! It is illegal and it is something that the USCIS views very dimly. There was a fairly recent case in Missouri where a naturalization candidate got into a world of hurt because he - innocently - had registered to vote (although he had in fact never voted).
 
Compeled my Journey for US citizenship

My Oath on 09/25/2008 went smooth. On 09/26/2008 I applied for passport, got my Social security record updated and registed to vote. Yesterday (10/02/2008) I received my passport and this ends my US citizenship journey here. :cool:

I wanted to thank you all, this forum has been really very useful to me. Good luck and my best wishes to all of you in this pursuit.


N400 Sent : 2007/08/30
PD : 2007/10/30
NOA : 2007/11/15
FP Notice : 2007/11/23
FP 2nd Notice : 2008/1/18 [FP delayed for being out of country]
FP : 2008/02/08
IL : 2008/07/18
ID : 2008/09/16
OD: 2008/09/25
Received Passport: 10/02/2008
 
I am glad to see things are moving fast in Seattle DO at last. Have following questions for Interview
1) If Tax copies are enough or it is better to get Tax transcripts?
2) Would it help to get DMV record for speeding tickets?
3) Is original Divorce decree from court enough?

thanks
 
Congrats adum2007!!!!

Question regarding passport - Do we need to submit the Original Naturalization ceritificate (given during Oath) while applying for the passport?


FYI - I attended my interview and it went well.

Here is my experience:
I went there 40 minutes in advance and there was not much rush.
I was called in 30 minutes earlier to my appointment since the previous guy did not come in. Went into the officer's room & took oath. She reviewed my application, updated the address & phone number, asked me to read and write a english sentense, asked if I want to take old or new test (I opted for old test,) and asked 8 civic questions (1 question was not from the old 100 questions). She put a "Approved" stamp on the first page of my file, gave me a letter saying that I passed the interview and also gave a letter with oath appointment info.

Funny part is that I got so nervous and mixed up two of my civic question answers and she laughed at my situation.

In summary, it was a 20 minutes interview and I walked out from there with my oath appointment letter.

Good luck to all of you who are still waiting..... God bless all..

Thanks,
Homer
 
Hi All,

I attach the updated version of my spreadsheet below. Thanks to the many of you that have reported new milestones (and congratulations, too:D). As you know, it really helps other applicants, not just by giving tangible evidence of progress in what is an opaque and stressful process, but occasionally in a way that makes a real difference. For example, seattlerus was prompted to query the lack of progress on his case and found that an FP letter had gone astray 6 or 7 months earlier and that his application was about to be consigned to the dustbin. (I think that is right, seattlerus?).

I'd love to have full timelines from TheyStink, Canuck98225, unknown111, and username to add value to the spreadsheet.

I have also included newly released August data under the N400 flow tab. The revisions to year-ago data are now so large that I am beginning to question the value of tracking this information. However, with the summer '07 bulge now in the past, I guess our timeline obsession will be a thing of the past, as we go back to a standard three or four months processing time.

A couple of shoutouts: CrossHairs, delighted to see your wife finally managed to get her OD. That must be a relief - and she gets to vote :). Likewise, delighted to see that anxious1 also got through the key gates after a very long wait.

What else? As mentioned, it is very disappointing that the ID to OD gap seems to have widened out to 4 weeks. While we don't have SEA DO specific data, it would seem odd that delays are building at that end of the pipeline, given that we are now through the 7/07 bulge of applicants. Maybe the USCIS has shifted resources to other areas and cut back on the number of ceremonies?

Oh, before I forget: Andy99: on your documentation query, I would say tax transcripts are better because they are produced by the IRS. They thus give US government sourced evidence that (a) you filed as a US resident, and (b) that you paid your taxes, both things that are important to the USCIS.

--J--
 
Thanks Jelly213 for all the work you have done in compiling various stats and the interest you have shown in the progress of each of our applications.
 
I just had my interview earlier today. I got there 30 minutes early. Waited in the waiting room for about 35 minutes till my name was called.

The intervewing officer was a nice lady, not intimidating at all. Funny thing is that she was wearing a badge labeled as Visitor. Not sure why, maybe she's new or a temp?

Anyway, we went to her office. She asked for my driver license and permanent resident card. She then asked me to raise my right hand and swear that I would tell the truth. Then she went over my file. She did a quick review of all my paperwork including the ones that I submitted for my green card back in 2000. She then went over my N-400.

She asked if I'm still at the same address and phone number, same job, still unmarried, etc. I noticed that she didn't ask if I have been out of the countries between the time I submitted my N-400 and today, she just checked that section of N-400. I immediately told her that I've been out of the countries twice for about 15 and 11 days. She updated my N-400 but didn't even ask to see my passport to prove what I just told her.

She then went over the rest of my N-400 whether I've been in communist party, registered to vote, if I'm willing to bear arms, take oath, etc. She asked me if "I have been in trouble with the police". I had two speeding tickets back in 2005 (less than $150) but I don't consider that as being in trouble with the police so I answered her no. If she had asked me if I have been arrested or citated then I would have told her about the ticket. But since she didn't ask me that way, I just kept quite about my ticket ;) She also didn't ask to see my selective service card. I had it with me so it wouldn't be a problem if she did ask me.

She asked me to print my name on the 2 places on the last page of my N-400 eventhough it said "Applicant Signature", she crossed out the word "Signature". I asked her if she asked me to write my name in block letters and she said yes. I told her that I've head some people were asked to write their name in cursive, some were asked to sign like signing a check. She said that there is no consistency between each DO. She said that she used to ask people to sign like signing a check in other DO but when she first got to Seattle DO, she was told to ask for print name instead. Weird :confused: Anyway, she also asked me to sign my photo, this time like signing a check.

Next, she asked me to read and write a very simple sentence. Then she asked me the citizenship test question. I told her I want the old one. She said she's glad that I chose the old one cause the new ones takes longer time to go through :) She asked 6 questions and I got all of them right. They all really easy questions but I got the 13 states question as the last question. I've had a feeling that with my luck, I would probably get that question so I've made sure that I know all 13 states by heart :p Next she asked to see my passport, I gave her my passport but she only wants to see my old passport. Good thing I brought it. I gave it to her and she brought my old passport to her supervisor. She came back 5 minutes later and told me that she had to check my old passport and asked her supervisor to sign her approval recommendation letter because in 2004 I had my luggages inspected at airport custom. She said that per policy, she had to ask her supervisor's review and signature in this situation eventhough my luggage inspection did not find anything illegal. Weird policy, but what the hell, no harms done in my case :)

So then she asked me if I can come back on Friday October 10th. I said yes, she then gave my oath letter dated October 10th. I was like "whoa". I never expected to get the oath ceremony 4 days after my interview, I though that I would have to wait until end of October at the earliest. She said that they normally don't have ceremony on Friday but they're trying to get as many people processed before the voting registration deadline. It looks like Seattle DO has finally done a better job :)

So that's my interview experience. All and all, it took about 30 minutes (plus another 35 minutes waiting). It was painless and not intimidating at all.
 
I'm so glad to have found this forum after searching what seemed like everwhere to find out what is really happening in Seattle.
I'm hoping things are speeding up!
I am married to US citizen and have been a permanent resident for 4 years. I have procrastinated about filing for naturalization but have decided to bite the bullet so sent off the paperwork at the end of September. I will keep reading this thread - particularly Jelly213's spreadsheet to follow people's progress.

--------------------
19/27/08 N-400 mailed
03/10/08 Check cashed
 
Ed1978 said:
I just had my interview earlier today. I got there 30 minutes early. Waited in the waiting room for about 35 minutes till my name was called.

The intervewing officer was a nice lady, not intimidating at all. Funny thing is that she was wearing a badge labeled as Visitor. Not sure why, maybe she's new or a temp?

Anyway, we went to her office. She asked for my driver license and permanent resident card. She then asked me to raise my right hand and swear that I would tell the truth. Then she went over my file. She did a quick review of all my paperwork including the ones that I submitted for my green card back in 2000. She then went over my N-400.

She asked if I'm still at the same address and phone number, same job, still unmarried, etc. I noticed that she didn't ask if I have been out of the countries between the time I submitted my N-400 and today, she just checked that section of N-400. I immediately told her that I've been out of the countries twice for about 15 and 11 days. She updated my N-400 but didn't even ask to see my passport to prove what I just told her.

She then went over the rest of my N-400 whether I've been in communist party, registered to vote, if I'm willing to bear arms, take oath, etc. She asked me if "I have been in trouble with the police". I had two speeding tickets back in 2005 (less than $150) but I don't consider that as being in trouble with the police so I answered her no. If she had asked me if I have been arrested or citated then I would have told her about the ticket. But since she didn't ask me that way, I just kept quite about my ticket ;) She also didn't ask to see my selective service card. I had it with me so it wouldn't be a problem if she did ask me.

She asked me to print my name on the 2 places on the last page of my N-400 eventhough it said "Applicant Signature", she crossed out the word "Signature". I asked her if she asked me to write my name in block letters and she said yes. I told her that I've head some people were asked to write their name in cursive, some were asked to sign like signing a check. She said that there is no consistency between each DO. She said that she used to ask people to sign like signing a check in other DO but when she first got to Seattle DO, she was told to ask for print name instead. Weird :confused: Anyway, she also asked me to sign my photo, this time like signing a check.

Next, she asked me to read and write a very simple sentence. Then she asked me the citizenship test question. I told her I want the old one. She said she's glad that I chose the old one cause the new ones takes longer time to go through :) She asked 6 questions and I got all of them right. They all really easy questions but I got the 13 states question as the last question. I've had a feeling that with my luck, I would probably get that question so I've made sure that I know all 13 states by heart :p Next she asked to see my passport, I gave her my passport but she only wants to see my old passport. Good thing I brought it. I gave it to her and she brought my old passport to her supervisor. She came back 5 minutes later and told me that she had to check my old passport and asked her supervisor to sign her approval recommendation letter because in 2004 I had my luggages inspected at airport custom. She said that per policy, she had to ask her supervisor's review and signature in this situation eventhough my luggage inspection did not find anything illegal. Weird policy, but what the hell, no harms done in my case :)

So then she asked me if I can come back on Friday October 10th. I said yes, she then gave my oath letter dated October 10th. I was like "whoa". I never expected to get the oath ceremony 4 days after my interview, I though that I would have to wait until end of October at the earliest. She said that they normally don't have ceremony on Friday but they're trying to get as many people processed before the voting registration deadline. It looks like Seattle DO has finally done a better job :)

So that's my interview experience. All and all, it took about 30 minutes (plus another 35 minutes waiting). It was painless and not intimidating at all.
Click to expand...

Congrats Ed1978!!
 
warn out speeding ticket issue

Yes, I know I am going to be beaten to the ground for even bringing this sad issue up once again but what is the Seattle DO's opinion on listing traffic tickets below $150? I have listed mine but if they are going to lecture me on putting them in since they think they are frivolous, I would rather not. I could simply say "no" on question 16 then tell them at the interview that the 800 number says to omit them.

Rafiq
 
Rafiq said:
Yes, I know I am going to be beaten to the ground for even bringing this sad issue up once again but what is the Seattle DO's opinion on listing traffic tickets below $150? I have listed mine but if they are going to lecture me on putting them in since they think they are frivolous, I would rather not. I could simply say "no" on question 16 then tell them at the interview that the 800 number says to omit them.

Rafiq
Click to expand...

I answered no on the N-400 eventhough I had 2 traffic tickets in 2005, both were less than $150. See my post above for what happened during my interview. I did bring a few print out from seattle court website that show that my case has been closed. If during the intervew they ask me if I have been arrested or cited, I was planning to ask if I should considered traffic ticket below $150 and if yes then I would tell them and show my print out. Since they didn't ask me if I've been cited, I didn't tell them about my traffic ticket. Beside, I'm sure that they would have seen it from my background check and if they didn't make a big deal out of it, I wasn't going to either :)
 
Had my interview this morning and - - - passed :D:D:D:D. Now I am just one step away from completing a journey that in some respects began 30 years ago.

My appointed time was 0830, got there at just past 8am, only a few people ahead of me in line to get into the building. Was directed to the upstairs waiting area and barely had time to look through the civics questions once (last minute cramming!) before I was called at about 0815 (an earlier scheduled candidate was a no show, so far).

My experience was almost identical to Ed1978s. Lady interviewer. Very friendly and low stress. She went through my application but asked for no further documentation. Although I have done a lot of overseas travel in my time as an LPR, she was comfortable with the records I had submitted in my original application and did not want to check travel dates against stamps in my passport. She did ask whether I had made any overseas trips after filing my N-400, and I supplied her with a prepared print-out of the trips I made this year in the format of the N-400 questionnaire. Useful thing to do, if you have traveled outside the US between filing and interview: it saves the IO the trouble of writing down the details. She also asked whether I had paid my taxes (I am self-employed). I obviously answered in the affirmative and had my tax transcripts ready for her but she did not want them.

On to the civics test: the IO asked me whether I wanted the old or the new test. I opted for the old one which pleased her since, she said, it is easier to administer. She then read from a pre-printed sheet with 10 questions. All were from the study guide, including the dreaded "which Amendments to the Constitution deal with voting rights?" question. The point here is that the questions seem to be generated randomly for the IO. After I answered all 10 correctly she told me that over time the number of questions required varied. It had gone from 6 to 8 to 10 and back down again. She said she had given me all 10 questions since I had a great deal of education (multiple degrees) - but said it with a smile.

I was then asked to read and write short, simple sentences. No issues. The IO told me to write my name at the bottom of the reading/writing sheets in block capitals, not a signature in cursive. She explained that different DOs do this differently. She was from the Yakima office and said Seattle DO has different conventions from there and that other DOs have their own way of doing these things.

I was then asked to sign - in cursive - the photos.

The IO then asked me whether I could come back for the oath on Friday 10/17, and I said absolutely and that it meant I could register to vote. She told me that in order to get more people through oaths before the voter registration deadline, the Seattle DO had just added a handful of oath dates, including two sessions on the 17th. I got the morning one, at 0930. Looks like Ed1978 and I were in luck relative to some of you who had IDs just a week or so ahead of us. I walked out of the building at 0840.

On Rafiq's question about speeding tickets, the IO and I actually had an interesting chat on the subject. I had one speeding ticket from several years back and mentioned conversationally to her that this was an area that caused lots of people a great deal of stress in terms of the N-400. She told me that, again, different DOs handle it a little differently but as long as they are regular speeding tickets, then it shouldn't be an issue. She mentioned that some Texas DOs had got into trouble with the higher echelons of the USCIS for giving people a hard time about traffic violations, and then told an anecdote about an acquaintance that got a ticket in circumstances similar to mine. In other words, there was no lecture, just a friendly conversation about the vagaries of tickets and DO procedures. In the circumstances, I take the view that it is better to declare the tickets on the N-400. Generally the IOs don't seem interested in them and having made a clean breast of them takes away the stress of wondering whether you are in fact hiding something you shouldn't. But reasonable people can disagree on the approach, so pick between my way and Ed1978s as suits you.

Good luck to all awaiting next steps!
 
Congrats, Jelly!

Congratulations on finishing your journey and we will miss your excel updates but we are very happy for you just the same. Thanks for enlightening us about the speeding ticket issue and, for me, is now put to rest permanently with no more stress. I will be listing mine as they are all minor traffic-related infractions and what my conscience allows :). Congrats to you too ed1978!!!!!

Again, all the best.

Rafiq
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Passed Interview!

Just wanted to update my timeline. Passed the interview last 10/7/08, oath taking is scheduled for 10/17/08, 9:15am.

Thanks!

_____________
_____________
PD: 1/07/08
CC: 1/09/08
FP Done: 02/08/08
IL: 09/03/08
ID: 10/07/08
OD: 10/17/08
 
Just had my oath ceremony earlier today. Got my naturalization certificate and then went to register to vote right afterward :)

The ceremony was scheduled at 1:15PM but we didn't start until around 2:05PM mainly due to people coming in late. The ceremony was done at 2:45PM. My friend just had his oath ceremony last month and he had similar experience as well. So don't bother coming in early, you'll just end up waiting even longer :)

Thanks for all the valuable info from this forum.
 
Hi folks, this is to update the timelines of my family.

Timeline for Son
Priority Date: 7/17/07
Fingerprinting Date: 8/25/07
Interview Date: 5/12/08
Oath Date: 5/19/08

Timeline for myself
priority date: 11/5/07
Fingerprinting: 1/11/08
Interview Date: 9/16/08
Oath Date: 9/23/08

Timeline for wife
Priority date: 11/7/07
Fingerprinting: 1/14/08
Interview Date: 9/16/08
Oath Date: 10/31/08
 
voting rights question

Hello Jelly, congratulations!
You mentioned "which Amendments to the Constitution deal with voting rights?", I don't see that question or anything similar in the 100 question list for the old test. What study guide are you referring to? My interview is in a week and I've only got the 100 questions from their web site.
 
billy-bob said:
Hello Jelly, congratulations!
You mentioned "which Amendments to the Constitution deal with voting rights?", I don't see that question or anything similar in the 100 question list for the old test. What study guide are you referring to? My interview is in a week and I've only got the 100 questions from their web site.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you're looking at the correct question set? The old test only has 96 questions samples and the amendment for voting right question is in one of those questions. The answer is 15th,19th, 24th, and 26th amendment.
 
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