Citizenship

At last, oath ceremony done on the 25th. I'm officially a US citizen, what a journey!! , PD Feb 21 2017, finger print may, interview may 31 2018, July 2nd oath ceremony mailed, July 25th oath ceremony. Thanks everyone, God bless you all.

September 19, 2017 - Applied for US Citizenship
September 21, 2017 - Received Date, also Priority Date
October 19, 2017 - Biometrics
May 23 2018 - Interview
July 25 2018 - Status changed to Oath Ceremony
Jul 28 2018 - Received Oath letter in the mail
August 11th 2018 - Oath Ceremony scheduled

Update: PD 5/19/2017, on July 27 2018 we scheduled your interview

Ok... so it Looks like I’m almost over. I applied in December 2016, waited 12 months for interview. December 2017 had my interview, passed all tests but officer said that she has to review my case again and then she’ll make a decision. Looooong wait....... April 2018 called info line, they told me that it looks like last post was that my interview was scheduled ( it was and I passed). Request was sensed to my local uscis office. Few days later I got letter from them saying that my case is in process and they are not able to say how long it’s going to take to finish it. June- haired an attorney, July 25 received oath ceremony date. Very stressful almost 2 years. Good luck everyone.

Hi... this is just a message to say that there is hope. I will make a long story short.

1. 1993 got in trouble and was found deportable (even though I was a citizen, through my parents as they became naturalised when I was 14 years old)
2. Returned to the U.K. (on my own in 2004). After spending loads of money with lawyers that couldn’t prove I was a citizen.
3. 2014 found a GREAT lawyer and she proved that I was a citizen (easy but long process), 2016 applied for my USA passport in the USA London embassy and recieved it was no problem, 6 weeks later... I then applied for my son (8 years old) to get a USA passport by applying for a consulate report of birth abroad, and recieved his passport 4 weeks later and certificate.
4. 2016 applied for N600 (Certificate of Citizenship)
5. June 2018 was sworn in (in the USA) and now have my USA passport and my Certificate of Citizenship, whilst still living in the U.K..

What a journey......

It keep suddenly telling me that;
At this time USCIS cannot provide you with information for your case. Please contact the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 for additional information.is that should make me worry?

My PD Is May 22-2017
Im in line for interview since Jun 20-2017
Anyone else from miami are still waiting for interview?
Thanks in advance!

Yesterday I was naturalized and now that my journey is over I want to share some useful information.

1-Lawyer. If your case is straightforward (no arrests and no complications) you don’t need a lawyer. I had one and he did little except answering my questions and perhaps easing my stress. A friend of mine did it herself online and she was called for the interview way ahead of me.

2-Paper versus online. My lawyer insisted that it had to be paper filing. I think it had to do with the December 2016 USCIS online system disaster. However, keep in mind two things: a) paper applications get scanned and uploaded; b) the online system now seems to work better (as I said my friend did it and it was smooth). So, if you don’t have a lawyer, do it yourself online. You fill out the online form, scan your GC etc, pay with CC and you are done.

3-Travel before and after the interview. You can travel abroad as much as you want as far as you continue to maintained the residency requirements (30 months for the 5 years and 18 months for the 3 years) and don’t stay abroad more than 6 months straight (and even that you can argue about). I went abroad after the biometrics and before the interview. At the interview, I reported it. No problem. My friend went abroad after the interview and asked that her oath be postponed by months. No problem there either. Obviously, you need to have somebody checking your mail. Having a lawyer in that case is useful since they get copies of all your notices.

4-Expedite. Yes, believe me, you can expedite your N-400 application if you have a good enough reason. I did and when I had lost all hope to be done in time for my new job abroad I was given an interview. It was a lot on mental work and my lawyer did zero. First, I wrote to my congressman inquiring about the status of my application and the possibility of doing something about it. In a couple of days, they wrote back and said that my application was still at NBC and that expedite could only be done if I had exceptional circumstances which they didn’t think I had. Luckily, they listed the info, which I report here-below.
“Exceptional Circumstances for Expedited Handling: We recognize that exceptional circumstances can require special handling of a case. All requests for expedited handling are reviewed case-by-case and, when circumstances warrant, are granted at the discretion of the Director, USCIS. The criteria are as follows: 1 -  Severe financial loss to company or individual; 2 -  Extreme emergency situation; 3-  Humanitarian situation; 4 -  Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States; 5 - Department of Defense National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from an official U.S. Government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our Government.); 6 - Potential loss of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits; 7- USCIS error; 8- Compelling interest of USCIS.”
NB They say: “If your case is at a local office at the time you need to make your emergency request, please go to the local office in person to make your request. Please be sure to take all supporting documentation with you. If your case is at one of our Service Centers or the National Benefits Center, please call Customer Service at 1-800-375- 5283 to receive further instructions on where and how to send your request.”

However I took a different route.
Having determined that I might qualify under two of these criteria, I made and infopass appointment at my field office and wrote a letter to the director of that field office explaining my situation and appending all the documentation. I did not have much faith that it would work, but at the infopass they were very nice and said that it appeared that I had a case. They also wondered why I had not asked for it earlier, at the time of application (that is the question I would like to ask my lawyer). They asked me to paper mail the letter and docs. I did and I also emailed my congressman the same documentation asking them to intervene on the expedite. Then, I contacted my employer and asked them to support it by calling their congressman to call my congressman (different districts). Lo and behold, three days later the congressman office contacts me to say that my interview had been scheduled! The wisdom is that your congressman/woman and the infopass are your best friends.

5.Congressman/woman. They are a great resource and they have offices especially dedicated to immigration matter. Remember that as a resident you are a constituent and you have the right to petition the government (one of the questions in the civics). Take advantage of this right and opportunity.

Good luck to all

We’re inline for interview June 23, 2017. We left the United States for 1 week on a carnival cruise, can that affect your case in some way? Of course if they ask if we left the country we shall tell them.

I had my interview June 22 and the officer said i should receive my oath ceremony from 4-6 week he gave me the paper that says " decision can not be made at this time".
today is July 26th and when I called they said that the case was recommended for approval July 8th. and now there is a process that needed to be done and if everything goes well, they will place my on the line for the oath ceremony!
my question is what is that process? and how long does it take?
can they deny the case for any reason or once its recommended for approval I should be good?