I wanted to document and also provide some info to those interested about how I got my citizenship from being undocumented and also the timeline to share that.
Timeline
2018/09/21 - I-130, petition for alien relative
2018/11/16 - I-360, petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile
2018/12/29 - I-765, employment authorization card mailed
2019/11/21 - I-360, case approved
2019/11/22 - I-485, green card was mailed
2024/08/22 - N-400, application sent (90-days before 5 years)
2024/10/15 - Interview notice was sent for 11/20
2024/11/19 - Seattle had wind storm causing power outage
2024/11/21 - Interview notice rescheduled for 11/26
2024/11/26 - Interview and oath ceremony
2024/12/02 - Passport application for urgent travel
2024/12/05 - Passport received
Getting the Green Card
I immigrated to the united states when I was 13 and had overstayed my visa. As I was about to finish my undergraduate studies in 2019, this meant that I was under a timeline regarding how I would be able to work, or do anything.
In 2018, my family and I had submitted the original I-130 form as a petition for alien relative through my mom. However, looking at the processing times these would take years to process. I sought for opportunities to meet with lawyers, and was lucky enough that the honors program that I was a part of had connected me with an angel who took my case pro-bono. We had met and she had given me this option that other lawyers had not, which is called the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) case. I won't outline the details of that, but once we had enough documentation for that, we then submitted all our forms on 2018/11/16. There was an immediate timeline as I believe the SIJ case has a better chance if you file under 21, and I had until the end of the year. For both I-130 and I-360 applications, we had filed concurrently along with associated 485, 765, and 131. Back then, concurrent applications often waived the additional fees and it costed nothing to print a few more pages with the application.
Then, I received my employment authorization with a 1-year validitiy from 2018/12/29, which was great news as I was in my senior year of undergrad and was in the middle of applying to graduation schools and applying for full-time positions. This was also great, as I previously received an internship offer that I had declined because I had no authorization. I reached out to the manager and then she transferred my offer for the summer of 2019. By fall of 2019, I had also started graduate school utilizing my employment authorization card.
By 2019/11/19, I received a notification that my I-360 case was approved. I was lucky enough to not have any interviews or request for more evidence. Then I received subsequent notificaions about my card being ordered and then mailed to me on 2019/11/22.
My quick tip here is that, it doesn't hurt to use all the resources available to you. My family had already reached out to multiple lawyers giving me the same options: marry someone, go back to the philippines. I also did not meet the cut-offs to qualify for DACA eligibility. I didn't give up and reached out to university administration who connected me to an alumni. In the process, I also had help from a corporate law firm who had provided me an additional lawyer in my case pro-bono.
Getting the Citizenship
This next part is a little bit more straightforward, and just a timeline check for those seeking. USCIS provides an early filing calculator for the N-400 that tells you the earliest date you can apply. I did not get married to a US citizen so I needed to be a permanent resident for 5 years. My earliest filing date: 2024/08/22. I submitted my N-400 as an online application: 2024/08/22. An early tip is to pre-fill out the form as the website is able to save drafts. Collect all the information needed such as travel dates, and employment history in the past 5-years.
As soon as I submitted my application, you are now able to view the notices online through the Documents tab instead of waiting for the paper mail. I received both a 'Receipt Notice' and a 'Biometrics Reuse' notice, which meant that I didn't have to schedule a biometrics appointment. After this, you really cant do anything but wait.
On 2024/10/15, I received a notification that USCIS had taken a decision on my case. As noted previously, I just checked myuscis account for the documents tab to see that I was scheduled for 2024/11/20 for 7:10am at the Seattle Office. I had spent the time in between studying for the civics test.
On the night of 2024/11/19, greater seattle had experienced a bomb cyclone causing severe power outages across the area overnight. Since there were no updates communicated, I had arrived at the appointment location by 6:40am to find that everyone had been waiting in line for their appointments.
By 7:00am, we still had no idea what was going on, and the crowd had just piled outside of the office. A security officer comes out to bring out signs to distinguish people for biometrics and people for interviews. By 8:00am, they had announced that no biometrics or fingerprints will be collected as that part of the building is closed, and still no updates for the interviews. By 8:30am, an officer came out to announce that there will be no interviews and that we will all be rescheduled by the following Tuesday at the same time, and that's when everyone started trickling home. There were no USCIS notifications or updates for the rest of the day.
The following day on 2024/11/21, I finally received an update that says 'Interview De-Scheduled' notifying of the cancellation of the previous interview, and a 'Interview Scheduled' for 2024/11/26. I immediately printed these forms. Looking back, I did not receive the mailed forms until after the actual interview date.
On 2024/11/26, I had arrived at around 6:30am with good signs that folks are allowed to enter the building, and immediately went through check in. My appointment was scheduled for 7:10 but I was not called by an officer until 7:45. The officer had notified me of some issue with the consistency of my name, but we were able to just change it in the forms, and proceeded to continue the interview. We just did a quick reading ('Where is the White House?'), and writing ('The White House is in Washington D.C.') portion. Then the officer conducted the civics question. A couple more clarifications for the form and history. After passing, I was out by 8:15am, this gave me enough time to move to the first floor for the scheduled oath ceremony by 8:40am, but the doors close by 8:30am.
When you enter the oath ceremony room, an officer collects your green card and gives you some papers and a flag. Then after closing the door, we waited for another officer to arrive with the certificates of naturalization. Once the certificates arrived, the first officer goes up to the stage and gives the brief overview of the process. By 8:55am I had received my certificate, and was out the door by 9:00am.
Quick note here is to definitely sign up for a my uscis account and utilize the online application and notices. Also that not all field offices offer same day interviews and oath ceremonies.
Thanks for taking the time to read! Feel free to ping for any questions!