USCIS Atlanta Field Office

This is one of those love-​hate relationship. The very first time we went for our appointment we waited 1 hr. That was 3 years ago. Fast forward now. The wait time are 3 – 4 hours longer. The agents look exhausted and tired. I mean they literally have another human future on there desk. As I wait, I see the annoyance when the come out of there back office. Hoping no one stop them as they pass the hundreds of people waiting. Never fails, people do. So I wait…

The whole process was very professional. The officers may not be so friendly at first since it is part of their job to intimidate the applicants, but once you are approved, they give you a smile and a handshake. The whole thing was fair. The wait time was only 20 – 30 minutes from the appointment. Considering the whole place was packed, that is very good time. The only thing I hated is that they will not let you have your own drink whatsoever. They have a water fountain and that’s it. They have a vending machine for drinks but the public is not allowed to it. I have a thing against public water fountains, and I was quite thirsty that day! LOL. So there it is.
Make sure you dress nice, have had plenty of water, and dont wear too much jewelry since you have to go through a metal detector and it can be a pain, and most important of all: BE PREPARED. You have to be there to check in 30 minutes before your appointment. Don’t come in too early because they will tell you to come back within 30 minutes of your appt.

My husband became a US citizen yesterday, and one of the biggest joys is knowing we will never have to set foot in a USCIS office again. We have been through years of dealing with the bureaucracy and agony of the DHS’ Citizenship and Immigration Services offices. Literally 7 years and thousands of dollars later, we have hopefully seen the last of la migra.
Luckily my husband had one of the nicer agents for his interview yesterday. She was all business, and was professional and polite. We weren’t so lucky at the permanent resident interview. The man was flat out hostile and even insulting. I understand this is important business and that they need to thoroughly screen people we allow to remain in this country, but damn. I felt offended, and did not appreciate watching my husband be belittled. I think that some of the folks working here have so much disdain for their jobs that it eventually becomes borderline xenophobia. And from stories I have heard, we had it relatively easy since my husband is European.
One of the other agents shoved a paper in our hands that said my husband had passed his citizenship test and told us to return that afternoon at 2pm for the swearing in ceremony. The paper said to bring your permanent resident card with you, which had been collected from my husband during the interview. I politely asked the agent, «Excuse me, sir. What if…» and the he cut me off and literally yelled in my face «Doesn’t matter. Just come back at 2!» Bitch, I am a born and raised American. Don’t make me write my fucking congressman and tell him what a shit job you all are doing here. John Lewis is practically my fucking penpal. We didn’t want our grandparents treated like shit when they came here, so don’t fucking continue the tradition.
With the exception of a few angry and rude employees, the rest of the folks were nice. The lady who led the citizenship ceremony was a total sweetheart, and took the time to pose for a photo with each new citizen while she handed them their certificates. Truly a special day, if for no other reason than to kiss the goddamn DHS goodbye.