Asylee N-400 Interview Experiences and 2011 Tracker

[Mauricio22]

Ivanlozada,

Your application is taking about the same time mine is, we both got our interviews scheduled after two months. Mine is this Tuesday, the 15th.

I checked the Naturalization Ceremony schedules and there's one here in LA two days after my interview so I'm hoping I'll be placed on that way and be over with it. Wish me luck!!!
I'll post my experience on here.

[ivanlozada]

I wish you the best of the best!

[Mauricio22]

(thk u Ivan)

Hey guys,

I just got back from my naturalization interview downtown Los Angeles and wanted to share my experience:

I arrived 10 mins before my appointment and was called about an hour later;
A male officer greeted me and took me to his room, did not even close the door.

Asked me to raise my hand and swear to tell the truth, state my age, name and address. Then he asked me to see my driver’s license and green card.

He started to ask me questions in the application and review as he checked it with a red pen, and went thru questions like “are you married?”,basically nothing outside the actual application.
On the part that you list all the trips you took, he did not go thru them, just said “So, these are all the trips you’ve taken? I said yes and he moved on. Note: I did go back to COP earlier this year and had stated that in the application.


Then when he reached the part where you state any organizations you belong or have belonged to, he said “oh you are a Mormon”, I said no, “I used to be one” (I had stated that in the application), he asked why I’m not a Mormon anymore, I said the reason (“I’m gay, and you can’t be gay and Mormon) and he said “Even the military accepts gays now, I don’t understand why the Mormon church doesn’t”, sympathizing with me.

He then continued to the civic questions and asked the title of the national anthem, why the original flag had only 13 stars, what is the rule of the law and how old you need to be to vote.

He asked me if I owed any taxes I said yes, he asked how much and if I was making payments. He wrote that down and moved on.

Finished reviewing the (already answered) questions in my application, asked me to read a short sentence in English then write it down, did the paperwork for my name change and recommended me for approval. He said “we have oath ceremonies every month so you should be getting your soon, and you’ll see me there.

That all took about 15 minutes. I am beyond excited.

[ivanlozada]

Congratulations Mauricio!

[flamingopark2]

(thk u Ivan)

Hey guys,

I just got back from my naturalization interview downtown Los Angeles and wanted to share my experience:

I arrived 10 mins before my appointment and was called about an hour later;
A male officer greeted me and took me to his room, did not even close the door.

Asked me to raise my hand and swear to tell the truth, state my age, name and address. Then he asked me to see my driver’s license and green card.

He started to ask me questions in the application and review as he checked it with a red pen, and went thru questions like “are you married?”,basically nothing outside the actual application.
On the part that you list all the trips you took, he did not go thru them, just said “So, these are all the trips you’ve taken? I said yes and he moved on. Note: I did go back to COP earlier this year and had stated that in the application.


Then when he reached the part where you state any organizations you belong or have belonged to, he said “oh you are a Mormon”, I said no, “I used to be one” (I had stated that in the application), he asked why I’m not a Mormon anymore, I said the reason (“I’m gay, and you can’t be gay and Mormon) and he said “Even the military accepts gays now, I don’t understand why the Mormon church doesn’t”, sympathizing with me.

He then continued to the civic questions and asked the title of the national anthem, why the original flag had only 13 stars, what is the rule of the law and how old you need to be to vote.

He asked me if I owed any taxes I said yes, he asked how much and if I was making payments. He wrote that down and moved on.

Finished reviewing the (already answered) questions in my application, asked me to read a short sentence in English then write it down, did the paperwork for my name change and recommended me for approval. He said “we have oath ceremonies every month so you should be getting your soon, and you’ll see me there.

That all took about 15 minutes. I am beyond excited.

Congratulation Mauricio22

[shefe]

Congrats

[ivanlozada]

On Thursday around 7:15AM, when I was two blocks away from immigration office in Atlanta for my Naturalization interview, I had a car accident. A black Suburban hit my car and ran away, my car spun out about 5 times, air bags were deployed, but thanks God I didn't suffer any physical damage. My Interview had been scheduled for 8:20AM

I had to wait one hour until police officer appeared, made the report and my car was towed. I was so afraid because I was pretty sure I was going to miss my interview, finally I was released by the police officer, then I ran two blocks to the immigration and arrived just on time!

30 minutes later I was called by an Immigration Officer (28 years old African American lady), we went two her office, she asked me to raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth so I did it, then she started asking me the questions from N-400 document, then she started the questions from naturalization test, once I answered the question number 6 she stopped the interview and told me I passed the test and I was recommended for approval and I had two wait for the oath letter to be mailed.

Next day I received a call from insurance company and told me that my car was declared as a total lost.

The day of my Naturalization almost was the last day of my life, thanks God I keep my life and passed the test!

[shefe]

We thank God that you are alive and update us on your ceremony and when you apply for your US passport

[TSC05S]

Is it a good idea to hire a lawyer to go with for the Naturalization interview ?Any thoughts and suggestion will be highly appreciated.

[ramjays2000]

I filed my N400 on 25 oct 2011 when completed 4years 9 months of my Legal residency. FP was done on 14 Nov2011. naturalization interview was on 21 Dec 2011 at San Jose . The officer was extremely nice and cordial. I had an issue of 182 days in one trip and total 846 days away from USA, total 6trips. As advised by Rajiv, i enclosed a letter with N400 about visiting India to see my aged mother yearly who passed away this year and explained the over stay due to my younger brother daughter's marriage as Host after my father's death. Also enclosed mother's death certificate and marriage invitation and photo. interview over 21 Dec San Jose. interview went off very well . passed English US History and Government. I was told I will be completing 5 years on 10 Jan 2012 He did not tick col A congratulation. ticked B 'A decision cannot be made about your application'. He informed a letter will come around 2nd week January. The point is the officer read my letter in my presence only and not asked any question on over stay or India trips . He got the forms and photographs signed by me. But no approval now. There is some suspense now; not knowing whether any thing else needed before I get my approval letter. worried. Can Some body clarify on this.
Srinivasan

For those of you who are applying to become a US Citizen in 2011, please post and share concerns and so on. Let us update our signature using the following format:



LPR :
D/O : (your district office)San Jose
10/25/2011 : N-400 Mailed to (Name of Service Center)
/11 : Forwarded to (location of Lockbox.)
xx/xx/11 : USPS mail delivered
xx/xx/11 : Check cashed
10/28//11 : NOA Received.
10/30/11 : FP Notice Received.
11/14/11 : FP Appointment.
11/19/11 : Interview Letter.
12/21/11 : Interview Date.
xx/xx/11 : Oath Letter.
xx/xx/11 : Oath Date.
xx/xx/11 : Applied for Passport
xx/xx/11 : Passport in Hand[/QUOTE]

[Mauricio22]

why you'd need a lawyer except for if you have been convicted of a crime... people interview alone eveyday without any problems. save your money to travel with the US passport

Is it a good idea to hire a lawyer to go with for the Naturalization interview ?Any thoughts and suggestion will be highly appreciated.

[TSC05S]

why you'd need a lawyer except for if you have been convicted of a crime... people interview alone eveyday without any problems. save your money to travel with the US passport

Thanks Mauricio22 for your input, I was arrested in my country for political reason and I don't have any paper to provide. The lawyer marked my N-400 form that I'v been arrested for political reason and offered me to come with me to the interview. I am not sure how this will help.

[shefe]

TSC05S,

Are you paying extra if the lawyer goes with you? and when you applied for your green card, did you also say you were arrested in the past ?


Ramjays2000,

why not wait until after Jan 10th 2012 and update us here on the forum.

[TSC05S]

TSC05S,

Are you paying extra if the lawyer goes with you? and when you applied for your green card, did you also say you were arrested in the past ?

Shefe:

No Extra money it was part of the N-400 agreement ($700) already paid for it. I applied for green card in 2005 and received it 2007. I was arrested in my country for political reason (the lawyer mentioned it in the application). I am just concern of having a lawyer in Naturalization interview will have the wrong imprison that there is something with my application to the immigration officer, is it common to have a lawyer ? Also, I don't have proof of arrest. They sent me the YL and ask to bring proof I was arrested.

[Mauricio22]

In my opinion, if you have already disclosed your arrest on your GC application you shouldn't fear much. Bring your lawyer, I saw a lot of people accompanied by one in the wait room for my interview. If you don't have proof then you don't, trust me the interview process is not as scary as most people thing it will be. Think this way- it's not that big of a deal and if you tell the truth everything will be ok.

[TSC05S]

I went with my lawyer. My interview was only for 10 min. no questions asked about my case. Test and scheduled for Oath same day. Now I am a proud US citizen, the best of luck for everyone.

[shefe]

Congrats--can you give us your timeline.

[Exilado99]

Congrats...

[ivanlozada]

Finally! I become US Citizen, it was not a very long Journey (6 years, 10 months) but I counted every day until it finally arrived and it felt like an eternity.

It was a beautiful ceremony, I'm very proud of being part of this great country. God Bless America and God bless you all!!!!

[shefe]

Congrats

[TSC05S]

Congrats--can you give us your timeline.

Sent N-400 : July 1st 2011
Finger print : Aug 20th
Interview letter : Dec 20th
Interview Date : Jan 17th
Oath daty : Jan 17th

[sweetevil007]

marcio22 I know its off the topic but i just want to know when and under what circumstances did u travel to ur COP? did your lawyer approve of that? where u given any problems POE when u came back? and how long you stayed there ? Please if u let me know i ll really be very thankful to you.

[Mauricio22]

My mother got sick on mother's day last year and 2 days later I was on the plane to see her. I was not asked anything about going back to my original country at the port of entry.

By the way, I became an American citizen Jan 18, 2012, so happy and proud to be one like all of you are as well. Journey has just started now it's time to make them proud of me.

M-

marcio22 I know its off the topic but i just want to know when and under what circumstances did u travel to ur COP? did your lawyer approve of that? where u given any problems POE when u came back? and how long you stayed there ? Please if u let me know i ll really be very thankful to you.

[sweetevil007]

congrats on becoming a citizen.. hope your mom is doing well too.. So did you discuss with your lawyer? did he approve you of going back home? did u bring any documents to show that your mom was sick? Do u think its safe to travel on a green card to COP or you were just lucky? i want to travel to COP for a month and come back.. I want to go see my parents. i miss them a lot..

[flamingopark2]

congrats on becoming a citizen.. hope your mom is doing well too.. So did you discuss with your lawyer? did he approve you of going back home? did u bring any documents to show that your mom was sick? Do u think its safe to travel on a green card to COP or you were just lucky? i want to travel to COP for a month and come back.. I want to go see my parents. i miss them a lot..

I always wanted to go back home to visit my brothers and mom. I waited until I got my US citizenship. I waited a total of 15 years. I was afraid to go back home with green card. Naturalization process is fast nowadays, just wait and soon enough you will be a US citizen too. That is my advice.

[EirwenPR]

My Interview Experience, Chicago, DO:

Did mine in Chicago on Feb. 22nd. First I was asked swear under oath that you're telling the truth and nothing but the truth, and then came a quick firestorm of questions about things in my application. The whole thing was mostly painless. Because I'm a college student who goes to school out of state, they asked me to show them my state ID or driver's licence, and I gave them my licence from my home state with an explanation of my situation, and showed them my proof of enrollment and current class schedule from my school. It seemed to count as sufficient proof of residence in-state for them.

Then came the test of reading, writing, and civics: they were a piece of cake, and the interviewer stopped after the sixth question for the civics part since I answered everything correctly.

Being an asylee derivate before I obtained PR status, I was rather worried about showing them my passport since it's long expired and I haven't used it at all since coming to the U.S., and as a result I don't have it on hand. I used my Re-entry permit as a passport for the one overseas trip I made (not COP), and just to be on the safe side I also brought with me photocopies of my expired national passport in case they ask for it. It turned out my worries were for nothing, however; they were satisfied with my re-entry permit and didn't even mention my national passport. I was asked about my overseas trip and I told them the destination and that it was under 90 days.

I'm getting a name change, so they verified that at the end, and I was asked to sign a bunch of documents, some with my current legal name and some with my new name. I was then given a sheet of paper that said I passed my interview, and asked to stay in the waiting area until they call out my name and give me my oath letter (not sure if this is the standard practice for other DOs, but this is how they do things in Chicago as of last month). After over an hour of waiting, I had my oath letter, hot off the press, in hand. One thing I noticed that most people's oath date were within the week, so I assumed that unless you request a name change, you should be able to take your oath within the week, perhaps even within a couple of days, after you pass the interview. There weren't anyone who got to take their oath on the same day that I know of, but I'm not entirely sure if it was because there weren't any oath ceremonies scheduled that particular day or if it just wasn't the practice in Chicago DO.

[mamokilo]

Hello all,

I have been following passively this blog for quiet a while and gotten a lot of useful information. I appreciate everyone, who has participated in these lively dialogues. I have one question regarding arrest or have been in jail on N-400 application.
I was arrested in COP before coming to US and they were grounds for me to be granted asylum. Now my question is the N-400 asks this question about arrest, is it referring to arrest in US only? or should i mention all arrests in the COP as well? FYI, I have a clean record in US.

Thank you in advance

Mamo

[cafeconleche]

They ask about arrests everywhere. You can mention it and explain, and since they know about it and gave you asylum, it won't be a problem.

[ASYLUM-NY]

Hey everyone, i just want to post my experience at 26 Federal Plaza, NYC. I sent out my application on september 20 - 2011 and my interview was scheduled for March 14 (today). It was scheduled for 8:40 am, so i got there at 8:00am. They called me at 10:30am, i was kind of nervous because i didn't register for selective service, ( i got my green card when i was 27 yrs old), so i didn't know that i was supposed to register, and because of that i had a lawyer accompanying me to the interview in case the officer would give me hell. The officer was SO NICE! I don't know if it was because i had a lawyer with me or because he was just a nice person. He started going over the info in the application and then started with the test. It was a really pleasant experience. The only thing he asked to see was the green card, passport and the Status Information Letter from the Selective Service (original)... No tax transcripts. He also ask me why i didn't register with SS and i said that i didn't know that i would have to, i also said the i just learned that i had to register when i got my green card, but i was over 26 yrs old. He was fine with my answer. The interview lasted about 15 mnts, and at the end he asked me if i want to wait for the Oath letter, i said yes. I had to wait about 4 hours after the interview for the Oath letter. I never had been to my country of persecution, but i used my national passport to travel abroad, but were no questions related to these issues.
Now i have a question for you guys who took the oath already. What documents do i need to bring to the ceremony? Do i need to bring my national passport or just my green card, oath letter and my old travel document?
Thank you guys, and good luck for those preparing for their interviews!

[mamokilo]

They ask about arrests everywhere. You can mention it and explain, and since they know about it and gave you asylum, it won't be a problem.

Thank you El Cafe