Interview Experience - Boston
Hey Guys-
Thanks again for all the best wishes. The karma really paid off. Today was the big day. I had to first go into court to appeal a speeding ticket (I was going 5 miles over the speeding limit) and then onto the naturalization interview. The speeding ticket appeal was a bust. The court found me responsible and I was a bit depressed. I owe the speeding fee plus whatever the insurance decides to bilk me for the next 3 years. We then headed from there to the JFK building in Boston.
My interview was for 1:30. Wife and I got there at 12:25. Attorney was already there waiting. We put the letter in the box and waited. The way it seems to work in Boston is that the lady in the front desk takes the appt letter and finds the actual A-file that goes with it (though mine had everything from the first time I entered the U.S 16 years ago). The DAOs come out and randomly pick the next file, scan it out and then go back to their offices. They review the file and come out a bit later to and call your name.
I was called in around 1:40. I was nervous as a ninny and my attorney was yak-yaking away. We got to the DAOs office. The officer swore me in and asked me to take a seat. My atty wrote down the DAOs name for his file. Next, he started by asking me for "proof of marriage". My N400 was based on marriage to a USC. I gave him my mortgage documents and a couple of bills. He swiftly photocopied them and then put them in his file. He was pretty laid back, but very thorough.
He started going through the application (I was dying to know the whole time if my security check was completed, but did not bring it up). So, he went through section by section till he got to travel dates. At this point, his phone rang and he had to talk to someone about his own 401K witholdings. I was waiting until he finished. He glanced at my passport (did not really tie dates back, just glanced through), and crossed off that section. Then he went through more or less every question in the N400 until he came to the "Have you been cited" question. I was quite a bit worried since I had about 7 tickets over 16 years (including two court appearances, one for a suspended license due to forgetting to pay a ticket and a second one because the charity guys were late picking up my second car and some friendly neighbor reported it as abandoned). Both of the cases had been dismissed and 5 years old. So, then he said "Did these both get disclosed in the I-485" and I said yes. He said, anything else new to report since then. I said, "Unfortunately yes. I got another speeding ticket for going 25 in a 20 mile zone and was ticketed. I appealed it, but was found responsible this morning. I have till Nov 20 to pay the ticket". He was like, "Boy, you have some issues with driving" and made a copy of the citation. I pointed out that I had only received one ticket in 5 years.
He then went on to the next sections and asked me about selective service registration. He made a note that I was ineligible to apply because I was over 26 when I filed for AOS. Then he said, I have made two changes to your application. One, I have notated that you do not want a name change. Two, I have made a check here saying that you were over 26 when you filed for AOS. Can you sign the bottom of the form. Then, he asked me to sign the two photographs.
Next, we went through the civics (standard 6-7 questions), some simple reading and writing test and I passed those.
Then he said, "Let me see if I can find a supervisor to sign off on this since you had some driving ticket issues". So, he walked out the door. I was asking the atty if they would approve it. Atty seemed unfazed and said seems to be going well so far. The DAO came back and did not say anything. He started printing something and ran out of paper. He went back out, came back with more paper. Then he started filling some form and said, hmm, I need to check that out with the supervisor. He came back and then clicked the magic second box on the white form. Then he smiled and said "I am recommending you for approval". I said, "Thank you sir, that really made my day".
He walked me and the atty outside. I came out and had a cheek to cheek smile and my wife had a wonderful expression on her face and she said "I told you so"...lol.. About 10 minutes later, my name was called and I got the oath letter for Feb 1, 2006 at Fanueil hall at 12:00 p.m. (appears that Boston is filling up quickly) We were out of there by 2:30 headed back home.
So, I guess, I am more or less done. Just got to get the natz cert and file for a p-port. Thanks again to everyone for all the support in this group and my apologies for a long post.
My final timeline
PD - July 15, 2005
FP Notice - Aug 15, 2005
FP Date - Sep 15, 2005
Status changed online - Sep 23, 2005
Interview letter received - Sep 26, 2005
Interview - Nov 3, 2005
Oath date - Feb 1, 2006
Cheers
-- Gaude
! Does anyone have a number that I can call to find out if I can go ahead of time. Will that possibly create a chance to misplace papers? I am 45mins away from the finger printing place, so cant make a personal visit. Does anyone know of the number if I can call to find out (INS Boston, Portland Street). Do they entertain early finger prints? I do not want to re-schedule the dates though!