Interview - can one actually not pass it??

L

LegalAlien99

Registered Users (C)
I was just wondering, by reading many post over the past couple of months, if one can actually not pass the interview; as long as there are not SERIOUS problems with the application itself.. .

It seems as if the 'interview' is a mere formality. Or am I wrong?

Cheers!


-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
Online Status disappeared on 04/12/2006
ID/OD: 06/20/2006
 
I think one way you can "fail" the interview is if you are not able to answer the history/civics questions to the interviewing officer's satisfaction.

There may be other reasons, which I will leave to the more knowledgeable to enumerate.
 
Hi!

Yes, beyond the obvious (civics/hository test, physical/continuous residency, premature filing) and the officer realizing that you have been lying right and left, how should one not be able to pass it and turn the interview in more than a few minute formality? Just curious... .

Cheers!

-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
Online Status disappeared on 04/12/2006
ID/OD: 06/20/2006
 
LegalAlien99 said:
I was just wondering, by reading many post over the past couple of months, if one can actually not pass the interview; as long as there are not SERIOUS problems with the application itself.. .

It seems as if the 'interview' is a mere formality. Or am I wrong?

Cheers!


-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
Online Status disappeared on 04/12/2006
ID/OD: 06/20/2006
Click to expand...

Yes, the interview is a very serious matter, not just a formality, and if the IO is not satisfied with the outcome of the interview, or the English, civic or history test, the applicant can be failed.

Take it seriously, is not just a formality. :)
 
LegalAlien99 said:
I was just wondering, by reading many post over the past couple of months, if one can actually not pass the interview; as long as there are not SERIOUS problems with the application itself.. .

It seems as if the 'interview' is a mere formality. Or am I wrong?

Cheers!


-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
Online Status disappeared on 04/12/2006
ID/OD: 06/20/2006
Click to expand...
It is very easy to fail if you behave inappropriately in the interview or pick up an argument with the IO and piss him/her off etc. Not that one would try to do these things, there could be some individuals that do not have any control once they get into a dialog.
 
zzerous said:
I heard of someone who failed the interview based on her poor knowledge of english.
Click to expand...

Worse, a member here posted his experience a while ago: He said that his IO was also an immigrant with a very heavy accent who spoke very fast. He, the applicant, had a hard time to understand what the IO was saying and asked him to repeat several times...finally he failed the test because IO concluded that he was unable to communicate properly in English :eek:

This is not happening every day...but it happened at least once to someone.
 
Hi Suzy!

Wow! That is why it says somewhere under "naturalization" on bcis.gov that if the applicant has a hard time understanding the IO (speaks too fast, heavy accent etc.) and even rephrasing the questions does not help, he/she should ask for the supervisor to conduct the interview.

But then, I assume most applicants are too scared during the interview, afraid to offend the IO.

As a matter of fact, not related to the interview, one of my co-workers arrived for a bunch of meeting here in D.C. on Monday. Long story short: He is German and travels to the U.S.A. under the Visa Waiver Program. It is specifically stated that you can be denied entry for any or no reason at the POE. Well, he regularly travels to South America, Asia and the Near/Middle East, so his passport is full of those visas. The BICS officer at Dulles was giving him a hard time, asking all kinds of questions why he had spent time in those countries etc. etc. My co-worker (who is a loud mouth) got really pissy on the officer and basically told him "I am done dealing with you. I want to speak to the supervisor immediately".

Apparently, the officer did not quite expect that. Well, he complied, the supervisor showed up..had a little chat with the counter officer, and told my co-worker "welcome to the U.S.".

Well, I would not have had such b..lls ;-), but it worked in his case.

Cheers!




-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
Online Status disappeared on 04/12/2006
ID/OD: 06/20/2006
 
LegalAlien99 said:
Hi!

Yes, beyond the obvious (civics/hository test, physical/continuous residency, premature filing) and the officer realizing that you have been lying right and left, how should one not be able to pass it and turn the interview in more than a few minute formality? Just curious... .

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Heh! Heh! You are enumerating and excluding the reasons for which one would fail the interview (add poor English skills and problems with being out of status and/or how the GC was obtained to your list).
Well yes, if you exclude all the reasons for failing then you will pass :)
But then isn't that true of any exam? Unless you are not well prepared or you don't know the subject material or you are not feeling well or you had too much to drink the previous night or ... you are guaranteed to pass the exam ;)

Sam
 
Sometimes the Interview can be hard...

I just spoke to a friend of mine who had an interview in Philly. He has applied for his GC under political assylum. Also he had adjusted his status under 245(I) for being out of status for a period of time.

When he attended the interview he did not know that the officer had his entire GC records in from of him and started to ask questions about his home country and political situation etc... Luckily for my friend he had a pesence of mind to re collect the exact details he had provided during his GC application.

His interview was very long 1.5 hrs, in between the interview the officer left to check additional records on him. Also he was in between asked question on American history and english read and write test etc.

Finally he was told OK you have passed.

So remember if you have a convoluted case, the possibility is that they maybe additional scruitiny (it was my friends experience..)
 
Suzy977 said:
Worse, a member here posted his experience a while ago: He said that his IO was also an immigrant with a very heavy accent who spoke very fast. He, the applicant, had a hard time to understand what the IO was saying and asked him to repeat several times...finally he failed the test because IO concluded that he was unable to communicate properly in English :eek:

This is not happening every day...but it happened at least once to someone.
Click to expand...

Good one
:D

Moral of the story : If the applicant doesn't have good english skills OR if the interviewing officer has heavy accent/bad english, the end result is the same...... Applicant will be denied citizenship :confused:
 
desiImmi said:
Good one
:D

Moral of the story : If the applicant doesn't have good english skills OR if the interviewing officer has heavy accent/bad english, the end result is the same...... Applicant will be denied citizenship :confused:
Click to expand...

I tend to believe that in that case was a combination of both, but, what the heck, I've heard many born Americans complaining about the English spoken in UK ;)
 
Suzy977 said:
I tend to believe that in that case was a combination of both, but, what the heck, I've heard many born Americans complaining about the English spoken in UK ;)
Click to expand...

Exactly..what I was saying..

Because applicant is at th emercy of teh discretion of the officer, either way it is going to hurt only the applicant... Sad but true...
 
I'm scared too. I always think about it all the time if I'll fail or pass or I can answers all the question. But what I did though because I'm not working I'll start studying the American History but I'm still kinda scary though, I don't know if I can remember everything when I get so nervous. I have less than 2 years ahead of me to get prepared. Hopefully, I won't get nervous though but I'm sure I will hehehhe. If I fail I'll just have to take over and over again until I get the right answer. :) :p ;)
 
pprcp said:
I'm scared too. I always think about it all the time if I'll fail or pass or I can answers all the question. But what I did though because I'm not working I'll start studying the American History but I'm still kinda scary though, I don't know if I can remember everything when I get so nervous. I have less than 2 years ahead of me to get prepared. Hopefully, I won't get nervous though but I'm sure I will hehehhe. If I fail I'll just have to take over and over again until I get the right answer. :) :p ;)
Click to expand...

I hope you're kidding. You don't need to study the American history for the Naturalization interview.
If you now the answer to the 100 Q&A you'll pass the test.

In two years you have the option to memorize the answer to one question per week...and still can take one month vacation when you don't have to "study" at all ;)

Relax, don't screw up your next 2 years of your life with this issue :)
 
sam_c said:
Heh! Heh! You are enumerating and excluding the reasons for which one would fail the interview (add poor English skills and problems with being out of status and/or how the GC was obtained to your list).
Well yes, if you exclude all the reasons for failing then you will pass :)
But then isn't that true of any exam? Unless you are not well prepared or you don't know the subject material or you are not feeling well or you had too much to drink the previous night or ... you are guaranteed to pass the exam ;)

Sam
Click to expand...


Hi Sam,

LOL, you are right! I was either severely retarded when I started this post...or something else was not wired correctly in my brain LOL. Yeah, the way I phrased the question, it made no sense at all hehehe.

I think what I was trying to figure out is how many folks actually manage to fail the interview. From what people have been posting on this forum, it does not seem to happen too often, meaning: it is quite rare for an applicant to actually not pass it.

Cheers!

-------
N-400 @ VSC
PD: 01/17/06
Check cashed: 01/23/06
ND: 02/14/06 (received 02/18/06)
FP notice: 03/01/06 (received 03/05/06)
FP: 03/15/06 (FBI reported back to USCIS the same day)
Online Status disappeared on 04/12/2006
ID/OD: 06/20/2006
 
Suzy977 said:
Relax, don't screw up your next 2 years of your life with this issue [/COLOR] :)
Click to expand...

Not to mention that if you wish, you can spend all that time studying something WAAAAY more valuable. Hell, you can get an MBA in 3 years going to school part time! :)
 
Honestly the History Questions are very easy

A lot of us have studies world history. I do remember very well studying American Revolution and about the civil war back in high school in India.

So you are not really trying to study and cram things that are totally new to you say for example "Stocastic Processes"... I hated that paper in my under grad years.

I would say it was only 10 question in that Civic test that I did not know at all and had to flip back to the answer sheet. So its really so simple.
 
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