My interview was at 10.15 am and I was called in about 15 minutes late. When the IO was having difficulty with my long first name I walked towards him and identified myself by my last name. He greeted me and took me to his office. After the oath to tell the truth, he asked me to sit down. From a shelf on a side he pulled out a package of 4 or 5 papers. One of the papers had the Civics test questions, the first six Qs I was asked: What is freedom of religion?, How many US senators are there?, When must all men register for the Selective service?, When was the Constitution written?, What ocean is on the East Coast of the US?, Name one state that borders Canada. The IO noted down all my answers in red ink. The next paper had many sentences to read, and I was asked to read - What do we pay to the Government?. The next paper had many boxes, and he asked me to write in a box - We pay taxes. I asked him back - should I add to the Government, for which he said no need.
All this was done in less than five minutes. The next 5 minutes were spent the IO going through the file of records, flagging the 485 for GC, the DoB affidavits, my educational qualifications and such. He finally asked me a few details from N-400, like the phone number, address, employment history (I am currently self employed), my single trip outside US in the last five years, a few Qs from 10 D thru' H. The next 3-4 minutes he examined something on his computer while simultaneously talking with me about general things like religion, war, peace, his hiking trips, food, kids and family.
He then said that he was recommending my case for approval and congratulated me saying that he was sure that I would be a very successful American citizen. He also mentioned that I could take the oath at 2 pm.
I thanked him for the graceful conversation.
My wife also had a similar experience on her interview.
The oath ceremony was at 2 pm and started at 2.30 pm. There were 149 new citizens from 54 countries. A video message from the President, two patriotic songs (one was "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood), the Oath, a short message by a Section Manager who led the ceremony all took about 15 minutes. We were handed out the certificates by the numbers we were seated in. By 2.55 pm we were driving home happily.