Thought I would give you an account of my citizenship interview as I have seen others do. I hope this helps.
First the details:
App date 12/03
Finger Printing 1/04
Interview today (5/12/04)
No online status ever.
My interview was scheduled at 12:35 pm in the city of Santa Ana which is about 40 miles south of Los Angeles (where I live and work). I reached there at about 11:45 pm. The guard at entrance of the room told me, it would be better if I waited for some time in the cafeteria on the 7th floor, the seats were more comfortable there
. So I waited in the cafeteria for a little while and then came back. The guard told me to put the notice in a box at the counter and also advised me to switch off my cell phone, as some of the officers do not like phone calls during the interview, so I did. I waited in the waiting room for about 30 minutes before being called. A nice lady officer led me to her office. She asked me raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth which I did.
Then she started doing her paper work for about 5 minutes while I nervously sat across from her at her desk.
She asked me for my green card, CA ID and passport. Then she went through my application form with me line by line rather quickly. For speeding tickets, she just asked me If I was ever arrested and I said no. I even got a chuckle out of her when I said 'Hell no' when asked if I was ever a member of the communist party. She asked me which of the companies I had worked for applied for the green card for me and I said none and then explained to her that I had obtained it through the national interest waiver. About selective services, she handed the letter that I had submitted back to me and said that I did not need it as I was over the age limit when I obtained my green card (By the way, I had the letter from selective services administration as I needed it for other reasons and not for the citizenship applicaion).
She asked me to write a scentence on a piece of paper "I know how to speak English". She gave a list of questions and asked me to read the questions and answer them aloud. Before I could finish, she had already printed another piece of paper than said that I had answered all the questions correctly and asked me to sign it. She joked that I could have the paper with the questions as a souvenier.
Then she asked me what I did and we had a nice conversation about my job. Then she gave me a letter that said my application for naturalization has been approved. The oath ceremony is held every month and I would be notified when and where. The lady officer told me it would take about two months. The second page of the letter gives some of the locations for the Oath ceremonies in Los Angeles, what to bring and what not to wear (T-shirts/jeans).
The lady officer then escorted me out of her office and out to corridor. She even handed me an application for getting a passport and told me to fill it, get the photographs and money order and hand it in after the oath ceremony.
All this took about 30 minutes.
Everyone including the guards were very helpful and courteous. No problems at all.
First the details:
App date 12/03
Finger Printing 1/04
Interview today (5/12/04)
No online status ever.
My interview was scheduled at 12:35 pm in the city of Santa Ana which is about 40 miles south of Los Angeles (where I live and work). I reached there at about 11:45 pm. The guard at entrance of the room told me, it would be better if I waited for some time in the cafeteria on the 7th floor, the seats were more comfortable there
. So I waited in the cafeteria for a little while and then came back. The guard told me to put the notice in a box at the counter and also advised me to switch off my cell phone, as some of the officers do not like phone calls during the interview, so I did. I waited in the waiting room for about 30 minutes before being called. A nice lady officer led me to her office. She asked me raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth which I did.Then she started doing her paper work for about 5 minutes while I nervously sat across from her at her desk.
She asked me for my green card, CA ID and passport. Then she went through my application form with me line by line rather quickly. For speeding tickets, she just asked me If I was ever arrested and I said no. I even got a chuckle out of her when I said 'Hell no' when asked if I was ever a member of the communist party. She asked me which of the companies I had worked for applied for the green card for me and I said none and then explained to her that I had obtained it through the national interest waiver. About selective services, she handed the letter that I had submitted back to me and said that I did not need it as I was over the age limit when I obtained my green card (By the way, I had the letter from selective services administration as I needed it for other reasons and not for the citizenship applicaion).
She asked me to write a scentence on a piece of paper "I know how to speak English". She gave a list of questions and asked me to read the questions and answer them aloud. Before I could finish, she had already printed another piece of paper than said that I had answered all the questions correctly and asked me to sign it. She joked that I could have the paper with the questions as a souvenier.
Then she asked me what I did and we had a nice conversation about my job. Then she gave me a letter that said my application for naturalization has been approved. The oath ceremony is held every month and I would be notified when and where. The lady officer told me it would take about two months. The second page of the letter gives some of the locations for the Oath ceremonies in Los Angeles, what to bring and what not to wear (T-shirts/jeans).
The lady officer then escorted me out of her office and out to corridor. She even handed me an application for getting a passport and told me to fill it, get the photographs and money order and hand it in after the oath ceremony.
All this took about 30 minutes.
Everyone including the guards were very helpful and courteous. No problems at all.
Last edited by a moderator: