Dallas TX - N-400 Timeline -
- Thread starter longjourney
- Start date
SENTHIL MURUGESAN
Registered Users (C)
I tried around early october . But no luck . they are very strict about it . She said to me to post pone the FP in case if you out of city on that day .
But please try . it is ok to try and if you have luck we will be done .
But please try . it is ok to try and if you have luck we will be done .
Thank for your insight. Yes indeed, I also tried in my previous petition at this center and had no success.I wanted to anticipate because my previous FP got rejected twice and therefore delayed the process timeline.
interview questions
Hi all,
I read on the USCIS website that actual interview questions are not multiple choice but wanted to have confirmation from folks who got interview.Are they multiple choice or not ? As my understanding, the IO ask the questions orally , and you give the answer (not based on the multiple choice)- right ?
Hi all,
I read on the USCIS website that actual interview questions are not multiple choice but wanted to have confirmation from folks who got interview.Are they multiple choice or not ? As my understanding, the IO ask the questions orally , and you give the answer (not based on the multiple choice)- right ?
complexity
Registered Users (C)
Correct. He will ask question, you will give the answer. No multiple choices here.
dncfriends
New Member
Just mailed our (husband/wife) n-400 yesterday USPS to the Dallas office.
Interview and Oath at the Dallas District Office
I know that the Dallas thread is all but dead. But, my narrative is most relevant here than anywhere else. So, here goes.
My interview was scheduled for 9:30 AM, April 28, 2011 at the USCIS office at Campus Circle Drive East, in Irving Texas.
I reached the parking lot at about 8:50 AM, and found a few people lounging around outside the building. I had time on my hands, so I drove to a nearby deli for a coffee and to freshen myself up after the 50 minute drive through rush hour traffic. At 9:10 AM, I returned. I was getting ready to turn my cell phone off and keep it in the glove compartment of the car, when I noticed one person, who just got of the building, take out his cell phone and flip it open. So, I changed my mind, and decided to take the cell phone with me.
At the security screening, they had me take of my belt (but not shoes). I am sure they could see my phone in the brief case. But, they neither asked me about it nor seemed to mind. I was directed to go to the second floor.
I handed my IL to the reception desk on the second floor and was given a restaurant style coaster vibrator pager. I took a seat. There were at least 80 people in the rather largish lounge. This was discouraging because it seemed to me that by the time
I was done, I wouldn't get an Oath appointment for that day.
My wait was long. Many people, who came in after me, seemed to get called in for the interview, while I kept waiting. In the waiting lounge, there were people who had come to accompany their spouses (or significant others). But, of course, they kept sitting in the lounge when it was time for the interviewee to go in.
And, interestingly, people were not only texting on their phones. But, they were talking on the phones as well, albeit softly.
At 10:30 AM, I decided that I would give it another 30 minutes and then walk up to the reception desk and ask if I was still in queue. Fortunately, I was called n at 10:42 AM.
Inside the interview room, I was sworn in (speak the truth, etc.) and then asked to sit. I had several documents with me in multiple labelled file (I had chosen to over prepare), but only one document was needed. More about that shortly.
The IO asked me if I had a cell phone. I said yes. He asked me to turn it off and put it on his desk. He also asked me for my passports, driver's license, and SS card. I placed all of these on his table.
He then went over some of the basic information on the form, and gave me the civics/history test. He stopped after I answered the first six.
Next, he started going over the remainder of the form. He asked me if I had ever not paid taxes. I answered, "I had missed the filing in the years 2003 through 2008. But, I cleared up all the back log in 2008. And, no point did I owe the IRS any money." He seemed to be satisfied with my answer. I was surprised. I had come prepared with a lot of paper work to support my assertion. But, none of it was required.
Then, he asked me if I was ready to take the Oath and sign the document. I hesitated. This was my most tense moment. I had decided I would make a judgement call on the spot, and I chose to go for it. I said, "Well, I would really like to take a modified Oath instead."
For the first time, the entire fast-paced rhythm of the interview came to a stop for a brief while. The IO looked up at me with a quizzical look on his face and asked, "How do you mean?" I said, "I only want the words 'so help me God' at the end of the oath to be omitted." He thought for a while, looked at a few tings on his computer, and seemed to be lost in thought.
I was getting slightly concerned. I told him, "If this will delay of interfere with the schedule of the Oath or the outcome of the interview, I am willing to withdraw the request." The IO laughed very softly, almost chuckled, and said, "No, wait." He dialed a number and asked someone on the phone if a modified Oath could be given that day. The person at the other end of the phone obviously asked to extract a reason from me, so the IO took the phone away from his ear and asked me, "What is your reason?"
I said, "I do not profess to believe in the existence of a deity which concerns itself with the desires and wants of individual human beings." He appeared perplexed; I had said a mouthful apparently. I assured him that I had a letter I could give him. I gave him the letter, and he told the person on the phone he would call back. The IO read the letter, looked up some more stuff on the computer. And, then, he said, it would be no problem. I was relived. I asked if this would delay my oath. He chuckled again, and said, "No, it would not."
I signed the N-400 form, on which he had struck out the words, "so help me God." He told me that during the mass Oath ceremony, I should simply not utter those words I was fine with that.
I was done at about 11:00 AM. The paperwork he gave me had me scheduled for the Oath ceremony at 1:30 PM, the same day, in the same building.
I called my wife. She came over from her work, joined me for lunch, and stayed back for the Oath ceremony. She had taken the Oath ceremony at the same place two years ago, and things were slightly different in terms of the process. But, not much. The Oath ceremony took about an hour and quarter altogether, and ended with the handing out of the naturalization certificate to the people in the room.
On drive back home, the emotion was one of relief and a strange sense of being "a person without a passport" -- a situation I have never been in since my early teens (which was a very long time ago).
My original plan was to apply for the passport that very day. But, I was completely exhausted (for no apparent reason). I applied for the passport book and card (non-expedited) the next day (April 29) at the local Municipal Court. Today, I received an email from the Passport Processing Center telling me that the processing was complete, and they would mail it to me by priority mail. That is only nine days days since I sent the passport application to them! That is mighty fast processing for a non-expedited application. But, they also wrote that I should expect to receive it in about six days from today. Why it should take that much time, via Priority Mail, beats me. I think they are just being conservative in their estimate.
Finally, I would like to thank all the people on this Forum for sharing the experience, and the amazingly knowledgeable moderators for their wisdom and insights. While waiting for the process to complete is never easy, I will also miss that very special time I had here.
For all of you who are still in the process, good luck to you. I will likely hang around this Forum for a while longer. But, as my Zen master says, "Impermanence is the order of the Universe."
So long, friends!
I know that the Dallas thread is all but dead. But, my narrative is most relevant here than anywhere else. So, here goes.
My interview was scheduled for 9:30 AM, April 28, 2011 at the USCIS office at Campus Circle Drive East, in Irving Texas.
I reached the parking lot at about 8:50 AM, and found a few people lounging around outside the building. I had time on my hands, so I drove to a nearby deli for a coffee and to freshen myself up after the 50 minute drive through rush hour traffic. At 9:10 AM, I returned. I was getting ready to turn my cell phone off and keep it in the glove compartment of the car, when I noticed one person, who just got of the building, take out his cell phone and flip it open. So, I changed my mind, and decided to take the cell phone with me.
At the security screening, they had me take of my belt (but not shoes). I am sure they could see my phone in the brief case. But, they neither asked me about it nor seemed to mind. I was directed to go to the second floor.
I handed my IL to the reception desk on the second floor and was given a restaurant style coaster vibrator pager. I took a seat. There were at least 80 people in the rather largish lounge. This was discouraging because it seemed to me that by the time
I was done, I wouldn't get an Oath appointment for that day.
My wait was long. Many people, who came in after me, seemed to get called in for the interview, while I kept waiting. In the waiting lounge, there were people who had come to accompany their spouses (or significant others). But, of course, they kept sitting in the lounge when it was time for the interviewee to go in.
And, interestingly, people were not only texting on their phones. But, they were talking on the phones as well, albeit softly.
At 10:30 AM, I decided that I would give it another 30 minutes and then walk up to the reception desk and ask if I was still in queue. Fortunately, I was called n at 10:42 AM.
Inside the interview room, I was sworn in (speak the truth, etc.) and then asked to sit. I had several documents with me in multiple labelled file (I had chosen to over prepare), but only one document was needed. More about that shortly.
The IO asked me if I had a cell phone. I said yes. He asked me to turn it off and put it on his desk. He also asked me for my passports, driver's license, and SS card. I placed all of these on his table.
He then went over some of the basic information on the form, and gave me the civics/history test. He stopped after I answered the first six.
Next, he started going over the remainder of the form. He asked me if I had ever not paid taxes. I answered, "I had missed the filing in the years 2003 through 2008. But, I cleared up all the back log in 2008. And, no point did I owe the IRS any money." He seemed to be satisfied with my answer. I was surprised. I had come prepared with a lot of paper work to support my assertion. But, none of it was required.
Then, he asked me if I was ready to take the Oath and sign the document. I hesitated. This was my most tense moment. I had decided I would make a judgement call on the spot, and I chose to go for it. I said, "Well, I would really like to take a modified Oath instead."
For the first time, the entire fast-paced rhythm of the interview came to a stop for a brief while. The IO looked up at me with a quizzical look on his face and asked, "How do you mean?" I said, "I only want the words 'so help me God' at the end of the oath to be omitted." He thought for a while, looked at a few tings on his computer, and seemed to be lost in thought.
I was getting slightly concerned. I told him, "If this will delay of interfere with the schedule of the Oath or the outcome of the interview, I am willing to withdraw the request." The IO laughed very softly, almost chuckled, and said, "No, wait." He dialed a number and asked someone on the phone if a modified Oath could be given that day. The person at the other end of the phone obviously asked to extract a reason from me, so the IO took the phone away from his ear and asked me, "What is your reason?"
I said, "I do not profess to believe in the existence of a deity which concerns itself with the desires and wants of individual human beings." He appeared perplexed; I had said a mouthful apparently. I assured him that I had a letter I could give him. I gave him the letter, and he told the person on the phone he would call back. The IO read the letter, looked up some more stuff on the computer. And, then, he said, it would be no problem. I was relived. I asked if this would delay my oath. He chuckled again, and said, "No, it would not."
I signed the N-400 form, on which he had struck out the words, "so help me God." He told me that during the mass Oath ceremony, I should simply not utter those words I was fine with that.
I was done at about 11:00 AM. The paperwork he gave me had me scheduled for the Oath ceremony at 1:30 PM, the same day, in the same building.
I called my wife. She came over from her work, joined me for lunch, and stayed back for the Oath ceremony. She had taken the Oath ceremony at the same place two years ago, and things were slightly different in terms of the process. But, not much. The Oath ceremony took about an hour and quarter altogether, and ended with the handing out of the naturalization certificate to the people in the room.
On drive back home, the emotion was one of relief and a strange sense of being "a person without a passport" -- a situation I have never been in since my early teens (which was a very long time ago).
My original plan was to apply for the passport that very day. But, I was completely exhausted (for no apparent reason). I applied for the passport book and card (non-expedited) the next day (April 29) at the local Municipal Court. Today, I received an email from the Passport Processing Center telling me that the processing was complete, and they would mail it to me by priority mail. That is only nine days days since I sent the passport application to them! That is mighty fast processing for a non-expedited application. But, they also wrote that I should expect to receive it in about six days from today. Why it should take that much time, via Priority Mail, beats me. I think they are just being conservative in their estimate.
Finally, I would like to thank all the people on this Forum for sharing the experience, and the amazingly knowledgeable moderators for their wisdom and insights. While waiting for the process to complete is never easy, I will also miss that very special time I had here.
For all of you who are still in the process, good luck to you. I will likely hang around this Forum for a while longer. But, as my Zen master says, "Impermanence is the order of the Universe."
So long, friends!
No they do not. At no point does the USCIS take away your passport(s).
However, for all practical (and legal) purposes, the passport of the country of former citizenship is not valid any more after your Oath ceremony. Using it in any way that would convey my intention to represent myself as a citizen of my home country would constitute fraud.
At least, in my case, it would be extremely risky to travel with it, to my home country. I would not even dream of attempting that.
Also, I had to send my original Naturalization Certificate along with the application for the US passport. So, frankly, other than the copy of the Naturalization Certificate I made, before sending it with the US passport application, I have no authentic (original) proof of my current citizenship. However, I am expecting my US passport to arrive within the next few days (along with the Naturalization Certificate).
Hope this answers your question.
However, for all practical (and legal) purposes, the passport of the country of former citizenship is not valid any more after your Oath ceremony. Using it in any way that would convey my intention to represent myself as a citizen of my home country would constitute fraud.
At least, in my case, it would be extremely risky to travel with it, to my home country. I would not even dream of attempting that.
Also, I had to send my original Naturalization Certificate along with the application for the US passport. So, frankly, other than the copy of the Naturalization Certificate I made, before sending it with the US passport application, I have no authentic (original) proof of my current citizenship. However, I am expecting my US passport to arrive within the next few days (along with the Naturalization Certificate).
Hope this answers your question.
dncfriends
New Member
javacafe any chance you could share the text of the letter you give them regarding the modified oath. It too have the same reservations on the standard oath and have wondered how to address it while not wanting it to delay anything.
Thanks very much for the details on your experience. It's very helpful to us.
Thanks very much for the details on your experience. It's very helpful to us.
N-400 application timings
N-400 to Dallas Office
----------------------
06/16 - Mailed n-400 to Dallas Office (Standard USPS)
06/30 - Email: "Finger Print notice mailed."
07/24 - Finger Printing Completed.
07/27 - Status: "Testing and Interview"; Email: "placed in line for interview scheduling"
08/12 - Interview notice received
09/14 - Scheduled for Interview
N-400 to Dallas Office
----------------------
06/16 - Mailed n-400 to Dallas Office (Standard USPS)
06/30 - Email: "Finger Print notice mailed."
07/24 - Finger Printing Completed.
07/27 - Status: "Testing and Interview"; Email: "placed in line for interview scheduling"
08/12 - Interview notice received
09/14 - Scheduled for Interview