My wife and I completed our interviews yesterday! Both of us are approved and are now waiting for the oath ceremony. Its a big relief.
Thanks to all the people here who helped with some of the questions I had while preparing for this.
FYI, heres my timeline:
Filed/Priority Date: 7/11/03
Fingerprints: 8/15/03
Interview: 11/20/03
Oath: waiting
Filed in NSC, local office Kansas City.
For those who are interested in the details, the interviews went off well. My wife's appointment was half an hour prior to mine. We both got there about half an hour ahead of time. We had our two year old daughter with us and ended up taking turns with her while each of us did our interviews - thankfully my wife completed hers about five minutes before I was called in.
The INS officers for both of us were very polite and friendly. The first thing obviously was the oath to tell the truth. Then I was asked for my green card, which I don't have - my lawyer explained why (NSC delays, another long story, not needed here). I needed to get my birthdate corrected since my N-400 receipt had changed the month from Oct. to Sept. The lady doing my interview was wondering what NSC was up to, because my records clearly showed my correct birth date. Then she went through my application. I had to add two trips outside the US after my filing, she just took the dates, destination, duration, no extra questions. Then we got to the part about prior arrests, convictions, etc. My lawyer sat in for both my and my wifes interviews, and she asked the INS officer about speeding tickets (I had been concerned since I had not mentioned them, and she had assured me that its not a problem). The officer said that they don't really care about speeding tickets, its more about DUIs, etc. The only time speeding tickets will be an issue is if they are still outstanding and upaid. The rest of the questions regarding the application were very straightforward.
Then we got to the history/civics questions. My wife had got all ten correct, and the officer interviewing her even gave her a printout to show to me, and told her that if I didn't get all correct I would have to buy her lunch - it was really nice to see a sense of humor. My lawyer mentioned my wifes result to the officer doing my interview, and the officer smiled and she said that she just stops after six correct answers. My questions were all easy, all from the list of 100 samples. My lawyer said that I got off easy, at which point the INS officer smiled and said that lets give you something harder, just for the heck of it. She then asked me for the 13 original states, which I had memorized carefully and was able to answer correctly. After that I was told to read and write the English sentences, again very easy and simple.
Then the officer printed me a form that will allow me to enter the oath ceremony (because I don't have a green card). After that my lawyer asked that both my wife and my oath date be processed together (which is what we wanted). Then the officer said that my case looked complete, there was no need for a background check, and that I was good to go. I can expect to receive a letter in 3-6 weeks telling me that I need to wait for an oath ceremony , which can take anywhere from two to four months. My lawyer said that the oath date really depends on the federal judge and their work load. Right now the upcoming holidays will also delay things a bit.
Hope thats helpful.
Surya
Thanks to all the people here who helped with some of the questions I had while preparing for this.
FYI, heres my timeline:
Filed/Priority Date: 7/11/03
Fingerprints: 8/15/03
Interview: 11/20/03
Oath: waiting
Filed in NSC, local office Kansas City.
For those who are interested in the details, the interviews went off well. My wife's appointment was half an hour prior to mine. We both got there about half an hour ahead of time. We had our two year old daughter with us and ended up taking turns with her while each of us did our interviews - thankfully my wife completed hers about five minutes before I was called in.
The INS officers for both of us were very polite and friendly. The first thing obviously was the oath to tell the truth. Then I was asked for my green card, which I don't have - my lawyer explained why (NSC delays, another long story, not needed here). I needed to get my birthdate corrected since my N-400 receipt had changed the month from Oct. to Sept. The lady doing my interview was wondering what NSC was up to, because my records clearly showed my correct birth date. Then she went through my application. I had to add two trips outside the US after my filing, she just took the dates, destination, duration, no extra questions. Then we got to the part about prior arrests, convictions, etc. My lawyer sat in for both my and my wifes interviews, and she asked the INS officer about speeding tickets (I had been concerned since I had not mentioned them, and she had assured me that its not a problem). The officer said that they don't really care about speeding tickets, its more about DUIs, etc. The only time speeding tickets will be an issue is if they are still outstanding and upaid. The rest of the questions regarding the application were very straightforward.
Then we got to the history/civics questions. My wife had got all ten correct, and the officer interviewing her even gave her a printout to show to me, and told her that if I didn't get all correct I would have to buy her lunch - it was really nice to see a sense of humor. My lawyer mentioned my wifes result to the officer doing my interview, and the officer smiled and she said that she just stops after six correct answers. My questions were all easy, all from the list of 100 samples. My lawyer said that I got off easy, at which point the INS officer smiled and said that lets give you something harder, just for the heck of it. She then asked me for the 13 original states, which I had memorized carefully and was able to answer correctly. After that I was told to read and write the English sentences, again very easy and simple.
Then the officer printed me a form that will allow me to enter the oath ceremony (because I don't have a green card). After that my lawyer asked that both my wife and my oath date be processed together (which is what we wanted). Then the officer said that my case looked complete, there was no need for a background check, and that I was good to go. I can expect to receive a letter in 3-6 weeks telling me that I need to wait for an oath ceremony , which can take anywhere from two to four months. My lawyer said that the oath date really depends on the federal judge and their work load. Right now the upcoming holidays will also delay things a bit.
Hope thats helpful.
Surya