Hi All,
I successfully completed my interview in the Federal building in LA Downtown area. I thought of posting the experience for benefit of those who are scheduled for interview there.
First of all, I was very pleased to see the progress on my case. It took less than 5 months to reach the interview date from the date of mailing the application. I did the following to prepare myself:-
1) I made sure that I had all documents handy. These include:-
a) Notice Letter, and a copy for my record keeping. Please note they take away the letter from you at the interview.
b) Green Card - and copy.
c) Passport(s) and copies- I had both current as well as an expired one.
d) Marriage Certificate - original and copy, just in case.
e) Birth Certificate - original and copy.
f) Letters from employers - current and previous.
g) Pay stubs - I carried last 5, including 2 from a previous employer.
h) Tax Transcripts - Last 3 years + printouts of PDF files for 2001 & 2002. IRS site has a 1-800 number. You can order transcripts using the automated phone system. It does not cost anything. The letters from IRS arrived within 5 days. It is good to order account info plus returns for each of the previous 3 years. Note that IRS has a separate phone option on their IVR for requesting the same.
i) Recent Utility Bill - from Phone Company.
j) Recent Letter from the Bank.
Item g) and h) can be used to prove residency at current address just in case if the officer asked about that.
k) Driver License & copy.
l) 2 photographs.
m) I-140 Approval Notice.
n) A ball pen and a pencil.
o) I also carried my W2s for the current as well as previous years going back 5 years
p) All notices pertaining to the case.
As you can see, I was being extra cautious with the documents. I did that just to be safe. I neatly arranged them inside a 21 slots file folder. You can get one from Staples for about 10 bucks. It is really worth it. You wouldn't drop papers on the floor, besides the officer will see that you are well organized.
2) I prepared for the test using material from the web site. I went through the flash cards, borrowed 3 books from a public library, even tried one of the online software.
3) I visited the Federal building a week before just to make sure that I knew the location and knew where to park etc.
Then came the big day....I got up early and reached the Federal building downtown almost hour and half before the scheduled time. Please note that there is public mall parking right opposite the Federal building on the other side of the street. The parking charges were $10.50. It was really worth it as I didn't have to walk 3 blocks (the other public parking is nearly 3 or 4 blocks away).
There was a line out side the entrance. It was not big at all. I got to the security within 10minutes. I had left my cell phone back in the car thinking that they wouldn't allow it inside. But, it turns out that they did allow people to carry cell phones inside.
I took the elevator to the designated floor and went to the room mentioned in the notice letter. The guard was friendly; he looked at the letter and saw that I was early. He asked me if I had breakfast and coffee before I got here. When I said I did, he just motioned me to take the seat. The room was pretty empty, with only two other people. As I was waiting, few more people streaked in. One guy received a call on the cell phone. The guard asked them to cut it down. (Tip ---> turn off the cell phone when you are inside)
As I was waiting, an immigration officer called my name few minutes before the scheduled time. The officer took me to their own private office and asked me to repeat "I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.....so, help me god...". After swearing that, I took the seat in front. The officer asked me to present my passport, the green card and the driver's license.
It seems the officer had my entire folder. It was so thick that I felt that they not only had the N-400 application, but all previous applications related to my immigration journey. The officer also had my case up on the monitor. As the officer was going through the screen and the thick folder, they started asking me questions. I was asked if I am still at my current address, if I am married, my wife's name, whether I am filing on my own or on my wife (based on marriage), whether I have been married before, whether I have any children etc.
The officer asked me if I am still with the employer mentioned on the application. When I said no, I was asked to write down the name and address of new employer. I was also asked what kind of business we were in. The officer asked me to name the petitioner on my green card. They also asked me about recent trip outside USA. When I gave the dates, I was asked how many days did the trip last. Since the trip occurred after filing the N-400 application, the officer made additional notes on the application. I was asked if I had taken a trip that lasted more than 6 months. I had none.
The officer also asked me the date when I was finger printed last. When I told that, I was asked if it was for the same application. I said yes. I was not surprised by the question as my actual finger printing date was different from the scheduled one. The officer probably caught the discrepancy, but did not say anything and proceeded with the rest.
Then the officer started reading from the application on background info such as, if I was arrested, detained by law enforcement officer, whether I owed back taxes to IRS. I said no to all of that. I was asked if I already filed taxes for 2006. I said I will do that before the tax deadline. They asked if I have filed for previous years. I said yes, and asked if they would like to see the tax transcripts. The officer said that was not necessary.
After that the officer pulled out a sheet that had my name, address, phone numbers, SSN etc. and asked me to verify. I told everything was correct, except my daytime number. They asked me to cross it out and write the new number, which I did. Then I signed the sheet and handed it back. As it so happens, I never had to produce any documents during the entire process. But, I had them anyway for safety sake.
After all that, the officer said, "I am going to ask you some questions on history and civics". The questions are listed below.
1) What colors are there on the flag - Red, White & Blue
2) Who is the president - George W. Bush
3) What is the minimum voting age in US - 18
4) Who was the president during civil war - Abraham Lincoln
5) Who becomes president should both President and Vice President die - Speaker of the house
6) In which was the constitution written - 1787
7) What amendments of the constitution guarantee rights to vote - I said I am not entirely sure, but I know that amendment 26 is regarding minimum voting age. I also believe that there are amendment 15, and 24 that relate to right to vote. It was accepted as valid answer. I got all 7 right.
Then the officer asked me to write, "Today is a sunny day". After I did that, the officer said, "Congratulations, you have passed. We will send you an appointment for oath ceremony". The officer handed me the N-652 (Naturalization Interview Results), and shook hands with me and told me, "Have a nice day.". I thanked the officer and said that it was pleasure meeting today. I wished the officer a nice day as well.
My wife also finished her interview the same day. I waited for her to come out and we both left the room. As we were leaving, the guard wished us a nice day. We did the same in return. The whole thing ended in about an hour for me and my wife. Everybody was so nice.... I had a great time.
This marks a big landmark in my immigration journey. Finally, the monkey is off the shoulder. I wish all of you luck with your cases. I promise to post my oath ceremony experience when it occurs. I also thank Rajiv Khanna for maintaining a great website. For me, it all began here. This web site is a great source of information for all aspiring immigrants.
----------------------------------------------------------------
N-400 Timeline
----------------------------------------------------------------
11-10-2006 Mailed to CSC
11-13-2006 Received Date (RD)
11-13-2006 Priority Date (PD)
11-16-2006 Checks cleared
11-20-2006 Receipt Notice Date
11-21-2006 Finger Print Notice Date
11-30-2006 FP Appointment Date
12-10-2006 Finger printing done (delayed due to personal reason)
01-30-2007 Interview Notice Date
02-02-2007 Received Interview Notice in the mail
02-04-2007 Case disappeared from USCIS web site
03-15-2007 Interview Appointment Date
03-15-2007 Interview done
TBD Oath Notice
TBD Oath done
I successfully completed my interview in the Federal building in LA Downtown area. I thought of posting the experience for benefit of those who are scheduled for interview there.
First of all, I was very pleased to see the progress on my case. It took less than 5 months to reach the interview date from the date of mailing the application. I did the following to prepare myself:-
1) I made sure that I had all documents handy. These include:-
a) Notice Letter, and a copy for my record keeping. Please note they take away the letter from you at the interview.
b) Green Card - and copy.
c) Passport(s) and copies- I had both current as well as an expired one.
d) Marriage Certificate - original and copy, just in case.
e) Birth Certificate - original and copy.
f) Letters from employers - current and previous.
g) Pay stubs - I carried last 5, including 2 from a previous employer.
h) Tax Transcripts - Last 3 years + printouts of PDF files for 2001 & 2002. IRS site has a 1-800 number. You can order transcripts using the automated phone system. It does not cost anything. The letters from IRS arrived within 5 days. It is good to order account info plus returns for each of the previous 3 years. Note that IRS has a separate phone option on their IVR for requesting the same.
i) Recent Utility Bill - from Phone Company.
j) Recent Letter from the Bank.
Item g) and h) can be used to prove residency at current address just in case if the officer asked about that.
k) Driver License & copy.
l) 2 photographs.
m) I-140 Approval Notice.
n) A ball pen and a pencil.
o) I also carried my W2s for the current as well as previous years going back 5 years
p) All notices pertaining to the case.
As you can see, I was being extra cautious with the documents. I did that just to be safe. I neatly arranged them inside a 21 slots file folder. You can get one from Staples for about 10 bucks. It is really worth it. You wouldn't drop papers on the floor, besides the officer will see that you are well organized.
2) I prepared for the test using material from the web site. I went through the flash cards, borrowed 3 books from a public library, even tried one of the online software.
3) I visited the Federal building a week before just to make sure that I knew the location and knew where to park etc.
Then came the big day....I got up early and reached the Federal building downtown almost hour and half before the scheduled time. Please note that there is public mall parking right opposite the Federal building on the other side of the street. The parking charges were $10.50. It was really worth it as I didn't have to walk 3 blocks (the other public parking is nearly 3 or 4 blocks away).
There was a line out side the entrance. It was not big at all. I got to the security within 10minutes. I had left my cell phone back in the car thinking that they wouldn't allow it inside. But, it turns out that they did allow people to carry cell phones inside.
I took the elevator to the designated floor and went to the room mentioned in the notice letter. The guard was friendly; he looked at the letter and saw that I was early. He asked me if I had breakfast and coffee before I got here. When I said I did, he just motioned me to take the seat. The room was pretty empty, with only two other people. As I was waiting, few more people streaked in. One guy received a call on the cell phone. The guard asked them to cut it down. (Tip ---> turn off the cell phone when you are inside)
As I was waiting, an immigration officer called my name few minutes before the scheduled time. The officer took me to their own private office and asked me to repeat "I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.....so, help me god...". After swearing that, I took the seat in front. The officer asked me to present my passport, the green card and the driver's license.
It seems the officer had my entire folder. It was so thick that I felt that they not only had the N-400 application, but all previous applications related to my immigration journey. The officer also had my case up on the monitor. As the officer was going through the screen and the thick folder, they started asking me questions. I was asked if I am still at my current address, if I am married, my wife's name, whether I am filing on my own or on my wife (based on marriage), whether I have been married before, whether I have any children etc.
The officer asked me if I am still with the employer mentioned on the application. When I said no, I was asked to write down the name and address of new employer. I was also asked what kind of business we were in. The officer asked me to name the petitioner on my green card. They also asked me about recent trip outside USA. When I gave the dates, I was asked how many days did the trip last. Since the trip occurred after filing the N-400 application, the officer made additional notes on the application. I was asked if I had taken a trip that lasted more than 6 months. I had none.
The officer also asked me the date when I was finger printed last. When I told that, I was asked if it was for the same application. I said yes. I was not surprised by the question as my actual finger printing date was different from the scheduled one. The officer probably caught the discrepancy, but did not say anything and proceeded with the rest.
Then the officer started reading from the application on background info such as, if I was arrested, detained by law enforcement officer, whether I owed back taxes to IRS. I said no to all of that. I was asked if I already filed taxes for 2006. I said I will do that before the tax deadline. They asked if I have filed for previous years. I said yes, and asked if they would like to see the tax transcripts. The officer said that was not necessary.
After that the officer pulled out a sheet that had my name, address, phone numbers, SSN etc. and asked me to verify. I told everything was correct, except my daytime number. They asked me to cross it out and write the new number, which I did. Then I signed the sheet and handed it back. As it so happens, I never had to produce any documents during the entire process. But, I had them anyway for safety sake.
After all that, the officer said, "I am going to ask you some questions on history and civics". The questions are listed below.
1) What colors are there on the flag - Red, White & Blue
2) Who is the president - George W. Bush
3) What is the minimum voting age in US - 18
4) Who was the president during civil war - Abraham Lincoln
5) Who becomes president should both President and Vice President die - Speaker of the house
6) In which was the constitution written - 1787
7) What amendments of the constitution guarantee rights to vote - I said I am not entirely sure, but I know that amendment 26 is regarding minimum voting age. I also believe that there are amendment 15, and 24 that relate to right to vote. It was accepted as valid answer. I got all 7 right.
Then the officer asked me to write, "Today is a sunny day". After I did that, the officer said, "Congratulations, you have passed. We will send you an appointment for oath ceremony". The officer handed me the N-652 (Naturalization Interview Results), and shook hands with me and told me, "Have a nice day.". I thanked the officer and said that it was pleasure meeting today. I wished the officer a nice day as well.
My wife also finished her interview the same day. I waited for her to come out and we both left the room. As we were leaving, the guard wished us a nice day. We did the same in return. The whole thing ended in about an hour for me and my wife. Everybody was so nice.... I had a great time.
This marks a big landmark in my immigration journey. Finally, the monkey is off the shoulder. I wish all of you luck with your cases. I promise to post my oath ceremony experience when it occurs. I also thank Rajiv Khanna for maintaining a great website. For me, it all began here. This web site is a great source of information for all aspiring immigrants.
----------------------------------------------------------------
N-400 Timeline
----------------------------------------------------------------
11-10-2006 Mailed to CSC
11-13-2006 Received Date (RD)
11-13-2006 Priority Date (PD)
11-16-2006 Checks cleared
11-20-2006 Receipt Notice Date
11-21-2006 Finger Print Notice Date
11-30-2006 FP Appointment Date
12-10-2006 Finger printing done (delayed due to personal reason)
01-30-2007 Interview Notice Date
02-02-2007 Received Interview Notice in the mail
02-04-2007 Case disappeared from USCIS web site
03-15-2007 Interview Appointment Date
03-15-2007 Interview done
TBD Oath Notice
TBD Oath done
Last edited by a moderator:
