My Interview Experience
Guys,
First I want to send many thanks to you all for all your advise, support, encouragement, time and love. This forum right here helped lifted all my fears, misconception and misinformation about filing for naturalization.
My appointment today was for 10:00 am. I left home around 8:30 giving me more than enough time to get to the venue. It was one of those days they say you should prepare as if everything that could go wrong would and it did! An interesting experience started when I got to the high way (there was traffic congestion as a result of an accident) and in a jiff, the plenty of time I had disappreared into thin air. Before I knew it, it was already 9:30 and I am barely away from home. Because eveyone was trying to look for way out, I narrowly escaped three accidents and now pressure is rising not only because I am about running late but with all the crazy driving...plenty of drama but let me save you the rest.
I got to the building just 2 mins before 10 am (James Bond would need some driving lessons from me
). My nerves are now calm since I am where I want to be but my wife's wasnt. She not used to that kind of driving but trust me, where I come from, all the crazy driving in California, New York and Florida put together are child's play
The security guys remembered me so the chit chat started right at entrance they even pull a joke on my wife that I am the one doing the test but shes the one nervous (they did not have any idea what she just went thru). I dropped my interview letter in the box I was instructed and sat down with opportunity to chat a bit with the guy who did my FP - hes a nice guy.
About 10 minutes later a lady came calling and I followed her. She told my wife to wait for me out there. I took the oath to say the truth and all that. She said we should go straight to the test and get it out of the way. She told me that she has 10 questions for me and all I need to answer correctly is just 6 of them but she didn't have to read the 7th question cos by God's grace, I nailed it!! Here we go - not in a particular order:
1. Who is the Governor of your state now?
2. Where is the Statute of Liberty?
3. Name two national U.S. holidays.
4. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
5. Who was the first President?
6. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
*** I purposely didnt put the answers there for the benefit of those who are preparing. For me, it helped me when I read other people's questions and try to answer it to test my knowledge and it really worked ***
I was asked to read "How many U.S. Senators are there?"
I was asked to write " We have 100 senators in the United States" on a piece of paper.
At this point, she asked me to bring all documents I have to support my marriage other than the documents I already included in the original application ( I am applying based on marriage to a USC). So I gave her our home and auto insurance bills, home owners association bill, evidence of life insurance, bank statement and every other bill or statement I had on me that has both our name on it and she took them all. She asked if we own or rent our home and if we are both living at the same address. I told her we own our home and we both live at the same address and I then pull a huge stack of our home purchase contract and mortgage papers. She had the same problem I have with those stack. All the documents are so connected that if you are going to have one, you would require to have the other in other for you to make sense of it and it was so much that she said she would pass on that. I can understand, they already have a huge stack of paper works for my file and mortgage papers will just increase it 100%.
Then we went to the N-400 application and she verified all my information and then asked me all the question of which I answered "yes" and "no" as applicable. We had a few stops on travels and traffic citation and I cleared all that. Then she asked me to sign my name and then sign my signature at another portion of the documents. She then handed me a paper and asked me to verify that my information on that document is correct, it was. Then she printed the N-652 and pointed me to the part that said I passed the test and the part that congratulates me and said I have been recommended for approval both has "x" (checked) in front. Then she told me to wait for oath notice in the mail. She told me that all I will need at the oath ceremony would be my green card and the oath notice and maybe and maybe my driver's license. She said "and of course should you get another ticket before then, you would also be required to take with you the ticket and the proof of payment if you have it" (she said that somewhat jokingly relating to my traffic ticket discussion we had earlier). We shook hands and she led me back to the lobby where my wife couldnt wait to hear the good news
There you have it, it began with all the traffic drama and ended with huge smiles and laugthers.
A word of encouragement to those of you going for your interview after today, for me it took just about 20 minutes since I arrived and left the building. Your chances of passing and coming out smiling is very high so relaxxxxx. There is really no need to panic. I can't stress that enough.
Once again, plenty thanks to you guys for making this exprience a less stressful and less painful one!!! Special thanks to you SEA for offering to help yesterday. I didnt get to read your post early enough but my wife was able to help me with that and it all worked out.
Chaairss guys, ooops, I am glad spelling "cheers" isnt part of the test or I would... C-YA
John
