WhoRunTings
Registered Users (C)
Hi all...
My interview notice took longer than most people on this forum, but I finally had my interview today in San Jose! Let me describe the experience while it is still fresh in my head. There are some interesting things that happened: I got some insight into traffic tickets and records of arrests, which are hot topics here.
But let me caution you that there are MANY immigration officers out there with many moods, so I do NOT guarantee that doing what I did will get you the same result!!!
To summarize, the immigration officer (IO) asked me, at one point or another, to see the following documents:
I made a ton of copies of all this stuff, but the IO did not want to keep them. Also despite the fact that I traveled, the IO never looked at my visas or re-entry stamps (they were all in my travel document, not my passport, since I have not had a functional passport in over a decade). No checking the I-94 (I did not even have it). No looking at tax records (didn't have them, either). No use of the extra passport photos (those I had!).
The IO, whose name and gender I will not disclose out of respect for privacy, was very nice and friendly, but clearly rushed. The interview started late (I was on time). I think the IO liked me because I spoke English well, something that the IO remarked about. However, throughout the process, the IO kept asking me the same questions repeatedly (have I paid all my taxes? yes. have I ever been married or have children? no. have I committed any crimes? sort of -- see below), which makes me wonder how much attention the IO paid to what I was saying. I had to double- and triple-ask some things just to be sure.
As usual, we opened with me swearing an oath to tell the truth. Then, I opened the interview by asking to make a statement. I said that although I filled out the application to the best of my ability, I found some instructions ambiguous (and I have no lawyer to help me), so I wanted to ask the IO some questions as we went through it page by page to make sure my application is "perfect". The IO said OK, let's do it.
The first snag was the fact that my name has several spellings, all of which have been used at some point somewhere. It's all variations of the same name, but you know how it is with translating foreign names -- there is more than one way to do it! My green card has one spelling, a godawful one (let's call that "Name A"). But I happened to have a certified translation of my birth certificate, on which my PREFERRED spelling is used (let's call that "Name B"). Moreover, some of my USCIS documents have a typo in Name A, so now we have a "Name C", which I forgot to list on Question 1C ("other names used") on N-400 and had to add at the interview.
I submitted the birth certificate with my N-400 with Name B, but because I like Name B and hate Name A so much, I also said on the N-400 that I want to legally change my name to Name B (half of my school records, financial records, etc. use that name anyway). The IO (after much confusion) explained that the San Jose office actually does not have the jurisdiction to do legal name changes. Moreover, it is completely unnecessary since my file turned out to contain the translation of my birth certificate with Name B, which is what will be on my naturalization certificate. So, the name change got crossed out and I will have Name B on my certificate. Victory!
The IO ran my Selective Service registration through the computer, which came up fine.
Then we got to the fun part -- my criminal record. I have a single blotch on my record, which is an arrest I discussed in this thread:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=292133
After some questions, I gave the IO the original certificate of disposition that I got from the court and explained that my "yes" answers to Q15-Q21 were as a result of that.
Now, I also reported a traffic ticket and a written warning on the N-400, but I did NOT report verbal warnings, parking tickets, or being questioned by a police officer for a crime I did not commit (and being let go). However, I came prepared with a complete list of all these things, because I was starting to get a bit nervous about not disclosing these on the original N-400 -- so, better tell the IO now!
However, the IO did not care about the traffic violations (whether tickets or written/verbal warnings), repeating that they only care about "crimes", and the fact that the IO so vehemently refused to append a list of my verbal warnings to the application despite my best attempts to do so (to make it complete) and repeatedly said that traffic offenses don't matter, all of this made me think this IO does not consider traffic offenses "crimes".
I SPECIFICALLY asked the IO which of those qualified as "detention", just out of curiosity. I discussed this matter in this thread:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=292134
The IO said that getting pulled over did qualify as detention (so all of you -- even if it is a verbal warning, still report it!!), but also stated that they were not concerned at all about traffic violations, only "crimes". The IO repeatedly said that traffic offenses DO NOT count against you!
The same officer, at the same desk in the same office, then hastily administered the writing test (write down one sentence), the reading test (read one sentence), and the civics (got 6 correct, then the IO stopped asking).
In the end, the officer said everything looked good but could not make a decision immediately due to my arrest, saying they will have to look up New York state law (where I was arrested) and send me a letter in 1-2 days. But the IO said that because it was a misdemeanor and the case was dismissed and sealed, this particular IO will not count it against my Good Moral Character, but still needed to check NY law. Oh well, I will be posting here as soon as I find out!
Altogether, my application wound up having 9 (nine!) changes that I had to sign off on, despite my best attempts to get it right the first time. Oh well, that's what the interview is for, right?!!
My interview notice took longer than most people on this forum, but I finally had my interview today in San Jose! Let me describe the experience while it is still fresh in my head. There are some interesting things that happened: I got some insight into traffic tickets and records of arrests, which are hot topics here.
But let me caution you that there are MANY immigration officers out there with many moods, so I do NOT guarantee that doing what I did will get you the same result!!!
To summarize, the immigration officer (IO) asked me, at one point or another, to see the following documents:
- original of green card
- original state issued ID (my driver's license)
- copy or original of Selective Service registration (I gave him copy)
- court disposition record (more on this below)
- my passport (which is now expired)
I made a ton of copies of all this stuff, but the IO did not want to keep them. Also despite the fact that I traveled, the IO never looked at my visas or re-entry stamps (they were all in my travel document, not my passport, since I have not had a functional passport in over a decade). No checking the I-94 (I did not even have it). No looking at tax records (didn't have them, either). No use of the extra passport photos (those I had!).
The IO, whose name and gender I will not disclose out of respect for privacy, was very nice and friendly, but clearly rushed. The interview started late (I was on time). I think the IO liked me because I spoke English well, something that the IO remarked about. However, throughout the process, the IO kept asking me the same questions repeatedly (have I paid all my taxes? yes. have I ever been married or have children? no. have I committed any crimes? sort of -- see below), which makes me wonder how much attention the IO paid to what I was saying. I had to double- and triple-ask some things just to be sure.
As usual, we opened with me swearing an oath to tell the truth. Then, I opened the interview by asking to make a statement. I said that although I filled out the application to the best of my ability, I found some instructions ambiguous (and I have no lawyer to help me), so I wanted to ask the IO some questions as we went through it page by page to make sure my application is "perfect". The IO said OK, let's do it.
The first snag was the fact that my name has several spellings, all of which have been used at some point somewhere. It's all variations of the same name, but you know how it is with translating foreign names -- there is more than one way to do it! My green card has one spelling, a godawful one (let's call that "Name A"). But I happened to have a certified translation of my birth certificate, on which my PREFERRED spelling is used (let's call that "Name B"). Moreover, some of my USCIS documents have a typo in Name A, so now we have a "Name C", which I forgot to list on Question 1C ("other names used") on N-400 and had to add at the interview.
I submitted the birth certificate with my N-400 with Name B, but because I like Name B and hate Name A so much, I also said on the N-400 that I want to legally change my name to Name B (half of my school records, financial records, etc. use that name anyway). The IO (after much confusion) explained that the San Jose office actually does not have the jurisdiction to do legal name changes. Moreover, it is completely unnecessary since my file turned out to contain the translation of my birth certificate with Name B, which is what will be on my naturalization certificate. So, the name change got crossed out and I will have Name B on my certificate. Victory!
The IO ran my Selective Service registration through the computer, which came up fine.
Then we got to the fun part -- my criminal record. I have a single blotch on my record, which is an arrest I discussed in this thread:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=292133
After some questions, I gave the IO the original certificate of disposition that I got from the court and explained that my "yes" answers to Q15-Q21 were as a result of that.
Now, I also reported a traffic ticket and a written warning on the N-400, but I did NOT report verbal warnings, parking tickets, or being questioned by a police officer for a crime I did not commit (and being let go). However, I came prepared with a complete list of all these things, because I was starting to get a bit nervous about not disclosing these on the original N-400 -- so, better tell the IO now!
However, the IO did not care about the traffic violations (whether tickets or written/verbal warnings), repeating that they only care about "crimes", and the fact that the IO so vehemently refused to append a list of my verbal warnings to the application despite my best attempts to do so (to make it complete) and repeatedly said that traffic offenses don't matter, all of this made me think this IO does not consider traffic offenses "crimes".
I SPECIFICALLY asked the IO which of those qualified as "detention", just out of curiosity. I discussed this matter in this thread:
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=292134
The IO said that getting pulled over did qualify as detention (so all of you -- even if it is a verbal warning, still report it!!), but also stated that they were not concerned at all about traffic violations, only "crimes". The IO repeatedly said that traffic offenses DO NOT count against you!
The same officer, at the same desk in the same office, then hastily administered the writing test (write down one sentence), the reading test (read one sentence), and the civics (got 6 correct, then the IO stopped asking).
In the end, the officer said everything looked good but could not make a decision immediately due to my arrest, saying they will have to look up New York state law (where I was arrested) and send me a letter in 1-2 days. But the IO said that because it was a misdemeanor and the case was dismissed and sealed, this particular IO will not count it against my Good Moral Character, but still needed to check NY law. Oh well, I will be posting here as soon as I find out!
Altogether, my application wound up having 9 (nine!) changes that I had to sign off on, despite my best attempts to get it right the first time. Oh well, that's what the interview is for, right?!!
