My Interview Experience

H

happigal

Registered Users (C)
Just wanted to post my interview experience.

Got to the San Jose DO about 30mins before my actual interview time. Got called in on time :eek: no delays at all.

The IO was very nice and friendly and he took me to his office where the interview was conducted. He asked me to remain standing and to raise my right hand and I sweared to tell the truth.

He asked me to sit down and asked for my passport, green card, and driver's license. No other documentation was asked even though I had brought the other documents as stated in the sheet that comes with the Interview Letter.

He went through the N400 application and made some minor changes that I mentioned. He asked me to verify some of the information in the application (like birth date etc) and was a little surprised that I was still married to the same man :eek: :D (that was actually kinda funny to see his reaction). He then asked me several yes/no questions like bearing arms for the US if necessary, taking the full oath, if I ever helped anyone illegally enter the US, affliations to terrorist groups etc. I answered appropriately of course :)

Once that was all done, we moved onto the testing part of things. He asked me to write the following sentence at the bottom last page of the N400 application:

"I want to become a citizen of the United States"

and then he asked the following civics questions (got them all right ):

01) What is the Constitution?
02) Who makes the Federal laws in the US?
03) How many senators are in Arizona?
04) Who said "Give me liberty or give me death"?
05) Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
06) Who was the main writer of the Declaration of
Independence?
07) What is the national anthem of the US?
08) Who was the president during the Civil War?
09) What are the two major political parties in the US
today?
10) What are the benefits of becoming a US citizen?

Next, he asked me to sign Part 13 and 14 of the N400 and the pictures. He also asked me to initial a sheet he printed out (after verifying all the information was correct...this is to be used for the Naturalization certificate).

He said that all went well and that I had passed the interview. He asked me if I had any questions for him and (of course) I asked if anything was pending. He stated that I had nothing pending and that everything was cleared. I asked about whether I would make the Feb oath and he said he stated that he didn't see why not. He stated that I should get the oath letter in about 2-3 weeks.

He then handed me the N-652 stating that I had passed the interview, civics and English and that I would be recommended for approval. He congratulated me and escorted me to the exit. All in all, I was done in 10 minutes.

Very nice experience overall from start to finish.
 
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did you ask why you were descheduled?

Congratulations!!
Did they tell you why you were desceduled initially?
 
Did he keep your interview letter with him?

I wanted to get the infopass but now since I don't have my interview letter I don't know my Application Receipt Number.
 
Imy said:
Did he keep your interview letter with him?

I wanted to get the infopass but now since I don't have my interview letter I don't know my Application Receipt Number.
Click to expand...

I'm in the exact same situation myself. They kept the original letter with that reciept number on it. I was able to find the 2 previous ones for the original N-400 when they recieved it and then the number for the Finger Printing, both which no longer work as they are closed now. I contacted the 1-800 number, but they need the reciept number which they have. Not sure what the hell to do...
 
hmm... the number is exactly the same in all the three notices for me, receipt, fingerprint and interview.
 
The reason they descheduled my first interview date was due to my file not having been transferred from CSC to the local DO.

The IO did keep my Interview letter so I don't have that anymore. However, if you need your receipt number, it is the same on the other notices that you get from USCIS.

I am not sure if they will be able to find you in the system based on just your name and then give you information. They might be able to if you do infopass.
 
Happigal (you must be really happy now :)),

Congrats on the approval and most importantly clearance of all background checks.
Interview ND: 10/17/06
Interview date: 11/29/06
Descheduled ND: 10/25/06

In hardly a week after they sent out your first interview notice they de-scheduled it?
Did the "descheduled" notice come from the local DO or from the service center? In any case, with the first ID of 11/29 there has been ample time to send the file from CSC to DO, in spite of that I wonder why they have to send a deschedule!
 
Hi newdawn...the descheduled letter came from CSC and not from the local DO.

When I did an Infopass to find out what happened, the IO stated that when CSC schedules the interview, the applicant's file should be transferring at the same time. If the Interview is scheduled but the file is still at CSC, then the interview will get descheduled.

I know...doesn't make a lot of sense... :confused: But I guess that is how USCIS process is...or at least that's what I understood from our conversation.

At any rate, I'm just glad that they rescheduled my interview a month later and sent out the second notice.
 
okie. explains why the IO asked if you were still married to the same guy. looks like it was a valid interview question from his perspective. hehe. congrats on getting this far and good luck for the next steps.
thnx.
ohyeah
 
Congrats happigal. Your question about AZ senators is strange though. Was it a trick question? I mean we all know the answer is 2 senators/state but what a strange way to ask this.
 
aabbcc11 said:
Congrats happigal. Your question about AZ senators is strange though. Was it a trick question? I mean we all know the answer is 2 senators/state but what a strange way to ask this.
Click to expand...

Thanks aabbcc11 and yes...I think the IO was trying to see if I really knew my stuff or if I was just memorizing the answers to the 96 questions from the booklet.

I thought it was rather strange at first when I heard it too...since we were in California and not in Arizona. But I knew the anwer was 2 no matter which state so it was alright. :)

What would have been more scary was if he had asked me to name the 2 Arizona senators :D :eek:
 
congrats! enjoy .. can you tell where i should be applying (i live in fremont) and how long a wait i can expect start to finish (based on estimate) if i apply in june 1.
 
desihai said:
congrats! enjoy .. can you tell where i should be applying (i live in fremont) and how long a wait i can expect start to finish (based on estimate) if i apply in june 1.
Click to expand...

You send your N400 application to the following address:

USCIS California Service Center
Attn: N-400 unit
P.O. Box 10400
Laguna Niguel CA 92607-1040

You can write one cheque for the amount of $400 ($330 + $70) and make it out to Department of Homeland Security when you send in your application.

Here's the link to the "Guide to Naturalization":

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/M-476.pdf

As for the whole process, San Jose DO (district office) seems like they are a little slower than most DOs. My whole process went smoothly except for USCIS decheduling my first interview (due to holidays and CSC not transferring my file to San Jose DO). I did get another interview date after 5 weeks so it was alright. My application took 8 months from start to finish. You can see my signature in this post for the dates. Good luck! :)
 
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