My Interview+Oath in Garden City New York

H

hm11

Registered Users (C)
This week I completed my citizenship process successfully and now I am a proud Citizen of the United States of America.

INTERVIEW:
My interview started exactly at the time of my appointment. My officer was very nice and professional. First the Officer went through my N-400 application and asked several questions from the application I submitted. On ever page my officer put ‘pass’. At the time of interview they have your complete file. This file contains every document you have EVER submitted to INS/BCIS or USCIS. After N-400, the officer went through my file and started asking me 10 history questions which I answered all of them correctly. The next step was to write 3 very simple sentences and read a two lines paragraph. As we getting closer to the conclusion, the officer checked my name in the database and printed three or four papers. These papers were then attached to my file. At the end of the interview, the officer put a big red stamp showing ‘APPROVED’. Then I was escorted out of the office and we started exchanging departing greetings.

SURPRIZE:
The big surprise came at the end when the officer asked me to wait in the waiting area for my Oath letter. YES I got my oath letter same day and in NEW YORK. I was so happy.

OATH:
The oath ceremony was schedule after three weeks of my interview in Brooklyn Courthouse. The ceremony was simple and organized. All the officers were very nice and courteous. Oath ceremony started at 8:00 AM and concluded at 11:30 AM. In the ceremony they explain every thing very clearly and you can ask them any questions. Don’t forget to take your Green Card with you. They take away during the process on that day. If you have lost the green card then you need to have a some kind of statement which some people had it. It’s called swearing statement etc. You can not make any photograph in the ceremony because cameras and cell phones are not allowed inside the court room.

FINAL STEP:
You collect your Certificate of Naturalization. They ask you two or three times to make sure those spellings of your name are correct and other details like birth date are also right. So make sure right there. You can not make photocopy or photo of the certificate. It’s against the law.

PASSPORT:
Once you have the certificate, get your passport. At the ceremony they provide you a list of places where you can apply for your passport.

TOTAL TIME:
It took me 14 months to complete the whole citizenship process. I think this is fast in NEW YORK.

I wish every body good luck and best wishes. Register for vote also in your county. Happy New Year.

God Bless America
 
Congratulation hm11

Congratulation hm11. Did you use public transportation or drive to the GC interview center. Would you please give details if you have used public transportation to commute there. Thanks. Choyty
 
hm11

congrats... i would say u are luckiest one in New York .

i have a qustion...

what about that mandated name check by FBI which is done after interview.?????????? i dont know if u are male or female.
if u are female than ......yeah...i am not surprised since they dont have to go through name check.

plz reply.
 
choyty & Rahul

Thank you for your best wishes. I am really very happy to become US Citizen. Its a great feeling. I wish all of you good luck and my best wishes.

I did not use public transportation for Garden City or Brooklyn. I am sure they have public transportation. Garden City has plenty of parking and its very convinient. If you go early morning, you can wait in MacDonald which is located in the same block.
The citizenship process at Garden City is very smooth and organized. First when you arrive at Garden City office they stamp your interview letter and then you go upstairs and you put your letter in the tray and wait for your name to be called. They have several Immigration Officer to interview Citizenship applicants. It goes very fast. I was called exactly at the time of my interview.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions which I can answer.
 
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shaky

First of all thank you for your best wishes. I am a male. My officer checked my security clearance in the computer on the day of my interview. The officer printed three or four pages and attached it with my application. I got the Oath letter same day, actually exactly after 1/2 hour of my interview.

Good luck. Let me know if I can answer any more questions since your are from the same district where I applied.
 
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Thank you for such a detailed posting.

Have 2 questions for you :

1. what were the nature of questions relating to the form ? were they just verification questions or was there detailed questioning

2. was the issue of traffic tickets an issue in your case ? was it brought up by the officer ?

Thank you very much for your help
 
ss2004

1. what were the nature of questions relating to the form ? were they just verification questions or was there detailed questioning:

The officer went through page by page and verified most of the items. On each page officer put a big check mark and wrote 'pass'. My passport was checked only once for 5 second. Then every document in my file was checked one by one. Birth certificate was examined thoroughly. At the end I put my signatures on the N-400 form and the officer asked me to write my name on the photo.

2. was the issue of traffic tickets an issue in your case ? was it brought up by the officer ?

Nope. The officer did not care at all. No question was asked. However at the time of Oath ceremony an officer was asking about traffic ticket and basically whoever had this type of issue explained it and he cleared them.

I must say that both the officers (interview+oath) were nice and professional. My interview officer wished me at the end of interview. My interview lasted about 45 minutes.

Good luck to you and to every N-400 applicant who is waiting for interview and oath. My advice to all is 'Speak Truth' and you will have no regret.
 
citizen2004

It was not required but the officer matched every thing with the birth certificate. Keep in mind they have every thing you have ever submitted to INS/BCIS or USCIS. They have the complete file infront of them and they can ask any thing from it.
The officer only asked my passport and green card and nothing else.
 
hm11

ur interview experience sounds like u had same interviewer i had... just my guess.... was his last name Griener or something??????? and he was in his late 40s or early 50s?

plz share

shaky.
 
Thank you hm11 for your detailed answers.

Looks like you should take all documents that may be relevant to the application even though the letter may not ask for it. My letter basically asks for the passport and the green card.

Any particular documents that you would recommend apart from birth cert, marriage cert etc ??

Also for tax returns, how many years worth would you recommend
??

THANKS AGAIN
 
shaky & ss2004

My interviewing officer was in late 20's or early thirties and the name was very different not the one you mention. But this officer was 'nice' and 'professional'. Shaky keep us posted with your oath news. Good luck.

ss2004:
Take all the papers you have like marriage cert, bank statements, work id, tax returns for five years, driving record from motor vehicle etc. They may not ask any of the above documents or may ask you just one document. In my case they only looked my passport for 30 second and green card for 30 second. You must have three pieces of documents with you:
1- Interview letter
2- Green card
3- Passport for trip verification

Carry green card and passport all the time with you.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any more questions. I will stick around this forum for little while and share my experience as I got some good tips from experienced participants in this board.
 
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