Interview was for 10:20 at 1600 Callowhill. The cab driver nearly got fined for stopping in front of a federal building. Anyway, I got there at 10:00 and it was all very smooth going through security. Was told to go to the 2nd floor even though the letter said I should go to the 3rd floor. There were about 20 people waiting but I figured some were family members so I thought there were really only about 5 people ahead of me. I went to the window gave the lady my IL and she stamped it, kept it and told me to sit and wait. I waited for about 25 mins and finally was called in.
The Interview
My IO was a young woman who was initially very business-like but I made a few jokes at the appropriate time and she loosened up -- and so did I. She made me stand and raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth. I said I would. She invited me to sit down and asked for my Driver's License, my Green Card and my Passport(s). I gave them to her. She did some paperwork and then began the interview. Basically she went through my application: my name; the spelling of my name and whether I wanted to change the spelling; my address; my job; whether I'd ever claimed to be an American or ever tried to vote; whether I had ever been arrested; whether I had ever sold drugs; whether I had ever helped someone break the immigration laws; whether I had ever lied to an United States officer; whether I was a terrorist etc. I said yes or no accordingly. She asked me about the organizations I belonged to and I explained to her what they were; I had a website of each organization and she looked at the websites to confirm. All that went really smoothly.
Selective Service
I did have one potential issue that I was worried about: Selective Service. I did not register and I got my green card when I was 25. She asked how old I was when I got my green card and I told her. She then asked me how old I was now and I said 32 and she said you don't have to worry about it. When she didn't ask for the status information letter from the SSS I offered to give it to her but she didn't even want to look at it which surprised me. She explained that had I been under 31 then I would have had more explaining to do. So the rule is that if you fail to register for SS when you are supposed to and you are under 31 when you apply then they will investigate it thoroughly; though she didn't say it, the reason is they only look very seriously at your conduct in the 5 years preceding the date you applied to naturalize and 26 + 5 = 31. So if you applied on your 32nd birthday then they would only look as far back as your 27th birthday and because you could only have failed to register for SS upto your 26th birthday, SS is no longer an issue thereafter (assuming you have no other negatives in your application). However, I had handed in a personal statement with my N400 explaining why I did not register for SS and she did ask me to sign that for the record. And that was it. If you failed to register for SS wait till after your 31st birthday to apply. Of course, if you have other negative issues in your application then being over 31 might not be enough to save you from thorough scrutiny on this issue.
Tax
I had no tax issues so I didn't need the tax transcripts but I had them with me plus the actual tax returns I filed. A little something extra about tax transcripts. I read on this forum that you can walk in to an IRS field office and get your tax transcripts that same day but this is not true. At a minimum they need 10 business days. The way to get your tax transcripts immediately is to call the IRS and have them fax your transcripts to you. They will require that you be next to the fax machine so you can confirm that you received the transcripts. So if you don’t have a fax at home go to a Fedex-Kinkos and have them send it there. That’s what I did but it turns out the IO did not even ask for that info.
She then made me sign the application again and made me confirm that my info was accurate for the Certificate of Naturalization. I did both. Then she handed me the test. They questions ranged in difficulty from the easiest ones (how many stars are there on the flag?) to the mid-level ones (what ship did the pilgrims came on?). I got all 10 correct and she said you have passed and I am going to recommend that your application for naturalization be approved. Congratulations etc.
Then came the bad news!
Oath
She said a letter scheduling the oath ceremony would arrive in a few months. I was like I you mean a few weeks? And she said it was a few months because they are planning a huge ceremony in Philadelphia in April and they want thousands of people to be naturalized at that ceremony so I would have to wait for that. BUMMER!!! I even dared to ask if it was possible to get it done sooner and whether I was pushing my luck to even ask and she said yes I was pushing my luck. I dropped the matter and said as long as I get naturalized then it's fine. She congratulated me and showed me to the door and that was the end of that!
I am approved but have to wait 3 months for a mega-naturalization ceremony. I think if I had wanted to change my name then I might have gotten naturalized sooner coz then you’d get it done in court.
I am a little bummed out about the wait coz you never know what happens in three months... documents get lost, invitations to the naturalization ceremony get mailed to the wrong address etc. but I still count myself lucky to have had no problem with the Selective Service issue.
Could others who have had their interviews recently please let us know when your oath dates are?
I will start a Philadelphia April 2007 Oath Ceremony thread to find out where everybody is and to guard against invitations getting lost.
Good LUCK everyone!
The Interview
My IO was a young woman who was initially very business-like but I made a few jokes at the appropriate time and she loosened up -- and so did I. She made me stand and raise my right hand and swear to tell the truth. I said I would. She invited me to sit down and asked for my Driver's License, my Green Card and my Passport(s). I gave them to her. She did some paperwork and then began the interview. Basically she went through my application: my name; the spelling of my name and whether I wanted to change the spelling; my address; my job; whether I'd ever claimed to be an American or ever tried to vote; whether I had ever been arrested; whether I had ever sold drugs; whether I had ever helped someone break the immigration laws; whether I had ever lied to an United States officer; whether I was a terrorist etc. I said yes or no accordingly. She asked me about the organizations I belonged to and I explained to her what they were; I had a website of each organization and she looked at the websites to confirm. All that went really smoothly.
Selective Service
I did have one potential issue that I was worried about: Selective Service. I did not register and I got my green card when I was 25. She asked how old I was when I got my green card and I told her. She then asked me how old I was now and I said 32 and she said you don't have to worry about it. When she didn't ask for the status information letter from the SSS I offered to give it to her but she didn't even want to look at it which surprised me. She explained that had I been under 31 then I would have had more explaining to do. So the rule is that if you fail to register for SS when you are supposed to and you are under 31 when you apply then they will investigate it thoroughly; though she didn't say it, the reason is they only look very seriously at your conduct in the 5 years preceding the date you applied to naturalize and 26 + 5 = 31. So if you applied on your 32nd birthday then they would only look as far back as your 27th birthday and because you could only have failed to register for SS upto your 26th birthday, SS is no longer an issue thereafter (assuming you have no other negatives in your application). However, I had handed in a personal statement with my N400 explaining why I did not register for SS and she did ask me to sign that for the record. And that was it. If you failed to register for SS wait till after your 31st birthday to apply. Of course, if you have other negative issues in your application then being over 31 might not be enough to save you from thorough scrutiny on this issue.
Tax
I had no tax issues so I didn't need the tax transcripts but I had them with me plus the actual tax returns I filed. A little something extra about tax transcripts. I read on this forum that you can walk in to an IRS field office and get your tax transcripts that same day but this is not true. At a minimum they need 10 business days. The way to get your tax transcripts immediately is to call the IRS and have them fax your transcripts to you. They will require that you be next to the fax machine so you can confirm that you received the transcripts. So if you don’t have a fax at home go to a Fedex-Kinkos and have them send it there. That’s what I did but it turns out the IO did not even ask for that info.
She then made me sign the application again and made me confirm that my info was accurate for the Certificate of Naturalization. I did both. Then she handed me the test. They questions ranged in difficulty from the easiest ones (how many stars are there on the flag?) to the mid-level ones (what ship did the pilgrims came on?). I got all 10 correct and she said you have passed and I am going to recommend that your application for naturalization be approved. Congratulations etc.
Then came the bad news!
Oath
She said a letter scheduling the oath ceremony would arrive in a few months. I was like I you mean a few weeks? And she said it was a few months because they are planning a huge ceremony in Philadelphia in April and they want thousands of people to be naturalized at that ceremony so I would have to wait for that. BUMMER!!! I even dared to ask if it was possible to get it done sooner and whether I was pushing my luck to even ask and she said yes I was pushing my luck. I dropped the matter and said as long as I get naturalized then it's fine. She congratulated me and showed me to the door and that was the end of that!
I am approved but have to wait 3 months for a mega-naturalization ceremony. I think if I had wanted to change my name then I might have gotten naturalized sooner coz then you’d get it done in court.
I am a little bummed out about the wait coz you never know what happens in three months... documents get lost, invitations to the naturalization ceremony get mailed to the wrong address etc. but I still count myself lucky to have had no problem with the Selective Service issue.
Could others who have had their interviews recently please let us know when your oath dates are?
I will start a Philadelphia April 2007 Oath Ceremony thread to find out where everybody is and to guard against invitations getting lost.
Good LUCK everyone!
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is there a possibility i might make it to that oath?